2020

I didn't want Randy to be disappointed by not going to Lincoln, to visit his brother's birthplace, but as soon as he saw how close we were to the world's largest ball of twine, he quickly decided we should head south and see that instead. No sooner had we crossed the border into Kansas than we saw a sign for the Center of the United States. What???! We had already been to the Center... in South Dakota! Obviously we took the turn off and there it was -- a gorgeous little rest stop, with a tiny little chapel, marking the geologic center of the lower 48 states. This had been the center up until 1959 when Alaska and Hawaii were admitted into the U.S., and Kansas was proud of it! A short ways down the road from the Center, we came to the world's largest ball of twine. Call it cheesy if you want, but if you can't get excited about Americana and a tradition that brought a town together then you are going to miss out on so much fun! Van's favorite part of...

Our travels are starting to get confusing, even to us. How did we ever come up with this crazy plan? We partially blame (and definitely thank!) Randy's mom. When she died in November , she left her motor home to Randy and his brothers in her will. As we thought about leaving Mexico and how to honor Mom, it just felt right to go out on the open road. So, on leg 1 of this journey, we stopped in Pie Town, New Mexico, to fill the motor home with the belongings we would want to take with us (including Mom's ashes) for the RV portion of our journey. And now, a month later, we were heading back to Pie Town. We flew Allegiant Airlines from Stockton to Phoenix because it was several hundred dollars cheaper than anything else we could find. We know Allegiant has been in the news lately for safety concerns, but we've flown them several times, and put our granddaughters on their flights as well, and have always had positive experiences. (Incidentally, our flights from Ohio to...

While in Corpus Christi, Texas, last week (was that seriously just last week???), my sister-in-law introduced us to her friend Kristen. As we were all getting ready to go to the beach together, I shared briefly with Kristen that Randy and I had been working in Mexico at an orphanage for the past 18 months. She said it sounded a little like "Bokenkamp" where she had volunteered. Obviously intrigued, I asked her to tell me more. She said Bokenkamp was right there in Corpus Christi, and was providing shelter and meeting the needs of unaccompanied immigrant children from south and central america. She said she struggled there because she doesn't speak Spanish. Oh how I wish we hadn't learned about this the day before leaving Corpus Christi! How I would have loved to have gone and spent the day with a dozen beautiful little Spanish-speaking children like those who hold my heart in San Felipe. Time wasn't on our side on this leg of the journey, but now that I know ...

I'm reading a book called " Fierce Convictions ." It's the story of Hannah More (1745-1833), a poet and abolitionist during the 18th and 19th centuries who worked with William Wilberforce , among other reformers of the time. Hannah was a devout member of the Church of England, yet many of her fiercest convictions (to abolish slavery or at least improve conditions for slaves, and to educate women and the poor, for example) went against their teachings. While many people whose views were in line with Hannah's were dissenting from the Church of England (including the Quakers), Hannah held firm. She insisted she could be both a member of the Church of England and a reformer. She repeatedly received criticism and public defamation of her character, causing her deep distress, both physically and emotionally. I thought of Hannah when an online friend of mine told me about The Reformation Project . The Mission of The Reformation Project is: The Reformation Proje...

Time for another guest blog! This one comes from my friend Jeff Laycock, who I went to high school with. When my nieces were born and spent time in the NICU, Jeff reached out to me to assure me that even though it was scary to see them so tiny, with IVs in their heads and tubes up their noses keeping them alive, it was also the safest, best place for them to be. He knew, because he had just been through it with his son, Hayden. Who has to be the cutest spokesperson for Nationwide Children's Hospital, BuckeyeThon, and ending Pediatric Cancer that I have ever seen. Here's their story: BUCKEYETHON Our story starts when my pregnant wife, Bri, and I went to her 20-week appointment to find out the sex of our baby. The excitement of the day soon turned to confusion, fear, and sadness as the doctor explained that the heartbeat of our unborn child, a boy, had dropped into the 50s from the typical 180s since the last time Bri had visited. He told us he suspected congenital he...

