Tonight's the Night

Each time that I was in the hospital in labor I would take comfort in the thought that millions of women all around the world have gone through this, survived, and lived to tell about it. If they could do it, then I could too.

Well, that similar thought has been in my mind these last few weeks. Here I am. The mother of a Graduate. Tonight is Graduation. Millions of parents have been where I am, gotten through it, and lived to talk about it. If they can do it, then I can too. Right?

I just don't feel ready.But maybe you never do. I don't know. This is my first time. And I am the luckiest of all because Wyatt is choosing to do his gap year here in Papua. He won't be living with us but I will be able to see him. To get my hugs in when I am feeling low. So, then why is this day making me so sad? I think it is because I  know that life as we have known it for almost 18 years is about to change. Things will never be the same. He will start making memories without us.

I know in my head that this is what we have been preparing him for. The whole idea of giving him roots and wings. My heart is just having a hard time with the wings part.

He is a strong kid. He is a good kid. He is my kid, and I guess I just want to hold on to him a little bit longer. But, he is big now. Really big. Loads taller than me. And I have to remember that my faith is even bigger than my fears. And my God is mighty. He will never forget to watch out for Wyatt. He will never neglect to notice when he needs help. He will never decide to withhold comfort from His hurting child.He will be there. I know it. I can count on it. 

It is time for a new chapter, brand spanking new. There is so much potential, so much adventure ahead. Do I really want to hold him back? No, I don't. But I do want to hug him a bit tighter, and tell him 1400 more times how special I think he is. Just to make sure he knows. And pray more fervently. That is the key, truly the only way that I can allow those wings to take him away. Prayer. Knowing that all of our prayers are surrounding Wyatt and all these Graduates, is what allows us to give them completely over to God and trust them into His care. 

I am going to try. And if I can try to do it, then maybe you can too.

Final Week of School

This is the week where the days seem shorter and go by more quickly than usual. SO MUCH TO DO!!!! I am sure most of you know that Wyatt is graduating from High school on Thursday May 26th. He has chosen to do his gap year year in Indonesia. We were not sure how he was going to get a visa to stay. Usually a student is no longer under their parents visa once they are not a student. But God is good and worked this out in such a creative way. When we went for fingerprinting last Monday, the power was out. We waited awhile and thought that we would just have to come back the next day. After some time, we were handed some forms to sign and told that we could leave. They would just use our fingerprints from last year and they approved a visa for all 6 of us! Yahoo! God used something that is normally such a nuisance, a power outage, to bless us and answer our prayers!! Awesome!

Sophie is graduating from Grade 8. We had a Celebration Banquet to honor all the graduates last night. Such a beautiful time with parents putting together presentations about their child and bragging on how awesome they are. I love bragging on and on about my kids, so I had a wonderful time.

Today at church was the Baccalaureate service for the High School Graduates. Each kid stood up and talked about their plans for the future. I took some pictures and will put them at the end.

The kids all have finals this week. This is not their favorite week to say the least. Can't wait till it is over.

The dorm kids all leave on Friday and we leave on Saturday. We will spend a few days in Bali and then head to Wisconsin for 9 weeks. Wyatt will be traveling back to Indonesia on his own about a month or so before us (He has never done this before...big prayer request). He will be back here July 12ish or so. He will be part of a summer soccer ministry called Kick Off Papua. This is one of those times when I have to just give it to God and trust Him completely.It is a long trip, but I have a BIG God.

Sooo, pray for all of us. There is a lot going on this week and I already feel weary. Pray that we finish strong. AND that we enjoy all of the moments God gives us.

Love you,

See you soon,

Rachel

Baccalaureate Service

8th Grade Banquet

8th Grade Girls

At the immigration office to be fingerprinted

Only a Few Days Left

This time of year always brings such mixed emotions. Doing what we do means lots of good-byes. It is hard on all of us but especially the kids. This is the last week of regular classes and then next week starts final exams. Thursday, May 26th, is a half-day and then Graduation is that evening. We leave Sentani on May 28th. Between now and then is a vast assortment of events and activities. 

