A Visit to Texas

It has been two years since we relocated to Denver from Austin, and we hadn't been back to Austin to visit since our move.  It had also been almost a year and a half since we'd been back to Houston to visit Truman's family, and our friends & ministry partners that live there.  We decided that we should make a trip back before Little Lo's arrival, and in early June, we headed back to Texas for a whirlwind visit to both Austin and Houston.  We got our fill of delicious Tex Mex, which is hard to come by in Colorado, including our favorites, Chuy's and Lupe Tortilla.  Truman got his fill of authentic Chinese food from Houston's Chinatown, which he looks forward to on any visit back to Texas.  We got to spend time catching up with a lot of friends, visit several churches that support us in ministry, and visit with some of our ministry partners.

 

We are usually terrible about taking photos with friends that we see during our visits back to Texas, so I made a goal to be more intentional about getting pictures with everyone this trip.  We weren't 100% successful, and we forgot to take a picture with several fun friends that we got to spend time with, but we did better than in the past!  

The children of our friends are the biggest reminder of how long it's been since our last visit....they grow and change so quickly and several of our friends have kids that are now at least a year old who we hadn't yet gotten to meet!  It's fun to think that on our next trip back to Truman's home state, we'll be introducing everyone to our son!

Unexpected Getaway

Last week, we were blessed with a very unexpected and last minute getaway to Breckenridge for 3 days.  The parents of a student who was involved in the ministry that we work with have a condo timeshare that they were unable to use last week, so they offered us to stay there for a few nights. We were so excited to head up to the mountains for a few days...for free!

We had a wonderful time and it was a much needed and refreshing break for us.  We relaxed, read, spent time with the Lord, ate, and enjoyed the hot tub under the stars each night.  It is a ski-in ski-out condo, and Truman was able to get a lot of snowboarding in.  I took this photo from the balcony of the condo.  It was fun watching him snowboard right up to the building and I even headed down to the lodge one day to catch him at the end of some runs.  I've never gotten to watch him board before so I enjoyed getting to see him do something he loves.

Breckenridge is a very charming town and it was beautiful all lit-up for Christmas.  When we headed to Main Street in the evenings, I loved how festive it felt. 

We still haven't had a big snowfall in Denver yet, so it was also fun to be surrounded by snow for a few days.  We were so thankful to the Lord for this surprise time away!  There is something special and refreshing for the soul about being in the mountains, in the midst of His magnificent creation.  3 days of fun memories!

Weekend to Remember

Earlier this month, we got away for a weekend in Vail to attend the Weekend to Remember marriage retreat.  It is a weekend conference to be encouraged in your marriage, spend some time focusing on your relationship, and relax and connect as a couple.  We got engaged in Vail, so we thought it would be the perfect location to return to for a Weekend to Remember getaway. 

The conference gets an amazing deal on the Vail Marriott Resort and they have some of the comfiest hotel beds I've ever slept in.  I can rarely sleep in hotel beds, but I slept wonderfully in this one!

Vail is beautiful any time of the year, but we got lucky and fall lingered a little longer than usual in the mountains this October.  The leaves were brilliant and we enjoyed perfect, warm, sunny afternoons that we took advantage of to wander around Vail Village during our breaks.

On Saturday night, the conference schedules a date night and you have the entire evening off for a fun night together.  We decided to return to Kelly Liken, the restaurant we ate at after we got engaged, for a special dinner.

If you happen to be Top Chef fans like we are, you might recognize Kelly Liken from this past season of Top Chef, Washington DC.  We asked her husband Rick to send a message back to her in the kitchen and let her know that we had rooted for her on Top Chef.  She was sweet enough to come out just before we left to say hi and congratulate us on 3 1/2 years of marriage (even though it was a full house and she was busy in the kitchen.)  She even snapped a photo with us.

 

At the end of our weekend, we returned to the bench where we got engaged almost 4 years ago!  It's the first time we've been back since the day we got engaged.  Our spot looks different when it isn't covered with snow and ice. 

We shared some sweet time reading each other letters reflecting on the last 4 years and the blessings we've experienced in each other and in our marriage.  We had a wonderful weekend!

