Fresh Air

Sunday was, for our family, the perfect ending to a difficult week and a half.  All four kids were sick...high fevers, sore throats, coughs, runny nose, achy.  It seemed like it hit each kids for about 7 days.  They missed a bunch of school, and got quite tired of laying around the house all day.  We spent time reading back through the blog from when we first went to Indo.  It was great fun laughing at all of our mistakes, and beginning blunders.
Sunday was warm, 64 degrees, we grilled out and had a picnic.  Everyone was feeling better so we spent the day riding bikes, playing football, and basketball, and cleaning up the yard.   All that fresh air was exactly what we needed.
Something about getting outside and breathing fresh air really refreshes you, doesn't it?  I feel that way with God's Word.  Yes, I know a lot about God.  I have been learning about Him since I was five.  All that is good, but I can't live just on what I have known.  I need the fresh air He can bring into my life by meeting with Him and reading about Him every day.  THAT is what refreshes my soul and keeps me going.
I am happy to report that all four kids are healthy enough to be back in school.  I love having them home, but it is draining when they are all sick, and waking up during the night when the fever meds wear off, or coughing so hard they throw up....you can't do that forever.
It was a miracle of the Lord that I didn't get sick.  I was helping with a big event at church during that time and kept praying that I wouldn't get what they had.  In the past, I would always get whatever was going around, but this time I didn't.  Garth kept saying, " I can't believe you are not sick!"  I am so thankful that He spared me.
Hope you are healthy and well.
Love you
Rachel

Celebrations

Our November has been full of celebrations.  To start with, the kids celebrated the 50th day of school by dressing up like someone from the 50's.  Following that, Cale turned 7 and we decided to throw two parties!  (What a lucky boy!)  We had a party with his classmates at church and a family party at home.  It is astounding to  think of how much he has changed since he was 1 1/2 and heading off to Indo...  He is full of adventure with an amazing heart for Jesus.  He soaks up all of the Bible stories, and truths.  Right now we are reading through Judges and he is excited about  the stories about Samson.  We are so thankful for him!

The next week we were blessed enough to have the family over for Thanksgiving!  I love having everyone together, to see how much they have all changed and grown, and to get caught up on all of the family happenings. I took a picture of the tables before everyone came, and then after.  Quite a difference a few people can make! The weather was beautiful and we were able to run off all the turkey we consumed.  Notice exactly who is jumping on the trampoline... Auntie Carol!!  Such a kid at heart! 

This week we have another event to celebrate-Garth's birthday...I think he is turning 30, no wait 40, no that doesn't sound right...50...no, oh well.  You will just have to ask him!

     Happy Celebrations!!

GOD

Garth and I are back from our week of meetings.  It was a fantastic time of training, and togetherness.  I am thankful for the chance to sit under so many and glean from their wisdom while together we searched the Word.  We focused on  how to better minister to people where they are at, how to hear their story, and how to process things through.  We so quickly want to "fix" before we even hear the whole story, but that is not always the best option.  

It felt incredible strange to travel without the kids.  They were so jealous!  We have come to realize that there certainly is a love of travel in all of us now.  We are always antsy to go somewhere!

My parents did an amazing job watching the kids while we were gone.  Thanks Mom and Dad!

The training was in Florida!!!  It was stupendous to feel the sun, but it was so much colder there than I thought.  One night some of the locals came in and prepared a low country boil for us.  That was a first!   I also found a horseshoe crab on the beach.  Garth would NOT let me bring it home!  ( I just wanted to show the kids!)

