Earlier today I gave a brief and very self-centered reaction to the bombings in London. Rather than convey my shock and sympathy, my mind went immediately to “how does this effect me.” I wish I had reacted differently. In retrospect it only shows how selfish I am at a time like this.

And yet, there is no getting away from this simple truth: This mornings attack bear some effect on our trip to Northern Ireland.

Earlier today I contacted the leadership of our mission trip. I asked… “In light of what has happened, do you think that everything will proceed? At whay point would we rethink our plans?”

Here is the response I got back:

Hi PA –

Actually, I had one of my trip leaders traveling from London/Gatwick to London City airport at just the time the blasts happened. He made it to the airport and on up to Liverpool fine.
I am going to copy in this email an email I just received from A-, the Summerserve coordinator for Northern Ireland.

Just for your information, we have a direct flight from JFK to Dublin. Dublin of course is in the Republic of Ireland. We will then take coaches up to Belfast. The Irish Republic and Northern Ireland are a separated from Great Britain, Wales and Scotland by the Irish Sea. We will not be going anywhere close to London or even the land mass that England, Wales and Scotland are on.

Here is A-‘s email:

Hi D-,

I’m sure that you’ll have heard the news by the time you read this. I suspect you might have some uneasy parents calling you, so if you want to reassure them you can remind them that Northern Ireland is quite separate from England, separated from London itself not just by a lot of miles but also by the Irish Sea. The team will be nowhere near London at any time.
It looks like an al Qaeda attack, and all previous incidents of this kind have been one-off attacks with no follow-up (9-11, Madrid, Kenya, Bali), so if they follow that pattern there should be no danger anywhere in the UK for some time to come. I’d suggest it’s timed to coincide with the G8 summit which will be long over and done with by the time the team arrives.

In conclusion, we wouldn’t see this as increasing the personal risk of anyone coming to Summerserve Ireland.

Blessings,

A-

So, there you have it. Let me know if you have any other questions, or any of your students or parents can feel free to call me directly.

Blessings!

D-

And with that, I rest.

With the Northern Ireland mission trip just 11 days away, today’s terror attacks have caused some concern within the leadership at Romeo.

I am busy reassuring myself that this doesn’t seem to bear any effect on our trip at all… but I think I am kidding myself. I am just waiting for the phone to ring with the voices of concerned parents.

My opinion on the matter: If God is sovereign and omniscient, then when He told us to go on this trip and confirmed that by providing the funds needed through hundreds of faithful people… God knew this too would happen and our being in Belfast during this time is part of His sovereign will.

Last night we took Megan and Paul and our visiting friends, the Stapleton’s to see the Fireworks at Stony Creek Metropark. It was an amazing time and I really got to see the whole day in a brand new light.

Special visitors
We’ve known Erik and Michelle for about 10 years now. But since the live on the other side of the world in Vanuatu, we rarely get to see them anymore. (They are in a small village translating the Bible into Neffi.) Of course, it was great seeing them… But it was even better being around their beautiful 3 children. JohnMark, (7) Sierra, (6) and David. (4)

What made yesterday’s excursion to see fireworks so special was that it was the first time the kids had seen fireworks in their whole lives. Erik told me, “Obviously, we don’t celebrate the 4th on South Tanna… And if we did the fireworks would scare the people. They wouldn’t get it.” JohnMark, the oldest, remembers seeing fireworks once before he left as a 3 year old.. And he has told his brother and sister all about it. While they had seen pictures and been told about them… The whole thing was brand new to them.

The kids were very excited and impatient for the fireworks to start. Since they didn’t start until 10:00 PM… They were wired just to be up that late! But as the show started the three kids just stared. They hadn’t imagined it would be this big and loud. They were absolutely elated. It was something they would tuck into their memory banks for years to come.