When was the last time you took some intentional time away with your husband or wife?  Your marriage is worth the investment!  I think it's so important to take time to focus on your marriage and on your spouse, to remember all of the reasons that you love and appreciate each other, and to talk about the ways that you desire to continue to grow in loving each other well through changing seasons of life.  The Weekend to Remember marriage getaways are a perfect opportunity to do just that.  They offer hundreds of retreats all across the US.  If you ever want to getaway with your spouse at a Weekend to Remember, message me and I can even share a discount code with you!  The retreats are put on by Family Life, a ministry of the organization that we work for.

BEAM Africa

Our Campus Crusade for Christ team was blessed to serve with BEAM Africa for 2 weeks in the Nellmapius Township outside of Pretoria, South Africa.  More than any thoughts I can share, a photo is worth a thousand words as you look at the faces of the precious children we worked with at BEAM.

Just looking through the images from our time loving on these kids makes my heart ache to be back with them.  I miss their sweet spirits, their huge smiles, the sounds of their belly laughter floating across the field, and their deep joy.  I miss being greeted by little feet running to our vans each morning, warm bodies jumping into our arms before we could even get out of the car, and shouts of "bye" chasing us down the road until they couldn't keep up any longer, as we drove away each afternoon.  We didn't do anything extraordinary to be embraced so extravagantly by these hundreds of little faces.  We just loved.

This is my sweet little South African friend, Ofrance. (O-france-ay)  She was my buddy and was usually by my side all day every day that she was with us at BEAM.  I miss her gentle spirit and her smile that melted my heart.  I'll share a story later about how the Lord used this little girl to speak into my life.

Truman loved them as much as they loved him.  This picture just makes my heart smile.  He's going to be a great dad!

Hours and hours of soccer were played.  It's always a favorite, but these were the weeks of the World Cup, so there was a special excitement for all things soccer.

Kids of ALL sizes loved taking turns riding on the shoulders of our US students. "This one, this one" could often be heard as they shouted and pointed to themselves to be sure we knew that they wanted a turn next!  No wonder our students were so tired every night!

 

All of the girls LOVED to play with our hair.  They could braid and re-braid for hours.  Sometimes, 2 or 3 girls would even share a head if there weren't enough to go around.  We ended up with some very creative hairstyles!

 

At times, my lap was VERY full!  It wasn't unusual to have 2 or 3 kids sitting in my lap while another 1 or 2 played with my hair.  (That's precious Ofrance again on the left.)

This little one is Norshea. (Nor-shay-uh)  She was standing alone crying when we arrived at BEAM our last morning.  I picked her up and held her in my arms and she wouldn't let me put her down for the rest of the day until we got in the vans to leave.

Some hugs, care, and attention turned her tears into smiles.  And some upside down swinging brought out belly laughs.  Seeing that smile all day brought me such joy.  I was the one in tears when I had to say goodbye that afternoon.

This was Truman's buddy, Chantel. She sat with him one afternoon and then she wanted to hang out with him all the time.  She even brought him a little gift and he gave her a bracelet the day we left.

 

Even though it was winter, many of the children didn't have shoes. Many of those that did had holes in their shoes.  

BEAM does an amazing job of serving a complete meal each day including meat, vegetables and a starch. For many of the children, this might be the only meal they eat that day.

If you saw any of the opening or closing ceremonies for the World Cup, you probably heard the Shakira song "Waka Waka" that was the official anthem of the World Cup.  We literally heard it at least once a day (but usually more like 5) for the entire five and a half weeks we were in South Africa.  It was a favorite of the kids and little voices were often heard singing "Waka waka, eh eh, Tsamina mina zangalewa, This time for Africa."  

It wasn't lost on them that this was a special time for their country.  In many ways, they couldn't have been farther removed from the glitz and glamour of the World Cup.  Most of them have never stepped foot outside of the township.  But somehow they sensed that eyes from all over world were on their country, and they had a pride that welled up within them that they are South African.

In my eyes, I see future leaders.  I see the beginnings of men and women who can change their township, their country, their continent.  There are so many obstacles working against them.  But if love, God's truth, and belief in the people they are and the people they were created to be can win out over the evil that surrounds them, their country will be blessed and changed by their lives.  God has a specific purpose for each and every one of them and I am thankful that BEAM Africa exists to help them find it.  I pray for God's hand of protection over each of their little lives and for His purpose to ring louder in their hearts than any of the other voices or influences that surround them.  I see their joy.  I see their gentle spirits.  I see their strength.  I have hope for their future.  It's Time for Africa.