Quote of the Day

"Jesus said whatever you do to the least of these my brothers you’ve done it to me. And this is what I’ve come to think. That if I want to identify fully with Jesus Christ, who I claim to be my savior and Lord, the best way that I can do that is to identify with the poor. This I know will go against the teachings of all the popular evangelical preachers. But they’re just wrong. They’re not bad, they’re just wrong. Christianity is not about building an absolutely secure little niche in the world where you can live with your perfect little wife and your perfect little children in a beautiful little house where you have no gays or minority groups anywhere near you. Christianity is about learning to love like Jesus loved and Jesus loved the poor and Jesus loved the broken...." ~Rich Mullins

Miracle

Usually when I go to our neighborhood grocery store Josiah stays in the stroller because it is easier. But somedays when he is being especaily adorable or I am in an especailly good mood I let him ride in the cart. The problem with the cart is it is a small Hong Kong style shopping cart and Josiah can twist aound and reach just about all the contents behind him. Yesterday when I was deeply emerssed in choosing the healthiest crackers I heard an "uh- oh" from the cart. Turning, I saw Josiah holding an empty egg carton. Ahh! I gingerly began returning eggs to the carton and was amazed to find not one broken, or even cracked! None fell to the floor or smashed on my food. Thank you Lord for little miracles that make a big difference in my day.

Just to Clarify

I know there was some concern (maybe disgust) over the picture of Jason's arm. The picture is not really of the wound, but oatmeal suran- wrapped over the poison oak. Still painful, but maybe not as gross as you thought.

Was it worth it?

The camping trip was great, as well as this swimming hole. However I picked up a little souvenir from my boyhood days of romping around the fields. You guessed it! Poison oak! There just happens to be an evil cousin out here in Hk that nobody seems to know about nor get except me! As the boils form, puss hardens and itching begins to subside I still give it a 50/50 shot at doing it all over.

Camping. . .the good, the bad, and the sandy

When we were first married Jason and I loved hard- core backpacking. We vowed when had kids we would "throw them on our back" and not let them slow us down. Ha, ha. This weekend we took a two day, one night backpacking trip to a beautiful beach in Hong Kong. It was fantastic and exhausting at the same time. Josiah loved every minute of it; having a huge sandbox, lots of rocks, space, and water to play in. Coming out of my first trimester coma I was out of shape for carrying 35 lbs up and over mountains in the blazing heat. But the Lord provided the strength for us all enjoy ourselves. The normal 5 minute routine of putting Josiah to bed took 5 hours that moon lit night. I don't think I slept more than an hour all night. But, to see his face in the morning when he realized he'd woken up on a beach was (almost) worth it. We learned that if you can't beat the sand, join it. Josiah ate it, slept in it, and had it burrowed in every crevice of his body. Now that we are home I am still sweeping it up. Enjoy the pics (it may be a long time before we attempt something like this again!)

Isn't it beautiful here?!?

Two of our friends we camped with, Maria and Beth. The beach behind them is where we spent the night.

Rise and shine Noah!

Josiah played with this little camping stool for hours

Jason made these cool tiki- torches to light up the beach (can you tell he is excited?!)

Belly on the beach

Everyone was too tired to hike out, so we took a water taxi back to Sai Kung. It was a scenic ride, but I was too nervous clutching my child to enjoy it as our tiny boat went break- neck speed over the huge swells catching air. Yikes!

Happy Mid- Autumn Festival

Pray for the Philippines

Ours hearts break at the devastation the last typhoon has caused in the Philippines. Nearly all of the 12 million residents in Manila have been affected as 80% of the city was initially submerged in water. The neighborhood where we have visited several times (Cuatro Community) was especially devastated. There is untold grief over the loss of loved ones and all their earthly possessions. The ministry we've partnered with is now feeding 1,500 people a day in the community as well as providing health care. I've been thinking of my friend Lizelle who lives in the community. A year ago she and her husband were working very hard to fix up their home with dirt floors and ply wood walls. I wonder how far they got before the typhoon took it all away. Of course, I've thought a lot about the mothers trying to care for their children in this time when sickness and infection often follow in the aftermath. Right now there is another category 5 super typhoon (the strongest storm category) expected to hit the Philippines late Friday or Saturday Please join us in praying that it takes a different course.