Happy spring! What a joy to be in Boston at this time of year! I have missed the energy, smells, and colors of this season! All in all, it has been a fabulous year of furlough for us. We have reconnected with many family and friends, and have had incredible opportunities to travel! Pictured above is Alberto and his family in El Salvador. It was their first time meeting Phoebe! Whereas Alberto spent over two months there, Isaac, Margaret, Phoebe and I spent two weeks. We had a few medical challenges: Phoebe’s diabetic pump needed to be replaced more than once, and Margaret is apparently allergic to cashew fruit. Despite this, it was wonderful to be with family again.
Our second adventure of the year was a trip to Colorado to visit my sister (Denver) and ski (Aspen). Thanks to the most generous gift of a friend, we were able to spend a few nights at his timeshare in Aspen. What an incredible blessing!
Now we are back in Boston. I am not taking any classes this spring. I only have one class left for my Masters of Arts in Christian Ministries at Gordon Conwell, which I can do remotely from Cape Town.
Speaking of, we have booked our return tickets! Alberto flies back to Cape Town May 31, when our tenants’ lease expires. I will fly out with Phoebe July 5, as I want her to finish the school year. (I am delaying a bit since I love summer, and we will enter Cape Town in the winter.)
We are scrambling to see as many of you as we can while we are here! If you are in the Boston area on Sunday April 23, please come hear us speak during the 8:30, 11:00 or 4:00 services at Park Street Church. Receptions will take place after the 11:00 and 4:00 services, where we will share more pictures and stories! Please come!
We have had a few opportunities to speak! We presented to the missions committee, spoke at the Boston University pre-law fellowship, and shared with a Park Street small group. If you would like to invite us to speak in your small group, please do!
I am also speaking at a Joni & Friends fundraiser next month. I love their mission of sharing the hope of Jesus through suffering. “Go out quickly…and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame…so that my house will be full.” (Luke 14:21, 23) While we were in El Salvador, we visited a Joni & Friends house, and met the amazing Claudia, who, like Joni, is a quadriplegic, and uses her challenges to share the light of Jesus.
As far as our kids, Ana is currently in Nepal with Frenchie, who is speaking to DTS students at the YWAM base in Kathmandu. You can read her latest newsletter here.
Isaac is enjoying the freedom of working remotely. He is currently in Oregon, having already visited Florida, Pennsylvania, and Colorado. California is next on the list. He’ll return to Boston later this month.
Margaret is still working at Puttshack, and has bought her ticket to start her backpacking adventure! She flies from Boston to Seoul, Korea early June, where she will meet up with a friend. Although May 1 is quickly approaching, Margaret still has not made a decision about college next year.
At least Phoebe will remain with us! We are squeezing in the last of her appointments at Children’s Hospital, and have given up on the ones that still have us on their wait-lists, almost a year after our arrival.
Please join us in thanking God for this incredible year we have been able to have in the U.S. It has indeed been a great sabbatical as we reconnect with friends and family, and prepare ourselves for ministry ahead in South Africa. Please continue to pray for us as we prepare to go back, and for God’s guidance and protection on us and our family.