Dova the Dragon

 Meet Dova.

She is a bearded dragon, and she spontaneously appeared one day in October

when Hank came home from work.

She quickly established her role as a snuggly friend, as strange as that may seem for a spiny reptile.

She enjoys eating mealworms and cockroaches.

 

 Feeding time is most entertaining!

 She can be fed a cockroach from tongs

or she can snatch it from in front of her. 

 We all agree--she's the perfect pet!  She doesn't make noise, doesn't stink, doesn't lick (with the exception of going after Jude's toes once), doesn't bite, doesn't dig, and generally just behaves herself (which is more than can be said for any of the other creatures in this house). 

 

Tickets to Burundi

We have our tickets!  The whole family will be headed to Burundi for three weeks this spring.  We will spend time at Kibuye with the McCropder team, in Bujumbura (the capital city) meeting other Hope Africa University personnel, visiting with some of the other physicians, missionaries, and World Harvest team members, and possibly giving some dental care. 

We have so many questions about how our family could fit and be used with HAU's vision for dentistry in Burundi.  Our prayer is that God would clearly direct us!  We have had a picture in our minds for the past year plus as to our idea of living, teaching, serving, and learning in Burundi.  We realize that some aspects of this vision are spun from our own chaff-like desires, and some have been nurtured by God's plan for us.  Deciphering the difference feels impossible at times, but we have confidence that we won't be left to flounder halfway between Bonners and Bujumbura. 

Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him.

 

O Tannenbaum

Time to get a Christmas tree!  We have a tradition of heading up into the mountains with some friends of ours to search out the perfect spruce.  Jude spotted one he thought would be just right, and he wasted no time getting to work.

Even though it was 5 degrees and our breath was turning to ice before it left our noses, we had to stick around and enjoy the beautiful sunny day. 

Since this year there was only a few inches of snow and there didn't seem to be a promise of at least one vehicle getting stuck (which is traditionally a required element of the Christmas tree hunt), some of the kids put a little extra effort into upping the danger and suspense aspect to the day.  There was a flying squirrel act by Judah (which didn't end up quite as he had planned), and an impressive tree chopping event by Gage.

  

There were breaks in the car to warm up, camaraderie around the fire, and red rosy cheeks to show for all the fun. 

 

 

Oh yes, and we even ended up with a gorgeous tree!

Addendum to Dental Shipping Container

I've just been informed that the shipping container full of dental equipment (and many other things) bound for Burundi is scheduled to leave the US today, but the funding is about $7,500 short for shipping costs ($13,000 total). Apparently a church had committed to $8,000 but had to back out at the last moment.  If you're inclined to donate towards this need you could send a check (write "Dental Shipping Container" on the memo line) here:

Friends of Hope Africa University
PO Box 580
Spring Arbor, MI 49283

Alternately, you could contact Friends of Hope Africa University directly: help@haufriends.org.  I'm sure they could take donations by phone or online.

All donations are tax deductible.

Thanks for your consideration and prayers.

Hank

Burundi bound dental equipment

One of the people who has been instrumental in our interest in Burundi is Norm Carlson, a retired periodontist from Wenatchee, Washington.  The way we met Dr Norm is really neat.  Early this past Spring on a whim I emailed an American medical doctor I'd heard about who was serving in Burundi.  This was at a point when we were exploring the options of how and when to visit Burundi.  He emailed back and said, "You should talk to Dr Norm since he's already been in touch with Hope Africa University and has already sent a dental chair.  It's sitting here in Bujumbura in a crate."  As it turns out Dr Norm lives a mere 4 hour drive from us and he came to visit us on a Saturday morning in May.  He was thrilled to hear of our interest in Burundi--he'd been asked by Friends of HAU to coordinate sending dental equipment for the start-up dental school.  Norm has lots of experience with short term dental missions and he knows who to contact to get dental manufacturers and suppliers to donate equipment.  He'd been praying and waiting for people like us to be on the receiving and utilizing end of it!

Since that visit in May we met again in Spokane with Dr Norm, his wife Sue, and their daughter (a dental hygiene student) along with Dr Frank Ogden and his wife Carol.  Dr Ogden spent many many years teaching surgery in Burundi, and the medical school there bears his namesake.

Dr Norm has been busy procuring a host of dental equipment to go on a shipping container bound for Burundi.  Just last month he went down to Oklahoma to the headquarters of World Dental Relief to get the equipment and drive it on a Ryder truck to Indiana where it would load on the shipping container.  World Dental Relief is a charitable supplier of dental supplies and equipment to 3rd world missions.  Dr Norm came away with 5 dental chairs, lights, stools, other small equipment, and a load of small supplies such as gloves, gauze, scalpels, sutures, etc.

