Saying Goodbye

This past week was bittersweet.  We commissioned and sent off one of the young people who has been a part of our youth group and our lives for more than three years.  Chingmi finished his twelfth standard last year, which basically means he graduated from high school.  He entered into a year-long airline training program with the dream of getting a job in that industry.  He recently completed his training…and now he is moving to Delhi.  Chingmi has two older siblings who live in Delhi.  He plans to move in with them and pursue a job in either the airline or the hotel industry.  His chances of getting a good job in Delhi are much greater than they are here…and so we must say goodbye.

We have grown to love Chingmi like he is our own child…along with his four foster brothers and sisters who make up our small youth group.  We have had the incredible joy of discipling Chingmi, speaking into his life, and watching him grow into an amazing young man of God.  Chingmi is a leader with a beautiful servant’s heart and a tremendous potential to be a powerful force for the Kingdom of God.  Please join us in praying for this precious young man as he makes the difficult transition to Delhi.  He has never been to Delhi or any place like it, with its overwhelming mass of humanity and all the things that go with it.  Even though Chingmi will be living with his biological siblings, he has not spent significant time with them in nearly a decade.

Please pray with thanksgiving and expectation that God will continue to guide Chingmi’s every step, that He will protect Chingmi from all harm, that God will open the door to the right job for Chingmi, that God will bless Chingmi’s reunion with his siblings and that they will be only a positive influence in his life, that Chingmi will not feel lonely or afraid but that he will feel the steadfast love and presence of God Himself each day, and that Chingmi will be a bold and courageous witness to and disciple maker for Jesus.

Time to Celebrate

Last month was a big month for the little girls in our house.  We celebrated Desirae's sixth "Gotcha Day" on August 18.  This is the day that Desirae arrived in the United States with Tony and I, and she officially became a part of our family, as well as an American citizen.  Adoption has both the joyful side of becoming a part of a new family but also the painful side of losing your biological family.  So, we are very intentional to make this day very special for our sweet, little Ethiopian princess.  Desirae was able to celebrate her "gotcha day" with a couple of her friends at a new indoor play area here in our city.  They had so much fun running and playing together for a few hours.  Delaney was even allowed to get in on the action, even though she exceeded the height limit for the establishment.

On August 20, we celebrated Delaney's 11th birthday!  Her birthday was on a Sunday, so on Saturday our whole family and our youth group went swimming.  Then, after worship on Sunday, our family and of course Delaney's best friend went out for lunch and for milkshakes!  Not to mention that Kailynne made Reese bars and apple crisp for Delaney's birthday.  If you can't get Reese cups...you just need to get a nanny who can make them for you! Yummy!  Haha!  We love you Kailynne!  We ended the evening with a small fire so Delaney could roast marshmallows on her special day...even though it was so hot that nobody wanted to get close to the fire...and the marshmallow were a little weird, so they melted instead of getting toasty brown and delicious.

 

Delaney has been wanting high-heeled tennis shoes for months and months...but the only place we could find them was on Amazon.com.  So, with the help of some friends back home, we ordered the shoes and some new Lalaloopsies for Desirae's "Gotcha Day."  We had them sent to our friend's house and then they packaged them up and sent them to us.  We are so grateful for such awesome family and friends in our lives that help make our kid's special days even more special.

Skkky Restaurant

Nope, that is NOT a typo…it is spelled SKKKY…and rightfully so…I guess since it is probably the highest point in our city.  It is a restaurant that we discovered last Sunday on a family outing after church.  After a long week of oppressive heat…temps in the 100s and heat index up to 120 degrees, we were excited about cooler temperatures.  So, we took a spontaneous road trip, at the end of which we found ourselves at Skkky Restaurant.  It boasted of an outdoor terrace on the 10^th floor offering spectacular views of the mountains and the city.

We stopped for a really late lunch or a very early dinner by Indian standards, at 5:30 pm and so we had the entire restaurant to ourselves.  We started the evening with the sun and clear skies and ended it with beautiful twinkling lights…Kailynne’s favorite.  The food, both Indian and Chinese, was delicious and the ambiance was awesome! I can’t believe that we have lived in this city for three years and never found this place before.

If you ever come to visit us in “our India,” we promise we will take you to this little gem.  We are so excited about our new oasis; we hope you enjoy these fun pictures from our family outing.

Joy of the Lord

A few months ago, our entire church fellowship went on a retreat…the first of its kind.  It was only a twenty-four hour period of time, but it was a day that will be remembered by all.  The focus of the retreat was JOY and the purpose was for our entire church family, which includes 22 people ranging from ages 3 to 63, to bask in the joy of the Lord together. 

We retreated up the mountain, three hours to a hill station called Kalimpong.  The weather didn’t really cooperate with us the first day as it was rainy and very foggy. But, we didn’t let that stop us from having great fun together.  The location of our retreat was a family run guest house, where our family has visited several times to escape the heat in our city.  We love this location because it is just a short walk to a 100 year old boarding school.  The school has a huge field where we are free to run and play together.

In spite of the misty fog that was so thick that we could barely see each other on the field if we were more than 50 feet apart, our group enjoyed a few hours together outdoors when we arrived, walking around and playing basketball. 

 One of our favorite activities was family game time.  We all played charades together.  Then the youth and adults played a game that I haven’t played since the early years of our youth ministry days, called stupid ninja.  It is a fast paced game where you have to act out various “ninja” moves…and it is hilarious to watch adults attempt.  We all laughed so hard that our stomachs hurt!  In the evening everyone watched Moana together and ate tons of snacks.

For worship, we read the book “You are Special” by Max Lucado and we read the story of David being anointed by Samuel.  Then we broke into family groups and did discovery Bible study of this passage in 1 Samuel 16.  It was a very precious time in which every person in our church family was able to participate.

Before we left our retreat, everyone wanted to go back to the school field, because the weather had cleared and the sun came out.  We had a wonderful time throwing the Frisbee, playing basketball, and hanging out together.  Nobody wanted to leave.

What a precious gift it was for our little church family to retreat together to celebrate the JOY of the Lord.  I know that this was such a blessing especially to our Indian friends who really never get to “just get away” as a family and have fun.  The memories that were made this retreat will be cherished for a lifetime by all, both young and old.