Top Ten: Nyanya and Babu Visit Ecuador

As I mentioned in my last post, we were blessed to have my parents here in Ecuador over the Christmas holidays. They were here for nearly 3 weeks, so we were able to balance time spent in Christmas activities with showing them some of Ecuador.

When they first arrived, Mom and Dad took a couple of nights just for themselves at the Tandayapa Bird Lodge near Mindo. We were their taxi service to and from the lodge (about an hour and a half from Quito), so when we took them out, we got to see the lodge and lots of lovely hummingbirds and have lunch there. On the way home a couple of days later, Rusty stopped at a trout farm and the boys were able to catch several fish. They thought that was fun!

We also took Mom and Dad out to the Mitad del Mundo one day. While staying with the Marcums, they visited the Panecillo We also spent an evening all together in downtown Quito. We wanted to do a horse-drawn carriage ride around the Old Town, but the company that offers the rides had already closed down for the holidays.

A few pictures from our time together before Christmas:

Nyanya and the boys decorating the gingerbread house

Benjamin loved playing with Nyanya's hand therapy balls

And Talking Tom on the iPhone is one of the boys' favorite things to do with Babu!

At the Equator with Nyanya and Babu

An evening in downtown Quito

The day after Christmas, we packed up two cars with people and luggage and set off a little further afield. Our first stop was the lovely Paraiso Escondido near the mountain city of Ibarra. We spent 3 nights there and thoroughly enjoyed it! The highlight was ziplining across the river and then hiking through some old train tunnels. More details here in a post I wrote for my Writing Project 365. And a few pictures:

To get to Paraiso Escondido, we had to drive over this suspension bridge!

Nyanya and Babu are ready to zip-line!

Our family, ready to zip-line (Benjamin stayed back with his Aunt Julie)

Then, we headed out to Kumanii. Mom and Dad wanted to see the facility and get an idea of the work that is going on there, so we spent one night at the lodge, went to church in Loma Linda (a little village about a 5-minute canoe ride from Kumanii) the next morning, and then had brunch with the evangelists afterwards. It was a quick, but enjoyable visit:

Loaded up and ready to go to church!

Family pic at Kumanii

 After leaving Kumanii, we headed back to Quito, stopping for the night in Chachimbiro, which has some wonderful termas (hot springs). It was a good and relaxing way to end the trip. The next day (New Year's Eve), we drove the rest of the way back to Quito, stopping in Otavalo so Mom and Dad could do some souvenir shopping at the market there.

Mom and Dad flew home a couple of days later. We enjoyed having them here and introducing them to our life in Ecuador. And of course, the boys enjoyed all the grandparent time! We look forward to their next visit, whenever that may be!

For many more pictures, see my Facebook album, Christmas and My Parents' Visit.

Home for the Holidays: Christmas

I desperately need to do some catch-up work here on this blog. It is already the first of March, and I still have blog posts about Christmas and my parents' visit to Ecuador sitting in my draft folder.

This past Christmas was extra special... not only was it our first Christmas in Ecuador, but my parents were here for a 3-week visit. They spent some time with us before Christmas, and my mom brought a ton of special craft projects to do with the boys -- like ornaments to decorate and a gingerbread house to put together. Then, they headed over to the Marcums' for the last few days before Christmas. We had Christmas Eve and Christmas morning for just our family, but then the whole gang was here for most of Christmas Day. We opened presents all together (a study in organized chaos) and then had a fabulous lamb dinner, followed by pies and the cookie trays the Stephens family has become famous for!

It was definitely a memorable first Christmas in Ecuador!

Merry Christmas!

Family pic with Campbells, Marcums, and Stephens (a family picture in front of the tree on Christmas Day is a tradition in my family).

There are a lot more pictures in my album on Facebook, Christmas and My Parents' Visit. Click the link to view.

Home for the Holidays: Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. And this Thanksgiving was extra special because it was our very first year to celebrate in our own home! When living in the U.S., we typically traveled to visit family over the Thanksgiving holiday. The year we lived in Oregon, we hosted Thanksgiving dinner for both sides of our family, but because our group was so large, we had it in the fellowship hall of the Eastside Church of Christ. And when we lived overseas, Thanksgiving was usually a big potluck that we celebrated with other Americans. I have such fond memories of our first 3 Thanksgivings as a married couple, in Mito, Japan -- Americans and English-speakers packing into the Mito Church along with our favorite holiday dishes and spending the whole day eating, watching movies, scrapbooking, playing games, and just hanging out. And while I love large gatherings, I really enjoyed the intimacy of being able to host a smaller group in our home this year.

