They're Getting So Big

 We spent the weekend with our two older kids at their boarding school. There are a number of things that we are very grateful about their school. One is all the quality adults that are pouring into our kids.

Looking at their new school yearbook

Another thing is that our kids get to be ‘normal’ with a community of peers. On the islands, they are the weird white kids— the only western kids, the only native English speakers in our city. Back in the US, they may look like lots of other kids but their lives have been so different that they feel different and aren’t easily understood. At their school, there are so many kids like them with similar life experiences. So they get to experience things like playing, making friends and going to school, without all the cross-cultural complications that happen both in the US and the islands.  It is an environment where they can try new things and spread their wings.

These new experiences are making them grow up before our eyes. They have been challenged and growing in their faiths. Both of them sharing their journeys with God a couple weeks ago in front of their school community. This past weekend there were various celebrations as the school year is coming to a close. We saw our kids dressed up and helping with different preparations. We see them making mature decisions about next year, whether whom to room with or what classes to take or what extra activities to sign up for.

Pie-making for school celebration

We are on our way back to the States and our kids are already anticipating meeting a bunch of people that they somewhat remember, and who will no doubt comment on how much they have grown and changed in the years since they saw them last. But that is just the surface.  What excites us is not the number of inches grown, but the life lessons learned and the ways they have been stretched and grown. It’s the number of adults at their school that pulled us aside to say how much they appreciate our kids and have enjoyed being with them. It’s seeing them lean on us less and lean on God more.

It is bittersweet to see our kids getting so big. We were around a number of young kids this weekend and we remember fondly those days when our kids had chubby cheeks and said the most adorable things, but mostly we’re excited to see the adults that they are growing into and how God will lead and use them.

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We thankful for the chance to be with our kids this past weekend and get a taste of their lives at school. Our youngest son finished 5th grade in homeschool and did really well on the required annual standardized testing. The cholera cases have dropped dramatically and it is reported that almost 70% of Clove Islanders have now been vaccinated! Our daughter continued to see marked improvement in her symptoms throughout last week!

Celebrating finishing 5th grade homeschool

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Pray for a couple working on the French Island— the wife started to go into premature labor (at 23 weeks)— pray for her and her baby’s health. Pray for our colleagues on the big island who are hoping to start a reliable boat service between islands— their business plans have had lots of stops and starts and things falling through— pray for a clear way forward from now on. Pray for our oldest kids as they have their final exams the next few days and have to pack up and clean their dorm. Pray for us as we travel this week. There are protests scheduled in Kenya for the day we are leaving— pray that protests would be peaceful and lead to just and good governance, but also pray that they would not interfere with our travels. Pray for our daughter that her condition and symptoms would not be negatively impacted by traveling.

e