So long, George, my friend

When I was in Uganda with Hesed Minstries this year, we made some good friends at Hesed as we worked together as a team. One of these fine people and respected friends was George Mayende. (That's George, in front in the picture, leading worship at a conference where we all worked together.)

To my great sadness, George Mayende, a faithful servant of God passed away on Sunday morning in Kampala, Uganda from malaria and further complications.

George was born in eastern Uganda near the Uganda/Kenya border and was 43 years old. He served with Hesed Ministries beginning in 1999 as the head of Hesed's music ministry that has been very effective in presenting the Gospel through traditional music and dance. George was happiest when communicating the Gospel through song. In addition to this ministry, George worked very closely in Hesed's orphan ministry. George had a deep passion for orphans, having grown up an orphan himself. In fact, his ministry and outreach to orphans is found in the number of children that have survived him - 19 children that included 7 of his own, 2 sons that he adopted after his brothers died, his late sisters' six children whom he provided for, and, most recently, four boys that he led to Christ to whom he had become a surrogate father.

George suffered a disabling hip accident as a toddler that left him crippled and in pain. He was disabled, but when it came to worshiping God, he was fully able. We remember in prayer his family and especially his wife, Topia as she assumes the the responsibility of care for all their children.

I was honored to meet and befriend this man from a small village in Africa who grew to impact so many in his own country as well as all of us so far away. George was an incredible man and we are really going to miss him.

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas ... Vacation

Taking cues from the Christmas Vacation movie, we've added squirrels and attic adventures in our holiday memories. Yesterday evening, after some weeks' battle with galloping squirrels in the attic, Marty made yet another trip to the attic to search for their access. No squirrels spotted, but Marty misstepped on a joist and put his leg through drywall all the way up to his hip. Ouch! He's bruised, but fine. The ceiling in the game room upstairs has a huge hole and he narrowly missed the ceiling fan. We tried taping up the drywall, but about 15 minutes later we heard a weird sound upstairs and realized that now a critter could have access to the house through that hole! Fortunately, the noise was just the tape ripping loose. And more fortunately we figured that out before a squirrel found his way in. Marty screwed the drywall into the joist and covered up any small cracks. That might be as good as it gets before the houseful of family arrives for Christmas.

Sing with me now ... "Christmas is that time of year ..."
(That Spirit of Christmas sung by Ray Charles)

One ____ to Rule them All

Peter Jackson deservedly has made his mark in New Zealand. After the trilogy of Lord of the Rings, everyone is familiar with the fabulous sights of this beautiful country. And the country has latched on to the publicity. In newspapers, billboards and TV, the marketing for products centers around the famous phrase, "One Ring to Rule them All" - so fill in the blank with your product. One: phone, TV, air conditioner, whatever - it will "rule them all." The landscape does not disappoint this beautiful, rugged, mountainous, beach, sheep-filled country. Marty and I remarked as we traveled the countryside, "It's so Lord of the Rings!"

We only had enough time to get around the south island, flying into Christchurch; driving over the Southern Alps; winding down the west coast to see glaciers; into Milford Sound; Queenstown; the rugged southernmost coast with penguins, sea lions, elephant seals; the Scottish city of Dunedin and back up to Christchurch. Wonderful sights, interesting people, good food (we didn't have to eat there, but Subway's special sandwich is roasted lamb with mint sauce - wouldn't fly in the US. Burger King even offers Pavlova - a merengue dessert.)


The Tasman Sea


Hiking to the Fox Glacier (also hiked to the Franz Joseph Glacier)


I can't believe twice in the same year - helicopter landing on the top of a glacier!


It's surprising considering the beauty of all the water, but we didn't do any fishing in this legendary, fishing country.


A boat cruise through Milford Sound (really a fiord since it was carved by a glacier) 9+ miles till it meets the Tasman Sea. With crested penguins, fur seals, dolphins and thousands of waterfalls.


Yellow-eyed penguin on remote beach of the southernmost coast. (only about 1000 left in the world)

For the whole slide show of Australia and New Zealand, just click on the picture below to use controls and see the captions. (Double click on the slide show to see the pictures individually.)

G'day from Down Under

We started our adventure to Australia and New Zealand with a conference/international board meeting held just outside of Melbourne, Australia and Marty's responsibility with Pioneers Missions Movement. Marty is Chairman of the US Board for Pioneers which means he is on the International Board (Treasurer). I was invited to go along. Yea! The days were long and exciting with reports of what is going on all over the world by missionary Area Leaders and others in leadership. Their passion is contagious. Pioneers is truly a movement that celebrates and spreads leadership and ideas throughout the world. Some of the highlights:


Getting together with longtime friends, Steve & Arlene Richardson (US Director) and celebrating at their daughter, Joy's, engagement party to an Aussie.