We invited Josh and Julie and Kent and Sharla (and their families of course!) to join us for Thanksgiving this year, and at the last minute, our party swelled to include a fellow missionary from Cuenca who was in town to pick up some visitors later that day, and an American pilot who just happened to be in Quito over Thanksgiving and didn't want to spend the day alone in his hotel room. It was a lovely day, filled with fellowship and good conversation, delicious food, and a Thanksgiving devotional. I ended the day exhausted but with a full belly and a full heart.

A few pictures:

No Thanksgiving is complete without football!

The kids worked busily on their Thanksgiving placemat activity sheets.

The Thanksgiving table. There was so much good food that we overflowed to the piano bench and the card table! And I think there were 7 different kinds of pie for dessert!

A time of singing and prayer after the meal.

Our Thanksgiving Tree. Everyone who came was required to place at least one leaf on the tree -- or they didn't get any pie (for real!).

The leaves had verses of Scripture on one side, with the other side blank to write something you were thankful for. Free printable here. This is the third year we have done a Thanksgiving tree and it is such a meaningful tradition. Our tree stays up during the entire month of December, to remind us of all we have to be thankful for.

Home for the Holidays: Halloween

This past year, for the first time, we celebrated the entire holiday season, from Halloween through New Year's in our own home. What made it doubly special was that it was our first time to celebrate the holidays in Ecuador. We were able to continue some traditions as well as start some new ones. Here's a little peek into how we celebrated Halloween (posts coming about Thanksgiving and Christmas as well):

We have started meeting monthly with other Operation Ecuador missionaries for a time of worship and fellowship. Rusty and I hosted October's "Praise and Potluck." In addition to the meal and the devotional, we decided to plan some fun Halloween-type activities for the kids. We invited them all to come in costume and let them trick-or-treat in the house by stationing adults with candy behind closed doors. Rusty also built a totally cool box maze, using old cardboard boxes from our move. The kids had the best time in it!

The maze took up all of our school-room, plus most of the hallway

Benjamin loved playing in the maze!

English devotional

All the kids, ready to trick-or-treat

A couple of days before Halloween, we carved some jack-o-lanterns. Round, orange pumpkins are not to be had in Ecuador, but Rusty found 3 big green ones at a little green grocer near our church. We carved them up for Halloween, and then later, I baked and pureed them so we would have pumpkin for holiday baking. On Halloween night, we made pizza and watched the Charlie Brown Halloween special. I made cheese and ham pizza for the boys, but I used roasted pumpkin and red onion on ours, and it was really yummy! (I have been cooking my way through a book called 1 Crust, 100 Pizzas, and this was a recipe from there.)

Alex helping me carve the pumpkin

The finished product

The other pumpkin we carved. I needed a design that allowed me to carve out a big rotten spot in the side, and this is what I came up with!

I wasn't expecting very many (if any) trick-or-treaters on Halloween night, so we weren't really prepared for the inundation of children. Rusty had to run to the store to buy candy, while I turned kids away and told them to come back in an hour. I was pretty embarrassed, but I guess I'll know better next year, and they didn't seem to mind. We actually had more trick-or-treaters here at this house than we've ever had anywhere in the U.S.! When Rusty got home, the boys put on their costumes and he took them trick-or-treating up and down our street. Who would have thought they would get to trick-or-treat while living in Ecuador?

Soothing

That's the word that comes to mind when I think back on the Continent Care Connection (CCC) Conference that I attended in October . CCC is put on each year by Great Cities Ministries, one year for the women, the next year for the men. This year, it was my turn to go to Brazil and spend a week on a beautiful beach near São Paulo, and Rusty's turn to stay home with the three boys. I'm thankful that Rusty recognized my need for this week away (probably more than I did, actually), and encouraged, no insisted that I go, even though the cost, what with the plane tickets and the visa, was much more than we had anticipated.

I have not been away by myself for more than a night since 2004 when Rusty sent me to a scrapbooking conference as part of my birthday present. Since kids came along, we have been able to get away together for a night or two to celebrate our anniversary almost every year, but it has been a long time since I have gone somewhere alone for an extended length of time. Certainly not since I had children. So it was soothing to just be me for a few days, to not have to think about anyone else's needs or the demands of life, ministry, educating my kids, running a household, learning another language. Sometimes I almost feel like I'm losing myself in what life and my small children require of me, so it was nice to be able to step back from all that for a little while and find the "me" beneath all those externals.

