Ok God, I'm listening

I read somewhere that if you heard something twice you should really listen and its probably God trying to speak to you. Well that happened this week. I feel like I get caught up in my emotions so much. That if I don't feel "happy" or "joyful" that God isn't with me, or I'm not blessed, or he's ignoring me, or whatever. Well, I was reading a blog today, and I came across this quote, which goes with my previous post, so I felt like I needed to write it down to remember it. It has to do with painting walls, which I think is funny (if you know me at all you would too.). "So I painted, and I love it, and every time I walk in there, I think, "God loves me so much, He gives me free paint. Yes he does." And that's what I came here to say. He pursues us with His love no matter what we may be feeling or what our life circumstances may look like. He doesn't give up. He doesn't walk away. And he cares about the smallest details, right along with the big ones like cancer, job losses, infidelity, broken relationships and finances. All of it. Have you ever felt pursued by God's love?" (lemonade makin mama)

Trust

When things feel out of control. - trust me, thank me. Don't do what comes naturally - this may fall prey to negativism. Cry out to God! Affirm your trust in him. Regardless of how you feel. Thank god for everything. Psalm 13:5 But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me. Ephesians 5:20 And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ Philippians 4:6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done, 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. from Jesus Calling

New Addition to the Team

Lilise (Lily) Grace Wicks
July 15, 2010 12:45 PM
9.0 lbs.
21 inches

(Lilise is Ben's french grandmother)

Living the Bothell life

Bothell Independence Day Parade!

This was our first 4th of July parade in downtown Bothell. We've lived here for almost 3 years! You'd think we'd have known how cool this was. So many families! So many kids! Bothell is such a cool city. It has a small town feel. With the Cougars playing in Pop Keeney stadium on Friday nights (we can hear the screams from our house), and the Ranch Drive In (which we made a tradition of eating at after football games). We are beginning to love this "little town", and we are finding more and more fun little places that make it unique.

These are all the kids getting ready to ride their bikes down main street to start the parade. There were thousands of them!

I'll Be Home for Christmas

We are back in the U.S.!!! We left Fiji on Sunday night, November 19, at 11:00 pm. The kids did really well with the whole airport thing and slept pretty well on the plane. Even with a few Advil PM’s in me, I still couldn’t sleep on the flight. It could be that it is because they don’t really design plane seats for 6’3” guys to sit comfortably in, let alone sleep in. Nevertheless, the fact that we were coming home to the States made it all okay.

We had a two-hour layover in Honolulu and of course made a beeline for Starbucks. Mmmm, we never knew a mocha and cappuccino could taste so good!!! We made the quick flight to Kona and arrived at around noon on Sunday (the morning of the same day we left because of crossing the date line). It was such a unique feeling to be back in the states after being gone so long in a foreign country. We got to our hotel and ordered a cheeseburger for lunch. We were actually laughing out loud because it tasted so good!

On Monday, we came to the YWAM base and reunited with all our old classmates that had traveled to other parts of the world. It was so great to see everyone and to hear some of the stories. We had a pretty busy schedule that week of debriefing meetings. On Thursday (Thanksgiving Day), we had a big Thanksgiving celebration on the base and also a "graduation" ceremony. Of course there was turkey and mashed potatoes, but it just wasn't quite the same being away from home.

But then, on Friday, the day we had been anticipating finally came. We flew out of Kona at 8:50 AM for the short flight to Honolulu. We had a six hour layover in Honolulu, so we decided to catch a cab and go visit Pearl Harbor with our extra time. It was a busy day at the visitor center, so we were not able to see the U.S.S. Arizona, but we were able to take a tour of the U.S.S. Bowfin and spend some time in the museums there.

We caught our flight to Seattle and settled in for what must have been the longest 5-hour flight we have ever taken. Angie and I followed through on plans we had made to stick in the iPod and listen to "I'll Be Home for Christmas." Finally, we arrived in Seattle at about 10:30 PM and were greeted by our entire families. We had a belated Thanksgiving with Angie's family on Saturday and an additional Thanksgiving dinner with my family on Sunday. The homecoming weekend was highlighted even more with a snowstorm in Seattle that has continued through this week. What a stark (but welcome) contrast to go from tropical heat and humidity to snow and Christmas music. This week we have been househunting and I have been having some meetings in the city as I prepare to go back to work.

It seems that only now are we truly able to look back on these last months and realize how faithful God has been to our family as we have been on this adventure. This will be an experience for the four of us that I know will be foundational for our family’s future, whatever that may be.