Tonight is the Choir concert and the Band concert. Friday is a staff dinner. Saturday is the 8th grade Celebration Banquet. Sunday is Baccalaureate service.  Tuesday is a Mom's of Seniors event. Wednesday is a Parents and Seniors dinner,Thursday is Graduation, and we leave Saturday morning. Last Saturday was the Junior/Senior banquet and I will attach pictures of that at the end.

Whew! When we have schedules like this I tend to cherish the quiet moments, like I have right now. Cale and I were just reading this morning a verse in Zephaniah 3:17. It is talking about God: the creator of the universe, the One who holds the stars in His hands, who breathed life into man. That same God, it says, "He will take great delight in you. He will quiet you with His love. He will rejoice over you with singing!"

I love reading that verse. I love that thoughts of me bring Him joy, so much joy that He wants to sing! How cool is that!

God is so good. And we feel royally blessed. Please keep us in your prayers these next few days. Pray for good health. Pray for safe travels, and great together time as a family.

Thanks.

Rachel

Just Us

So, this past week has consisted mostly of taking care of sick kids.  The two worst were Wyatt and Arnold who were sick with Malaria. Arnold is our oldest dorm kid and he lives in Indonesia but has never had malaria before. Wyatt has, but not for quite some time. Wow. It hit them both hard. Today, finally, I am seeing some improvement.

The High Schoolers had Spirit week this week. I love to see their creativity. We are winding down the school year. Only 19 1/2 more days until Graduation. (Stop it! Don't make me cry!!) Sophie was teary last night just thinking of all of the good-byes. Saying good-bye here is such a part of life. Kids graduate and move to different countries, friends go on furlough and you don't see them for a year or a missionary family leaves Indo and you may never see them again. It is hard. And it is really hard as a Mom to see the kids hurt through this time.

Well, our family goes fingerprinting on Monday. Pray about that. Fingerprinting is the time we find out if they will renew our visa for another year. We usually have no problems but you never know. We are praying hard that Wyatt will be able to stay on our visa. 

Also, I have another prayer request. The day that school starts next year got pushed up three days. Normally that is not a problem, but we have already purchased our tickets and couldn't change them. So with the date change, we will be getting back to the dorm the day before the kids arrive. So that means that I need to be extremely organized for next school year before we leave this summer. Everything we will need to start up the dorm should be purchased and ready to go before we leave. That, along with all of the normal end of the year activities and events will make these last days full and busy. Pray for all to get done, for everyone to stay healthy, and for us to enjoy these last moments with each other.

Thanks,

Rachel

Getting Caught Up

So, I haven't written you about dorm life for awhile. Let's get caught up.  One of the big things that has happened since I last wrote is we had a couple fly here from Australia to do some dorm training with us. They actually teach the material as a college course in Australia for anyone interested in any kind of youth work or boarding.It was incredibly helpful but stressful. We crammed this college course into five full days. Sooooo much teaching and homework along with our regular load of normal dorm duties, thrown in there was a dorm birthday and a school event I had to cook for... by the end we were so fried. But the whole thing was very beneficial. We learned a lot of material  that we will be implementing over the next school year.

This past week was Track and Field day. The events are for kids Grade K-8. One thing the school does to instill unity and teach responsibility is having the High Schoolers take part in various parts of the day. They help out the kids or time the races, sell snacks, and do all the set up and clean up. It is always a day full of much sweat and laughter.

Saturday was our Barang Sale. It is like a Garage sale on steroids. We fill the gym with tables and anyone in the community can sell goods. The event is open to Indonesians and Westerners, It is sheer craziness. The kids and I had two tables of stuff to sell. We were trying to raise money for the Papuan Soccer team that Sophie and Wyatt are each on, Papua United. There are so many kids that play without proper shoes, so when we can, we raise money to help with that. 

Here are some pictures: