Jan 5. I’ve decided one of the reasons we wake up around 4 is because that’s when it gets light. This morning was no different. We were up by 5 and four of us went down brick steps to the beach. Miles of beach and we were the only ones out there. The guys wanted to go scout for lobster but the tide and waves were quite strong so they ended up just swimming. I walked for awhile looking to see if the things that wash up here on the shore are the same as in California. One of the common things to see in the sand here are baby Portuguese man-o-war jellyfish. They are very tiny, bright blueish purple blobs about the size of a thumb nail with what looks like an air bubble and then their 2 inch long tentacle. I was intrigued by them. We didn’t ever get stung but people definitely do and I guess since they’re so small it doesn’t do much except cause exceptional pain for a small time. The guys lit a fire in the outdoor oven and grilled the steaks for breakfast with eggs. We packed up and were on the road by 9. We only had an hour or so drive to our next stop, Tofo Beach. The house we stayed in was a 30 second walk from the ocean and we took advantage of it. The guys spent the day out diving for lobster and Renae and I sat outside on the deck most of the afternoon. I read my first David Baldacci book and enjoyed the breeze. Our bedrooms had a/c here, although it was kind of primitive otherwise. We made quesadillas for supper and I slept clear through the night, another first.

Jan 6. Morgan’s been cooking up a storm, and we had fried potatoes and eggs for breakfast this morning. I looked into going on a dive, but visibility was bad and the man wouldn’t have even taken us out in his boat because of the high waves so…I was disappointed but hey, what can you do? Of course snorkeling was out too. So we swam in the waves and I found urchins and shells on the beach. We saw maybe a handful of people on the beach aways down but we were to ourselves mostly. Its so crazy that there are beaches like this with nobody here. I don’t know how much the virus has contributed to that, or if its mostly because we are not on the beaten path. We made a grocery store run later. It was a small place with surprisingly quality foods, I’m guessing because of the resorts nearby. On the way home we took the scenic route (thats for you Papa Harry’s:) out to the lighthouse. We saw little children on the way out there so we handed out candy to them. I just want to pat their faces and touch their hair because they are so beautiful. Their faces are dark and smooth and their teeth shine at us cuz they’re smiling with all their might. The guys grilled fresh lobster and fish for supper with mashed potatoes and cucumber salad. One of the top 5 meals I’ve eaten, definitely. We relaxed abit and packed up what we could so we can get an early start in the morning. The breeze died down after supper and it became stifling hot, so we’re glad for the wind we had while we were here.

Jan 7. After a quick bite of food, we packed the truck up. It fits better each time since we are eating part of our load at each stop. We were actually on the road by 415 and it was just starting to get light in the east. The bathroom wall was covered with a myriad of bugs that we briefly considered adding to our breakfast but then decided against it. I don’t think it was ever an actual option, but then again I ate pork from a hot roadside bucket so what do I have to lose? All of us have been healthy since we arrived in Mozambique and I’m so thankful! We had a 10-hour day driving and it was mostly uneventful, as much as it could be while driving through Mozambique. We saw all kinds of interesting markets and people and goats, and we also hit two chickens. We also had to drive through a hundred kilometer long area where there have been attacks on busses and trucks in the past. We were all a little tense I think, but we had no problems with terrorists in that stretch of road so we thanked God. We arrived to Codi&Coralee’s house in Dondo this afternoon around 330 and relaxed with them. It is so fun to see them here and we get to spend tomorrow with them as well. It’s quite hot and humid here, and they have a cozy house with a big dirt yard where the guys played soccer with some boys after we arrived. They also have chickens and two monkeys I watched for awhile. Codi’s made delicious tacos for supper. We have just been sitting and listening to them and Dillon’s discuss mission things. We got to spent night outside in the schoolroom and the rest had rooms inside the house.