One of the blessings of living in San Felipe for the past 15 months has been the incredible friends we've made. Friends we can celebrate and lament with, go 4-wheeling with, out to dinner with, relax at their house with, call upon when we are in need of bagels or toilet paper or baby wipes. One of those couples are Don and Katie. While at their house one afternoon, Randy and Don were outside working on cars while Katie and I were talking and organizing things inside. When our conversation settled on family, Katie shared with me: Our grandson was recently diagnosed with schizophrenia. The only thing I know about schizophrenia is that when people go off their meds they end up killing people in schools and movie theaters. I don't want to think that about my grandson. It was perhaps the most honest thing anyone has ever said to me. Especially in light of the school shooting* in Parkland, Florida, this week, in which 17 were killed by a young man with a history of mental i...

One of the pieces of this 40-40-40 days of Lent campaign that God is undergoing in my heart that I am so fiercely passionate about, is that as I was seeking out organizations to support, I felt a nudge to speak to people who are directly involved with these ministries. So, intermittently throughout the next several weeks I will be featuring "guest bloggers" to share their stories. Our first guest blog comes from Rachel Mills, founder and director of " PEARLS in Haiti ". I didn't know Rachel before this Lent, though I did go to elementary/high school with her younger brother, so we are from neighboring home towns in Ohio. I trust that you will fall in love with her story just like I did when she first shared it with me... PEARLS in Haiti Back in 1996 God summoned me to Haiti. At that time I knew little to nothing about the island nation, but I was compelled to step out in faith. Over the course of four months I raised two year’s salary through donatio...

The first time I met Randy's mom, in 2014, she gave me a heavy amethyst necklace and said, "Welcome to the family." (Jewelry was her love language!) The next time I met Marie, she told me that she still had relationships with her former daughters-in-law. (All her sons went through divorces.) After confronting my own petty insecurities, I realized what a beautiful lesson this was -- that her relationships weren't based on "marrying in," but that I too would have the opportunity to develop a relationship with her independent of my relationship with her son. On our California wedding day she told me that I was "right" and "good" for Randy. A parent's blessing is a powerful thing. Six months later, Randy and I were playing UNO in the hospital waiting room while Mom underwent exploratory surgery. We watched as the doctor came in and out, telling families that surgeries went well and their loved ones were in recovery and they could vi...

My word of the year presented itself sometime in November. My first thought was, "Ew." It was NOT the word I was hoping for. But none of them -- embrace, walk with, serve, share -- have turned out like I expected. So maybe this one, too, would be okay. But really  -- FIERCE --  are you sure God, that you are speaking to ME? Fierce makes me think of desperate older women chasing younger men. Fierce makes me think of fake cat noises. Fierce makes this pacifist think of war paint and javelins. Fierce sounds like energy and intensity and a strength that I just don't have. Fierce makes me tired. So I suppose, once again, that God wants to challenge me to embrace this word as coming from him and his vision for who I could be, or perhaps underneath it all who I already am. And what would be so wrong with ending 2018 stronger, more passionate, wilder and bolder and empowered? As someone who STANDS for something. As I've looked into "fierce...

"Mama, no quiero ir. No quiero ir, mama. Mama, no!"  ( Mama, I don’t want to go. I don’t want to go, Mama. Mama, no!) Luis looked up at me with his big, brown eyes, pleading to stay home from kindergarten. After several failed attempts, I finally scooped him up and said, "Yo puedo ir con usted."  (I’ll go with you.) He sat calmly on my lap for the entire drive, six other kindergarteners in the back. But as soon as we pulled up to the school he cried again, "Mama, no quiero ir!" "Voy a regresar en dos horas," I said to Luis. And to the others, "Quien quiere ayudar Luis?" ( I’ll be back for you in two hours... Who wants to help Luis?) All six kids surrounded Luis, taking his hands. He continued to cry as he walked to class, looking back at me over his shoulder, mouthing "Mama, no! No quiero ir!" My mama’s heart went out to him, though I knew he had nothing to be afraid of, and I knew he would...

