Karen is still slowly recovering from last month’s concussion and, on top of that, our Katherine got pneumonia for 2 weeks! The poor little thing was coughing herself silly all the time with temperatures up to 104. It was tough to stand outside her door at night and just hear her moaning with every breath. Still, the trooper never complained about it. If you asked her how she was doing she would say, “Grrreat!” (She’s working on her “r” sounds :). She was still energetic enough to wrestle us over the vaporizer mask we had to give her several times a day as well. In spite of the challenges, though, we had some super sweet times with her too. Perhaps the illness slowed her down enough to get cuddly, but we’ve gotten some of the best hugs and quiet times together.
Arthur, however, has not been quiet. He just turned 6 this month, and he has been reading just about every book and cereal box he can get his hands on. He’s also fascinated by every ninja and dangerous creature he can find (from wolves to dragons). He seems drawn to dangerous and scary things, perhaps to compensate for his own fearfulness. For whatever reason, however, it’s provided endless playtime for daddy.
One of the neat things that has come about from our board game night is a relationship with Alex and Katie. They are on STINT this year, the temporary program that we took part in last year. They were some of our most consistent gamers each month, and we got to know them very well. They babysat our children from time to time and we even got to counsel them a bit. The big question on their minds, like a lot of STINTers, was “where are we going next?”
Alex and Jeff spent hours talking and praying and exploring what God had for them. They have finally decided to help with the campus ministry in Syracuse, NY. We were disappointed to say goodbye, but Jeff told Alex, “The wilderness will refresh your souls, the culture needs your harvest labor and the traditional campus feel will be rewarding even as it needs your entrepreneurial spirit.” Alex replied, “That’s one of the most encouraging things I’ve heard since making the decision. Thanks for taking the time to get to know me this year.”
Grant Ministry 