For Erin (life, plans, and fun)

I have heard a vibe of apprehension going around lately as to if Michael and I are actually going back to Guyana this year or not. Then answer, if any of you are still wondering, is that we ARE indeed still planning and working toward getting back down to that little school in the jungle. The way things are looking right now, we will be leaving to go down some time in early September. I just want to take the time to say a HUGE thank you to those of you that have been supporting us with your prayers and donations. It gives us courage!

Here's a bit of what we've been doing lately:
Both Michael and I have been working a pretty consistent 6 days a week every week. You can imagine how meaningful having Sabbath off is to both of us. It really is our day of rest, in many ways!

Michael works Sunday through Wednesday for Whiting Nursery. He continues to amaze me with the amount of plants he brings home every week. He's been planting many of them himself, but we've also been sharing several with his cousin who just moved into a house he built. His yard was all dirt, so you can just imagine how grateful he is for free plants. The great thing is, if they do end up dying you really haven't lost anything. :)

Our sad little yard is even showing some brave signs of life since Michael has been giving it so much love. Our neighbor works at a winery in town and she was able to find us some empty wine barrels that we could have. Michael was thrilled. We picked them up, chainsawed them in half, and now they are serving as flower pots.
In addition to a healthy row of half barrels brimming with flowers, we also have a little flower garden in our back yard. It is not full yet, but it's getting there. We have also just started putting in some veggies in another little garden plot that Michael has prepared. It's exciting to see flowers blooming, strawberries growing big and red, vines climbing, and chard the size of Texas in our own back yard!

Thursdays Michael gets more gardening experience working for an elderly couple. He met this guy, Ned, at the nursery one day. Ned explained that he was looking for a gardener and Michael cheerfully volunteered himself for the position. Things seem to be going pretty well with that job, so we are grateful.

Ned and his wife belong to the Greek Orthodox church and invited us to their Greek Orthodox Easter dinner at their house a few weeks ago. We met a bunch of their friends and relatives and got to eat some delicious Greek food. It was neat for me to be there since I had never met them before. They were very sweet and we had a nice time visiting. I also really enjoyed admiring Michael's handy work in the garden. It's looking really good!

Fridays are Michael's days to help out another retired friend of our, Ed James. He just built himself a beautiful house up in the hills of Deer Park and is getting closer and closer to actually being able to live in it. Michael has helped with all kinds of different projects for him. Everything from doing the electrical wiring of the house to weed whacking his huge property. There's always something going on with him it seems, so Michael stays quite busy.

I finally got a semi full time job working as a care taker for a 76 year old lady named Naomi. She does pretty well except for the fact that she is wheelchair bound. She broke her left leg twice, and is having an extremely difficult time recovering this time around. I actually do quite a bit to help her out. I cook, clean, deep clean, refill her meds, walk with her four times a day with her walker, help her shower, try to get her to eat and drink with her health in mind (hard to do with an elderly person!), run errands for her, and sometimes even go on outings with her.

She's a pretty sweet lady and always thanks me for my help. She does have a cantankerous side, but I try to patient with her. It helps that she is a strong Christian. I love that about her. We start every day with worship together. It's like a breath of fresh air having Christianity in common with those you work with. It makes conversation so much more meaningful when you can share things confidently about your faith.

It has actually been quite a blessing working with Naomi. I fought the idea of care taking at first since it was so nurse like. I have nothing against nurses, in fact I admire them immensely, but I don't really feel that nursing is in my blood. However, as I got to know Naomi, I realized more and more how fulfilling it is to be doing a job that is actually necessary and meaningful to someone.

I compared what I was doing with Naomi to something touristy like working at a resort. The thought startled me. I couldn't believe how undesirable the tourist job seemed to me. It may pay better and have different kinds of benefits, but working one on one with a person who genuinely needs it seemed a thousand times more rewarding than propping cushions under the rich tourists' feet. In a way I feel that working with Naomi has opened my eyes to what my job as a Christian is. I think that we need to help those that genuinely need it and work hard for the glory of God. Anyway... that's all about that. :)

When I'm not working for Naomi, I am kept quite busy cleaning or babysitting. I have been hired to clean the St. Helena SDA Church for 5 hours a week. It's kind of fun having the whole church to myself. I bring my little Ipod along with me so I don't get lonely and I really go for it. Music makes life so much fun!

While the work I have described above does illustrate a very typical week in our lives, there have been some fun side jobs that we have taken on too. In April we got invited to join the sophomore biology trip from PUC Prep as they headed out to the coast for a week at the Albion Field Station. We spent the week tide pooling, hiking, canoing, whale watching, playing on the beach, and getting to know some of the amazing students that were in the class. It was awesome!


Last week we had another fun little trip, this time down to southern California. Michael and I have both worked multiple summers at Pine Springs Ranch Christian Camp. It's a couple years now that we have not been able to work at camp, but the camp director is still using us. He has asked us to help out with outdoor school the past two years. This is fun for us because we have been able to afford to get the week off work, drive down, have fun with dozens of sixth graders, and drive home again with no problem.

This year they had Michael teaching "physics" (go carts). He sure did his best to teach them a thing or two about how engines work to run the carts, but you know how sixth graders are! It's hard to teach kids who just want to play and have fun. I can say this with confidence because I am just such a kid! That made it hard for me too since they had me teaching about creepy crawlies. I focused on insects and did my best to teach some very general things about insects before we would all pile out the doors, fully equipped with little buckets, jars, identification books, and magnifying glasses. We definitely spent the majority of class hunting for insects to catch, identify, admire, and release again. It was pretty fun and we found some cool stuff even though it is quite early in the season for too many critters to be out and about.

It's been super nice having little breaks from every day life like that, but it looks like there's a long road of work ahead of us before our next notable trip. Going back to Guyana is a noble thing to keep working hard for all summer, but Michael and I have decided to end our work a bit early this year to take about a month to slightly deviate from our mission field plans. While we are still aiming to leave for Guyana in September some time, we are hoping to take a few weeks in August to go paddling with several friends up in Canada.

Canoeing is near and dear to our hearts because two summers ago we were able to join an adventurous group of "voyageurs" on an unforgettable three month trip across the some of the prairie provinces of the great north (Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba). We covered some absolutely amazing territory but it seemed we were working too hard to enjoy the area to the fullest. That is why we have decided to travel back to a maze of lakes in the wilds of Saskatchewan for a closer look.

It's so exciting to start planning for this trip. It's even more exciting that our dear friends, Erin and Ed, will be joining us (right guys? right?). :D




Well, there you have. You have been officially updated on our lives.

Until next time...
Lauren