Jan 8. We slept so good in the a/c last night. After breakfast, we all loaded up with Codi’s and their boys in their Patrol and drove to Beira. It’s an industrial style town on the coast of Mozambique. It was hit by a cyclone in 2019 and hasn’t really recovered so there are alot of shanty houses and lots of places with no roofs. It is very green and bushy and kind of tropical in Dondo where Codi’s are and in Beira. Supposedly in the cyclone Beira lost 80% of its palm trees which is crazy because there are a lot still there to me. With the tropical of course comes humidity but I’ve been doing fine actually. Those of you that know me understand why I’m clarifying I’m okay in the heat because boy do I fight it. Anyways we went to a big market and wandered around looking at shoes and capalanas for awhile. The markets are made up of little wooden framed stalls, sometimes with something on the roof. Most of the sellers are men and I’m not sure where all the women are because the few markets we’ve been in have basically been men. We had lunch on the beach in this thatched hut while we sat at picnic tables and it rained outside. And guess what? We had some of the best wood fired pizza I’ve ever had. It was super thin and absolutely delicious. Then we had a quick shop at the grocery store, mostly for us to pick up more Basil Seed with Passionfruit drinks that we’ve discovered. If anyone knows what I’m talking about and knows where I can get them in the states, please tell me. The guys went to see the church later in the afternoon. We had burgers for supper and had a relaxing evening. I was quite sad to tell codi’s goodbye.

Jan 2. This morning we woke up to more wind and some sprinkles of rain but decided to drive 1.5 hours out of town to a game park. We are five plus a car seat in a little Toyota pickup so it’s very snug when we ride places. The guys are in the front and Renae and I are in the back with Max. Levi and Morgan sometimes hop in the back of the truck and spend the ride getting waved to. I think they secretly like the attention. The drive was everything I’d dreamed it would be. There were small hills and lots of trees and brush and everything was quite green. The elephant plains were mostly flat and swampy, and that’s where we saw the elephants. 3 adults and 2 babies. We pulled over and made sandwiches in the grass and watched the baby elephants flap their ears and listened to the dung beetles fly past. Later on in the drive we saw hippos, alligator, kudu, water buck, zebra, wildebeest, and various deer. It was the coolest experience. All i could think about is the fact that some people never leave home and get to experience life outside the comfort zone. We finished off the day with butter chicken and garlic naan.

Jan 3. Ive been waking up for 15 minutes at 4 every morning, but luckily thats the only jet lag any of us has really noticed. This morning we went to the mall for brunch. The mall is quite close to ours in the US. They have Christmas trees and white marble floors and Toms shoes and a Pizza Hut. They also have this little Cafe where we had the ‘menu breakfast ‘ which consisted of: an espresso shot, a juice box, bacon, picanha, and French fries. We topped it off with a little French style pastry filled with vanilla pudding. I watched Max while the others got groceries for our journey tomorrow. Later Renae stayed home with Max while we 4 went to the market to find a tail light for the pickup. We found one, although it was a long process. We went deep into the maze of little alleyways and looked for dried fish and handed out tracts.

The people here seem generally accepting of tracts and lots of them proclaim to us that they love Christ. A man asked us where church was and to tell him he would have to go to Tete or Dondo was disappointing. I loved exploring all over through the places most people don’t go if they visit Mozambique. Oh, one thing of interest. Some man quit trying to sell us a tail light and started trying to barter to buy me to marry his cousin. No big deal. Haha. Anyways we took tuk tuks to the mall and Dillon and I got some things while Morgan and Levi headed to fish market. We walked home and Morgan made this absolutely delicious fish soup over coconut rice for supper.

Jan 4. This morning Morgan was in the kitchen again and made breakfast sandwiches. Dillons had an appointment to pick up Max’s passport and a couple other errands to run so they were gone for a couple hours. We packed up our backpacks and the fridge and Max’s things and the guys loaded the vehicle up. It is so full. The back is full of ice chest and backpacks and the bike and water and its all strapped on pretty well. And so, we left Maputo, sticking tracts in the bus stop window frames before we left.. The road we take up the coast is paved and its sunny outside. We’ve stopped to stretch our legs a couple times, and a little ways back we saw smoke so we stopped and got skewers of meat that ended up being pig liver and ear and it was surprisingly good. Since we’re driving sort of by the coast, we occasionally see the ocean and there are lots of palm trees mixed in with the bush. Its green and tropical looking, with spots of color where I can see women carrying baskets on their heads. Maybe they are going to talk with their best friend. Or maybe they are taking food to someone who’s sick. We have gone through lots of little towns and I love seeing the everyday scenes from their lives while we speed along. Max is riding really well and I guess the rest of us are too. We played 20 questions which was kind of a fail. It went like this mostly:

Levi: I’m thinking of something. Us: is it in the vehicle? L: yes. Us: is it a guy? L: yes. Us: is it dillon? L: yes.