While we were driving one day we noticed an airplane in the sky writing something.  G-O-D.  I was so excited to see the word God in the sky.  A few moments later I noticed it was still writing...L-O-V-E-S.  WOW!  How cool is that?  I figured it would write Y-O-U next.  So I watched in anticipation as we were driving farther from it.  However, my exuberant smile quickly went away when I noticed it was starting to spell B-A-R...that was all I could see as we drove away.  I can only assume that since it was the day before election that the rest of the words were probably for someone's political preference.   I was bummed!  What an opportunity lost.  I wanted an eraser to take it back to when it just said GOD across that glorious blue sky,  That one word speaks volumes, doesn't it?  God is enough.  That was one of the things we studied this week.  When will I get to the place where I realize that God is enough?  His name written on my heart is enough.  His love demonstrated on the cross is enough.  My exhausted efforts to try to fill my voids, and fix my problems are completely unnecessary because God, my God, is completely

enough for me.

Share

Update

This morning I received a phone call from the specialist that I was supposed to see on the 15 th saying that he had a cancellation and could see me today.  How often does that happen?  It was an encouraging appointment.  Because the nodules are less than 10mm he isn't going to biopsy or remove them.  He looked at a few other things and wants me to come in for check ups to see how everything is progressing.  The enlarged thyroid is not going to be treated at this time, and we did find out that the nodules are benign!
He is hoping that the issues will resolve themselves, otherwise he will devise a treatment plan.
Thanks for your prayers.
Rachel

Bucks and Bucks

The other morning Sophie woke up to find a buck in our yard right outside the window.  I came out a few minutes later, but it was gone.  I LOVE having wildlife in our backyard so I was bummed that I missed it.  

Yesterday when Garth and I were out for our morning walk on the property of Yerkes' Observatory we saw a buck right by us just eating away.  He looked up but was not concerned that we were there.  He proceeded to come closer and then walk away.  It was SUPER cool!!  Missed the first buck sighting, but got the second.  Thanks God!

Speaking of bucks...THANK YOU to the anonymous donor who sent us some bucks in the mail.  That was super fantastic.  It was the exact amount we needed to pay for parking for our family outing on Saturday!!!!  Yahoo!

Love

Rachel

  

Medical

There is some medical stuff going on with me that I need to tell you about.  At my last check up one of the things they noticed was that my thyroid was quite enlarged.  After an ultrasound on it, they also noticed two growths or nodules growing there as well.  So I have been asked to see a specialist.  I will let you know when I hear more.
Saturday Garth and I are supposed to leave for a week long conference in Florida.  It is a care givers conference designed to teach us how to best minister to or help people at all different levels of grief, trauma, or difficulty.  I wish all of this thyroid stuff could be taken care of before we go, but it doesn't look like that is going to happen.
My parents will be watching our four kids the whole time we are gone.  Please pray for them, for the kids and for wisdom for the doctor's in dealing with my situation.
Thanks.

Freebies

Friday was our day of FREEBIES!  The kids had the free day off of school (That always makes me smile).  So, we decided to go to the Discovery World museum in Milwaukee.  This summer the kids won tickets for the whole family to go there for free!!!!  It was such a great time of learning.  The whole place is set up to be very hands-on.  Lots of pulleys, gears and innovative designs for the kids to watch and play with.  There was a bed of nails to lay on, a hamster wheel to run on, a car to drive, you can weld, do the flight simulator, be a part of a 3-D space movie, see many famous guitars, learn about the Great Lakes, watch your hair stand up with electricity...all that and so much more.  The coolest part for me was the Aquatarium where you can pet Bamboo sharks, and stingrays, and sturgeons...that was super amazing!  We had such a fantastic time there.  We played some tunes in the music park outside and walked over to the Art Museum to watch the roof open.

After that we came home and carved our free pumpkins (Thanks to People's Bank and Piggly Wiggly).  

Our night ended eating roasted pumpkin seeds around a roaring fire...These are things that I missed in Indo.

Here are some pictures:

SMOKE

The other day we were all outside as a family.  I was cutting the grass; others were picking up sticks or helping Garth rake leaves.  It was so fun!  I love it when we are working on a project together.  The leaves were burning and creating much smoke.  So much so that at each pass with the mower, I had to walk through the tunnel of smoke.  During that time I could not see what I was cutting.  I knew that I just needed to keep going forward and keep the mower straight.  If I did that I would be cutting the grass that needed to be cut.  Once out of the smoke I could look down and see if I had stayed on course.

