Envibum Diaper Giveaway

We are getting ready for Baby Wachob to arrive sometime in the next week or so... my actual due date us next Thursday, but I confess I am getting antsy as my first two arrived at 39 weeks. Trying to let the Lord teach me patience and be thankful for moments with my two big girls - who, by the way, are far more antsy than their mama. As we prepare, I thought I'd link you to a cloth diaper giveaway. I love my Bum Genius, but have been excited to replace a few with some new types -- Fuzzi Bunz was at the top of my list, but I also heard about this Christian company that makes simple, soft cloth diapers - called Envibum. Check out the giveaway here!

A Few Pictures

Erik returned from Kenya last Thursday night. A snowstorm in Dallas meant his flight was canceled, but I happened to check email that morning, see the update, and arrange an alternate flight for him before his incoming flight touched ground. He was able to get on a flight into Jackson instead, and it turned out to be one of only a handful of flights that actually took off that day - albeit after six hours on the runway waiting for de-icing! We were so thankful for God's provision. He landed here in JH at about 1 AM - having traveled for about 34 hours!

We will give many more details later -- and hope to make an album that others can access electronically. He has more than 600 photos, so we need to pare those down to the few best. He had a challenging and wonderful trip - and is very glad he went. He is covered in flea bites but seems to have managed to get away without any kind of gastroenteritis or other infection. Others on his team were less fortunate. The work went well, and he will continue to work here from home, compiling written recommendations for the villagers about how to work as a community to implement simple irrigation that will sustain them through the dry season. His observation of Western Kenya was that it is a land of great abundance in terms of rain and ability to produce... but also a land of extreme poverty and hunger. A land of hospitality and kindness, but in need of the Lord, as well. There are many missionaries and projects - but a dearth of discipleship that would allow the Kenyans to take over leadership roles and continue effective programs.

Enjoy the few photos!


Saturday church in the village of Nyangina

Giraffes at the Masai Mara


Early morning in the village


Water source: cattle wading, women washing clothes, others collecting water to drink and use - all in the same muddy spot

Outdoor kitchen - fire pit, dishwashing station, food preparation. All of their meals are essentially the same: a cornmeal mush called ugali, potato, steamed bananas, rice, possibly chicken cooked in salty broth, and fruit. Erik was wary of the fruit because a knife might be used to cut raw chicken, then laid on a cow pie, then picked up without washing to cut papaya or pineapple. He did eat the pineapple - hoping it was acidic enough that bacteria would not survive on the surface.

Gospel-Centered Parenting

I mentioned in my last post that while my awesome husband has been in Africa, I have been trying to be faithful and purposeful in each day... in how I manage my home in his absence, in how I minister to, discipline and love my girls, in quiet times and prayer, and in how I begin to mentally and spiritually prepare for this new little one who will join our family in the next few weeks! Usually if Erik is gone, I find myself filling the time with novels or movies that make the lonely evenings pass by, and this time I have prayed for God's grace to not lean on false sources of comfort or companionship, but to lean on the Lord instead.

Every night, I have cleaned the house and tried to complete all the chores I could (making mornings happier!:)), and then have settled in with pjs on to read. I feel like the Lord is showing me so much about how I have failed in my mothering (thankful for his forgiveness!) and how to follow after His pattern. I have been really blessed by reading through Sally Clarkson's "Mission of Motherhood" for the second time and thinking through how to serve, love, disciple, teach and, most importantly, display God's grace to my precious girls. One thing the Lord has shown me so clearly in these last two weeks is that I cannot expect my kids to stop sinning! They are, after all, sinners! Born in the flesh, full of selfishness and wickedness. They are in need of a Savior, just as their mom and dad are. And, they haven't called on His name yet! My children are not yet believers, though we pray every day for their salvation. They don't have the Holy Spirit. Elisa told me the other day that she likes to sin. After I got over my initial shock, I realized, "Of course you do. In my flesh, I like to sin, too!"

My neighbor Sera loaned me a set of CDs from a conference called "Women Discipling Women," and I have been listening to a couple of the talks as I fold laundry or do the dishes. Last night I spread scrapbooking supplies on the floor and listened to an hour-long talk on Gospel-Centered Parenting. It was phenomenal. The basic point is this: We don't show our kids the law in order to make them obey it. We don't discipline and train them so that we will be glorified as good parents, or even to establish peace in our homes (although that's a worthy goal!). We give our kids the law in order that they will see that they cannot live up to it. They will fail! They are law-breakers. All their good deeds are filthy rags because they are defiled by sin. But - thanks be to God - He sent a Savior who willingly took their sin and mine upon Himself and will impart His perfect, sinless record to us if we believe in Him! The central teaching of all my discipline and training should be, "You sinned. Your sin has separated from you from God. But God loves us! And He died for you. And if you believe in Him, He will give you His sinless record, and He will empower you by His Spirit to choose to walk in His ways. You can't choose what is right on your own. But by God's grace, He will help you choose what is right and what honors Him." I need to focus on the beauty of God's grace in the moments when my children fail to obey - not on demanding obedience from them or being shocked because they - again - sinned. Not that I shouldn't train them in obedience or discipline when they don't. But my heart and the way I approach them needs to be different.

