This week...

Friday evening we had dinner with some friends of Garry's from flight training days. Allan and Esther work with NCEM, and are excited about what God is doing with First Nations people in Canada. It was fun to hear their vision for the work up north. There's always something neat about time with people who are involved in mission aviation and leadership, a kindredness of spirit.

We spent most of the weekend at the Winnipeg Winter Club, watching Kevin and Kaleb play badminton. Kaleb had a blast playing, and Kevin was into serious competition. A lot of great players from
various parts of Canada competed, and Kevin met many of them. He enjoys chatting with other athletes and hearing their stories, training strategies, and thoughts. Interacting with others in his field is helpful and stimulating. The opportunities to live faith are many, and he was busy planting seeds this weekend.

Garry is back in the office today, finishing up some things for NTM Aviation. This month marks 25 years since he joined NTM Aviation, 25 years of opportunity, surprises, rewarding ministry, challenges, and investment in planting churches all over the world. It's been quite a ride, full of incredible people and blessings!

Times change

Fall has apparently arrived. The colors are beautiful, the days brisk (translated freezing cold in my reality). Leaves keep falling, reminding me that winter itself will soon arrive. Not a totally happy thought for a tropical girl like me. On the other hand, I begin to see why the change of seasons is so beautiful. It gives a framework for our lives, an external reminder of the passing of time.

For me, watching the leaves change and fall has reminded me how far we've come in the last year. Last year at this time we were in deep mourning for so many things we'd said goodbye to.... Mom, many friends, the Philippines, life overseas, and a field flight program. Life on this side of the ocean was totally foreign, we ourselves totally displaced. 

Things are different now. We still miss the things we've left behind. We still have our moments of culture shock, but there are many things we've learned to deal with and do. We've built new friendships and created new routines. We've moved again. We've changed jobs again. But still, there are more constants from 6 months ago than there were last year at this time. And as things begin to feel more comfortable, we are more able to invest in what we see God doing around us. New friends, new opportunties, and new possibilities are becoming exciting instead of overwhelming. 

On our trip south we bought some mugs to decorate, and last week I filled mine with reminders of our time in the Philippines. Words that bring joy and comfort in the memories. Words that remind me of investment instead of loss. It's not a work of art, but I love my new mug.... and I realize with a certain degree of surprise that I may one day be making a mug to remind me of these days, this life that I'm now living.

Yes, times change. God heals and gives grace to help us adapt and change.

Flight and friends...

Garry took me flying the other evening... just for fun! In our lives in mission aviation, Garry has flown a lot of hours. I've gone on a limited number of flights because flights were most usually full, and I needed to stay by the radio. But we have seldom had opportunity to fly for the fun of it. In fact, it's only the third time in my life I remember being in an airplane just for the fun of it! It was fun, it was beautiful! We enjoyed a sunset, we enjoyed being together. Blessed.

Garry has had a few neat opportunities lately, and one of them was roofing with a couple of friends for an afternoon. After some long days in the office, it was a much-needed break to spend the afternoon working physically. Blessed.

Kevin has been excited by the work opportunities he's been getting lately as well. He's had fun working on a few farms lately. And he's had some very good training opportunities lately as well. It's exciting to see how God is bringing things together for him as he pursues a new chapter in his life of following and serving God.

This week I did another "almost first".... I took Kaleb on a field trip! Again, we've done a lot of interesting things and we've been a lot of places, but seldom do we go just for the purpose of school fun and learning. And this day ended up to be perfect! Roseau River Bible Camp hosted a group of us, providing great activities for the kids-- BMX biking, zip lining, and archery. And we took a short hike to see a hanging bridge. Kaleb met a new friend and neighbour, a homeschool kid who loves to bike and make movies. "Mom, what are the chances?" he asked me last night. Blessed.

Kaleb and I were discussing perspective this week, and how our perspective can change simply by what we tell ourselves. And there's nothing as powerful as asking God for His perspective, catching glimpses of the blessings we are given in light of eternity. And from that perspective, we are all incredibly blessed!

Saturday Ramblings

I can hardly believe it's Saturday, and I'm not at all sure how fall has come upon us to so quickly! The weeks are passing, times are changing, life is moving forward. This week I've often felt caught in a vortex I can't explain, a feeling I can't comprehend. The security of a new year's school routine, the many questions we have about our future. A sense of expectancy interwoven with the sadness of things that are finished. Endings and beginnings.

Garry spent this week at the Bombardier Safety Standdown in Wichita, Kansas. He enjoyed the sessions and the opportunity to connect with various people in aviation. The things that struck him most from the week were human factors in accidents and the need for trust in creating "safe culture". He loved spending time with other guys in mission aviation and simply being in the aviation world. How he got there is a God story also, since he had to cancel his registration a few weeks ago, and was able to be re-register after the deadline. 

The boys and I stayed busy while Garry was gone, which always helps time go more quickly. School, work, and training took up most of our time.  Kaleb took his bike dirt jumping with a friend and met some new friends last week. Kevin did a little coaching a a badminton evening. I had coffee with a friend. 

Friends invited us for dinner last evening, and it was great to connect. To laugh and share, to play a game, to simply enjoy an evening as families. We are blessed and humbled by the people God brings into our lives, people who reach out to us and those we can reach out to. The opportunities to give and to receive.

I really hope to blog more over the next week, to share some photos of our trip west and south. We'll see how that works out, I guess! For now, have a great weekend!