Here are a few pictures of the process (Dr Norm in plaid, Dr Ron Lamb, owner of WDR, in white shirt). Pray that all of this valuable equipment makes it safely to it's destination and that customs officials in Burundi will allow it to pass through quickly and without high tariffs.

The Kibuye Hope Website is Up!

http://kibuyehope.com/
From the website, you can get a glimpse of Burundi in general, learn about the Frank Ogden School of Medicine, and become acquainted with the growing Kibuye Hope Hosptital.  This is where the McCropder team is settling in and preparing to teach.

They have a Christmas giving catalog too!  http://kibuyehope.com/christmas-catalogue/  Even if you don't spend the time to choose a particular machine or renovation project to aid, please consider being a part of the growth of this inspiring work. 

Newborn Hope

The World Health Organization reports that out of 1000 live births in Burundi, 104 of those children will die before their 5th birthday.  That's more than one out of ten.  Many of those don't even make it a few months.  To compare, 7 children out of 1000 born alive in the United States won't make it past five years old.

I know it's hard to process that.  It's hard to imagine the pain and loss in those statistics.  It's hard to translate that from numbers into hearts aching.

The Carlson family is working to establish a fair trade coffee industry in Burundi.  Besides being a mom in a place without car seats or chicken nuggets, Kristy also eloquently captures and expresses some of the struggle and beauty of the Burundian people through her stunning photography.

This morning, after snuggling my almost three-year-old in my cozy bed for what I felt was a little too long, I finally got my coffee and soon saw these images of brand new life.  Even if you don't have time to read all about her experience at the clinic, please at least view her photos.

Don't look at these statistics and despair.  I know we all have a tendency to hear the numbers and feel that the situation is so dire that nothing we can do could possibly make a difference.  But that's not true!  The good news is that there is hope!

Here Dr. Alyssa Pfister (pediatrician with the McCropder team in Kibuye) instructs midwifery students on how to properly examine a newborn.  Isn't this exciting?  A whole new generation of health care providers is being trained right now--and the work is only going to grow.  Oh, I hope we get to be a part of that!

What does a 10-year-old love?

 

She loves to plan, design, and create.

 

She loves to experiment, decorate, and grow up.

 

She loves to analyze, observe, and adjust.

 

She enjoys the final product and loves to display her work.

 

Happy Birthday, Eika Lou!

What is holding you up?

For the past 3 months, Hank and I have been working through the Sonship study as part of our preparation for working with World Harvest Mission.  So far we have spent considerable time and energy working to chip away at all the defective foundations we use to hold ourselves up.  We are climbing under the pier of our appearance, finding that in so many areas we have been using rotting wood (faulty delusions and ego-boosting comparisons) as supports instead of the massive columns of granite we thought were there.  It is exhausting work.

What if we don't do this now?  What if we give it all a quick once-over and call it good enough?  We might be able to cruise a while longer, propping up with an extra accomplishment here and appearance of having it all together there.  But what about when the heavy stuff comes?  I mean the really heavy stuff of life, that will find us whether or not we move our family into the territory of hippos and crocs?

So we are chipping away, dragging out the driftwood and hauling our stubborn selves back onto something substantial.  What can hold us up?  

Here is our verse to memorize this week (paraphrased by an over-tired woman who should be in bed instead of writing because her throng of children won't take pity on her tomorrow morning despite the fact that it is Saturday):

May the God of all expectations, ambition, and reverie fill you with all jubilance, refreshment, wonder, and contentment of your soul as you depend on him, so that you may bubble over with hopeful anticipation by the energy and sinew of his Spirit!

PRAY this for us!

(You can find that in Romans 15:13 if you are wondering.)

 What is holding you up?

Check it out here.

A Wii or a Dairy Goat?

Here is Henry's Christmas wish list:

I'd love to hear your family traditions of giving to others.  Do you get tired of ALL. THE. STUFF. like we do?  Just in case you are wondering, we are not planning on buying Henry a machete for Christmas.  Or an Xbox.  Although I think a new yo-yo is a perfectly reasonable request.

I did realize something though.  This week 2 catalogs came in the mail.  One was from Oriental Trading, an entire company that sells nothing but junk like this:

  

The other catalog was from Samaritan's Purse, and its purpose was the complete opposite.  It was the Christmas Giving catalog, where you can purchase things like blankets or mosquito nets or a share in a new community well where there was previously no clean running water.

