Happy New Year – 2020 in Review

January and February

We started off the year as mom and dad to 6 young men.  Robin did a lot of cooking, while my time was spent discipling and working one on one with the boys.  It was a real honor to be able to invest in their lives. We enjoyed our 3 semesters with these boys.

With March came the mid-term school break.  During this break we had the opportunity to participate with the senior class in a ministry trip to help build a school building for the first Christian PNG High School.  It was an amazing experience, and we had a many great times together with the seniors (including our son Caleb).  Little did we know how things would change after that trip

By the end of March, COVID had rocked the world, our school was closed, and we were encouraged to find our way back to the US, since we were “out of a job”, and would have been leaving in June after Caleb’s graduation.

Before leaving we were able to have a modified graduation ceremony for the seniors.  The US State Department organized a repatriation flight, and all of the Americans in the senior class, except 1, and their families were able to travel back to the USA together. 

March

April – July

In America under COVID-19, life felt like it was on pause.  We were not able to attend church.  We didn’t travel to share ministry updates.  We stayed home and away from people, except for family.  But, God gave us the huge blessing of being able to spend some good quality time with our adult children.  We spent time with our future son-in-law, Noah, and got to know him.  We had some good quality time with Caleb before sending him off to Bible School.  It was a very special time.  We also found out that Andrew and Emily are expecting!  Their baby is due at the end of January, so we are planning to return to PNG in mid-February.  We are very excited to be grandparents, although we haven’t figured out how we got old enough for that. 😊

August – September

Hannah and Noah got married on September 5.  We were able to have her wedding, and we were so thankful for our church’s desire to make it happen.  Our venue for the reception was canceled, but we were able to have the reception in a tent on the church lawn.  God gave us a beautiful day, despite it being the first weekend in September.

October

We had the opportunity to visit friends of ours who are ministering in Alaska.  We had a great experience, saw beautiful countryside, and enjoyed time with our friends!  We learned about their member care ministry and were encouraged to pursue training in Biblical counseling.  Upon returning from Alaska, Robin was sick with COVID.  Thankfully, it was pretty mild for her.

Here we are at the end of the year.  We have been able to share in a few churches, and it has been encouraging to connect with them again.  We also recently learned that our family will be expanding again.  Hannah and Noah are expecting! 😊  Their baby is due in mid-July.