Category Archives: Holidays

Sick … Again

Family, Holidays, Personal, ,

What a rush the last several weeks have been! I was sicker than I’ve been in a long time, and it took me another week or so to get back to 100%. I’m not sure everyone in the family was completely well when we had a record drop in temperature this weekend (we had 70+ to freezing in about four hours). I didn’t feel it at the time, but right now most of us are sniffly or congested, as we’re trying to prepare for the celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior. So sad to not feel like singing!

Anyway, any spare time for prayer would be appreciated for our health, or for the DRC elections, or for those that are depressed, or that people would feel the Joy of the Lord, and be saved.

Boys cabin

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Joel poses with a couple of his cabin mates. They all started out best friends, as nine of the ten of them were in the same cabin last year. But this afternoon, one wanted to stay in bed because others were being mean. So we took a break from our activity (rock wall), to share and reconcile. We read 1 John 4:20, and finished off by memorizing palms 133:1 – “How good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity.”
So it was good to see them get through that, and we trust that they’re growing together through it, both as a group and as individual young men.

Camp Eve

Family, Holidays, Smiles,

Tomorrow we leave for Kid’s Camp, so the excitement level around here is pretty high. The kids asked if they could build forts/tents in the living room, which I allowed after they got some other basic housework done — and they’ll have to clean this up, too. 🙂img_20160603_124549883.jpg
They even made a spot for Abby:
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Which Anna enjoyed very much:
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The Content of Our Character

Holidays, Homeschool, Texas Culture, Thoughts, ,
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. 
-Martin Luther King, Jr.

Life in the Pacific Northwest basically persuaded me that civil rights and racism were issues argued by academics and politicians for academic and political reasons. Since moving to Texas, however, I’ve found that the issues are more than skin deep, as it were. As in, many people don’t want to talk about race, yet their actions, and things said tangentially or avoided altogether, indicate that tensions are still quite alive.

But rather than to pretend to solve this nations race problems, I’d like to talk about a good friend of mine, and how he envisions the ideals of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Way’s skin is darker than mine, but I’ve never seen that as relevant in our relationship. He is an elder at a church I attended some time ago, and hope to visit again this summer. When he preaches, he preaches boldly and clearly, and with insight. He speaks out against corruption, which has played a large part in keeping his area in poverty. And when he thinks I’m wrong, he doesn’t hesitate to say so.

Yet he was the the one called on to give the sermon at a funeral of several young men killed by those of a rival group. The fact that the community called on him in this potentially explosive moment shows that they trust him to to speak the truth without bias, and in love. In a moment where many called for retribution, Way lived and preached the ideal Dr. King referred to as he said “Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred…. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence.”

But not only has he promoted peace when and where others sought violence and revenge, he is also a constructive part of building his community. As head of a development college at a local university, he teaches students about practical and applicable development. He requires and supervises student work that makes a difference in the area. Where there is not clean water, he has built wells. But anyone can dig wells; they do it in a way that the community can pitch in, both financially and logistically, so they have the self respect of having participated in the project (not just receiving a gift). So the well improves the health of the community physically, but also morally, as the people benefiting see that they can be a part of improving their lives. Which brings me to another Dr King quote: “You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.” It is too easy to look at hardship and sit down. But Way has been an example to me of working hard in hardship, to make things better for himself and others.

Which brings me to the most fundamental Dr. King quote, cited above.  While we argue and fight about what each other really think, I yearn for the time where character is the basis of judgment, not skin color. Which is to say that I think that judgment is necessary. Police brutality is wrong, and should be stopped. But I yearn for the day where it is neither vilified nor excused because it was white on black. I yearn for the day that a reporter can talk about the character of the abused before giving a racial description. I think of the “Mom of the year” recipient, who dragged her son out of a mob and beat him. If a man is committing a crime, he should be lawfully arrested and tried, however we might describe his skin. And if he’s innocent, that should be found without prejudice, and he should be left in peace, again without reference to skin. Character is what should count, not skin. But perhaps we’re a ways off of that.

Ebenezer 2015

Family, Holidays, Personal, Thoughts, , , ,

Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer; for he said, “Till now the Lord has helped us.”

1 Samuel 7:12 (ESV)

For the last several years, it has seemed good to draw up a list of specific ways that God has helped us, as we reflect back on the ups and downs of a year drawing to a close. Some years we have needed that because we needed to see past all the more obvious and difficult things, and remind ourselves of the providence of God working all to Good, as we looked past the pain of each moment to the longer perspective. And many of those points have been more private than publishable, either because we’re not sure we wanted to lay those pains open to the whole of cyberspace, or else because the point of the joy probably just wouldn’t make sense if you weren’t there for the pain as well.

