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The Journey Around Chicago

It is Friday May 30th and I cannot believe the month is over. I have been back in Chicago for 3 weeks and yet it feels like so long ago that I left Florida. Since coming home we have stayed with many wonderful people and the last few days have been no exception. Our friend, and fellow adventurer, Faye Jones has welcomed us into her home. Another friend, Susan Rice, came over yesterday and we all shared a wonderful meal together. My life is so rich these days and I am so blessed to have loving friends like Faye and Susan. We get to enjoy Faye even longer because tomorrow Faye, Tim, and I leave for North Carolina for our training class on "CHE" (Community, Health & Education) which is a wholistic approach to community development.

Can you say ROAD TRIP?

Hospitality of Friends

It still blows me away how welcome Tim and I feel everywhere we travel as friends and family continue to invite us into their homes and lives. Our hearts are full from all the love we feel from everyone. Good friends Graeme and Heather Franks recently invited us over for a weekend of good food, a few good movies, one not so good movie... you know the one Heather :-), exceptional company, and excellent conversation. How much fun it is to dream and share with friends. Heather and Graeme We LOVE you! Thanks for always being there for us whether it is in Michigan, Africa, Thailand, Los Angeles, Colorado, and even Chicago Your the best!

Cindie & Tim

The Wanderers

It is Memorial Day weekend and despite a few thunderstorms the weather here in Chicago has been beautiful. Tim and I have had the opportunity to stay at our good friend Jack Festen's house in West Dundee IL. Jack is currently building a 3 season room on the back of his house. Jack has been a GREAT support to Tim and I both personally as well as in our ministry. What fun it has been catching up with Jack and we are so grateful for his hospitality and his sense of humor. :-) We LOVE you Jack!!

Sweet Home Chicago

I have been home just under 2 weeks and it has been wonderful visiting with family and friends. I look forward to connecting with those I have not yet had the chance to. Preparations continue for my 2008 field ministry trip. Airfare remains the top obstacle as gas prices soar, so do airline prices. Not to mention that some of the airlines have advanced from just restricting weights of baggage to actually charging money for you to check a bag at all. I have really simplified my life and the items I own, but not to the point of fitting everything I want to travel with into a small carry on. Perhaps this will be my next challenge. Hmmmm... bet I can do it. :-)

This weekend Tim and I will spend Memorial day with good friend Jack Festen. We look forward to time with Jack and church this weekend at Willow Creek. I have missed my church with all the time I have been away. I am grateful they podcast so while I am international I can still catch the services. From there we will spend several days with Faye Jones before leaving for North Carolina and our training class on teaching Wholistic Commmunity Development practices to national leaders. Faye, Tim and I are soooo excited about the class!!

God is doing GREAT things in my life and I am thrilled that I get to do this! The future looks promising and the work we are engaged in is life changing, both for the communities we work in as well as the teams, the churches, and of course for me. If anyone wants to join in this great adventure with us let me know.

Blessings and Grace to you!

Cindie

Becca has Surgery

Becca received cochlear implant surgery on Tuesday. Here is the update from her dad Dave... We are pleased to report the surgery on Becca's left ear went well, and our daughter returned home yesterday around noon. She did need to stay in the hospital overnight due to regular IV doses of precautionary antibiotics.

In the days leading up to the operation, there had been some concern that Dr. Bojrab wouldn't be able to insert the implant all the way into the cochlea, as necessary. Apparently, meningitis can cause a hardening of the inner ear--bone growth, basically--that can ultimately make an implant impossible. In Becca's case, only a small amount of surgical drilling was necessary, and the doctor was able to implant the device fully. Unfortunately, however, the doctor did discover that Becca's right ear had contracted some nature of infection, owing in part to the tubes that had been there so long. For this she has been given ear drops.

Providence Hospital of Southfield, where the operation was performed, is considerably smaller than Royal Oak Beaumont (where Becca had been previously). Still, our experience with the facility and the staff was quite favorable. We arrived around 6:00 a.m. on Monday morning, and Becca was very soon admitted to the pre-opt room. There she had a choice between a "floor-length" gown or one that just covered her bottom. Several nurses, doctors and aides stopped by as the three of us waited, looking over pictures from our trip to Disney. Becca was rolled into surgery right at 8:00, and we did not see her again until she was awakening from the anesthetic in the recovery room at about 11:30. As you can imagine, Becca was in obvious discomfort, and Amy and I tried our best to keep her mind off her condition with a reading of Curious George Goes to the Hospital. In retrospect, perhaps this wasn't the best choice of books. Shortly, we were taken up to her room on the fifth floor, where she spent most of the day in and out of sleep, unable to eat due to nausea. Amy stayed in the hospital with Becca overnight, while I went to Amy's folk's house to care for Andrew, now 11 months old and largely weened.

We understand that many of our friends and family are forwarding these messages on to others. In light of this, there may be a fair number of people receiving these updates that may not even know what Rebecca looks like. After 13 e-mails, finally I have attached a picture of her. This photo was taken by Amy at our house back in February.

God bless,

Dave

The Journey Home

One of the things that still amazes me in this new life and journey that I am on are the incredible people I am meeting and the depth in relationship and community that I am experiencing. A few of the amazing people I have met are Jim and Shelia Reeves. They consistently provide Tim and I encouragement, love and support in all we do. We so enjoy being with them and they always make us laugh and always make us feel at home and welcome. On our recent trip from Florida to Chicago we stopped off at the Reeves house on the way home where we were welcomed with open arms. We spent an incredible weekend with them sharing good food, good company, and great conversation. We even got a private tour of the City. We also enjoyed some time with their empty nester's group. What a bunch they are. They are caring, generous, fun, live life to the fullest and they are a blast to be around. Thanks to Shelia and Jim for a wonderful weekend. We are truly blessed to have them in our lives. They are an example of how God provides for all our needs, and how he puts people in our lives to do life with and share in his blessings with along the way.

Last Day in Florida

Can you believe it... tonight is my last night in Florida and early tomorrow I head back home to Chicago. Crazy how fast time goes by. Hardly seems like I have been here for 2 months. My time here in Florida was not only productive from a work/ministry perspective, but I REALLY enjoyed the warm weather, early morning walks in prayer, and time with good friends! I am looking forward to seeing my family in Chicago and reconnecting with friends. How incredible to have such a rich life to be able to work for a few months in Florida, a few months in Chicago, a few months in Dominican Republic, and wherever else God might lead me. What a good God we have and what wonderful blessings he gives.

In my devotions the other morning I was reading the passage in Mathew "my yoke is easy and my burden is light". I never really understood that before, but I understood how it felt to be stressed to the breaking point and worried about everything. After a year of setting my sights on God and refocusing on kingdom pursuits I now have a greater understanding for what that means. His yoke is indeed easy and his burden is light. I look forward to seeing how God further reveals all that that passage means as I continue to follow him.