Braces for Luca

Here is Luca with his new summer look.  Teeth straightening will be accomplished in 2 months time so he can return to Italy brace-less.  It was a dental day for him with a visit to Indiana this morning for a cleaning and two fillings on the area where his lower expander had been on for nearly two years.  We are so thankful for the generosity of both orthodontist and dentist that have covered these dental expenses for our family.

In the USA

We have safely reached the good old US of A.  Thank you for your prayers for us in preparing for departure and then as we made the long journey across the pond.  All went super smoothly; the kids ages for sure make traveling such a breeze now, which allowed us parents to get some rest in along the way.  That is as much as one can when sleeping upright.  The kids were wildly impressed and excited that not only did they get individual monitors on the airplane, but now they are equipped with a video game console.  Was it bad of me to let them play the whole 9 hour trip?!  I was exhausted and needed some rest, so don't judge me too hard on that one. 

We are currently enjoying our time of reentry and jet lag recovery in the comfort of Jonathan's parent's house in Michigan.  The kids have already been put to work helping in the yard.  Yesterday they unloaded two yards of stone gravel to lay under the deck.  Two kids fell off the truck in the process, but thankfully only suffered minor scrapes.  Luca was a work horse heaving stones and pushing the wheel barrow around.  

While the rest of us headed out for an afternoon doctor visit and shopping he stayed back with Munga and completed the project.  Later a neighborhood boy and former school mate came by to play with Luca and then invited Luca over to his house to swim in their pool.  He was super stoked about that and looks forward, along with the other two kids, to playing and swimming more with their friends on the block.

I just have to post this picture of a drawing that Luca and Emma made on their final day here one and a half years ago.  Impressively, Munga and Gramma have kept in on the dry erase board the entire time we have been away.  I love it!

After day 3, jet lag is finally taking it's obvious toll on some...just as I was getting jealous of the kids seemingly ease of transition.  Luca crashed at 5:00 today after a full day of eye and orthodontist appointments, shopping etc. and could not be awoken to eat dinner for anything.  We finally got him to wake up to get a scoop of ice cream but immediately he returned the couch completely knocked out.  Jet lag is tough!

Finishing and Beginning

These final two weeks prior to leaving for the USA have been very busy.  We are nearing the finish line of school and a ministry season with barely enough time it seems to catch our breath before starting another race at a sprinter's pace for the summer.  I have had moments of feeling completely overwhelmed, but "sometimes simply exhaling and doing the next thing is an act of defiance against stress." (Ann Voskamp)  So I focus on today and try to do things well in His strength.

Our hearts are heavy as we leave friends who are hurting and suffering, some of whom are living through such circumstances without hope or the ability to even turn their eyes towards the true source of peace, comfort and joy.  One woman is caring for her husband who has gone from well to being near his final days in the course of two months.  Another woman is awaiting two risky surgeries with an anticipated 50-day hospital stay, another friend is mourning the loss of her husband this past weekend, and more friends are struggling to put food on the table for their families.  It is hard to leave them.  Pray that the times we have shared the gospel and planted seeds would start to take root even in their sufferings and in our physical absence for the summer.

Our final days here have been filled with hospital visitation, a funeral, class parties, preaching, hospitality, graduate essay completion, a weekend graduate school course via Skype, Bible studies, orthodontist appointments, cake decorating, birthday celebrations (Jonathan's and Melissa's this week), meetings, homework, yard work, packing and the list goes on.

Pray we finish well AND start well...

Jonathan was able to complete another graduate school module via Skype over the course of one weekend in April and another in May.  We are thankful for the unexpected opportunity as he was going to have to skip this summer's module since we would be away.  Added bonus was that he was not away for a week in Dublin! He will begin writing his essay in the fall.

A friend of ours asked me for help with a birthday cake for her daughter who was turning 18.  It was a true collaboration as the mom baked the cake and prepared the cream filling, the daughter chose the cake idea and assembled the cakes, while I decorated.  Even with three pairs of hands, it took us a full morning to complete the task with the finishing touches added the next day.  They were thrilled with the results and the money saved.  Here one pays for a cake by the Kilo.  Therefore, this roughly 5Kg cake would have cost 100 euros (20euro/Kg) from the bakery!

Jonathan is well established in the preaching rotation at the church we attend during the interim as we await launching services of our own in Caselle.  It is a joy for me to see him passionately teach from God's word.  Love this man so much!