Wye Mountain Daffodil Festival

 Exulting in Spring and daffodils today with my grandparents, parents, and brother at Wye Mountain Daffodil Festival in Arkansas.

Memphis, Tennessee

 

 

 We only had time for lunch as we drove through Memphis.

But several sweet church members from Highland Heights Baptist Church took time out of their busy schedules to meet us for a quick bite to eat.



 

Aaron teased that our table was full of "hens" since we clucked and chattered during the entire meal.  But it was a delightful meal full of sweet fellowship.

 

Nashville, Tennessee

All thanks be to God,

Who scatters abroad

Throughout every place,

By the least of his servants his savor of grace!

~Charles Wesley



 

We're just outside Nashville now, and we're feeling that grace being scattered on us by "the least of his servants".



We met John and Raluca when we moved to the Dallas area in 2006, and we've been impacted by their servant hearts ever since.



John taught Benjamin how to turn a bowl this morning,

 



 

 while Raluca and the girls crafted some beautiful hair bows.

 

We discovered a beautiful picture as John and Benjamin took a chunk of wood that nobody wanted,



 

and over several hours, shaped and chiseled away at the parts they didn't want,

 

 

 and slowly, slowly,

 

they created a beautiful and unique bowl.  Just like God wants to do with each one of us.



And now we're off to share about Bible translation with the youth group at Providence Baptist Fellowship...

 

Burlington, Kentucky

"And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again." 

2 Corinthians 5:15

 

 

 Isn't my friend Afua beautiful?  You can see at a glance that she is beautiful on the outside, but she is beautiful on the inside, too.

Aaron and I have known Afua almost as long as we've known each other.  She played viola while we played cello, and she followed us to college in Florida becoming another member of the caravan as we drove the 1000 miles back and forth.



She played in our wedding, and we played in hers, delighted when she found the perfect husband.  They have encouraged and supported us while we have served the Lavukal in the Solomon Islands.



 Now they have a beautiful family, and we were blessed to stay with them on Monday night.  They are the kind of people who "no longer live for themselves, but for him who died for them and was raised again", and we were encouraged by our time with them.

 

La Porte, Indiana

Aaron has been telling me for years that I need to see his aunt and uncle's house, and we finally made it over to La Porte Sunday afternoon.  We did enjoy their house, built in 1903, but we especially enjoyed catching up with them.  I think Katherine would have moved in and stayed!



Fort Wayne, Indiana

We love making new friends and visiting new churches.  Last night we arrived in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and enjoyed a delicious supper with members of Christ's Community Church.

 



In 2005, Joyce helped us wade through the application process for Wycliffe Bible Translators, and we hadn't seen her and her husband since January 2006 when we did some training in Orlando.  It was so good to hug her neck again.

 



This morning we drove up to the church to find a sign welcoming our family.  It feels so good to be welcomed, doesn't it?



 

This gracious pastor and his wife gave us plenty of time to share about the work of Bible translation with the Lavukal.

 

 

This church is unique in its ministry to our family. In 2008, Their Logos kids group raised over $2000 toward the distribution of the Solomon Islands Pijin Bible.  This group also "adopted" our kids and sent them notes of encouragement throughout our time in the Solomon Islands.

 

And our kids made the most of the melting snow by constructing little snowkids to represent each one of them.

Lexington

 

My college roommate opened her beautiful and spacious home to our family while we were in Lexington.  One of my favorite places in her house was the little window seat nook where I could curl up in the morning with a cup of coffee and my Bible.

The last time we saw Amy and her family was almost five years ago, and a lot has changed for both of our families since then.  They've added two beautiful girls and moved to Lexington, and we've moved overseas.  I loved how our kids played so well together, just like they were cousins who had been together last week.

 



We enjoyed the Newport Aquarium together,

 



with its sharks



 

and great hands-on experiences for the kids.

 

 

 

Although we all had a blast,



my animal-loving Olivia enjoyed every minute.  Especially "kissing" the penguins.



Sarah crocheted a little hat for this little bear and left a lasting impression on her cute little "cousin".



 

We love this sweet family, and we're so thankful for them.  They have encouraged us and stayed in touch and supported us throughout our time in the Solomon Islands.



"Without friends no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods."  ~Aristotle