So Long Ordinary

A few weeks ago, I had an opportunity to go along with Sean on a survey trip interior.    I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into, but I'd been wanting to go interior for a long time. We live in a pretty modern city that is nothing like the villages Sean flies to each day, and I wanted to see that world, meet those people. This was a crazy trip to volunteer to go on, and if I'd known what I was getting into, I'd have said "no way!"  I decided to go rather spontaneously and then spent the next three days freaking out.  I didn't let myself talk myself out of it, though, and I'm glad I didn't.   This trip changed my life. A bit too dramatic?  Maybe.  But I'm telling you that three weeks later, I'm  still  processing what I saw and experienced on that trip.   We flew deep into "the heart of Borneo"  to check the river for possible future MAF service in one of the most isolated villages in Central Kalimantan (a 2.5 hour trip upriv...

Welp, we're on day five of Sean feeling miserable. If you are a Facebook friend, you've probably seen the status updates.  Sean has come down with something - we're not sure if it is dengue or typhoid.  I've never seen him so sick and it has made for a real bummer of a week.  As hard as this week has been, I'm not complaining.  Things could be so much worse - we all know that, right?  Others are suffering so much more.  Both in the U.S. and overseas, there is great suffering, illness, sorrow, and strife.  I refuse to let this get me down.  These are the things that come with living in a fallen world.  This is why we need the Christ in Christmas so very, very much!  I am putting on a brave face, doggedly remembering that Christ really is with us, that we have so much to be thankful for, that even when the days are dark, the Light has come and He has already won .  A little update on Sean this morning...he's still very sick...

First of all, thanks so much for your prayers for Sean's trip!  It seems to have been a very successful trip...more details to come about what they did and how it all went! Our family is doing great.  We are extremely busy this holiday season but things are going so well.  We've lived in PalangkaRaya for a bit over a year now and it is really feeling like home.  We have hit our stride in family life, ministry, and relationships are growing, slowly.  We are so blessed.  Indeed, I am a deeper kind of content than I can ever remember being.  We are thriving and full of holiday cheer! And yet, in the midst of all these blessings and joys, I am heavy-hearted.  Though my personal life is going so well, I am surrounded by the pain and suffering of lost and hurting people.  These are the people I am learning to love, and as I watch them endure the hardships of life I am undone.  I don't know how to make it all better.  I don'...