But this year, there have been many joys, and many of those joys are shareable, so it seemed right to do so, and give God glory for what has has done for us this last year (the following list us, as the secondary agents; God is the primary agent working the good out in us):

At the UT Arlington:

  1. I took Statistics, and learned R (a statistics computer program).
  2. I finished formal syntax, formal phonology, and formal semantics requirements, completing my coursework requirements for the doctoral degree.
  3. I Presented the Mbo language (of D.R.Congo) at three different conferences in Feb-Mar: the UTA Student Conference in Linguistics and TESOL (UTASCILT), and the UTA Annual Celebration of Excellence in Students (ACES), and the Annual Conference on African Linguistics (ACAL)
  4. I won an award for my presentation at ACES, talking about the integration of linguistic work and community development.
  5. I had an awesome time at ACAL, reconnecting with some scholars, and meeting new ones, including people whose work I am building on.
  6. My academic advisor took a job elsewhere, and I made a smooth transition to another advisor, with whom I’m getting along very well.
  7. I presented the Ndaka language (of D.R.Congo) at UTA Linguistics department Graduate Student Showcase and the Metroplex Linguistics Conference.
  8. I got broad departmental affirmation for my Metroplex talk.
  9. I submitted an abstract (on Ndaka) for ACAL 47 in March 2016, which was accepted.
  10. I fully drafted my dissertation proposal, and sent it to my committee for review.

In Personal health:

  1. I spent far too much money on doctors and tests to find out that I needed to loose weight (which I already knew).
  2. I lost 60 pounds, and I’ve kept it off.
  3. I withdrew from teaching at church to focus more on our marriage.
  4. I got back into teaching at church.
  5. I got to enjoy some Christmas preparation.
  6. I got to see Kim enjoy me enjoying some Christmas preparation.
  7. I finished the fall term well, early, and in peace with myself, God and Kim.

In the Family:

  1. We prepared and executed a trip to Oregon
  2. We set up a website, and integrated it with Mailchimp, our blog, and our give page at Wycliffe.
  3. We started leading a homegroup.
  4. We celebrated James’ 13th birthday.
  5. We got to see each of our children take major strides in trusting Christ.
  6. We got to see each of our children excel in particular ways at school.
  7. We got solar panels installed on our house.
  8. We made lots of progress in our marriage, both in and out of therapy.
  9. We successfully got each of our cars out of the shop (multiple times each).

Other ministry opportunities:

  1. I got to lead a small group of constantly changing group of fifth graders every other week in Sunday school, where I get to teach a bit and pray for each of them.
  2. I got to lead a boy to Christ in the 5th/6th grade class.
  3. I have continued to pursue relationships at church and homegroup that do not respond as positively as I would like.
  4. I finished CORPS (a training course at our local church) answering questions well on the final exam (incl some potentially divisive ones). I received a particular commendation on my respectful demeanour from our senior pastor, who lead the course (those who have interacted with me over the years may sense how much of a blessing this was to hear!).
  5. Kim has helped make 10+ quilts, and through this ministry continues to raise up prayer for missionaries.
  6. Kim started as a BSF group leader, leading 13 women (including non- and new believers) through a study of Revelation.

So odds are some of the above doesn’t make sense.  That’s OK; maybe it’s more personal than I thought it was.  Anyway, God has carried us through a lot this year, both in terms of things to bear, and things to enjoy. So it just seemed right to ring in the new year giving him the credit. To God be the glory, from whom all blessings flow!

Grace,

Kent

Celebrating Joel

Family, Holidays, Personal

Joel has always loved that his birthday usually coincides with summer vacation! He spent his 1st, 2nd and 5th birthdays at the Kenyan coast, and was thrilled to get to spend his 8th there too! After all, 1+2+5 = 8.

The day started quietly. Our family tradition is that on their 8th birthday each kid gets a full-sized Bible of their own. Here Joel reads the dedication Kent wrote to him in the front:

The morning was spent at a sort of Vacation Bible School with lots of friends. Perfect birthday for our social Joel, or what? 🙂 He planned out his travel wardrobe to save the blue Lego Star Wars shirt for the big day!

The hotel surprised us with a small cake at teatime. We ordered a large one at lunch to share with his friends, specially made without flour or sugar, so it was disappointing to have a surprise cake we couldn’t eat. But he took it all in stride, and didn’t mind having more people sing to him!

 At lunchtime we ordered up a big pile of ‘hedgehogs’ (what we always called at home ‘criss-cross mangoes’), which is Joel’s favorite fruit. We flew in a few small boxes of 100% juice and added that to the blue-colored club soda to make a ‘Blue Splash soda’ without the Sprite (corn syrup) – more about foods later!
He ate to his heart’s content:

 

Then the singing, clanging began and the floral chair and special-order cake arrived! It was gorgeous chocolate banana-peanut honey cake covered in honey-vanilla whipped cream and decorated with 8 sticks of mango chunks and Enjoy Life GF Mega chunks. The best part is the huge grin on his face:

As a bonus, it was the best cake I had eaten at this hotel in several years. They are not famous for desserts… So many people asked for the recipe and wanted a bite! The hotel felt bad about our food restrictions and only charged us about $8, half what you pay for the smaller, less tasty cakes! Here’s the inside view:

Yum!
No kids seemed to mind a less-sweet cake. And it might have been the first birthday party where no one left with a sugar high!
His friends lined up with plates right away! 🙂
We brought out the presents after the cake and singing. This one had been carried across the world to Congo and then back across Uganda and Kenya in the suitcases of two other MAF friends just to be there for him on his special day. Transformers!
 