Morgan: im think of something. Us: is it white? M: yes. Us: does it say Toyota? M: yes. Us: is it the pickup in front of us? M: yes.

Then the guys would cackle because it was so lame, or at least I hope thats why. We got to our place of rest around 8, a large house with open windows and doors and a tarantula cruising around outside the front door. We had to drive quite a long ways off road through palms and bush on a red dirt road to get to the house. The renter man brought us steaks and fans and beer, which we politely declined. We hadn’t eaten since morning so we devoured sandwiches for supper. The geckos in our room chirped while we went to sleep, and we could hear the waves crashing somewhere beyond the house.

The 28th mom and Madison and us cruised around LA after we took our covid tests. We went down Rodeo Drive and Sunset Blvd. and drove all over Beverly Hills while the rain beat down. Then we went to Skid Row and I know I’ve written about it before, but that’s just insane. So we had a fun day and they dropped us off Tuesday at noon after a walk on Venice Beach. Thank you to each of you who prayed or have been praying for open doors to visit Dillon’s. Our negative results were an answered prayer and we have been thanking God!

Now we’ve completed Step 1 of several and I’m writing in the Doha, Qatar, airport where even though it’s the world’s richest country, they cannot provide 3 feet of carpet anywhere for us to sleep on our layover. We had hoped to go out into the city but they aren’t accepting anyone but Qatari nationals so we get to sit in the airport for 7 hours. Its not all bad. We had butter chicken and naan and some kebab things and now we’ve been walking all over. I’m pretty impressed with Qatar Airways so far. They have been quite lenient with mask wearing which has been a relief. We had to wear plastic face shields AND masks to board and deplane but luckily not for the flight. The meals were delicious: chicken biryani, cold couscous salad, foccacia bread, and chocolate mousse, and breakfast consisted of egg with mushrooms and ratatouille, fruit, and yogurt. Morgan and I love Indian food so we’re stoked😊 The plane was maybe 1/2 full and it was the first flight we’ve taken during pandemic where they actually spread people throughout the plane with a seat between so that was really nice!

I guess this will be abit disjointed but…WE ARE HERE!! With dillon&renae&max in their little house in Maputo. Our boxes arrived for Dillons and getting our visas went smoothly so we are very thankful! We watched the New Year in outside on the dirt street with fireworks lighting up the sky all over the city. We fell asleep to the sound of the electric fence zapping and the fish tank bubbling above our head.

Yesterday we slept in and then drove to the fish market to get some seafood for lunch. A storm blew in while we were unloading and we spent a lot of the time outside getting sandblasted. By the time we left the fish market for the house, there were piles of sand collecting on the roads. Everything was shut down due to being New Years but luckily the fish market was going so we picked up some shrimp, squid, and clams. It was very difficult for me to say no to all the fish people who were trying to sell us things, mainly because they don’t really take no for an answer. We dropped the seafood off at a little restaurant, although that’s a loose word for it beings it’s nothing more than a concrete room. They said it’d take an hour and a half so dillons drove us around for awhile. Usually it would be so packed with cars in some places and people everywhere so that we wouldn’t be able to drive but the streets were almost empty and we cruised around freely and saw some of Maputo. We saw the old fort, and the new US embassy, and a New York Pizza place even. We are looking forward to seeing it in full swing once its opened up the 4th. We went back to the restaurant and ate our seafood, which was delicious. They fixed shrimp and couve caril which is basically shrimp and plant curry stuff, the squid was in seasonings and juice, and the clams they boiled. They served it all along with xima, which is this white cornmeal porridgey stuff you’re supposed to roll with your fingers and use as a scoop to eat your other food. There were a couple other people hanging out there and we had fun talking to them and listening to them argue about Trump and America. We spent the late afternoon at the house, the guys swam, and I’ve been spoiling Max. Morgan grilled barracuda and made mashed potatoes and coleslaw for supper and we had good conversations and kind of planned out some of the drive back to Tete.

Thats it for now..we had toast for breakfast and Max is cooing and the wind has died down outside. Looks like a good day🙂 oh wait. Levi just opened the curtains and its still super windy. Ciao.