I think that is how it is sometimes with God’s will.  He tells us to go a certain way, or to keep going down a path.  We may not be able to clearly see why He has us there but we need to keep moving forward, keep trusting that it is right.  Then, one day, the smoke has cleared and we can see clearly just why He had us there. 

Trust is much easier when we can see it all before us.  But God wants us to learn to trust Him in the midst of the smoke.  Even when it goes on and on and on.  One day it will be clear.

Update on the Erickson's

My Mom celebrated a birthday by having surgery on her knee.  Praise the Lord all went well and now she is home recuperating.  The 2 older kids were able to be a part of See You At The Pole in the Bay. That was a really neat time to make a public stand for what they believe.  Cale was picked to lead the school in the Pledge of Allegiance during a program they had honoring the veterans in the area.  Funny, because when we came back from Indo, he didn't even know the Pledge.

Garth's Dad and Step mom came to visit us from New York.  We had such a wonderful time with them.  We filled up the minutes with all sorts of fun things: Wyatt's soccer game, a picnic, a trip to the pumpkin patch, a bonfire and lots of quality time getting caught up.  The weekend went much too fast.

Here are some pictures:

                    

.

                 

Sunshine

I love the way God watches out for me!  Today I was on my way to pick up my son from soccer.  The sun was majorly in my eyes, so I slowed down.  A few seconds later a deer ran out in front of me.  Because I had slowed down, I was able to miss it.  What could have been a big nuisance, turned out to be a huge blessing!  Thank you Lord for that bright shiny sun!!

First week of school…

The first week of school has come and gone.  I know God was right there because it went so much better than I thought it would.  Thank you to all who prayed.  Emma is trying to remember where all of her classes are in the High school building while Wyatt is adjusting to the changes of life as a High schooler.  Sophie loves a challenge, but  a new grade is bringing frustrations as she doesn't know what is expected of her yet. Cale said his most difficult part of the day is lunch.  He is a slow eater, and doesn't like rushing through.  Here are some pictures from the first day:

 

Steps

God has each of us walking down a different path.  One might be easy to tread, while others have a path of much more difficulty.  If we keep God at the end of the path, there will be times that we can’t see His light.  I feel like the true way to journey is with God right with us, walking each step.  As Christians, we have the assurance that “He will never leave us…”.  My relationship with God is exactly that-a relationship.  He is my Guider.  My provider.  My sustainer.  My strength.  When I realize that my every breath is from Him, my steps are sure.  Now, I didn’t say easy, I said sure.

Our family has been walking down a path this year that we have never been on before.  All this is new.  And we are about to take some steps this next week that I don’t want to take.  We are sending a child off to high school, and another to Junior high…one to middle school, and another to elementary (no more half day Kindergarten-he is full days now.)

I know that each one of them has a relationship, their own relationship, with God.  And I know that they will not be alone.  God will be with each of their steps.  These are amazing opportunities to hold a little tighter to His hand, to speak His Name in times of nervousness, and to boldly shine His light in a school that desperately needs His love.

Please pray for them.  Pray for me as I let them go.

Rachel

MKs

I wanted to give you a glimpse into the hearts of the MK’s we were able to be with for our two weeks in Ohio.  One of the kids said that the best part of being an MK is that it made her “color” blind.  I LOVE that idea.  When you look at people you don’t see the skin color, you see the person.  When asked about the hardest part of being an MK, here are a few of the answers:  “…Pieces of my heart are scattered all over the world.”  “…the expectations put on you.”  “I will never belong to one place.”  “Being misunderstood.”

Many of them talked about feeling so naïve and out of place in America all alone.  When we told them that we were here for them, and that we were here to help them out and be their “home” away from home, you could see their fear subside a bit. 

