We met this week in our respective regions to hone in on the ideas and concepts that work effectively in our own regions. The EA regional time was enjoyable with snacks, discussion, laughter, and variety. It was nice to finally learn of things that are highly applicable and manageable in my region. The last morning of regional week was spent talking to Father on behalf of my fellow EA regional peers!
Further, this week has been spent on finishing up those last minute details that cover a plethora of subjects and topics. I continue to realize with each passing day how blessed I am to be here at orientation with such amazing people. The representation of talents and gifts here is amazing but also a blessing in many ways.
Furthermore, I continue to be blessed by the kids here at orientation, and I continue to learn of their uniqueness and the spice that they add to life. Thursday night at dinner, one of the 2-year old twins just woke up from a nap before dinner, and he did not want me to put him down in his highchair. So, I carried him around for about twenty minutes until his parents made him sit and eat. The same one last night at a bonfire had a marshmellow shoved in his mouth while he had a graham cracker tightly gripped in each hand. All the while, trying to get the attention of one of my roommates! It was quite hilarious!
I have another story that will make you laugh and possibly fall out of your chair. It is about the 3-year old boy in our quad. This past week, he was discovered in the bathroom "showering" in a kid's urinal! Supposedly, he was flushing the urinal and then splashing the falling water on himself. Yes, his parents are amazing parents who regularly bathe and care for their chldren. It is simply who he is! He will be an interesting teenager to say the least!
Have a good day and week!
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Thursday, March 22, 2007
DC, 7 Kids & Me
First, this is my shout-out to Baker for highly encouraging me to update my blogspot!
Second, the entire population of FPO (orientation) headed to Washington D.C. for a day of culture, observation and sharing. Let me set the scene first! 5 buses roaring to go at 8am this morning as we dragged ourselves on them for the two hour ride ahead of us! The ride was decent considering most are not fully functional then! Our drop-off point in DC was Union Station which is where the day's journey started for us! For me this was a group of two families who account for four more adults and SEVEN children all under the age of 6 years! So, we headed out for Chinatown with three strollers and many frantic nerves as we crossed streets and dodged people on the sidewalks. Lunch was amazing and was some of the most authentic Chinese food that I have had in America ever. Granted, one would expect authenticity in Chinatown of all places!
Next, we headed across the mall which offered a great chance for the kids to run free for about fifteen minutes. This lead us to the National Air & Space Museum which occupied the afternoon with amazing sights, hand-on exhibits, and glimpses into flight. We then returned to Union Station for a quick dinner before reboarding the buses for the trip back to the campus. Thank you Father for the minimal traffic that we encountered on the way back which saves us upto an extra hour of traveling with tired, fidgety children and adults.
All in all, it was a great day to be out and about with some very beautiful weather with the Cherry Trees beginning to blossom! Some pictures of the trip follow! Enjoy them and I will be writing some more!
Second, the entire population of FPO (orientation) headed to Washington D.C. for a day of culture, observation and sharing. Let me set the scene first! 5 buses roaring to go at 8am this morning as we dragged ourselves on them for the two hour ride ahead of us! The ride was decent considering most are not fully functional then! Our drop-off point in DC was Union Station which is where the day's journey started for us! For me this was a group of two families who account for four more adults and SEVEN children all under the age of 6 years! So, we headed out for Chinatown with three strollers and many frantic nerves as we crossed streets and dodged people on the sidewalks. Lunch was amazing and was some of the most authentic Chinese food that I have had in America ever. Granted, one would expect authenticity in Chinatown of all places!
Next, we headed across the mall which offered a great chance for the kids to run free for about fifteen minutes. This lead us to the National Air & Space Museum which occupied the afternoon with amazing sights, hand-on exhibits, and glimpses into flight. We then returned to Union Station for a quick dinner before reboarding the buses for the trip back to the campus. Thank you Father for the minimal traffic that we encountered on the way back which saves us upto an extra hour of traveling with tired, fidgety children and adults.
All in all, it was a great day to be out and about with some very beautiful weather with the Cherry Trees beginning to blossom! Some pictures of the trip follow! Enjoy them and I will be writing some more!
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Warm weather and more from Rockville
This week we finally had more than one day of nice weather. This past week actually had three days of sustaining weather above 65 degrees with lows above freezing. The weather was enjoyed by all here especially the parents with kids. On Wednesday, the kids in the Asia region of quads played outside for a solid two hours after school! Amazing!!!!
Further, this weather provided a beautiful backdrop for our personal spiritual retreats on Thursday! Basically, we were given four hours to spend with God alone in whatever manner we found fit! I spent it outside resting in and meditating upon David's insights in Psalms 8-15! David wrestles with some tough stuff and some amazing things in these passages. It was a nice and needed time with Father after a previously encountered week that was mentally and physically grueling!
Well, today we finished our ESL Instructional Class today here at orientation, and I have to give shout-outs to my table mates: Daniel R., Jamie N., Sara H., Peyton C., and Jimmy B. It was a good time to consider how the English language works and how best to relate these ideas to others!
Well, I sign off to go accomplish some things before an evening spent with amazing friends eating Chinese Food at a restaurant in downtown Richmond!