Other things I learned
While I was reading a book to JohnMark and Sierra… They saw a jack-o-lantern. They knew what it was but had never done it before. JohnMark asked me, “How do you carve a pumpkin?” He listened carefully as I told him. Then he said “Do you think I’ll get to do this while we’re in the States?” His eyes lit up when I told him that Halloween is in October, so he would probably get a chance to do it. Just wait until he finds out neighbors will give him candy!

In their village, personal space is a bit different. JohnMark or Sierra regularly bumped into people while swimming in the lake. They didn’t even think to say “excuse me” since in their world rubbing up next to a stranger or swimming between their legs is no big deal.

Sierra is a precocious and fun little girl. To say she’s “All American” would be a lie. She is far from American. Her half Aussie/half islander accent made her fun to listen to. (Both Erik & Michelle also have funny little accents.) She and Megan had a blast playing together.

Proud partners
As the family talked very matter of factly about their living condition and the hard work they encountered all the time… I was really humbled by their service to the Lord. They need their families as much as we do. Their kids miss their cousins and grandparents. Their kids don’t have many friends… And neither do they. But yey their simple and compassionate dedication to the task of making God’s Word available in the native venacular drives them every day.

I am in awe of what they do. They are doing something I am not brave enough to do. I see that the work is important, I could even squint and see myself studying that hard for the serious work of Bible translation. But I could not see putting my family that far from home. That far from what we “feel we need.” God really spoke to my pride as we hung out with Erik and Michelle.

Despite my selfishness and insecurities… Kristen and I stand up as proud supporters of Erik and Michelle. What they do matters. God has called them to do something I cannot or would not be able to do. We are happy to partner with them as prayer and financial supporters. More than that, we are happy to call them friends.

We returned from Shavehead Lake on Friday night after a week of relaxation and family time. Overall, it was a fantastic week for the family and I to be together. We swam and fished and ran around. The kids did a good job adjusting to the heat at the cottage (No AC) and I had fun cooking most of the meals. Give a guy a grill and he goes nuts!

So, we are back and I’m sure later in the week I’ll share some of my profound thoughts that came to me while staring endlessly at the ripples of water last week. But here are some of the many things that we’ve stepped into coming off of vacation.

15 days
In about 2 weeks I’ll be embarking with 7 other people to Northern Ireland for our 3 week mission trip. The assignments have just come in and everyone in the group is realizing that we really will be apart most of the trip. Though I haven’t gotten my list yet, I’ve been told that I’m assigned to the Five Mile Methodist Church. I’m still waiting to learn more about this church and my work there.

Stapleton’s here
We’ve been hosting some old Moody chums and Wycliffe Bible Translators Erik and Michelle Stapleton. They live in the island nation of Vanuatu and are home visiting and resting to go back next spring. Since they haven’t been to the States since 2000, they were a little surprised when Survivor was in their area. They had never heard of a reality show… At any rate, it’s a lot of fun to catch up with them and hear about what God is doing on the island they live on.

House hunting
The search hits high gear this Wednesday as we will see 5 houses in the area. We have a stupid goal of buying a house before I leave for NI on July 18th.

Fireworks
The whole family and the Stapleton’s will be going to Stony Creek Metropark tonight to enjoy the fireworks and some good old fashioned 4th of July fun.

PA in a controversy
When I came back there was a very formal letter from a family in the church who is concerned that PA and PB are teaching spiritual disciplines. Their charge is pretty interesting and I fear it may be the tip of the iceberg. The flipside of it is, our primary avenue for teaching these has been going great. There were about 50 people at our last Bonfire. Absolutely incredible!

Picture of perfection, eh? Let’s say that our kids enjoyed their vacation. Smiles everywhere. 

On Monday we visited old Moody friends and their kids Lindsay and Ethan. 

A highlight of the week was feeding the ducks who had made our yard their home. They got a lot closer than this too! 

Megan and Paul riding their water noodle “horses” around the cottage. 

Megan survived her road trip just fine. Whoever invented the DVD player for a car is a genius.