Missing in Action or Gone Fishin'?

You may have wondered what happened to us. Well, I think we have mostly been missing in action, though God is gracious and we were ''gone fishin' '' a bit too! I'll give you a brief update with a few pics.  (Bear with me: it's a brief update of a long time!)

Home Schooling

We started homeschooling the kids in mid-August, and that's mostly why I was MIA. It was  overwhelming at first; it felt like I had read books about how to swim and even talked to people who are good swimmers, but when I plunged in the water it was shockingly cold and swim-theory wasn't helping much! In fact, I was struggling to keep my head above water. Thankfully, God provided an opportunity for me to meet with a home-schooling friend in Slovenia, and she showed me how it all works. (The record-keeping part was what scared me the most and being able to SEE examples was tremendous!) Suddenly I realized that the waters weren't so deep afterall and if I'd just stand up, I was not in danger of sinking! We are now approaching the end of the first 9-weeks, and I am feeling so much better about things. Thank you, Joan Bell, and thank you, Lord, for making that happen!

August: Serb Team Retreat and Volleyball Back in Prilep

Kyle is interim team leader for the Serbian team and some long-time team members returned from the States in August.  A retreat was the chance for many new team members to meet each other, meet their new team leaders through Skype (they'll arrive in January) and also to say goodbye to some whose term has ended.  It was a good time to be together.

It was still warm in August and one of our regulars had the idea to play volleyball in the park as a way to strengthen friendships with those we only know casually through English and/or Spanish classes.  We were so encouraged at his initiative!  We had a great turn out and a really good time together!

Vacation

In early September, Kyle's parents met us at the beach for our family vacation. This is a great time to go because most people take their vacation in August so the beaches are emptier. However it's also risky time to go because you never know what the weather will do – September is when it all changes to cold and rainy.

We had a great time. (Here we are with our beach vacation tradition: roasting marshmallows!)  The weather was really great! We had a couple of days that were cooler, but still sunny and we were still able to enjoy beach time – and the boys braved the sea despite the cooler wind! The place that we go is to a small village on the second finger near Thessaloniki, Greece. It is not very developed and most people are locals – and since we went after the close of the season, the rooms were inexpensive. The beach is exquisite and calm. There is a small rock island about 15 yards off the coast and it's fun to swim out to it and climb the peak. And just one bay over (about a three-minute drive around a ridge), there is another bay whose direction points to the open sea so the waves are HUGE at times (for this mom, anyway!)


I was about to say there was no TV in the room, but there was, we just never turned it on! We read lots of books and played lots of cards and just plain vacated! What a blessing and fantastic place to rest!
 
We've been in the Balkans so long, but this was our first trip to Philippi!  If you look closely over Daniel's shoulder, you'll see some of the ruins.  It's was cool to see, but to be honest, it looked like a lot of other ruins around here!

Birthday and Holiday Cookout

September 8 is Independence Day for Macedonia. We had told our Bible study group to have plans for an Independence Day activity so when we returned from vacation we could just step in and celebrate. Well, we returned from vacation on Monday and on Tuesday learned that they had planned a cookout for Independence Day (the following day) – and it was going to be at our house! We just had to laugh! Anyway, we had the cookout and it was great because Kyle's parents were still with us and so were our teammate Janae's parents. Also September 9 was Janae's birthday so we combined the celebration to include a birthday cake for her. So, Happy Birthday, Macedonia! And Happy First Birthday, Janae – First Birthday in Macedonia, that is!

Wedding in Serbia

In September, Kyle performed a marriage for a friend from Skopje. Vlatko married a young Serbian girl, so we went to Serbia for the wedding. Vlatko and Jelena met while at a Bible college outside of Belgrade and have now decided to live in Skopje. We look forward to see how God uses them in there!

Slovenia

After the wedding we continued on to Slovenia for a retreat with friends whom we've known for years as we've all worked in the Balkans. Fred Dallas, a former IMB missionary in Norway and the Canary Islands, and our former supervisor – and most importantly, our very dear friend – came from Houston to lead the weekend. It was a really special time to be together and though the drive was long, it was worth it!

Next Time
There's lots more to catch you up on but I'll catch you up on this month in the next few days!  (Really!)