Further, this weather provided a beautiful backdrop for our personal spiritual retreats on Thursday! Basically, we were given four hours to spend with God alone in whatever manner we found fit! I spent it outside resting in and meditating upon David's insights in Psalms 8-15! David wrestles with some tough stuff and some amazing things in these passages. It was a nice and needed time with Father after a previously encountered week that was mentally and physically grueling!
Well, today we finished our ESL Instructional Class today here at orientation, and I have to give shout-outs to my table mates: Daniel R., Jamie N., Sara H., Peyton C., and Jimmy B. It was a good time to consider how the English language works and how best to relate these ideas to others!
Well, I sign off to go accomplish some things before an evening spent with amazing friends eating Chinese Food at a restaurant in downtown Richmond!
Friday, March 9, 2007
Stories and More for the Week
Good day to you all!
Life here at orientation has been exciting this past week with many different things going on throughout the week! The first part of the week was filled with sessions on storying which is basically a technique for telling a story in a precise, purposeful, and practical manner so that all audiences may follow along. I learned some important things to take with me as I head out overseas! In addition there were some sessions on taxes (not fun) and payroll (very fun).
Additionally, we had a workshop that was great fun as we explored our results from the MBTI personality inventory. We did some activities that had some interesting and diverse results based on the personality type being exploited at the time. It was all in good fun, and I have to say that Group B rocks the world!
The last part of the week was sessions on safety while traveling. There have been many excellent things taught during these sessions with some very unique HANDS-ON practical applications!
Further, time in the quad continues to be fun and always constant. This evening at dinner, I was eating my dessert (translated here as a bowl of cereal--Apple Jacks) at the table with a fellow quad family. One of their twin sons loves to eat chips, and tonight he decided to dump out every bag of chips in front of him. Thus, he amassed a pile of chips quite high and broad in front of him. He then very gleefully proceeds to chow down on sour cream and onion potato chips. He had the biggest, sheepish grin on his face as he was doing it also. I have been blessed with some really awesome families in my quad. Also, roomies!!!!!!!!
Life here at orientation has been exciting this past week with many different things going on throughout the week! The first part of the week was filled with sessions on storying which is basically a technique for telling a story in a precise, purposeful, and practical manner so that all audiences may follow along. I learned some important things to take with me as I head out overseas! In addition there were some sessions on taxes (not fun) and payroll (very fun).
Additionally, we had a workshop that was great fun as we explored our results from the MBTI personality inventory. We did some activities that had some interesting and diverse results based on the personality type being exploited at the time. It was all in good fun, and I have to say that Group B rocks the world!
The last part of the week was sessions on safety while traveling. There have been many excellent things taught during these sessions with some very unique HANDS-ON practical applications!
Further, time in the quad continues to be fun and always constant. This evening at dinner, I was eating my dessert (translated here as a bowl of cereal--Apple Jacks) at the table with a fellow quad family. One of their twin sons loves to eat chips, and tonight he decided to dump out every bag of chips in front of him. Thus, he amassed a pile of chips quite high and broad in front of him. He then very gleefully proceeds to chow down on sour cream and onion potato chips. He had the biggest, sheepish grin on his face as he was doing it also. I have been blessed with some really awesome families in my quad. Also, roomies!!!!!!!!
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Visual Image of Shots Day here at Orientation
This is a visually stunning image of the joy found only here on Shots Day at Orientation!
Look closely at her face, and you will see gargantuan tear drops that are very, very real!
Look closely at her face, and you will see gargantuan tear drops that are very, very real!
Friday, March 2, 2007
The shots heard around the world....
Today was the second round of shots for half of orientation. In addition to the shots, each person recieved the shot of stuff for the TB skin test. This backed up the schedule, and created mass hysteria among the children because this was where they could see it. Needless to say, there were abundant amounts of tears shed and down-cast faces. The rest of the week has been spent in two different workshops regarding doctrine and spiritual warfare. They both were informative. The second was led by Jerry Rankin, IMB president. He did an amazing job of really bringing to light our struggles that qualify as spiritual warfare. Others who are on the field now, say that it is all very relevant!
This week began with two wonderful, fun-filled, non-stop evenings of babysitting the SIX kids in our quad. Yes, that translates to 3 single men and 6 kids all under the age of 5! The first night was voluntary so that their parents could go out on a date alone! The parents loved it and we loved having the kids! The second night was so that the parents could attend the fellowship at Jerry Rankin's house. It was actually a great time to meet with him, his wife, and some of the other big wigs of the IMB! The best part about kid watching for both nights was dinner. Thank you Father for those who came along to help. Though it was great fun which is quite certainly to be repeated again very soon!
This week began with two wonderful, fun-filled, non-stop evenings of babysitting the SIX kids in our quad. Yes, that translates to 3 single men and 6 kids all under the age of 5! The first night was voluntary so that their parents could go out on a date alone! The parents loved it and we loved having the kids! The second night was so that the parents could attend the fellowship at Jerry Rankin's house. It was actually a great time to meet with him, his wife, and some of the other big wigs of the IMB! The best part about kid watching for both nights was dinner. Thank you Father for those who came along to help. Though it was great fun which is quite certainly to be repeated again very soon!
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