All week long, my senses were soothed by warm ocean breezes, pounding waves, barefoot walks on the beach, birdsong, the familiar, lilting sounds of Portuguese, delicious food that I didn't have to cook, and the skilled hands of a massage therapist. The CCC team who facilitated the conference included two licensed massage therapists, and every participant was treated to a half-hour massage. I swear it was the shortest 30 minutes of my life! They also pampered us with two gifts each day of the conference -- everything from books and music to fun lotions and jewelry -- and snacks and treats from the U.S.

And my soul was soothed by beautiful seasons of praise and worship (in English!), the blessing of new friendships, the comfort and clarity I found in talking things over with a counselor (and with my sister), and the reassurance that I am not alone in my struggles. There was extended time set aside for silence and solitude each day, and I spent a lot of time writing! Writing is cathartic for me, so this in itself was extremely soothing.

I'm thankful for the nourishment and refreshment that this week provided me, both physically and spiritually. Times like these are so important for missionaries, and I am grateful for all who make the CCC Conference possible each year, whether through their financial support, or serving as part of the Care Team, or through the hours spent in planning and preparation. This matters. This is important. Thank you.

A few pictures below:

A hug from Dottie Schulz

Worshipping God with my sisters

Writing

My Connection Group

So glad I got to experience this with my sister. We were even roommates!

Happy New Year!

I'm over here today, on my brand new blog, Writing Project 365.

Don't worry, I still plan to continue posting updates on life and ministry here at the Campbell Chronicles -- I have several posts in the works right now, actually! But I've been feeling the need to "stretch my wings" a bit more in my writing, and this new blog is where I'll be doing that. Additionally, I wanted to take up the challenge of writing a few minutes each day for an entire year!

Come on over and read my first post for January 1, 2013. I'd love to have you follow along as I "write my way" through 2013.

A Visit from the Fords

At the end of September, we were blessed by a visit from Craig and Jeri Ford and their family. The Fords are good friends from our Harding Grad days and have been serving as missionaries in Papua New Guinea for the past six years. They recently transitioned out of that, moved back to the States, and are now living in Wyoming. For the past several months, while they have been "in between homes," they have been literally traveling around the world. We were so thankful that they made Ecuador one of their stops! It really was great to see them again after so many years. The Fords had the honor of being our very first overnight guests in our new home (although, I'm not sure how much of an honor that really was, since we were still getting things in order)! They were very gracious, though, and we enjoyed having them around. Alex and Stephen enjoyed making some new friends and keep asking when Hannah, Caleb, and Elizabeth are going to come back and play. I just tell them I think it's our turn now to visit the Fords!

Highlights of the Fords' visit included:

A day trip to soak and play in the termas (hot springs) at Papallacta...

Going to the Mitad del Mundo...

Dinner at our house with the Marcums...

And a trip out to Kumanii (actually, just Rusty, Alex, Craig, and Hannah went -- Jeri and I stayed home with the younger kids)

Thanks for coming to see us, Ford family!

Ben's First Birthday Party

We celebrated Benjamin's first birthday in mid-September. Our container had arrived a little less than a month prior, so we had been unpacking and organizing for about a month at that point. We were able to host his party in our own home, around our own table (actually, a table that belonged to Rusty's grandmother), eating food off our own dishes, and that was a good feeling! Ben also got to wear the "First Birthday" hat that both Alex and Stephen wore at their first birthday parties. I don't know why, but this was really important to me!

We kept things pretty simple as parties go: the Marcums were our only guests; we ate dinner, had cupcakes for dessert, took all the obligatory photos, and collected a few items for Ben's first birthday time capsule -- in keeping with tradition! Here are a few pictures:

Ben in his birthday hat. He wasn't too keen to wear it and kept taking it off, so this was the best picture we could manage!

Yum! Cupcake!

All the cousins... and you can see how our living room is starting to take shape

Musings on Life... and Death

I have been silent for awhile, I know. I'd like to use the excuse that I've just been too busy, and while life has been pretty hectic and crazy these last couple of months, being busy isn't entirely to blame for my neglect of this space. When weeks and months go by between postings, it's usually because I'm at a loss for words. Yes, really. I've always found it easier to express myself in writing, but lately, I've struggled to give voice to what's on my heart -- or maybe, more accurately, I don't know if it's okay to share what's on my heart. Because this blog is public, and we encourage not only our friends and family to follow along, but also our supporters, and anyone with an interest in our work, I find myself engaged in an internal censoring process when I blog. Politics? Probably not the best topic for a missionary blog, even though I have my opinions, just like everyone else! But beyond the obvious no-no's, I often wonder... is it okay for a missionary to admit in a public space such as this that she has fears? Doubts? That at times she feels sad or lonely or that she can never quite measure up?

