The Seven Puffs...Trying To Live By Faith: June 2015

Just a few weeks ago, Andy and I had the unbelievable opportunity to run the Great Wall half marathon. One of the great things about this run is that you do not do it for time. There is so much congestion on the wall, that there are many place you have to walk or are stopped. And while this lessened the pressure for us as we trained, my competitive nature started to kick in leading up to the day. I didn't really have a time that I was shooting for, but I wanted to run the race well. That no matter where we stood in the end, I wanted to feel good about how we ran this race.

A couple weeks before this race, another mountain presented itself. My dad...healthy and recently retired...was diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer. This has been a shock to all of us and a very unexpected mountain to climb. The first few weeks were simply an emotional roller coaster...meetings with doctors gave us mixed signals and the distance became a huge stumbling block that I wanted to remove immediately.

We are now about 6 weeks post diagnosis and my dad is a third of the way into his treatment (6 weeks of radiation and oral chemo). It is that crazy time of year when my head spins...kids end of the school activities (parties and awards and field trips x 4) plus my own goodbyes to friends...some for just the summer, and some for who knows? And then there is also the packing, which is extra complicated because of a staggered start (Sarah and I leave a week before everyone else) and Grace and I will be on the west coast for two weeks of YL camp. As of now, we still don't really know where we are staying and when...and I am leaving in four days!

In these 6 weeks, I have had a lot of time to pray and contemplate, and there are a few things that I deeply desire out of all this...1) my dad would live abundantly now, on earth, and in heaven 2) God would be glorified 3) I would run this race well

I am not in control of the circumstances, but I am in control of how I respond...and I want to be able to look back and feel good about how I ran this race.

My very dear friend introduced me to this song that has been a heart song to me these few weeks...reminding me to keep my eyes on HIM...that the waves and wind still know HIM...and that one day the mountain will be thrown into the midst of the sea.
Here is the link to the song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNqo4Un2uZI

We just had the wonderful opportunity to have some of our dearest and oldest friends come for a visit. We have known Jeff and Jodi for almost 20 years...got married a year apart, grew our families together, did ministry together, did life together...until the Lord called them to Colorado seven years ago. They were actually one of the first couples we spoke to about the opportunity to move to Hong Kong, since we got to see them in Florida just after we got the news.

So having them here was surreal. It wasn't at all lost on us the effort they made...not just physically getting here, but the logistics of taking care of the boys while they were gone, not to mention being away from their jobs. We were so grateful to be able to share this life with them. We knew that, moving this far away, we would not be a very accessible destination. But as our lives grew in Hong Kong, the more we hoped and prayed that we would get visitors. Because it just doesn't matter how much time you have, one can not answer the question, "what is Hong Kong like?" in a complete way. You can not communicate the smells of the streets, or the way you feel on a crowded train, or the energy of the city at night...these things must be experienced. So we have been very blessed when friends and family decide to make the trek to the other side of the world...and our Chesemore visit was no exception.

When we first started discussing this visit, I was praying that we would have good weather. I guess "good" is a relative term. It wasn't oppressively hot, but it literally rained everyday but one. In fact, they got to experience an amber rain and a black rain...the firsts of the year:)

But we made the most of it...hiked Cloudy Hill behind our neighborhood, checked out Sai Kung, visited almost every market we could find, had some great food, witnessed a very cloudy Peak, took the tram to the very cloudy Peak, had a family day at Stanley where we ate a very large pizza, and ended the visit with wonderful foot messages. And all of that wasn't even the best part. The best part was just being together. We laughed and talked and cried and laughed some more. It was just so great being together, that I didn't even stress about the weather. It was pure joy for me to watch all of our children be so normal with them...maybe a little too normal, since Abby, Josh and Sarah thought Jeff was the human jungle gym.

Hong Kong has forever changed us...it just has. And there aren't enough stories to tell or pictures to show to explain why. So I am grateful for the times when it has worked out for friends and family to come and take a taste of Hong Kong...a taste of our life here. It is something that we will never forget, so we appreciate it when there are others in our lives who have an understanding through experience. Please know, we realize that there are many who would love to get here and can't for a ton of reasons, but as in the case of Jeff and Jodi, we need to share our appreciation for those who have made it happen...and our God who has opened the door:)