Connecting with other friends from Pioneers and putting names to faces with missionaries I've corresponded with over the years.


Meeting new friends working in far reaches of the world.


On the last day, when Marty had his board meeting, I went with a few others to an animal sanctuary ... Australia has a lot of "weird" animals! Even in the forest around our conference center, kangaroos roam like the US has deer. A little strange to encounter them early in the morning! And Aussies think deer and elk are exotic. I guess it's just what you're used to.

Marty had a lot of business to do, I was just having fun with all the missionaries. Peggy Fletcher who with her late husband, Ted, founded Pioneers and is Arlene's mother. Peggy is smart, gracious and awesome to be around. Uncle Jack is a pillar of Pioneers and still going strong in his 80's. And I will never forget JFK Mensah's fervor as he spoke about his desire for his people in North Africa to be reached for Christ and said as much as a report to us as his plea to God, "give me Africa or I will die."

It was well worth the very long flight to Australia and we looked forward to exploring the south island of New Zealand.

Just call me "Clark"

It's that time of year ... the annual watching of our favorite Christmas movie - Christmas Vacation (no, not It's a Wonderful Life - Marty can't stand to see Jimmy Stewart hit his own uncle.) It was a wonderful, cold and rainy Sunday, so after church we decided to put up the Christmas tree early and nothin' says Christmas like Chevy Chase aka Clark Griswold singing, Joy to the World, getting the perfect tree, untangling knots of Christmas lights, and generally trying to make a "good old-fashioned Christmas" for his family.

Don't try to follow the whole movie literally, but think of the general themes. Family, flawed but together. The parents that are thrilled with Clark no matter what. A lot of grace ... and grace with Aunt Bethany. More about the traditions instead of the gifts. A LOT of silliness. And no hitting.

That's me.

I envision and work for the perfect family gathering cemented by food. The more the merrier and I want it to be a perfect memory for each and every one. It's never perfect. My absolute favorite part of the movie is when Clark finally gets all the Christmas lights to light up. I choke up every time. He is so earnest.

I used to sing in a silly voice for Brian and Scott - they rolled their eyes - perfect reaction. I sing in that same silly voice for Abby and Grant. At four, Abby has started to roll her eyes. At 1 1/2, Grant still laughes (at least I don't scare him).

Marty and I raised our kids on The Simpsons & Christimas Vacation and with no apologies ... they turned out just fine. Quick aside lest someone rants theological on me - those that know us know that movies and sitcoms were not our only resource for raising kids or living life - 'nuff said.

So as Marty and I put up the tree this year ... the weekend after Thanksgiving ... thankful for the times our family can get together. We are all flawed, not always comforming to the Hallmark version of when and how everyone gets together. And we look forward to this whole Season.

Joy to the World!

Catching Up

Where does the time go? Since Fusion and Leadnow, it seems that life has moved at the speed of light. Good things, but busy.

We had our Missions Festival at Bent Tree with the theme "Open" (open your heart, open your mind, open window to the world) was full of new ideas and old friends. Michael and Florence Kyomya with Hesed Ministries in Uganda flew in from Jinja and it was good to catch up with them as well as their daughter, Eve, and son-in-law, Clifton who also work in the ministry.


Here we are at an all-church picnic dinner and prayer time.

I also got to catch up with Tim Amstuz from World Relief Cambodia. I went to Cambodia and Thailand in 2004 with a small group and had the privilege to connect with Tim and his family as well as Joke Van Opstal and their team who do a great work with many volunteers starting at the local church level.

The week included time with Sashi and Jihtu - leaders representing our "adopted people group," the Marathas of India, Peter and our partnership of leadership training in Russia, Celestin & Bernadette Musekura with ALARM in Africa, Amazon Outreach in Brazil. Passion is contagious!

The last two weeks, Marty and I have been in Australia and New Zealand. (Those trip stories/pics will follow.) We left October 31st ... Halloween. We were sorry to miss our usual tradition of passing out candy at Brian and Julie's as they trick-or-treated together in their kid-filled, family-friendly neighborhood.


But before we left, we stopped at Abby's pre-school to see "the parade of costumes" and get our picture taken with Ariel and Monkey. (alias Abby & Grant)

Next stop ... Australia and New Zealand.

Take Your Parent to Work Day

Have you taken a look at your kids lately? If you're like me - they are over 21, so "kids" is not exactly an appropriate label. progeny? offspring? descendants? Too cold. My two sons will always be my kids and I feel the same about their wives.

When kids are little, they tend to be clones of us ... thinking, feeling, knowing, believing only what we teach or show them. And this is the part I love ... as they become adults, I get to see the individuality in their talents, intellegence and beliefs. I got a chance to be reminded of that again this weekend at the LeadNow/Fusion conference in Dallas.