I get this wistful feeling thinking about the exhausted wise men sitting cross-legged on the sand, looking at the stars the night before they met the Christ child. Did they want to give up? Did they have this little feeling that they were so, so close to the treasure they sought? Or were they just going in blind faith with nothing but calculations, always hoping they were on track to meet their King? I get this wistful feeling thinking about the shepherds who got to witness the glorious light and singing from their places in the fields. They were humans after all, so maybe one was having a frustrating day, or forgot his lunch, or had left home in rush that morning, and never would they have known what a thing they would experience. I get this wistful feeling thinking about the excited angels who had the most absolutely astonishing news that they got to tell the world. I can’t imagine the pure joy of knowing that the message you were going to bring would light the way for the hopelessness of humanity. Did they treasure the news and carry it carefully to those shepherds and then with all of their might, shout the message? I think so. Then I think of where we are now, here at the end of 2020. Like wise men, we go forward every day in blind faith and sometimes exhaustion, trusting we are on track to meet the King. Like shepherds, we humbly serve, each in our quiet place, and undeserving of the glorious lives we have been given. Like angels, every day we shine and spread joy for Jesus. I want to be the hope to the world that the angels were that night.

annnnnnnd, WE MOVED INTO OUR BUS. Yes. We are stunned too. It’s part of the reason this post is so late. So yes we moved in the 5th. Jon&Alicia helped us kind of finish stuff up and Dan&Natalie and the boys helped us move in. Well, the boys opened boxes anyway, while we made the bed and organized and put stuff in drawers. It was quite fun. So we have been living in it for two weeks now and we love it. SO much. And we have had so many people through it already and we love having it full of people we love even though it gets pretty cozy with more than four. No one has complained so far !

Mostly everything we needed to fit in the kitchen cupboards fits fine. Our big Ninja blender is the only thing we’ll have to replace and buy something smaller. Our clothes fit in our under-bed closet, although our big coats we have with our winter stuff at Mom’s. So when we take our bus up in the mountains or go somewhere cold, we’ll stick our skis and skates either in our outside storage box “garage”, or on the back deck, which we still have to build after the New Year. Morgan has been working on an outdoor shower setup so that will be cool to have ready to go. Our little stove keeps it warm part-way through the night but when we wake up its 32* outside and maybe inside too, so we bought a tiny heater that makes it very toasty when combined with our little woodstove. It warms up pretty fast by around 10 in the morning and I like having windows and the door open for fresh air so that cools it down abit. We are going to paint the outside, put up solar panels, and build our back and rooftop decks after the New Year so we have been just relaxing and living it up! Last night the youth came caroling and we woke up with them outside our window so I opened it and it was so cool to be caroled to in our house/bus! I loved it. Our meals are fun to eat cuz we eat at our counter on barstools, and if we need anything , it’s all in arm’s reach from our seat. We’re enthused about spring when it’s warm enough to be outside for the evenings because we’ll be able to have a lot more company. And I realize it’s “not cold” here but it IS too cool some of these evenings to have people to sit around a fire even. Come see for yourselves.

I think my mom wants to have a little “bus-warming” evening sometime in January for people to stop by the bus and drink hot cocoa and sit at the fire so we are looking forward to that. We’ve had lots of people just stop in since we’re in a central spot (we literally live on Central Ave. haha) so we try to keep coffee on in case you decide to stop in! We love it, and are looking forward to more friends coming by this Christmas!

I’ve received some Christmas cards and a letter or two which I’ve loved reading. It seems like cards are something people aren’t doing as much anymore which I think is sad because it is so cool to get a little note card in the mail. Or maybe I actually like sending them more. Mine were handmade and sealed with wax this year and I almost made one for myself just so I could open it so I’m hoping they were a success. For Christmas this year, we are doing what a lot of you probably are and staying home. Madison got home last night and Uncle Marshall’s and our Smith “family” arrive this week and it will be a very happy time around our places. Friday night Alicia and I made Christmas goodies at Moms while the guys made a crab and steak supper that was probably some of the better food I’ve eaten this year.

Now that we’re stocked up on candy, we’re ready for Christmas! We are planning to have a couple game nights sometime, and doing some Christmas light drives.

Mom and Madison are driving Levi, Morgan, and I to the airport in LA the 28th. We have our Covid tests next Saturday and will hopefully have the results in time for our departure on Tuesday the 29th. We are going to LA on Monday if we don’t have the results by then so we can take the test they have available with results in 24 hours at the airport for travelers. It’s so scary not knowing if we will be flying to Mozambique Tuesday, or changing our tickets to Thursday because of a false positive. We know we had covid already and that we don’t have it now, but the what if’s are many this travel time. Please PRAY that we can have negative tests and be able to visit Dillon’s in Mozambique for their sake, and ours. It’s also really hard on me that Madison and Mom aren’t able to come now because of school so think of them while we are there also. I plan on posting quite a bit on our trip there so stay tuned!

I hope each of you stays safe this Christmas. Love your families. Drop goodies off at a shelter. Send a little money to those with less. Make someone else’s Christmas blessed besides your own. And most of all, pray for the people who have lost someone this year, or who have a sick family member, or are spending last days with a loved one. Christmas is a happy time for those with no losses. Christmas is a difficult time for those missing family who used to be here. My dad’s birthday is Monday and it’s not always an easy day for us. Thank you for following our lives. And thank you to the people who have helped Mom, Madison, Dillon’s, or us this year whether in prayer, or money, or love from afar. You know who you are. And we love each of you. A very Merry Christmas to all of you.

10/09/20–Friday after school, Mom, Morgan, and I left California and headed east. Cheney and Tanner’s reception was at Dalhart Saturday evening so with driving straight through for 19 hours, we managed to make it there by mid afternoon Saturday. We dropped Mom off with Rhoda and then drove to Tanner’s cutesy house. We got to spend a little there and reconnect with old friends before heading over to Andy&Jenn’s to practice our trio for the reception. Tyrell who is Tanner’s bro and Diane Ratzlaff and I practiced and then Morgan and I went to Tyrell&Katrinas where we stayed for nights. 10 of 10 will go back there for nights again. Anyways, the reception was nice and I got to see lots of old “family’ and friends. Sunday we spent the day at Andy&Jenns basically just eating and hanging out and catching up and singing. It was such a happy day. Monday morning we picked up Mom at 5 and headed back towards California. We stopped in Gallup on the way through and dropped off Starbucks for all the girls which was fun. And I got to see Shaylee and Kenzie who are there from Linden area and it was nice to add more Alberta people to my “recently seen” list. We wish we could have stayed longer, but Morgan had a job to do out in the Arizona desert so we spent a few hours bouncing over sagebrush and small boulders. I got out a few times to look for flowers and admire the rocks but mostly we were in the vehicle working. We got home at 3 or so in the morning and I was so glad we’d had such a good weekend. I got sick Tuesday evening and have been since then so I skipped the Baby Shower i was supposed to help with Thursday morning, and canceled the Fall Supper that Mom and us were going to put on Thursday evening so that was disappointing. In the meantime since we are stuck at home, we are making plans for our Chili Cook-Off that will be held next month hopefully. I’ve done lots of sleeping and fevering and definitely have no taste and smell sooo we think its Cov*d. Boo.

Well I started writing this a couple weeks ago and just got on here again. Yesterday Morgan and I drove up to Angels Camp and met some skoolie people! Its crazy, but it was actually the first time we had actually been inside another school bus house. They were a really neat couple around our age and they gave us some useful ideas for going forward with our build. We were stoked to meet some fellow skoolie people and will probably run into them again while we are traveling somewhere! They upgraded their batteries and were giving away their used ones, which we got from them and will use for the time being since we will be plugged into shore power for the first while and won’t be boondocking alot which is mostly what they do right now.

So like I said before, we had Cov*d. And I thought I’d write a little about it because people have messaged us about symptoms and so on so if you aren’t interested, move along. We personally weren’t super worried about catching it, but now that its over I’m relieved so I guess I must have been more worried than I thought. The unknown part of it is scary. Mom and I started with fatigue and the second day got fevers. I ran fever for 4 or 5 days and the highest it got was 104. Mom came out of it sooner with head congestion and it took me longer. I slept off terrible headaches for 2 days straight. Morgan got hit around the 5th day we were sick and had only a tiny spot of fever and otherwise dealt with fatigue and lightheadedness and headaches. It took about 8 days for me to feel better enough to like go outside and sit and things like that. Morgan and Mom took a few days less than that and now we are back pretty much to normal and we are so thankful.

