It's very much a Guest House

So, tonight I said to Steinar, “Let’s not have visitors tonight so we can get our website updated and a letter out to our supporters.” Well, that being said, five minutes later two young men showed up at the door, “ Can we visit?" (One of which has lived here for 9 months and this is only his 3^rd time to visit!! ) Ah..I torment inside as I say, “I’m sorry, but we’re not having visitors tonight. Will you please come tomorrow?” A few minutes later, a phone call, “Can I come by for a few minutes?”Again, minutes later another phone call, “Our hot water tank isn’t working, can I come use your shower?”

A “few minutes” visit, and one showering body later I sit down to write to you all…and now in this very moment…I hear the drumming and singing of the Nuu-Cha-Nulth Tribal Council Men’s Gathering across the path at the Dining Hall. My heart races and tears swell in my eyes. I want to go listen! I want to soak in the Spirit of their songs to the Creator. I too want to visit with those young men, and the one coming to shower.

(Oh, ‘smile’, a little 2 year old visitor is sneaking in the front door to visit our sleeping Annabelle and Benjamin, just now.)

This is a glimpse of our life in Esperanza; the ins and outs, the comings and goings of the community in our household. We can make plans, but we want to be flexible. We can set boundaries, but sometimes just gotta give. Being torn between wanting to do more things with your day than there are hours to do so.

We are so grateful to live in Guest House and are really feeling the love.

Monkey

 

Sweet Girl, Annabelle, Monkey...What does she have goin' on?

Well, if you haven't noticed already, we're growing out her bangs :). In good Annabelle fashion, she is still the same little person she's always been: Fearless, sweet tooth, decorative, friendly, sharing, generous and loving. Annabelle always knows how to have a good time. She is still incredibly independent and capable. I love how able she is, how chatty she is, how silly she is. She is so quick to forgive her little friends when they hurt her and has lots of love and enthusiasm to share with them.

At four in the morning, the other day, she crawled into bed with me, had her right elbow bent on the bed and the palm of her hand pressed against her cheek and curiously inquired, "So, how's it goin'?"

Common phrases you'll hear from Annabelle," Nice to see you!", " Glad to see you!", "I love that you came back!", " Can I have a visitor?", "Can I invite ... to visit?", " What're  you talkin' about?, "What're they being funny about?" (when people are laughing in conversation that she doesn't understand).

She melts my heart and I am grateful for her.

Benjamin

Click on Photo to Enlarge

Benjamin, oh, Benjamin; what a little man. Our little beauty is pretty hilarious and rather loud. Nineteen months old, and still just screaming, pointing and pulling to make himself understood. It's amazing how successful at communicating one can be with no words other than "momma, wow and uh-oh". As independent as our little guy is, he insists on doing and playing with everything his big sister is. His favorite thing to do these days are: eat (everything and all the time), throw rocks into the water, jump on the trampoline, play dress up, chase the bunny and drag it by the skin of its fur, tease, brush his teeth and dance. We love him.

Steinar

We received a letter from Grandma Murphy last week. It is always fun to receive old fashioned hand written letters. She asked about Steinar, wondering what he is up to these days :) So I thought I would share a bit about Steinar. I also posted a photo to reassure her that the children have life jackets on while on the water.

Aside from taking really good care of his wife and children, during this six-week session, Steinar is: spending time one-on-one with a fellow, co-leading the daily Bible study, leading various youth activities throughout the week and coordinating Sunday services. On the side, he is making sure that the phone system is working (to the best of his ability), managing the internet, and is the stand-by fire marshal.

Two Months Later

The new year is well underway and it's been too long since I've blogged.

A short recap of our last few months:

Steinar was asked to work at the Norwegian Seaman's Church in Miami for a few weeks in December. He obliged and we tagged along. Some highlights to that trip:

1. The kids pleasantness and cooperation superseded our wildest dreams or imaginations flying to and from Miami from Seattle.

2. To Annabelle's delight, meeting Snow White, Rapunzel and Tinkerbelle at Disney World.

 
3. Making a day trip to Key West with Brent Miller of Seattle.

 

4. Visiting Diane Lewis not one, but two times during our stay.

5. Sandy beaches and playgrounds  galore.

The Miami Church had its grand opening a few weeks before we arrived, so the staff housing wasn't completely ready for us. The conditions weren't much different from what we have here in Esperanza at times: no hot water, no internet access, no phone system, no TV. These are all things that we know how to make do without, but the biggest difference was being in the center of a community but not feeling connected to the community. It made me even more grateful for the community life we have in Esperanza, but it also made me more mindful of what it might be like for people to come to our community for the first time. Are they seen, engaged, loved, pursued? I would like to say yes, but I am sure there are times when people slip under the radar. I really want to be responsible for making sure that when people visit our community here that they do not feel lonely, isolated or that they are missing out on the life of the community.

Next, we celebrated Christmas and New Years in Esperanza this year with Steinar's family, my grandparents and other Esperanza Staff and residents.. I love being around my grandparents, especially since living in Norway I saw them so seldom, this was a treat for me. Grandparents are so very wonderful to have, and I am grateful for mine. Likewise, Annabelle and Benjamin got to spend time with their grandparents and aunty day in and day out from when they woke up until it was time for bed. Their love tanks were filled to overflowing!

Tomorrow we will be entering a new season in our life as a family and as missionaries. All of our days since arriving here this summer have lead up to this very day. Esperanza's Family Six-Week Session is upon us and we are excited. Today I measured the kids height on the door frame to Benjamin's room. Both kids have grown 2 inches in the last four months. It's evident that they are growing as their abilities and interests develop. I am hoping that during this session Steinar and I,  too, will grow and that it will be evident to see God's work in our lives.

cute kids

Notice the high tide and branches all over the ground?

Deep reflections.

Chasing the gulls.

Someone missed the point of canoeing.

winds and rains

Last night the wind and the rain beat against our house...along with big branches. We got about 70mm of rain! This Scripture came to mind as I was laying in bed listening to the strom; Matthew 7:

²⁴ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

Wanna build all the various aspects of my life on the solid rock foundation, the words of Jesus, and put them into practice so that my life won't fall with a great crash....'cause Lord knows the storms never seem to cease....