Our older son, Brian - the director of the RightNow Campaign - hosts these conferences to focus on issues to help 20/30-somethings to fuse faith and life together. Julie, his wife, is behind the scenes with hospitality. Scott, our younger son (Director of Operations at Bluefish TV), directs the event and his wife, Holley, is the stage manager. I won't go on about the event itself - click on that Leadnow/Fusion link above and see what all goes on - it's packed. I'm just going to speak as a mom.

I got to experience what we all should realize when our children become adults. They have thoughts, faith, talent, intelligence that exceed us. They are individuals beyond us and I celebrate that.

Going "to work" with my kids this weekend, I got to see Brian, speaking to thousands about his faith in God and his passion for the world and thriving on the relationships with the young people there. I got to see Julie's sweet nature - making sure all the speakers were taken care of and where they needed to be and working closely with Brian. I got to see Scott, multi-tasking by directing a live event, keeping all the media in order. And I got to see Holley - great at organizing - managing the speakers; everyone coming and going onstage and working with Scott, many times not even needing to be connected by headset, but working that well together. (This was a large team including Marc/Robin, Justin/Sharee, Lonnie, Felicity, and many other volunteers, staff and speakers, and I'm as proud of them as a mom could be.)

I am thankful that whatever torch Marty and I passed along, our kids took that and blew it out of the water (mixed metaphor - sorry). They have made their own lives with their wives and isn't that what we did? The decisions they make are not ours (hallelujah! when did we become perfect?) - some make us scratch our heads - and others make us smile with wonder. But it is the free will that God allowed us.

So, even if you have not had the privilege of going to work with your "kid," may you really take a look at them and appreciate all that is in them that is beyond you. Thank you, God.

Cry Me a River

Fishing below the dam on the Taylor River in Colorado - gold medal trout fishing - can be tough. The brown and rainbow trout are big and smart. Yes, I have to admit, I've actually had a little frustrated cry as I was sitting on the banks trying to untangle my 6x line for the umpteenth time; outsmarted by lunkers that jumped all around me. (I secretly think that river has made some men cry!)

But fishing with Marty is all pleasure. He shows me the best spots and offers helpful tips. He is the best guide!

We've fished this stretch in the winter; climbing over ice banks to get to the water and in the middle of summer. This fall day was pretty cold and damp but, as you can see, all smiles!

Long Way 'Round

Crested Butte, Colorado is not always easy to get to; but it is always worth the effort. We were supposed to have an early morning flight to Crested Butte for a week of relaxation (with Jeff & Terri)
combined with chores to get the house ready for missionaries for the winter. But typical to the (un-named) airline, at least once a year we have a flight get canceled and the excuse "Oh, sorry - we'll get you there in a day or two." That's not going to cut it when you're half way there. And so we start listing nearest airports and try to get in and rent a car and drive. Montrose? Vail? Aspen? This year, the closest we could get was Aspen. We've been to Aspen many times so we decided to make a day of it and have lunch and enjoy the drive into Crested Butte. As it turns out, it was a good detour this year.

After lunch at a favorite spot, we noticed a lot of activity in the Plaza. A mother bear decided that the crab apple trees were the best place for food this fall and she brought her two cubs along to teach them the best place for easy food.

We made it to Crested Butte about 6 hours later than we hoped, but we're here! And that means time with "the boys." Toby & Beau - our horses.

To make up for the lost time in August, we got in a great, long ride with friends today. We explored our own "backyard," the high meadows of Red Mountain with Steven, Lee, Laura, Dannic and Wookie the dog.

The weather was perfect and we enjoyed a picnic and then meandered our way back home.


Ahh, I feel relaxed.

North to Alaska

Before I get to Alaska, allow me to digress by talking about my first date with Marty when we were in high school. Well, not the first "official" date, but the first time we met. You see, I had spotted Marty coming into a party with his best friend, Dave. Dave was Laurie's boyfriend who was my best friend. I asked Laurie to introduce me because I thought he was cute. (he still is!)

So one night, Dave brought Marty over and we all drove around talking. Marty mentioned that he dreamed of making a trip to Alaska one day. (Our first real date was a Billy Graham Crusade ... another story. Laurie and Dave broke up, married other people and we are all grandparents.)

Here it is, after 34 years of marriage; traveling to over 40 countries and Marty and I have never been to Alaska. That is why I had a slight hesitation when the opportunity came up to go to Juneau, Alaska for a video project with author, Margaret Feinberg. How could I go to Alaska without Marty, when it has been his dream? Pretty easily with Marty's encouragement ... and it was a work trip. But even with the attraction of travel, hiking around glaciers, kayaking, helicopter ride, landing on a glacier, wilderness, creative collaboration, hangin' out with Margaret, Leif and the crew - the biggest appeal was doing this with Brian. One of my favorite memories of the trip ... Brian and I cooking dinner for everyone.