 

The kids always flip through whatever is out on the island where they sit to have breakfast and snacks.  There were dozens of dog-eared pages of slap bracelets and temporary tattoos.  This of course made me roll my eyes and promptly chuck the thing into the recycling bin, but I didn't really think about it until the next day when Henry brought me the other catalog.  "Mom, do you think we could do this again this year?  You know, like we bought the milk for those kids last year?"

It made me realize that although I can't control everything my kids see or hear or are exposed to, I can have an influence on what they think they need.  Just allowing them to be exposed to the fact that getting a milk goat would be a dream gift for so many families is significant.  Putting a jar out to save money together as a family for something like this helps just a little bit to bring the "need" for an iPod Touch into a little clearer focus.

Christmas giving that matters

As the Christmas season approaches (yeah, I know.  It's not even Thanksgiving yet, but the signs are all around us!) it is very easy to get pulled in to the very Western materialism that is gift giving and gift getting.  If I step back a moment and consider gifts I might give or receive this year (or in years past) I see that not many of those gifts meet any real need.  No offense to the gift givers or recipients--I'm deeply thankful for the love and thoughtfulness of family and friends and how it is often expressed, but consider.  I have a warm dry house, nice clean clothes in my closet, fresh food in the fridge and pantry, and money in the bank.  My basic, material, substantive needs are met and the rest is "icing on the cake", right?

How about those who don't have a warm dry house, but live in a hut made of corrugated metal?  How about those who wear the same tattered and dirty clothes day in and day out?  How about those with no fridge and no fresh food who are going hungry every day?  They certainly don't have money in the bank and they have no cake and no icing.

Consider giving something this year that will make a lasting difference for some of these people.  There are many charitable organizations to which you can donate--Samaritan's Purse, Red Cross, Union Gospel Mission, and the list goes on.

I'd like to give two other examples that pertain to Burundi, the place now near and dear to our hearts.

First, watch this video about milk for transformation in Burundi.  It's really amazing to see how this is impacting families and the country.  For some reason I'm having trouble imbedding the Youtube video so just click here.  You also get a great taste for the land and people of Burundi in the video.

Here's the link to Great Lakes Outreach with more info and links for donating.  It is a secure site and your donation is tax deductible under the 501(c)(3) tax laws.

Second, you could also donate to Hope Africa University, a Christian University in Burundi.  This is the school where our friends have partnered to teach medicine and where we hope to participate as well.  There are many current and ongoing construction (buildings, wells, etc) projects that need funding as well as scholarships for the students.  You can give via Friends of HAU--also tax deductible. You can specify how you want your donation allocated--our friends are at Kibuye Hope Hospital.

I hope this gives you some gift giving ideas as the Christmas season approaches.  It can make a real and lasting difference in someone's life.

Climbing

Both of my boys have been climbers since before they could walk.  I remember Henry as a little toddler, tipping his head back to take in the full height of something tall, and asking if he could climb it.  Jude does the same thing.  When Jude saw the skyscrapers in Seattle this weekend, he immediately started talking about climbing them.  The mountains around Banff elicited the same ideas. 

So here he is.  It's not a mountain, but there's risk involved.  A tasty temptation is at the top.  "I climb dat, Mommy?"

 
He is capable.  There are strong hands below for the moment he forgets where he is, but he is steady even above my head.

 
He is strong.  He sees something good, and he is going for it.

Would it taste this good without the climb for it?  No way!

 I love his determination!  I love his exultation in the prize!  I hope for all of my kids that they continue to chase the good things in life with such passion.

Extreme Pumpkining

It starts with a cute kid and her pumpkin.  Gotta have a picture of that, right?

 

Then the big sister who is all dressed like fall.  Cuteness!

 

 And before you know it, it turns into feats of strength.

 

 

African style.

Weapon-wielding Preschoolers

What tasks do you let your kids do in the kitchen?  I recently had a couple of assistants when I was making my favorite winter salad: this Cranberry Waldorf.

 See how focused she is?  She feels so proud to have a real job!

(How many of you are freaking out that I am letting my kids use actual knives?  Let me talk you through this.  What happens if they do slip?  They get a quarter-inch boo-boo that gives them a little more respect and focus for the next time they are working with something dangerous.  Don't get me wrong--I would never leave the room while they are armed.  I know what they are capable of.)

Even Jude (not yet 3) loves this.  It is cool because there is a TOOL, something SHARP and DANGEROUS.  Just right for a boy. 

 He loves being my helper too!  Look how proud he is of all his sliced grapes!

 "How did you ever get anything done before we came along, Mom?"

And voila!  A delicious Cranberry Waldorf salad (I make it without the yogurt, and I use deliciously-fresh pecans straight from Lubbock, TX instead of the walnuts).