Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Moving experience

Over the weekend we moved our stuff from Hesston, KS to Shickley, NE. I am overwhelmed by the kindness and helpfulness of friends new and old. We had about a dozen people help us load our stuff in just under 2 hours in Hesston. These were great friends that we've gotten to know during our last 18 months in Hesston. We didn't know them before, and they have become very dear to us in such a short time.
At the other end, nearly 20 people showed up to help us unload. Wes was disappointed that we missed our unload record of 30 minutes, by about 5 boxes. We have to remember that we had a number of more boxes and a couple more furniture items than we did when we moved to Hesston.
We appreciated the help of many people that we hope will become close friends in the coming months and years.
God's blessings on all of you.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Unbelieveable

The last three days I have tried to help Alyssa fly her new butterfly kite. It is unbelieveable! I didn't think I would ever say this, but... there isn't enough wind in Kansas to fly a kite. There I said it. Call me crazy, but it's true.
This is our last week here in Hesston. Today I took the girls to Suzanne's SilverSneakers class that she teaches. Her elderly students just loved having the girls there for a little bit. Then I took the girls to King Park to play in the water fountains. Then it was home to play with the Coburn girls after lunch. This afternoon is the girls friends birthday party. Then supper, then Suzanne and Emberlynn head to Hesston Mennonite for Bible School. I take Alyssa to Kingdom Life, and Courtney to Hesston Methodist. It is neat to see a truly community expression of Bible School (different age groups at different churches). That is enough for today.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Packing and Relaxing

We have been trying to pack a box a day, and sometimes more. The girls have really got into it too. They have been packing some of there stuff, which requires us to unpack a box every once in a while to find something they weren't quite done with yet.

I have had a bit of a recharge which has increased my desire/energy to read and reflect. I finished reading "Road Signs for the Journey" and have started two more books.
Alban Institute's "New Beginnings" and Shane Claiborne's "Jesus for President". Both are very different and excellent reads so far.

Road Signs is a real challenging read. If you haven't read it yet, I encourage you to struggle through it. It is based on a 2006 member survey of Mennonite Church USA and looks at current trends as well as comparisons between previous surveys, between racial/ethnic members and Caucasian members and pastors. The book can make our demise seem hopeless, but it can also help us to see where we may be headed and give us some direction for conversation and action to regain hope. I for one, choose hope.