Even as I write these words, I know the answer. Yes, of course it is alright for a missionary to admit these things. We are only human after all. We aren't some super-spiritual breed of human beings. We struggle in the same ways that every Christian struggles -- with our pride and with our selfish human nature. But old habits die hard... I think I will always feel the pressure (largely self-inflicted) to present myself as stronger, more capable, more sure of myself than I really am. And so I typically stick to blogging about "safe" topics like what the kids have been up to, or a recent trip we've taken, or how we celebrate the holidays. But every once in awhile, something will happen that will nudge me to write in a way that's more internally focused. This is one of those times. And maybe that's why it's taken me so long to get it out. It's easy to slap up a few pictures, write a few newsy anecdotes, and call it good. It's much more difficult to write reflectively and vulnerably.

In the last couple of months, and actually within about two weeks of each other, two faithful servants of God went to their eternal reward. The first was Laura Reppart, long-time missionary to Kenya, and mother to one of my very dearest childhood friends. I knew her as "Aunt Laura," even though we were not related by blood (actually, I am now vaguely remembering that our family is somehow very distantly related to the Repparts!). This is how it is on the mission field: your teammates become your "family." In many ways, the Repparts were more "family" to me than my actual relatives in the U.S., who I rarely saw and always struggled to connect with. Laura died of a brain tumor, similar to the one that claimed my mother-in-law's life over 6 years ago now. As I followed her story via her Caring Bridge site, I often felt like I was reliving that awful time, due not only to all the technical similarities in how the disease progressed and manifested itself, but also to the emotions described by her children in the updates they posted. It was heart-breaking... and yet it was also a beautiful thing to see how her family gathered around her and lovingly and tenderly cared for her during her final weeks and days.

Laura passed away on October 23. Just a little over 2 weeks later, Ryan Woods died, also of cancer, though a different type. I did not know Ryan well, but we have many mutual friends and acquaintances and I have been following his blog and praying for him ever since I learned of his diagnosis last spring. He and his wife and 2 small children were part of a thriving, incarnational ministry among the people of Vancouver, WA, and they made a conscious decision to invite people into their story as they walked the cancer road -- a road filled with pain, difficult questions, and heart-wrenching decisions. And they did this with truly admirable grace and authenticity.

Death has a funny way of forcing you to step back from the minutiae that typically consume your days and evaluate your life from a big-picture perspective. Thanks to the wonders of technology and the generosity of The Hills Church in Dallas, I was able to view a livestream of Laura Reppart's memorial service all the way from Ecuador. It was a beautiful tribute to a life well-lived, a life that brought honor to the King, and as I sat watching the slide show of pictures that closed out the service with tears streaming down my face, I remember thinking, I wonder what they'll say about me? Will my children, my husband "rise up and call me blessed" as Laura's did? What is the legacy I'll leave behind? How will I be remembered? How do I want to be remembered?

When Ryan passed away, the self-examination took a bit of a different form because Ryan was my age (actually, several years younger), with kids close to the same ages as my own. So I found myself wondering, How would I handle the knowledge that I was dying? Would my faith stand strong? Would I be able to continue to minister to people as he did, even in the midst of battling a terminal illness? I also thought a lot about things from the perspective of his wife, Jessica: What must it have been like to watch her husband, her soul-mate, her life partner waste away before her eyes? Could I have found the strength to tenderly care for him for those weeks and months? To help my children understand what was happening? To take care of all of the details of life and of running a household when my husband was too sick to help out?

I think more than anything, the death of someone who has really made a difference with their life, as both Laura and Ryan did, makes you stop and consider whether or not you are doing anything eternally significant with your own life. And that's what it all boils down to, all my ponderings and musings over the last several weeks: I want my life to matter. When I come to the end of it, I want it to have meant something.

For more of Laura's story:

• Read the write-up in the York College Heritage Magazine (on page 16).
• Visit the Caris Foundation website

For more of Ryan's story:

• Watch The Ryan Woods Story
• Watch My Last Days: Meet Ryan Woods by Soul Pancake
• Read the news article in The Columbian.
• View the news story on KOIN 6 News.

Click here if you would like to help the Woods family. There are still a few days left!

The First Year

Just one year, but so, so many changes:

September 1, 2011 - 5 days old (Lisbon, Portugal)

And one year, two international moves, and three continents later...

September 3, 2012 - 1 year, 1 week old (Quito, Ecuador)

Happy first birthday, sweet little Benjamin!