Arrival
(See Down Days and Almost There.)
Have you ever come out at the end of something and thought, ‘well, that turned out way better than I thought it should.’ Like that time you finished a test, an exam, an interview, a challenge of some sort. Sure you were prepared, but something was at work…something happened. You got an outcome you didn’t quite deserve.
And that’s our past week in sum.
Tomorrow Brie will be one week old and it’s just been…wonderful, beautiful, swell. (Don’t get me wrong, she was quite the diva the first few nights.) Now, I wish this was so because we are so awesome. But the older I get, the less I awesome I realize I am. No, we’ve had an awesome week for two reasons:
1. The extensive network of friends, family and especially our parents who have been caring for us. Our fridge is as full as our hearts. Wow. We’re really going to miss this when we return to Tanzania.
2. The extent to which we have been covered in prayer by our friends and probably a lot of other people we don’t even know. Really, I think that’s the thing, that’s the x-factor, that’s what’s keeping us in the calm when storms are brewing: God’s grace poured out on us via the petitions of our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Here’s our past week in picture:
Noelle + Judah II
We’ve been loving catching up with friends, and for Judah, his best-bud-for-life Noelle (literally, they were born at the same hospital within days).
Down Days
Almost two years ago, Judah surprised us by arriving three weeks before his due date. We weren’t going to be fooled twice, so when we arrived at the three-weeks-to-go-before-the-due-date for baby girl, we hunkered down. And waited. And we’re still waiting.
Some thoughts and reflections:
///Ladies and gentlemen, we have leggings.///
Apparently little girls (and maybe grown up ones?) wear these. I had no clue. We have them now in abundance because of some sales. It’s a funny word. We don’t wear armings, or footings or…you get the picture.
///We have enough clothes to clothe a village.///
I am in no way being facetious. Thanks to the generosity of our friends and family along with one too many trips to the mall, I think we can, literally, clothe a village. Or at least the small children in that village. In fact, I have one in my minds eye. We have SO. MUCH. STUFF.
///”You’re richer than you think.”///
So the bank ad goes. And they are right. When I’ve had conversations with people concerning wealth and prosperity – and it comes up when I talk about our last 7 months in Tanzania – inevitably, the conversation can turn to the ultra-rich, or, those who are simply a tier or two above us. I suppose just about everyone in this world could say that save for the truly richest person in the world. But we’re missing the point. The point is, many of us are in the top 5-10% when it comes to wealth. And yet, generosity and restraint escapes us.
Divine Sovereignty: The Fuel of Death-Defying Missions
“Let us be finished and done with puny theology that results in paltry results to global missions in local churches.”
This sermon by David Platt…is…wow. It’s re-fuelling, re-invigorating and re-focusing our call to participate in God’s mission for every tribe, tongue and nation. We hope it does so for you too.
Also check out…
…Platt’s book: Radical.
…more from the 2012 Together for the Gospel conference: www.t4g.org
…the audio only here.
Thanks to our friend Jason Tarn who mentioned this and got to go to the conference!
Almost There
I am thankful for my brother, Gable. He serves our city well as a paramedic, which incidentally, gives him time like this to serve our family with his photography.
I am thankful for my son, Judah. He’s hitting his terrible two’s on stride teaching us what it takes to be godly and loving parents.
Most of all, I am thankful for my wife, Loretta. She’s carrying our family in more ways than one, and doing so beautifully.
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My fav outtake: Overwhelmed.
More from Gable here.
bredren to bredren: rooted growth.
A post from my brother, Gable.
Change. It’s happening. It’s coming.
We’ll put up more pics later…
Reblogged from gablemak
taken from a mini impromptu photoshoot today.
we had my entire family over at our new place for the first time last night. it’s crazy cause it still kinda felt crowded. but it was still awesome. had the girls over earlier where they got to watch some tv, help me prep for the bbq and…
What You Don’t See
1. See that massive fridge and stove (by any standard outside North America) flanking us to the left and the right? They run on electricity. And they work. A few of our dear friends in Mbeya have been out of power going on a month.
2. See that little naked boy on the step stool, trying his hardest to ‘help’ us with prepping dinner? He used to be inside Loretta’s tummy (also what you don’t see, see below), which is right now being occupied by a very, very busy, punchy-kicky tenant. Growth happens. Often, you can’t see it, but boy, does it happen.
3. See three people? No, see four. I asked my friend, who has three children, if the transition from one child to two children was harder, or two to three. He said one to two. Then he said, “sorry.” Just about a month away…
Toby’s Top Five
Now that we’ve been back in Toronto for two weeks, we’ve had our fair share of, “How was Tanzania?” or “How was Africa?” Let me say, first, that it’s a perfectly valid question and opener. Just don’t be surprised if we stare at you blankly for a few seconds. It’s hard to sum up our last seven months of cross-cultural experience/explosion.
But since we’ve been back I have noticed a few things that have ‘stuck out’. I wouldn’t call it reverse culture shock per se, but maybe just a little insight into our experience and an attempt to answer the question, “How was Tanzania?”
So here it is, my top five “I’ve been living in Tanzania.”
1. It’s weird NOT to be starred at all the time.
I mean it. I noticed it one day when we walked into a mall and the thought occurred to me, “Hey, people aren’t looking at me!” It felt great. The random calling out, the people who pass by and just burn a hole through you…if that’s what a celebrity goes through, no thanks.
2. I don’t trust tap water.
This was kind of strange, and I’m only slowly starting to get over it. Now, granted, some of you in Canada don’t trust your tap water. But on the most part drinking water out of the tap isn’t dangerous to your health, and certainly not brushing your teeth with it. Needless to say, it is nice not to brush my teeth with bottled water.
3. Where are all the police?
Even in our medium size town, there were multiple check points. Do you have your 1) driver’s licence 2) fire extinguisher 3) triangles/pylons 4) fire safety sticker 5) road safety sticker 6) insurance sticker 7) car registration sticker, and here’s a bonus, 8) shoes and not flip flops or sandals? Cause almost got fined for that one too.
4. Walmart + Costco = WOW.
Judah probably had the hardest time with this. I mean, there is so, so, so much stuff. In fact, I’d love to see the world now through his eyes…
5. I’ve driven on the other side of the road.
North Yorkers beware (It only happened once in a residential area and thankfully there was no police check:)
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