Our Growing Team

Nathan Holland, the Reeses, Jordan Yarbrough, the Campbells, the Meyers

This is our most recent team photo, taken at last month's team meeting in Little Rock. Since our last team photo, taken in June, 2008, we have added two children, with two more on the way (the Meyers are in the process of adopting siblings from Ethiopia).

We always enjoy spending time with our teammates. We have continued trying to meet monthly, although that has become a bit more challenging now that we are all much more spread out geographically. Despite the long drive (our meetings have been in Little Rock the last few times), we look forward to our time together. And, just in case you were wondering what it is that we do at these meetings, here is a list of the items on last month's agenda:

• personal / family updates, fundraising progress
• discussion on the possibility of our team getting some formal training in rational thinking and decision making
• recap and process some of the strategy discussion begun at May's meeting
• discussion on homeschooling options
  
• discussion on a team coach / mentor
  
• discussion on team roles
• timeline (scheduling, future meetings, moving to Portugal, etc.)
• continuation of our doctrine discussion begun at a previous meeting

There was time for fun as well. We had a cookout at the park one evening and the guys played a round of disc golf. We played games one night. And we had lots of yummy food -- there are several good cooks on this team, and we all like to eat!

Torch Lake

I'm finally getting around to posting some pictures of our family vacation to Torch Lake. Sadly, I don't have as many pictures as I should, because, after we had been there for over a week, Rusty accidentally reformatted the card in the digital camera. (And just in case you didn't know, when you do that, you permanently erase all data on the card.) So the pictures below were taken in our last three days there, as we tried to think of and recreate all the photo ops.

Aside from the camera catastrophe, we really had a wonderful time at the lake. We are so thankful to our friends Bob and Teri for allowing us to spend almost two weeks at their little lakeside cabin. It was a time of rest and relaxation, reconnecting and refocusing. The weather was mostly cool, but we had a few gorgeous days of warm sunshine toward the end of our stay. Rusty and Alex went fishing and kayaking several times. They tried to go swimming once, but the water was still pretty cold, so Alex didn't even last five minutes before he was ready to get out. After that, he was content to just sit on the beach and throw rocks in the water or dangle his feet off the end of the dock. We had a fire in the firepit two different nights and roasted marshmallows and made s'mores while enjoying the stunning sunsets.

We had some rainy, windy days too. On those days, we stayed indoors and played games, read, watched movies, or scrapbooked. We taught Alex how to play Uno Jr., Yahtzee Jr., and Candyland. He is really enjoying games right now, and (so far) is a very good sport, not seeming to care whether he wins or loses. Rusty and I watched the entire first season of "24" in the time we were there, and we both made good progress on our scrapbooks. Rusty and Alex slept up in the loft two different nights, which Alex thought was great fun. (I'm not sure Rusty slept that well, though!) We had lots of yummy food, including some of our favorite ethnic dishes (Thai curry, Japanese curry, okunomiyaki, and temakizushi). Alex helped me make pizza one night, and we made chocolate chip cookies for Daddy. I tried a new recipe for cinnamon rolls which was awesome!

We also went on a couple of "outings." One day, we drove up to the town of Charlevoix and found a nice beach with a playground where we had a picnic lunch. Another day, we went into Central Lake for an antique car show. But mostly, we just stayed around the cabin and enjoyed being together and God's beautiful creation. It was exactly what we needed before facing the next several months, which promise to be very very busy!

Our little fisherman with his catch

Napping

Sweet Stephen

A beautiful sunset

Snuggly baby

Giraffe tongue!

Just kickin' it

Row, row, row your boat...

My Brother the Blogger

So, my brother is blogging now. He has been at it for about three months now, and his posts are a delightful blend of updates on his personal life and deeper ponderings, all well-written with a dash of sarcastic humor thrown in every so often. I have wanted to be a writer since I was a little girl, but after reading some of Matt's writings, I am having a feeling that he may beat me to it! His latest post very nearly brought tears to my eyes and is a wonderful tribute to my parent's marriage, which has stood the test of time for 37 years now.

If you have a few minutes, head on over to "(to be announced)" and check it out.

June 2009 Newsletter

Our most recent newsletter is now available for viewing. Click here to download.

(If you would like to receive our newsletters via email, please send a message to rustyandlaura AT gmail DOT com. We would be happy to add you to our mailing list.)

Life at Two Months

Stephen turned two months old on June 6th while we were up at Torch Lake. Our itty bitty baby isn't so itty bitty anymore. At his two-month check-up, he weighed in at over 13 pounds! By comparison, Eliana Reese (our teammates' baby), who is 7 months older, weighs 16. I think he might pass her up before she has her first birthday! Every time I take him in, the doctor comments on how well he is growing and how solid he is. This time, he asked me, "How do you hold this kid? He is heavy!" I guess toting him around all day will help with losing the baby weight, which, sadly, is not coming off as quickly this time as it did the first!