This summer 11 kids have left Sonshine Hacienda. Three new kids joined us. And another one came and left again within a matter of 24 hours. It has been emotionally exhausting. Randy was particularly close to 3-year-old Pamela who left. And I to 12-year-old Brayan. Pamela started and ended each day running into Randy’s arms, batting her eyes for an extra helping of food, throwing her head back when she laughed. She left a huge hole in our family. Brayan and I would talk about whatever was on his mind each evening as we cleaned the dining room. Sometimes that was him wondering what high school would be like in a few years, or whether or not his brother and aunt would come to visit him this weekend, or if he could be involved in sports or other activities outside the casa. He would tell me about the other children’s homes where he had lived, ones that also had American missionaries, ones that allowed video games (we do not), ones that also had trampolines like ours. ...

As Mother's Day quickly approaches (Wednesday here in Baja; Sunday in the United States), my social media feeds are filling up with tributes to moms, memes about moms, gushy sentimentality about moms. But one Instagram post in particular jumped out at me this morning. It said: "No one can be a better mom to your children than you." This one stood out to me because it's not the world I live in. The world I live in is one where moms are controlled by addictions and abusive husbands and have been rendered incapable of being the best caregiver for their children. Some of our children were found living on the streets, ten-year-olds caring for four-year-olds, with fetal alcohol syndrome, severe handicaps, sleeping in cars, dirty, bruised, burned, afraid, scared and scarred. Three months ago four siblings were brought to us. They had their first visit with their mother on Friday. After accepting new children, we have a three-month waiting period before they are allowe...

Every Saturday morning I lead devotions for the kids. We use "El Libro Devocional de Maravillas" ("Wonders Devotional Book") to guide us. It includes a Scripture, a short explanation about what the Scripture says, and why it is important to our lives. In addition to the reading, I always try to have a little activity for the kids -- something to help them remember the devotion. Last Saturday's devotion was about the importance of trusting God, so I decided we would do a "trust fall" as our activity. We used to do this at camp every summer when I was growing up. We would have to stand on platforms of various heights and fall straight backwards into the arms of our friends and fellow campers. Terrifying. As I was preparing for the activity on Friday night, 7-year-old Anita walked into the room. I asked her to turn around and fall into my arms. She did without any hesitation. Such trust! I was totally jealous. On Saturday morning, Anita an...

One year ago today Randy and I laid eyes on San Felipe for the very first time. It's hard to believe that so much has happened in only a year's time! We knew in our hearts during that first visit that this was where we wanted to be, that this was where God was calling us, but a lot of other things had to fall into place first before we could make the move. If you feel God calling you to make a change, if you know you can't keep going the way you are going, if you feel the urge to do something new or different, whether you are scared or happy or impatient about it, remember to trust the process. This could be the year that everything changes for you! For 6 months after that first visit, Randy and I prayed and planned in our heads and waited and then jumped with both feet into this new adventure. We've been living in San Felipe now for more than 3 months. It's been both harder and more wonderful than we could have imagined. First of all, we feel incred...

Yesterday was a day of doctoring. My grandma had surgery in Ohio. One of our kids went to the doctor with a sore throat. And Jovi met our new vet for the first time. Any time you move, you have no choice but to find new things that you like: new restaurants, new walking paths, new directions, new friends, new entertainment. And new doctors. Of course you don't actually have to move for this to be an issue. Your doctor could move, or retire. Your insurance could change, or you could have to see a specialist for the first time. Regardless of the reason, finding a new doctor can be challenging. Whether it is for you, your pet, or another family member, it can be stressful. Sometimes you are lucky enough to find a good one the first time around, but other times you have to shop around. Jovi spent a TON of time (and money!) at the vet's office in California last year. Months of searching for what was causing her pain. But in those months, I came to trust our veterinarian....