So we sat down with the kids and reviewed the year’s events since last Thanksgiving, and we gave thanks.
Looking back with thanks, with expectation of seeing God’s providence, is a wonderful exercise. I want to record some items here:
November 2017-November 2018
- We spent last Thanksgiving in the country of Georgia with a dear and many-year friend of mine. It was magical, in the Lord’s sense.
- My new kitchen. I don’t think I could even dream that this would be a real place, my own place, to invest my values and emotions in every drop of it. It leads me into beauty, organizing, cleanliness, togetherness, and the wet, dry, hot, cold messy, cleaning, delicious work of building a family.
- My desk in my kitchen. Still a work in progress. But it’s my corner, full of books, papers, candles, coffee cups …
- We went to Disney for a day
- We celebrated my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary, and they, of course, went back to Togo to serve even more.
- The girls finished their AWANA books in the States that half a year we were there. And Victoria is about to finish all her AWANA books here in Ukraine and become a leader. Skyla is already also a helper. She has 2 books to go. And Andre and Una also started AWANA this year and got their T-shirts today. AWANA has been a huge part of my kids’ lives. It’s nothing I planned either, just the goodness of God.
- We did a whole-hog lot of fundraising the US for 6 months. It was good, it almost kilt me. I’m recovering. I’m ready to do an even better job next time 🙂 Vitaliy and I also took a class together about fundraising, and it was totally awesome to get on the same page with that. God’s been making this a ‘thing’ of prayer and providence in my life especially about 4-5 years now.
- We had two operations this year–both fairly minor, and we’re thankful all are fine.
- Our church in Ukraine has become a more emotionally-safe place for me again, pretty much. I am becoming emotionally attached in a good way, through prayer, giving, staying involved, etc.
- We started supporting a missionary couple from our church monthly.
- Andre started first grade this year. He’s learning to read and flies through his math book.
- Skyla said she’d like to be baptized– she and Victoria now have mentors (disciplers?) with whom them meet and go through 24 doctrinal lessons.
- God is starting some moves in me for future ministry, but I don’t see the idea yet. Waiting in faith.