During his second month, Stephen started smiling (relationally, not just gas). Rusty is especially good at getting him to break out in a big grin. He also discovered his hands, and seems to have a special fondness for the thumb on his left hand. Maybe he will be a thumb sucker. (Alex never was.) I have had to start bathing him in the big bathtub since he is too big now for the kitchen sink (thanks to my sister for leaving me her awesome baby bath chair). He loves baths, just like Alex did. He also enjoys sitting in his bouncy chair (a recent yard sale purchase), and being outside on a blanket under the trees. He can hold his head up really well now, and is already starting to push up with his feet on my lap.

Wonderful News!

Rusty, the boys, and I have just returned from enjoying some family time at Torch Lake in northern Michigan. We got back to Detroit late last night... and we will be leaving again on Wednesday to travel to Little Rock for another team meeting. So, the pictures will have to wait for another time. But I did want to share some wonderful news that we received recently regarding our search for a sponsoring congregation.

The Hillsboro church of Christ in Nashville, TN has agreed to assume oversight of our family and our minstry in Angola -- for at least the next five years. They will be providing half of our salary, as well as supporting us emotionally and spiritually, and serving as our "home base" here in the United States. We feel very blessed to have them as partners in our work.

Our search for a sponsoring congregation is over, but the real work of fundraising is really just beginning. We still have to raise half of our salary, as well as our work fund and our one-time moving expenses. There are many things that still have to come together before we will be in Angola. This is, however, a major step in the process... and somehow, having a sponsoring congregation makes our plans for Angola seem like much more of a reality, not just a dream anymore.

Will you join us in praising God for Hillsboro and for their commitment to us and to our vision?

Aunt Julie's Visit

Aunt Julie and the cousins stayed on for a visit after Uncle Matt's graduation. We drove up to Detroit from Abilene, dropping Rusty off in Dallas along the way for his conference. The drive took us three days, and with five kiddos, a nursing baby and a potty-trainer among them, and me being sick with some sort of stomach bug, let's just say we were all very glad to finally get to Livonia. Julie and I did enjoy some good conversations in the car on the way up, though!

We had a great time and really enjoyed their visit, although it did get loud and crazy on occasion! Major highlights included a trip to Greenfield Village, and a day at the zoo. The kids also enjoyed playing outside, swimming, and watching TV together. Alex loved having his cousins around to play with, and was very sad to see them go.

Enjoy the slide show of our time together!

10 Years Ago Today...

May 29, 1999
Portland, OR

Abilene

The next stop on our journey was Abilene, TX, to see my brother Matt graduate from ACU. We also enjoyed reconnecting with our old friends, Steve and Wendy (from our days as AET's in Japan). It was such a delight to see how their family has grown since the last time we saw them. The kids had a good time playing together. (Sadly, though, we took no pictures of our time with Steve and Wendy.)

My sister and her three girls were able to travel to the States from Bolivia for Matt's graduation, and then spent a little over a week with us in Detroit before they went back. Here are a few pictures of our time in Abilene:

The Stephens family (plus two grandkids)

The lovely lady in the black dress is Janille, my brother's girlfriend. It was a real treat to (finally) meet her while we were there.

We were in Abilene over a Sunday, which happened to be Mother's Day. Since Julie and I now have 5 kids ages 4 and under between us, we decided to forego going to a nice restaurant (which can be torturous when you have young children) and just got a bucket of chicken and went to a local park. The kids had a great time, and the adults were able to squeeze in some good conversation while they were playing.

My mom with all her kids and grandkids on Mother's Day

"Dude... they tell me we're related." Stephen and Uncle Matt getting to know each other

Uncle Matt is super fun!

More pictures of our time with Aunt Julie and the cousins to follow. I am working on a slide show and should have that up in a couple of days.

Pepperdine

At the beginning of May, our entire team (minus Jordan) was privileged to present at the annual Pepperdine Bible Lectures. We taught a class entitled "New Strategies for New Fields in Africa: The Case of Angola." (The class is available for purchase on CD for those who are interested. Click here to order.) We had a pretty good turnout and were well received. We also hosted an informational breakfast one morning.

I cannot say enough good things about the Pepperdine Bible Lectures. I really hope that we are able to attend them again one day. They had an awsome children's program (which was also amazingly affordable), so Alex was occupied and entertained. And this meant that I was able to attend some classes and keynote sessions and participate in the worship times -- wonderful! Of course, for Rusty and I, it was also a time of reconnecting with many of our friends from the Northwest, as well as people with ties to Africa and Japan. And it's hard to beat the locale -- sunny Malibu, California. The Pepperdine campus overlooks the beautiful Pacific Ocean, and the views as we walked or rode the shuttle bus were just stunning. Lots of stairs, though! If you go there with children, don't take a stroller. I was glad we didn't bring ours. Alex either walked or rode in the Kelty backpack, and Stephen was happy in the sling.

Here's a picture of our team at Pepperdine, along with Charles Kambungo and Andre Banda, Angolan friends and future partners in ministry, who were able to travel to the U.S. to attend the Lectures and also a Church Planting Movements conference in Dallas. It was a real blessing to have them here.