Home again, home again...

Wow, I have some serious catching up to do! Today isn't a day I feel like catching up, though, so just  a few thoughts to share this afternoon. Garry is at his cousin Everett's funeral this afternoon.... loss and pain, the suffering of living in a world that is bound by sin. I had so hoped to be there, but I couldn't go. So I am home while my heart is with them. 

It has struck me again since Everett's passing that God weaves so many colors into the tapestry of our lives. And so often simultaneously... joy and pain co-exist. The heaviness of Everett's passing.  An amazing weekend sharing stories of what God has done among unreached people groups. The remembered pain of Mom going to heaven last year. New friends and unexpected opportunities. Goodbyes in Arizona. Gorgeous scenery. Heart connections that draw us deep into what God is doing. 

And at the end of the day, the joy and the pain are both grace. Unexplained gifts of God that draw us to know Him more, that pull us out of the temporal and into the eternal. Some of the gifts are more pleasant, some we'd rather return. But each one is lovingly given by an omnipotent Father. Today I want to embrace each gift, savor each moment. Live, truly live!

The Westward Road...

It's been a fun 5 days, driving through beautiful country and spending time with family and friends! Stories... joy and pain, opportunities and challenges. The deepest stories are once more not mine to tell. There are, however, some stories I can tell.

Driving through the mountains as a family, reminiscing about the amazing things God has allowed us to do. The pure fun of surprising Garry's sister and her family in Osoyoos, BC.... showing up at their door in the midst of a move! The boys mountain biking in BC and Spokane. Time with Dustin, buying groceries and figuring out internet. More McDonald's meals and dollar drinks than I'd care to report. A gorgeous rest area where we played some soccer. Sharing meals with Alan, Fern, Shandi, and Sadi. Coffee and mini-golfing. Amazement at what God has done at Moody Aviation in Spokane... and remembering what a tragedy it seemed when the Elizabethton program closed, yet the growth that has inspired. BBQ with Jason & Jen and their kids. Late night coffees. Dinner with Cec and Joyce. The list is long.... blessings that we have experienced over the last days, evidences of what God is doing and His love for us, His kids.

This morning the guys are working on the van, hopefully replacing a rear wheel bearing. I'm enjoying some time to connect with you, the many people who follow us via this blog. The friends who pray for us and journey with us. The boys are looking forward to another bike ride this afternoon, and Kevin's hoping to fit a run into the day. Then we're planning some time connecting with friends before our time in Spokane is finished.

Tomorrow we will head south to Arizona, looking forward to seeing many more friends and continuing on the journey of enjoying God's work in various places. We are truly blessed to be His Body, His church, and His children!

Sunday evening....

It's a rainy Sunday evening, warm and humid. I almost feel like I'm back in Malaybalay, Philippines. Funny how smells can bring memories flowing back, take you to another time, another place.

Last year at this time we were driving home from Arizona for Mom Barkman's funeral. It's been a weekend of remembering and some reflecting. Of spending time with family, thankful for the ones who are here and missing those who aren't. As we realize Mom has been gone a full year, we miss her in a different way. Her wisdom, her spirit, her friendship, and her simple presence. Thanks, Mom, for a rich legacy.

Garry and his dad went to Riverton today, and I'm anxious to hear how their day went, who they met, and what God did. I'm thankful they got to spend today together! Us ladies stayed home and enjoyed a good chat over nice coffee.

These days have been busy seeing some of you, communicating with NTMA, doctor visits, and planning for next school year's homeschooling. So many stories, so many blessings, so many challenges. Things I'd love to reflect on and share, but stories that are not mine to tell. You've blessed us by sharing your stories and your lives. We thank you.... and may the blessings and truths and stories of God's goodness and grace continue to circulate and encourage all of us, His Body!

Family....

Family. Immediate family, extended family. Family loyalty and family feuds. Family really can do a lot of things, and we do. We love each other and we hurt each other. Still, in the end, family.

There's something beautiful about the way we relate to our families, the way we defend one another, the way we help one another. Being back in Canada this last year has allowed us to relate with our families more, which has been a huge blessing. It has also allowed us to watch many families who have spent their whole lives living close to one another.

I am constantly amazed, really, to see the way families help one another. I'm awed by children who are close to their grandparents and the way people care for their parents as they age. I'm also shocked by how little people seem to realize the blessing they have in spending their lives in the same community as their families. In a small community where this is the norm, I don't think we often consider how unusual this is in the world at large. From Filipinos who are forced apart by the need to work overseas to the many work-related moves many young families make, much of the world is living in community devoid of family.




In communities where there is little family, friends must move into the parts of our lives that would normally be reserved for family. Relationships deepen based on need, and we must become vulnerable with people that we're not sure will respond the way we wish they would. And for many of us who have left family to pursue God's call on our lives, He has done as He promised and given us people who are like brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers. It's a deep blessing.

As I ponder this I'd like to say thanks to our family who has loved us through many moves, who has chosen to stay connected despite distance. I'd like to thank you all over the world who are like family to us.


I'd also challenge you who have never lived far away from your family to ponder what life would look like if you had only friends and no family. And thank your for family the way they invest in your life! Then consider reaching out to someone who has no family as though they were family... you might be surprised what happens!

Friends and family. Family and friends. There's a difference, but then again, there isn't. Let's blur the lines in healthy ways for the glory of God!