Something as simple as going to Subway for lunch was quite overwhelming to them.  We took them there one day and helped them through the craziness of what to chose and how it works.  One kid was talking about getting a little milk in a carton and not knowing how to open it.  Another kid was scared about driving and unsure where to find a driver’s ed program and how to afford all that.  We had some great discussions about dating, and how American guys and girls are different from what they are used to.

It was so therapeutic for our whole family to be around all these kids.  I saw our own four kids just open up in such a freeing way-being around kids that understand you has a way of doing that.  It was so hard for us to say good-bye, but exciting because we know that through this ministry we will get to see them again.

Thank you for praying for us.  Keep it up.  We need wisdom in how we should navigate through these uncharted waters.

Love you

Rachel

I want you to hear what we have been up to these last few weeks.  Garth, and I and all the kids have been at Cedarville University helping put on a re-entry program for 31 MK's (missionary kids).  There were five kids there that we had with us in Papua!  It was fantastic to connect with them again.  There were so many helpful topics covered-dating, setting boundaries, the differences between their home culture and America, how to develop a worldview, grief and loss, bank accounts, how to write a check...and then we threw in some times of fun, like mini-golf, the beach, a scavenger hunt, baseball game etc. Many kids had never done mini-golf, or been to a baseball game.  The whole time was SO much fun!  It was quite beneficial for our kids as well.  They really enjoyed being around kids that understood what they are going through.

Thanks for praying.

Rachel=

Our road trip was so wonderful!  It was a total of about 1,700 miles through 7 states.  We were able to see lots of friends and a whole group of our kids from Indonesia!  How fun is that?

We attended the wedding of a girl we knew in Indo and then after we were able to hang out with all the kids that were in the area.  There is a huge group of MK's attending Toccoa Falls College in Georgia, and about 19 from where we were in Papua, Indonesia!  It was such a treat for us to see all those familiar faces.

Right now we are on our way back to Wisconsin where we will be until Friday when we will leave for Ohio.  We will be a part of a 2 week re-entry seminar.  Garth and I are leading the session on Dating.  There will be 31 MK's at this seminar, 5 of which were with us in Indo.  There are also seminars just like this taking place in LA and Portland at the same time.  Please pray for the speakers and all of the kids traveling to be a part of these. It is a fantastic time of bonding and finding helpful information for making a smooth transition.

Thanks for your prayers for this trip!  It was so worth it!

Love you

This boy was in our Hostel in Indo:

All these people were at one time living in Papua

TRIP

Hi.  Hope you had a great Fourth of July.  We had a wonderful time with family.  Today we are getting ready to drive to Kentucky, and then Georgia.  We will be staying with some friends along the way.  One of our kids from Indo is getting married!  It will be such a time of excitement and celebration to see people we haven't seen for a year or so.  We are all really looking forward to it.

Please pray for safe travels, and that we would be a blessing and encouragement to everyone around us.

Parker

Such happy days for the Erickson family lately!!  The moment we have all been waiting for for about 13 years has finally arrived…we got a dog!!  Can you believe it?  She is so beautiful.  The family before us named her Parker.  She is a five year old black lab, and is much adored by all.  We all know that she was a blessing straight from God.  The whole process was quite quick, but we could not be more thrilled.

Also, Wyatt turned fourteen this past week.  That is a crazy thought for me to wrap my brain around.  We had his birthday party on Sunday and after he blew out his candles he said, “This is the first birthday I haven’t had to wish for a dog.”  The kids are finally done with school (yahoo!) and Wyatt graduated from 8^th grade on Friday.  He is enjoying being on the Williams Bay baseball team and had a soccer tournament in Oshkosh this weekend where they took second place.  A great family friend decided to give Wyatt his pickup truck for his birthday (also known as “Ole Blue).  Wyatt could not be more excited.  A dog, and a truck…talk about a fantastic birthday!!!!

Gath and I have had meetings last week and this week for Barnabas.  It is good for us to learn more about the ministry, and put faces to people’s names.  Last year we were still out of the country when Barnabas had their orientation and yearly meetings so now we are finally able to attend.