We plan to continue to update this blog on some kind of regular basis, although likely less frequently than we have on this trip. We sign off from this phase of the journal of our adventure with a prayer for all our friends and family and for those that we don't know that may have been following our blog:

When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. (Ephesians 3:14-20)


No rest for the weary on the plane


















Swarming the Starbucks in the Honolulu airport














The best a cheeseburger has ever tasted














Our team giving a report to the rest of the base














Thanksgiving dinner in Hawaii














Aboard the U.S.S. Bowfin at Pearl Harbor



















Hmmm, can we drive this home?













Finally home in a snowy Seattle reunion with cousins Maddy and Isaac

Last Day in Suva!

It is Thursday afternoon, and our last full day in Suva. Tomorrow, we will take a 7:30 am bus back across the island to Nadi, where the airport is. We will take a couple days to rest in a budget hotel there and then fly back to Kona on Sunday night. We are so excited to come home, but are almost too exhausted to realize how close we are.

Last Saturday, Angie taught her second sex-ed class for the moms. I could hear all the ladies laughing from up the hill (so not sure what that means). Then on Sunday, she and our friend Jen hosted another tea party for the ladies. It is amazing to see how much sugar they put in their tea and coffee. It is literally almost a 1:2 ratio of sugar to coffee!

I taught a finance class for four of the ladies each day this week. They were so excited to learn some basic principles and I was able to help each of them draft a budget and savings plan by the end of the week. However, because they only earn $5 per week, it makes it difficult to budget!

Angie has continued her nursing rounds and training. Also, she has spent two days this week taking baby Rani to the hospital and to some specialists to evaluate her leg. It is very difficult to find someone who really knows what they are talking about and then to get a straight answer from them on the diagnosis and prognosis for her condition. Also, we have spent some time researching the possible loopholes that would allow us to adopt her. The Fijian adoption laws require a US citizen to live in Fiji for two years with a work permit to even become a candidate to adopt a Fijian baby. At this point, this is something we are unwilling to do. So, we will continue to pray for a miracle and/or for another family to come along that can adopt Rani and give her the love and care she needs. We have given her back to one of the moms to care for so that leaving her tomorrow isn’t so traumatic. We take comfort on behalf of Rani with the following promise from God:

Father to the fatherless, defender of widows—this is God, whose dwelling is holy.

God places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy.

Psalm 68:5-6

Last night, all the staff and moms put together a going away party for us. Many of them shared what they have enjoyed and appreciated about our family and then they did some traditional dances for us. It was pretty cool.

Sam and Katie are doing very well. Sam has become best friends with two 11-year old boys here. He takes off in the morning and comes back in the evening very tired after playing with them all day. The boys, even though they are older, have been so kind to Sam and take good care of him. Tonight we are taking Sam and his new friends into town to play video games at an internet café and then to McDonalds as a going away treat.

Did I say that we are leaving Fiji in 3 days and back to Seattle in 8 days?!!!

Sam and his new buddies Simone and Shalom













Katie and her new best friend, Pirate

Harvesting crops

After-school activities

Sam and baby Rani

Sam playing Rugby with the kids

Ruthie, Lynn, Angie, and Rani

Two of my finance students, Solote and Angeni

Baby on Board

This last week has been extremely busy and rewarding here at Homes of Hope. The biggest event in this past week is that we have taken in a little orphan baby to care for during our remaining time here. Her name is Rani and she is 6 weeks old. One of her leg bones was bent back on birth and, despite the treatment she has received thus far, she still has a bend to her leg right above her foot. Our family has absolutely fallen in love with her. Sam and Katie call her their little sister and beg us to take her home to Seattle. In fact, if it were not for the stringent adoption laws and processes they have in Fiji in relation to foreigners, we would likely bring her home with us. Instead, we will have to just love on her as much as we can while we have her. I will admit, it is a little hard to get used to nighttime feedings and crying again, but we are glad to do it. It will be very difficult to say goodbye to her in a little over a week and release her to an unknown future. But, we know that she is God's daughter and He will be watching over her. He has a hope and a future for her!!!

Last week, the director of HOH had asked Angie to attend a class that was being held on Saturday for the moms on sex education and childbirth. When Angie arrived, the person in charge asked her to teach the class. So, she did! Angie was amazed at how little these moms knew about their own anatomy and how the babies that they have had even developed and were delivered!!! Angie will finish a second class on Saturday.

Angie has continued to train and organize the nursing and nutrition programs here. I have been helping with construction and also working on some materials to use for some classes I will be teaching next week on basic financial management and stewardship for the moms. Otherwise, we spend a lot of time just hanging out with the moms and children, building relationships with them and giving them training on various things. For example, nutrition and cooking is foreign to them. Many of the moms have never even scrambled an egg for their kids. So, there are many things we are doing to equip and help them. Sam and Katie have formed quick friendships with some of the kids here and have a great time running around the property, playing with the dogs, and playing with little Rani.

Please continue to pray for us this last week of our adventure in Fiji. We are feeling very homesick, and we want to finish strong. Also, Angie is already heartbroken about leaving little Rani.


Burping baby Rani














Angie loves to play dress-up with Rani



















Angie hosted a tea party for some of the moms and their babies














Joti (or Georgie as we call him)


















A view from the hill. Our guest house is the one on the bottom right.

Homes of Hope

Bula from the hills of Suva! We are settling in to Homes of Hope and absolutely loving it. While we enjoyed the work we were doing in Lautoka, God has blessed with this opportunity in doing exactly what we had hoped to do when we came to Fiji. To live among the people (not just in a hotel room) and work alongside them has been very rewarding already. Angie spends the mornings with one of the mothers doing "nursing rounds" and visiting and examining each of the children to check for lice and scabies and also to care for some of the skin conditions they have. Angie is able to train this mother with some basic nursing skills. Angie is also spending some one-on-one time each day with one of the mothers who has had some mental and suicidal history and giving her some basic counseling. And, of course, Angie has been excited to cook with the moms for the meals and also is hoping to go with them in the afternoons when they go into town to sell the fresh bread they have baked that day.

I am working on a financial project for the director and he has also asked me to draft a workbook of basic financial teaching for the mothers. I will also be building a swing set for the children and assisting with the construction of additional cottages for the mothers.

The kids have been going to the preschool they have here in the mornings and Sam is officially one of the leader helpers. They have loved being able to go outside and run around in the hills here.

On Thursday, one of the mothers wanted to take us for a little hike into the jungle to show us a waterfall. It ended up being more of a climb than a hike up and down slippery slopes and rocks. It was beautiful and quite an adventure. However, apparently, I owe Angie one after taking her and the kids on that.

Being in the hills here brings new bugs and critters that we haven't seen yet. Yes, the cockroaches are everywhere we go. We also now have centipedes that can give a very strong sting similar to a black widow bite. We have to check under the covers and pillows for them whenever we go to bed. The first evening we were there, Sam called me out to come look at all the eagles that were flying above the house. Sure enough, it looked like a whole flock of hawks or something that were soaring in the air. Only when they swooped down low did we realize that they were giant bats!

We have been listening to the radio closely over the last few days as there has been tension in the city and threats of a military coup as the military commander has threatened to overthrow the government. Australia sent in some warships to prepare to evacuate their citizens if necessary. We have been keeping in close contact with the US Embassy, but especially in the last day or two, it appears that things are settling down.

Have a great weekend!


The Homes of Hope property, looking up the hill














The view from our guest house














More views














Sam and Katie hanging with some of the kids














Angie tasting some fresh bread














Hanging with moms and kids














On our hike in the jungle. Angie is smiling, but I don't think she is happy!














Team Wicks in the jungle














The kids playing soccer with Joelli














Angie cooking dinner with the ladies

Pancakes for Dinner

Bula!

It is Tuesday afternoon here in Suva. The last few days have been enjoyable as we have explored and settled in to this new city. The city of Suva is much bigger and cleaner than Lautoka and has more traditional retail and restaurants. The hotel where we are staying is very modest but we have a great unit with a living room and two small bedrooms, plus a small kitchen. It is the first time we have been able to cook for ourselves in over 4 months! Last night we had homemade pancakes for dinner. Yes!

While the hotel has been relaxing, we have confirmed our plans to leave the hotel and go live in the mountains with Homes of Hope (HOH). We will leave tomorrow and be there until we head back to Kona on November 19th. The Homes of Hope property is absolutely beautiful and is situated on a ridge that overlooks a valley and other mountains in the distance. There are a couple main buildings, a handful of small houses for the mothers, and a guest house where our family will be staying. We had a nice surprise when our friends Nick and Jen came back from the outer islands early and decided to go with us to HOH. So, our two families will be living together in the guest house and ministering together to these lovely people.

Homes of Hope takes in single mothers, some with unborn children, and gives them a home and training to help them provide for their families and break the cycle of poverty and hopelessness that traditionally accompanies single moms in Fiji. From what we understand, we will be spending the bulk of our time helping in the preschool, tending the large garden, playing with the kids, etc. Angie will be able to fulfill her desire to use her nursing skills in teaching the women proper care for their babies, teaching hygiene, and helping with other health issues. Also, the women bake fresh bread every day to sell to the markets, so we will enjoy being able to help with that (by helping, I mean tasting!).

We are so excited for this opportunity to really engage our family with these people in such a big way and to build relationships with the mothers and staff living on the property. We are pretty sure they do not have internet there, but we will be driving in to the city once or twice a week and will update the blog with pictures of the property.

Till next time!

The Suva harbor from our hotel













From another angle













The Tropic Towers apartment/hotel where we have been staying the last few days













Our room with a kitchen!














Having breakfast with our new friend, Sadi, in the Tropic Towers "coffee lounge"