This morning, I took my wayward, tired, grumpy four-year-old in my arms and told her that she was a sinner. And that mommy is a sinner. And that Jesus loves us and He took our sin on Himself at the cross. And isn't that amazing, that He loves us that much! She listened and we snuggled, and I stroked her fresh-from bed blonde hair, and something softened in her.

I don't know exactly how the moment by moment aspects of my parenting will change as God continues to show me His ways. But I do know I need His grace - and so do my little ones.

~

Erik is currently sleeping after a day of sightseeing in the Masai Mara. Tomorrow they will drive to Nairobi and catch a flight home. The girls and I are driving to Salt Lake to pick him up on Thursday night. I am so excited to plant a big kiss on my hubby's lips. :) I have been debating the wisdom of making the 5 hour drive, but unless something changes, I think we will head down. I had a doctor's appointment yesterday, and I am only 2 cm dilated, so the doctor felt I was safe to go.

The kids are so excited to see him. I am trying to think of fun, creative ways to welcome him. Any ideas?

Erik in Kenya

I have been blessed to hear from Erik via email or text a few times since he has been gone - always very brief, but much more communication than either of us expected. The drive from Nairobi to Nyarut (village one) sounded long and a little hairy, but they did arrive a morning later than expected and were able to meet last Sunday afternoon with the village leaders to determine the work that needed to be done. They spent from Sunday until Wednesday in Nyarut, doing irrigation work for several small farms (which they call gardens.) On Wednesday, they headed out, stopping at a hotel along the way for showers and a night of sleep before beginning again in Nyangina. I have not heard from Erik since he arrived in Nyangina, other than a short text telling me he had no internet access - which we expected, since this second village is smaller and more rural. As far as I know they are still in Nyangina, but may be packing up this morning to head toward Nairobi. They are planning to travel through the Masai Mara preserve and see wildlife before their return trip on Wednesday. I'm not sure of the timing, as Erik's initial schedule was loose. Please pray they are able to efficiently finish the work and energetically pour Christ's love out on the villagers!

While Erik has been gone, I have been so thankful for God's provision and grace for the girls and I. I really have wanted to wisely use the time -- not just "getting through" his absence, but really using that time alone to faithfully minister to my children and draw near to God. We have been doing well! Some rough moments when I struggle with issues of behavior and really miss the wisdom and consistency of my hubby... but the girls are doing great. Elisa constantly wonders what time it is in Africa, and they love to pray for him when we cut off each days paper chain to count down the days. They also love the Kenya picture book given us by a dear lady in our church who was a missionary in Kenya about fifteen years ago.

Things we have done:

- shared dinner with three different families, and our small group
-played dozens of rounds of Memory
-gone to the pool
-gone to gymnastics (where my littlest one cracked the back of her head on the uneven bar's chain. Oops!)
-kept the house clean :)
-learned all about the letter F.
-prayed for Daddy
-read hundreds of stories
-snuggled
-gone for jogs and romps in the snow
-frozen two post-baby meals
-I have kept up with my Precepts Bible Study and read most of the "Mission of Motherhood."
- and, today, loaded kids in the car by myself, drove to the park, strapped the Chariot around my belly, and hauled 100 pounds of kiddos and Chariot for nearly two hours of cross-country skiing. Two hours sounds short, but it is fairly straining on my abdominal and pelvic muscles at this point in pregnancy. Erik and I have the prep for skiing together down to a science... definitely a bit more challenging solo. The biggest challenge: we had to park on the park road because the lot was full, which meant we were a long way from the potty. Our response: all three of peed crouched by the car instead of trekking to the outhouse. Yup. I have no shame. :)

Kenya-Bound

Seven years ago, when Erik and I first fell in love, we dreamed about combining our training and talents in order to serve the Lord in overseas missions. Now... Erik has the opportunity! At 35 weeks pregnant, I don't get to serve alongside him, but I feel blessed and thankful to partner with him from home as he heads 9000 miles away to rural Western Kenya.