Side note:

I have been trying to send this email out with pictures since June 5^th.  But our computer has had other ideas!  We have had more problems with losing our internet…finally had a technician fix that and the computer is freaking out and not running right.  I am hoping Garth can fix it one more time.  I have all these ideas swirling around my head just waiting for me to write them down, and it is frustrating not being able to do so.

Anyways, we have much to be thankful for.  Especially our newest addition-Parker.  I will send pics as soon as I can.

Love you

Rachel

Praise and Prayer

A few prayer requests and praises from the Erickson family:

Praise that we were able to purchase a “new” van!!!  Our old van was getting more and more uncertain.  It would go out of drive and be in neutral until it felt like going back into drive.  That was making me nervous.  Plus, we weren’t able to take it on trips, so we would borrow vehicles from people when we needed to go somewhere far.  This van is wonderful!  I am so thankful to the Lord for this blessing!  Thanks to everyone that helped make it possible!!

Prayer:

Wyatt broke his finger in P.E. at school.  He is on a baseball team this summer and is hoping this won’t keep him out for too long. 

I was at the hospital yesterday having ultrasounds done to figure out the source of the pain I was having.  Come to find out, it was a ruptured cyst.  I am on pain meds and Garth is taking great care of me.  Pray for quick healing.

Today we are leaving to go away for the weekend to New London.  There is a wonderful home available for missionaries and pastors.  I am looking forward to the time away as a family and the chance to relax.

Hope your holiday weekend is full of times that you will remember always.

Love you

Rachel

Transported

Today Garth and I worked in the yard digging up and moving around some of the plants that weren’t in the best place.  Some were getting squeezed out and some had too much room around them.  It looks nice, but will look even better in a year or two when it all fills itself in.

I was thinking about our family while we were doing it.  We are a transported family trying to “fill in” where we have been planted.  I don’t feel like our roots have grown firmly down into our soil yet.  We are certainly doing better than we were last summer, but I feel like we still have a ways to go.  In a few weeks it will be a year since we left Indonesia.  It sure feels like quite a bit longer than that.

I asked the kids the other day, “If you had the opportunity to move back to Indo for good, what would you say?”  Emma yelled out “Yes!” before I even finished the question.  Sophie was thoughtful and gave me a list of pros and cons.  Wyatt said yes, but as he considered it, he realized that it would be hard for him to come back here for college if we did that.  Cale is happy wherever he is planted.

For now, we really feel like this is where God wants us.  But please pray for Indo.  There are so many needs there for the upcoming year.  They desperately need teachers, administrators, computer techs and dorm parents.  It is easier to be here while it is warm.  We sure are loving the weather-grilling out, playing outside, swinging on the swings, lounging in the hammock- dreaming of the beach…

We sure do miss that ocean…

Love you
Rachel

Still

I have been quiet lately because I haven’t felt like writing.  With Garth’s Mom dying, and all the other stuff we have going on, I have been feeling a bit melancholy.  Yet, I feel like I should be sharing with you the things that God is teaching me.

The other day, I really wanted a snuggle from Cale.  Cale however, was full of energy and wouldn’t sit still on my lap.  He kept squirming around.  I was trying to talk to him softly about something, but he was moving around so much, he wasn’t listening. 

Now, I know I have talked about this verse before, but God showed it to me in a brand new way.  “Be still, and know that I am God.” 

“Be still.  Please be still.”  That is what I kept saying to Cale and what I know God is often trying to say to me.  I am so out of focus, and I can’t hear what He is saying because I just will not be still.  The desire of my  heart at that moment was to connect in a special way with Cale.  But it ended in frustration as he ran off to “conquer the world.”  I believe there are moments like that with God and me.  My busyness and unwillingness to stop keeps me from that special connection that God longs for-and my heart needs.  I am sure that if I stopped I would hear Him saying to me, “Be still.  Please be still.”

Love you

Rachel