Back in Michigan.....Again.

 Last week we shared in Seymore Wesleyan kicking off our church visits for this year.

We not only enjoyed thanking them in person, sharing, answering questions but a great time of fellowship during a tasty lunch.

Then we headed north up to Indiana Wesleyan University to participate in REquip, the training for Global Partners missionaries between terms.

The best part always includes sharing the good and hard stories with our fellow co-workers. Some we just met and others we reconnect and deepen friendships.

We also focused on topics like: story telling, managing expectations, connecting with God and people, and practical skills [staying safe on-line, connecting better verbally or in writing], processing the last term [which for a few reasons for us ended up being 6 years including changing countries between years 2-3.

With the support folks from the office present to answer questions and walk us through parts of the re-deployment process we made some significant progress on our to-do-to-return check list. 

You may have already noticed that the link to the blog is now in FaceBook comments-a tip we learned this week. Other changes will be following to improve our communications.

Big prayer request is that while we plan to return to Zambia Cory's 2 year work permit/visa will need to be renewed in November. 

We are praying that we can remain in Zambia for this four year term-which means needing the renewal this November and then again in 2027.

Back in Michigan and Updates from Haiti and Zambia.

We hear north Haiti had some rain to break a bad dry spell but peanuts in sandy fields were already dried up.

Here are a few Kids Club photos sent from a recent Limbe special program.

The last two weeks flew by for our family. 

We finished our time in California well and have been back almost a full week in Michigan.

Eli picked us up at the airport around noon on Sunday.

We then headed to an open-house on Kris' side and enjoyed visiting with family.

This past week we: unpacked, did some spring cleaning, organized, did lots of yard work for both sides of the family, some office work and rested up.

Fritz attended soccer tryouts and is looking forward to participating in a local soccer club the next 6 weeks. 

We will continue with more of the same this week, adding in soccer practice before heading to Indiana on Saturday. 

We plan to share at Seymour Wesleyan on Sunday morning before heading to IWU in the afternoon to attend REquip for the week. This training is for Wesleyan Global Partner's missionaries between terms.

Malibu Graduation and family time.

Thursday we headed south through the San Joaquin Valley and Mojave Desert, timing it just right to check into our Airbnb at our target time of 3pm.

This allowed Cory to not only pick up a wheelchair rental for Kris' mom but also do a bit of food shopping.

Then we headed to Pepperdine campus to meet Anna for the Baccalaureate service.

The time of worship together celebrating the class of 2025 was very meaningful. Then we popped into Anna's apartment before leaving to get some sleep.

Friday we arrived back on campus at 8:30. Kris sat behind Anna as a 'hooder.' The middle section where the graduates sat alternated rows with the person from their life they had chosen to place the hood on them while sitting in the row behind.

The service was very special and we were thankful to attend and celebrate.

Following a short time meeting some of Anna's friends we split up. Eli drove Grandma, Fritz and himself back while we remained with Anna for an afternoon of cleaning and packing!

Saturday morning we headed south to Long Beach where we all enjoyed a whale watching boat ride-to check a box off Grandma's bucket list.

We first saw a 'feeding frenzy' with 200-300 common dolphins and pelicans intermingling. 

Further out to sea we watched additional dolphins and then not just one but two large fin whales! 

We were told it is unusual to see two together.

Then we headed back and a good college friend of Kris' drove up for a nice afternoon of catching up on our lives.

Sunday we visited the church Anna attended her first year followed by getting some tasty fish and chips by the beach.

Then we spent a bit of time on the beach watching a rip-tide rescue, bottle-nose dolphins, and waves.

We toured the Pepperdine Law School building so we can now picture where Anna spent a lot of her time during the last three years.

Headed down Pacific Coast Highway just a little bit to see some of the wildfire damage.

Monday morning Cory, Eli, Anna and I headed out to a storage place to put Anna's stuff that she will not be needing for the next two months while studying for the bar.

After grabbing a quick lunch all 6 six of us headed out to celebrate Fritz finishing 8th grade by having some fun at an arcade called Dave and Busters.

We laughed a lot and had fun trying a lot of games-some of which earned us points to turn in at the end for prizes. 

Kris and Grandma won big at Wheel of Fortune. 

After hours of noise, lights, and games it was remarkably hard to pick what to use our points on but we ended up with: 2 neck pillows, 2 squishy stress pigs, a magnetic iron filings hour glass, a light bulb light, a tiny disco light, an avocado screen cleaner, and candy. 

We ended the night with each of us affirming each of the three 'kids' and then praying for each. 

Early Tuesday morning after dropping Mom and Eli off at LAX airport we loaded Anna's car and ours and parted ways.

Thank you for the prayers. 

Next week we'll finish up here and transition back to Michigan.

Update and Family time.

 Another ten days in California during which we continued with our learning, working to change, heal, and improve our family and personal thoughts/actions.

Last weekend we enjoyed spending three days with Anna: watching some videos, attending church, visiting a local park, and trying 8 kinds of Handel's homemade ice cream.

I (Cory) get accused of blinking too often in photos but this one works!

While we've never seen "4 scoop samplers" we enjoyed picking out eight types of ice cream for two orders. We also tried and shared a meal that contained a West Coast cut of beef "tri-tips". 

Very tasty. 

On her way back down to Pepperdine on Tuesday morning she dropped Cory off at the airport to pick up the rental vehicle for our week with family.

Later in the afternoon we headed to the airport to pick up Eli and my [Kris'] mom. 

Today the 5 of us headed north to visit Yosemite. 

Again all were amazed by the huge sequoias, rocks, mountains, and waterfalls.

We packed a lunch and on the return trip Grandma sprung for a second round of Handel's ice cream samplers. 

We texted a bit with Anna during the drive and she is very busy connecting with friends, preparing for graduation, and packing up her apartment.

Thursday we head down to join her for Baccalaureate Service on Thursday night and graduation on Friday morning.

Additional family plans for the following 3 days include: trying to see some whales on a boating trip, celebrating Fritz completing his school year and preparing to start high-school; worshipping in one of the churches Anna attended during her time at Pepperdine; packing her up for the summer, seeing where Anna will be working; and visiting some restaurants of her choice.

Next week she will start studying in ernest for the Bar Exam which is the end of July. 

She will also continue to look for a place to live after the Bar close to her new job, in the mean time she'll be staying with friends while they study.

She plans to visit Michigan for a few days in early August between the Bar and starting her job. 

Tuesday we will send Eli and Mom back to Michigan and we will return to Fresno to finish up our time in California. 

We continue to work on summer plans as well.

Thank you for the prayers. 

Update with photos: Zambia, Haiti, and us.

 Sorry for the long stretches without a blog. 

Harvest continues at Jembo.

Some extra schoolrooms and an outdoor area are being used for temporary storage.

In Haiti the Limbe Kids Club celebrated Agriculture Day recently.

Delice is isolated now that the gangs have taken Mirabalais.

Another recent Sunday

We remain busy with appointments learning about ourselves, family, and emotions. 

We've spent a bit more time exploring around the area...missionary friends Cory spent some time with way back during a college break trip to Haiti now live nearby and gave us a tour. 

We spent Mother's Day weekend visiting Monterey Bay and San Fransisco. 

Just over one week and Eli and Kris' Mom will join us for a quick visit to Yosemite before heading south to join Anna to celebrate her graduation from Pepperdine law school. 

She's done with finals and transitioning to study for the bar the end of July as well as packing up to move out of college housing.

We look forward to celebrating her on May 23 and then a few days of family time.