Our bus of course has been on standstill since we got sick but we have started back working there this week abit. We ordered this b e a u t i f u l black tile for the floor that I can’t wait to get in, and our sweet little fridge arrived a couple days ago too. We went with a little smaller fridge because the one we had originally wanted was out of stock indefinitely. We also had ordered baskets from West Elm that will be our “dresser” drawers. They came this week also so we have one here at the house and are packing it with clothes to see how much room our clothes will actually take. Both of us only have 4 ish pairs of shoes each and we’ve been working on downsizing our clothes too. Is 4 pairs of shoes too many for you, or do you have lots more? I never ask people about how many shoes they own, or more importantly, how many they own but never wear. Maybe I should ask more🤷‍♀️

Its beautiful and sunny and 70 degrees and I’m happy to be alive. The tree in moms front yard is changing color a tiny bit and it’s about as much as stuff does around here so we know it’s fall. The sunsets have been swell the last couple weeks too. I’m going for an orchard walk which I tried to do yesterday but partway home two dogs came out of the canal and snarled so I cut it short. I guess I’ll try again. Stay safe, friends.♡

Last Sunday, us, John, and Levi drove up to the mountains. We stopped at the Dodge Ridge parking lot which is usually where we ski but there isn’t any snow left. It was rainy off and on but Levi made a fire anyways and Morgan cooked and we had this delicious damp breakfast around the fire. It was a top breakfast of 2020. Then we drove up to the summit of Sonora Pass. We weren’t sure it’d be open for the season yet but once we got farther up the gates were open so we were able to go to the summit. It was snowing at the top, just little icy pellets. We drove down a bit and stopped for lunch clear back in a meadow beside the river. The wind was in the pines and the river was rushing and the sunshine was so warm. Morgan made the best chicken fajitas I’ve probably ever had, Levi made beans, and John made guacamole. I explored a little and found these crazy looking “snow plants” which you can read about here. They are quite interesting.

Anyways, we drove back home and I just joyed in the blue sky and the fresh air and my favorite mustard sweater that was damp and the love of my life beside me. Also, we saw a beautiful brown bear scurry across the road while we were driving. We all managed to catch a glimpse of it as it headed up into the brush. Sunday was a happy day.

In other news, we had a thunderstorm here at Winton last Monday. With hail. Not even pea-sized, but it was still unusual for here. We also got a little rain and that means green can stay a little longer and I’m so thankful! Papa Rogers and Gene&Venora from Center were here for lunch Monday which was a treat. It was wonderful to see familiar people again. Venora actually taught me in home-ec when I was in 8th grade in Center so we go way back!One Tuesday I went with Morgan on a job by the Bay area. The man he’s working for has a bowing monk living on his property that’s taking care of these sacred cows and they are going to make some land into a sanctuary for them. Very interesting.

Last Saturday Morgan took me to the airport and I flew out to Michigan. It was a fairly normal experience to fly now. I had to wear my mask on both flights but the flight attendants werent necessarily really picky. I had an overnight layover in Charlotte, NC, so I Ubered to a hotel when I flew in. My little Uber guys were the BEST this trip. My first man moved from Egypt a year ago so we had a lengthy conversation about the pros and cons of traveling there and the safety and also discussed other places he had visited. He lived in an upper story apartment and could see the pyramids from his balcony and he said, ” If ever you get to see the pyramids, you will be small. You will be amazed. You will think to yourself that you can do anything after you see them. Because they are built to stand for two thousand years and they still are not fall. You will not understand how they could build such a monument so many years ago.” Of course I now want to visit Egypt since he gave me all the stats and info. My second Uber driver was an investor in the stock markets and is getting his doctoral degree in business in Phoenix. We had a big discussion about religion in that ride, and I was kind of disappointed to get to the airport and have to end the conversation.

Mom, Madison, Ann, and I drove up to the Upper Peninsula on Monday to Pictured Rocks and hiked around there abit. It stopped raining for us and Lake Superior was as beautiful as always. I miss the trees and the fresh water and the wild north. We waded around awhile and even found some petoskey stones! Tuesday we drove to close to Escanaba where Uncle Jeff and Rockie bring their cows for the summer so we got to see kind of what it’s like around that area. It sounds like a congregation may be starting to form up there. We also drove through Charlevoix because Mom had seen these “mushroom houses” one time and wanted to show us and they are crazy! Read about them here.