We kayaked across the lake to Mendenhall Glacier, hiked up the side of the glacier for a fantastic location to shoot the introduction to Margaret's book, The Organic God.

What a great way to explore and show the content of The Organic God than to show it with the beauty of Alaska - where Margaret wrote the book.

We're standing on about 800-1000 feet of ice on Herbert Glacier.


Long days, but lots of fun just doing life together.


For the whole slide show, just click on the picture below to use controls and see the captions. (Double click on the slide show to see the pictures individually.)


I'm ready to return ... with Marty, of course.

Feeling loved

Last time we went to Crested Butte, all Marty and I looked forward to were some very long rides with "the boys." (Ever since Brian and Scott wonderfully married Julie and Holley respectively and ventured on to their own lives - "the boys" means our horses ... Toby and Beau.)

Marty and I talked about heading toward The Castles; a meandering ride through aspens and meadows up through the Ruggeds Wilderness into mountains that look like ... castles. Or the beautiful ride through Oh Be Joyful; a wonderful valley trail that we took an overnight pack ride with our favorite boys ten years ago. It is fun to look up each valley side and spot elk herds and bears.

But alas, it was not meant to be. Poor Beau (Marty's spunky quarterhorse) had pulled a tendon and the vet put a bandage on his leg, prescribed medicine with instructions; no riding for the week.

Not to worry, there were other things to do, but this gave me a chance to e-mail Abby. I took a picture, of Beau and his bandage and my Toby watching protectively, with my cell phone and emailed her the dilemma of Beau and all the details about the vet visit. And not to leave Grant out, I asked her to explain to Grant what was going on. She thought that particularly funny. (Maybe Grant did too)


It is so fun to converse with Abby - With a 3 year old, I can be simple and direct. She loves everything I say and responds so enthusiastically.

So here is her response and a picture she took herself:


NAnna,
I took a picture of my horsey. And it has a wristband. And I hope you like
it. don't you like it? its my own pictures. I took the picture of him. I
didn't ever ever hurt him. He just fell down, I think. but, he's ok now.
But he still has a wrist band because he's still hurt. Well. Its hard to
put on, but I don't think I can, so mommy can help me.

The wristband is from the dentist.i went to the dentist for the first time
today. no cavities. Well, nanna....its still hurts the horse, but its ok,
but it still hurts. He can't stand up yet because... sometimes he can stand
up but sometimes he doesn't . he's ok now. But when he sleeps he's not
ok......

Nanna, well, it just really hurts, but I'm well. Im just a little bit sad,
but I'm not crying. But it just hurts. Our house looks pretty and we picked
up the things what we're going to the lake, I don't think we're going today,
but we're going to tomorrow. I miss you cause you're in Colorado.

Nanna, the horse is sometimes I take it off because it doesn't hurt, but
really I can't hold him. He likes me to hold him, but the doctor says I
can't. well now that's everything to say.
I love you.
Pops, I miss you pops. That's all the things what I wanted to say. No.
yes.

Love,
abby

Faithfully (kind of) transcribed by mommy.

It is so nice when someone shares my feelings!


Here is my favorite Abby video ... feel loved.

Travel Buddies

Half the fun of a journey is in the planning. It is the anticipation of new places and new people and all the details ... I love it. With our passion for travel, it has been wonderful to have friends to share the journey. Marty and I love our times with Jeff & Terri, whether it is a weekend hangout or halfway around the world, we just travel well together.

We all wanted to travel a loop from Seattle, up through Vancouver Island, back down the far west coast of Washington, Mt. Olympus, Mount St. Helens, Mt. Rainier. Beautiful part of the US. When I was in Uganda, the final details of the plans for a long awaited trip to the northwest came together - thank you, Marty, Jeff and Terri.

Here are the hightlights. First stop Seattle and Pike's Market.



From Anacortes, we took a 3 hour ferry trip to Vancouver Island.




Lunch at the famous Empress hotel and then we had fun touring Hatley Castle (set of X-Men movies) and the beautiful gardens



After a few days, we took another ferry to Port Angeles - on the far west coast of Washington and found a lovely house on the shore. Lots of beach to explore.


This part of Washington is a rain forest ... not exactly tropical, but lots of moss and tall trees.


Our last minute "splurge" was a helicopter ride up the valley to Mount St. Helen's (still active) volcano. Definitely worth the trip. And to "justify" the extra, we found a cheap place for the night ... it was clean!





Then on to Mt. Rainer for some hiking, picnics and the traditional nightly game of Spades. I'm sure the girls always won.




And then back to Seattle and home ... flying right over Mount St. Helens and Mt. Rainer.


We are thankful for Jeff & Terri as well as other close friends that we share our journey with.

For the entire slide show, watch this:
(Or double click on picture and view as an album)