 
This is one of several presents smuggled into the suitcases of colleagues all the way from Grandma and Grandpa’s house. The most anticipated was his Star Wars Lego set of Ewoks, but I didn’t get any stellar shots of that…
Super Joel, we love you and
had so much fun celebrating your first 8 years!

Happy Resurrection Day

Family, Holidays

We enjoyed a lovely Easter filled with friends and fellowship this year. Katie, our teacher, was here to enjoy it with us, and we had a big goat roast with some of our best Congolese friends. We got to sing Good Friday hymns with other expats and held an Easter egg hunt in our yard that the puppies were sad to miss. Kim got to sing with the Mamas choir the whole story of Easter in Swahili – Amefufuka!! (He is Risen!)

Here are a few pictures:

Remembering 2011

Asperger's, Congo + Culture, Family, Holidays

I didn’t take this time of holding the ebenezer, remembering the year as He laid it before us, last year – we were savoring a visit with family in the US… Sad that the last backward glance at a year of living and loving was here in 2010. Two years later, our life here is SO different!

But how to quantify that?

What was 2011?

If I had to choose one word, I would have to say 2011 was a monumental year for Kent, this work and our family.

The year language development work exploded here in Bunia with 10 different language communities.

The year Kent became a Linguistics Consultant and helped teach a graduate-level tone course.

A year of long-sought-after solutions for our son’s health.

The year we entered Autismland, and found our way.

Another year of taking homeschool ‘on the road’, moving, packing, settling and moving again.

The year I learned to quilt!

The year Joel finally lost a tooth (actually 5 teeth are now missing at once!)

The year we dared to go 100% grain-free.

The year Kent started commuting on a motorcycle.

The first year we really grew our own food.

The year we finally understood our sweet James and watched him come out of the fog.

The year we finished renovating our tiny kitchen.

The year our living room doubled as a ballet studio.

Another year to enjoy this beautiful, bug-filled country (only 1 bat, 4 grasshoppers, several crickets/cockroaches and several hundred ants and mosquitoes made their way into our house this year – much fewer than previous years!)

The year we had to learn how to cook and eat all over again.

The first year of my life that I crossed food allergies OFF my list!

The year Joel became a great reader.

The year everyone began learning piano, French and Latin in earnest.

The year Anna started and aced kindergarten math.

The year we grew close to Congolese friends.

The kind of friends who make you want to sit on stools around the cooking fire all evening ‘chewing the news’ as they say in Maasailand.

A year to taste and see that the Lord is good.

2011

A year of paperclips on our paper timelines.

Monumental.

A year mixed of storms and clear skies.

A year rooted in His steadfast love.

A year to hold fast to faith in Him who works all things for good.

A year that could have broken us,

but strengthened us instead.

Birthday Week

Family, Holidays


This week James had a great 9th birthday and I had a wonderful time turning 25 again. =) (For some reason, Anna kept calling me 25. She just knows that when my ‘number’ changes, hers is soon to follow and she can’t wait to be 5!)

So here’s the birthday boy wearing a crown in school (I know, I’m so mean making him do school on his birthday. But in ‘the real world’ people still have to go to school too!):

eating his favorite lunch (roasted steak and fried cabbage):

He loves reading mysteries right now (Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Box Car Children, etc etc) so we had a Mystery Party where the kids had to gather clues around our yard to find missing letters to this code and solve the Case of the Missing Birthday Candles. It was fun. And Anna and Joel got to help cut out question marks…

Lots of fun opening presents. This is a book of hard mazes and he’s focused not bored. =) Eventually he put it down and opened up all the legos, new Wii game, etc.

What can I say, my son is from Eugene, OR. He loves tie-dye and has asked for it for years. Grandma finally found one and sent it over and he put it on immediately! The requisite blowing of the mystery candles (recovered near the crime scene):

It was a 9×13 two-layer almond-banana cake with Cran-raspberry jam for filling. The honey-marshmallow frosting didn’t do the right thing, but we poured it over the top and moved on. For a ‘sugar-free’ cake, some people thought it was too sweet! Honey and fruit are pretty sweet. James loved it, which is what counts.

– – –

Then it was my turn. I was treated all day like a queen. Kent made me coffee with real cream (brought by my friend Suzanne over from Kenya!), scrambled eggs and bacon! I had LOTS of help opening gifts:

Yes, most Congolese living rooms come fully-equipped with a sink. =) The kids made the fancy bows out of magazine pages, so I wanted to keep them all!

Kent made me a fabulous pumpkin pie, but it was still in the oven. So we toasted our sparkling juice (‘spicy juice’ according to Anna):

Notice that lovely water filter behind me. Love that thing! It magically turns sludge-water into clean water! Then the kids got ready for bed and came back for pie. The leftovers the next day were the best!! My helper blowing out my candle with me. (The extra pie filling made some cute little heart-shaped pies too!)

See that gorgeous wood grain on the table Kent made? Love it. Now off to plan one more birthday for our house! =)