This morning, we kissed goodbye at the security gate, both of us teary and somber to be saying goodbye, and yet filled with eager anticipation for all that God has planned over the next 14 days. Erik is headed to Nyangina, Kenya, near Lake Victoria in the Nyanza province. He will be joining a small team of four through Engineering Ministries International, and together they will be designing irrigation systems for two demonstration farms. Western Kenya has severe rainy seasons followed by seasons of drought, and little technology to be able to use the water they do have in productive means. Erik and his team will be designing simple irrigation that will hopefully enable the farmers in these poor villages to more efficiently and reliably produce crops. They are partnering with local ministries, sleeping in mud huts, and sharing the Gospel as they attempt to meet a very real need for communities that do not have reliable food production.

A couple of weeks ago, he and I sat down and together mapped out "prayer lists" to focus our prayer time... his is with him, but I wanted to share with you some of the things on my list. Our lists were much the same, although Erik's was more detailed in terms of engineering tasks and goals. What is heaviest on both of our hearts is that we desire for this project to truly, sustainably improve the quality of life for the people living in the villages. We want the trip and the sacrifices of those who have supported us to be "worth it." We also deeply want the Lord to refine our motives as a couple so that we are serving Him whole-heartedly and only for His glory.

Please pray with us that:

- the scope and goals of the project would be clear and feasible and that the team would be well-equipped to complete it.

-that they would work to God's glory and that the villagers would see God's love clearly through them

-that the project would deeply impact the lives of the villagers both physically and spiritually

- that the team would be united and work well together, and that their bodies would be fit and healthy in order to work hard and meet whatever needs arise

-that Erik's heart would be broken for God's people as it has never been before, that he would see people as God sees them

- that out of that brokenness a fire would ignite in his heart - a fresh zeal, a new passion to be the hands and feet of Jesus, and that his passion would grow and carry our family anywhere in the world He wants us to go. I pray fervently that this would be the beginning of lifetime of service for our family- not a one-time event.

Pray, too, for the girls and I, that I would consistent, faithful and intentional as I parent alone for two weeks, and that I would not grow weary.

Thanks for partnering with us! Erik will arrive in London in the wee hours of the morning, then fly on to Nairobi after a nine hour layover there. He won't actually set foot in Kenya until Saturday morning Nairobi time.

I miss him already, but I am thankful to entrust him to God's care as he goes.

The Photos to Go With the Stories

I managed to get a few pictures uploaded... the ones of Erik, Forrest, Michelle, and my two cousins jumping off the dock into the Williamette did not turn out... I didn't realize that afternoon light was waning so much and they are very dark. But here is:


The Wachob family


Amy, Forrest and Ephraim

Elisa sliding down the dune

Elisa discovering her stocking

A cousin hug


Michelle and Elisa at the beach in Pacific City

A fire in the snow on New Year's Day

A Bubble Bath for two

Pregnant mama at 32 weeks. 8 weeks left to grow!

Christmas in Oregon... A New Year in Wyoming

We had a wonderful time celebrating Christmas at my mom's house in Oregon... a plunge into the Williamette for the very brave (not this mama), a trip to the coast, a tour of George Fox to show Erik my old dorms, apartments, and classrooms :), a game of pregnant Twister (I beat Amy, but the real competition was who had more contractions following the game. I'm not sure who won that one!), and lots of good food and relaxing.

Michelle drove home with us, and stayed a few days to see friends. It was wonderful to have her here again... the girls love it.

My sweet neighbor delivered her twin girls Adelyn and Anabel two days before Christmas, and we got to see them briefly as we drove out of town that night. Now we see their lights shining brightly at all hours next door as a reminder to pray for this godly family as they adjust to having three children under 18 months. We are so excited for them!

Erik and I headed to bed at about 9:30 on New Year's Eve. We laughed about an East Coast New Year celebration, but I think we were a little shy of hitting that mark. We spent New Year's Day cross-country skiing in the national forest. I am enjoying that gentle exercise, but it is amazing how much I seem to use my abdominal muscles, especially going downhill. I am a bit off-balance, so I think I tense my core and then feel it in steady Braxton-Hicks for a couple of days. :)

Speaking of the bulge in my belly... we are continually thankful for how well this pregnancy is going. Baby is growing (still measuring just 2 cm behind where I should be). I am trying to upload photos both of our trip and of my tummy, but I am struggling, so you will have to wait! Amy had my mom take a side by side shot of us with bare stomachs, so that may be appearing on her blog soon.

We are excited for all this New Year holds... January seems bursting with events as we celebrate two birthdays and then send Erik off to Kenya on the 28th. More to come on the details of his trip later! We feel immensely blessed, and also challenged to more... I love taking time to search my heart and evaluate the choices we are making as a family, goal-setting, planning... Erik and I are definitely nerds in that regard, but I never feel closer to my hubby than when we sit down and evaluate our lives to see where we can grow and change and seek the Lord more. May this New Year offer those opportunities to you, as well!