The rest of the week we’ve been busy with packing and finishing things up at moms house and being with friends in between. Madison and I went to Grand Rapids and picked up my Morgan and John yesterday afternoon. We had a delicious pizza night with the Breakfast Club courtesy of Ross+Cy and I realized again how much I value those people and also I tried to get them to move to California by us. Early this morning Morgan and John headed west on a covered wagon. One that says “Penske Moving” on the side. We will follow by air on Tuesday!

I’ve been happy and sad all week. Its exciting to have Mom and Madison moving by us, but it closes a big chapter here in Michigan. Dad is buried at Wildwood Church, Dillons arent here right now, and there are people here we can never repay for their kindness and love to us as a family. Morgan and I were married here and we have had some good times here. Leaving here feels like its cutting ties with my friends who have moved away, but who have family here that they come see at Christmases. It’s going to be harder to see those friends if we aren’t coming back here as much. So all in all, it’s exciting, but bittersweet.

Thanks for all your positive feedback about my last post. I don’t feel like I often write about issues that I feel strongly about, but when I do it’s good to hear your opinions on it. Wishing each of you a good weekend♡

my dear readers. I don’t know if I really am the “Poise Points” type of writer. The Hearth&Home hasn’t asked me if I’m interested in that job yet, anyway. Maybe because I am too honest. This all begins with a status I saw this week. I will title this piece:

“ENTITLEMENT IN THE MIDST OF LOCK-DOWN”

Ah. Marriage. Something that eventually comes to every Mennonite youths mind. Some of those youth are getting engaged during this uncertain, crazy time. Some Canada/America couples have been forced to delay wedding dates. Some lucky couples have been able to get married, albeit with a smaller crowd. There has been food bought and unused, dresses that only a few close friends have seen, and disappointed friends and family who could not attend weddings of nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and family friends. There are airline tickets that have been canceled, and honeymoon destinations changed. The list could go on. The couple themselves have had to put dreams aside, settle for less, and accept that getting married during a pandemic is less than perfect. Some of those couples have gracefully picked up their lives together and gone on.

I would have loved a small wedding but I was told not to say that because “it would offend some of the people who had to have them”. Well, I’m still going to say it. I would have loved it. I might have been weird, because more often than not, our Mennonite weddings could be described as the bigger, the better. That’s fine. Each to their own. I admire the couples who have had to settle for a wedding far smaller than they had dreamed of, yet they realize how little of a thing that is in the big picture.

Pandemic or no, there are still rules of social etiquette. There are still friends and family in the background, trying to pick up pieces and work with the change of plans for you. There are bridesmaids trying to keep the bride upbeat, and best men helping the groom change honeymoon plans. If they are able, people are still giving their guest houses or their homes for the family who has traveled for the wedding. Food is still being made and brought in. It is still a wedding, even though it is perhaps diminished in size. In most places the congregations are unable to attend the wedding, but they are still behind the scenes making sure your day happens. The couple and family need to understand this is a disappointing, stressful time for everyone, mentally and maybe financially.

All over the world, weddings and birthdays and holidays are passing in a completely different way than normal. People are not receiving and giving like they have been able to in the past, either due to financial uncertainty, or being unable to attend events. It is disappointing for the graduates whose end-of-school parties have been canceled, for couples receiving less gifts for weddings, for the grandparents whose 50th anniversary passed unnoticed. It is a disappointing time for everyone.

In the midst of being disappointed, we should look at the other side of things. Be thankful for what you as a couple receives, thanking those who put effort into the wedding, and move on. Be thankful for the school your children have been able to attend and now are missing. This means being grateful that we have the Church to lean on in these uncertain financial times. This means thinking of all those around us who have lost their jobs and are struggling to find work to support their families. This means thinking of the people who have lost loved ones during this time, unable to have a proper church service. This means Thinking of Others.

And you can be sad. Couples who didnt get to see their friends or have that “normal ” wedding. Grads that might not get to wear their matching clothes right now, or sing their song. All of us can grieve what life has tossed at us. But please. Don’t be entitled. We are Christians who have Jesus, more wealth than the world can imagine. We are entitled to nothing. Thank you.