Christmas Cheer

How many of you think it's daunting to put a whole year of activities into a few paragraphs? Me too. So, I'm taking the literary license of the lazy and putting it into one unsatisfying sentence. "We've spent the last six months in the States visiting folks from one coast to the other and the previous six months doing much the same in North Africa and the Middle East only with greater forethought, internationality and purpose." Any questions? It remains a delight and a privilege to be called to this work and we look forward to repeating the latter portion of that brief 2008 summation when we return to the field in January.

The exact date of our return is, however, temporarily suspended until Dave receives medical clearance. He had two catheterizations last week (one in his heart and the other in his brain...what an adventure). He has one more catheterization and it's scheduled for January 6th. Stints will be placed in arteries where needed and then it's off to the recovery room where I will lovingly greet him with more Jell-O. Hospital time, I'm convinced, is longer than time spent anywhere else. I found myself making aimless cafeteria visits, drinking too much coffee and devouring easy 'reads'. (I should have considered my location before opening, Lemony Snicket's "A Series of Unfortunate Events". A pretty tacky title under the circumstances.)

We're really grateful to be in Ohio with our daughter, her husband and our son. It's a slice of heaven when we can all be together. It's white outside our windows with a few flakes still drifting toward a soft landing. Christmas music is filling every room and the aroma of my daughter's yummy cooking is a nice accompaniment. I'm nestled in a comfy rocker and Dave is working a puzzle. We belong on a Rockwell calendar. We're blessed.

I was reminded, in my reading this past week, that Washington crossed the Delaware on December 25th, 1776 with the code words, "Victory or Death." Thomas Paine in his account of that event and the desperate winter preceding it at Valley Forge said, "...yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph." It's not a bad rallying call for our work as well. We are remembering those who, at this moment, serve so far from friends and family and the supreme importance, immediacy, and security of their work. Medina, Ohio with all its doctor's visits and freezing cold is no Valley Forge!

The Lord has been so faithful to us in 08. He has indeed provided the sanctuary He promised us in many ways but most importantly in Himself. So, I will rehearse the verse He comforted me with in '08 as we step into '09.

"Although I have cast them far off among the heathen and though I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come." Ezekiel 11:16 (NKJ)

All His richest blessings in Jesus be yours as we await His appearing once again, Sara - for Dave too

Intermission

Overlooking the Sea of Galilee

Dave and I are preparing to head back to the States in just under three weeks. Who would have thought we’d be approaching our ninth year overseas. There have been days when that wouldn’t have sounded like good news. But by God’s grace we were able to put one foot in front of the other and here we are at another milestone, packing up and heading home for six months. I may throw a party. You’re all invited!

We’ve recently returned from a Member Care trip to Jordan and Israel and also led a small training here in the Gulf. Member care needs in general have accelerated recently. We’re so grateful to have another member care couple on board. It’s hard to imagine how we ever did this without them. I think all four of us would now like to imagine six of us doing this job. Life is not getting easier over here and that may be true everywhere. Local authorities have forced more dear friends to leave a country where they have worked for many years. Others are encountering outward opposition with tighter restrictions surrounding their lives and work and still others fight on different fronts where the enemy is attacking their health, family or teams. I realize, I’m describing our work in the broadest terms but I’m hoping that it will be a reminder to support all our friends in the most important way you can.

Dave and I are excited about seeing many of you while we’re in the States. We look forward to the sweet companionship of friends and family. I also predict that we’ll be seeking out shade trees, lawn chairs and quiet places. We’ve traveled so much, seen so much and heard so much. It’s time for an oil change. We’re rattling. (Too bad we can’t afford bodywork and a paint job!) Dave will no doubt find his golf clubs and fishing pole. I’ll wonder through bookstores, read to my heart’s content and probably stare off into the distance for a creepy long time. We’re tired. But we’re also grateful and want to ‘keep on keeping on’ as long as we can still put one foot in front of the other. Thanks for all the ways you’ve helped us do that…Sara for Dave too

Items to lift up:
1. Ask for an extra measure of protection, grace and strength for our MC co-laborers, Jerry & Kathy, who will cover the needs of the whole region while we are gone.
2. Continue to ask the Father to provide a car for us to use during our time in the US.
3. Remember families in transition having been forced to leave their countries by local governments. Ask for His peace, patience and clear direction.

Dave by the Sea of Galilee

Guess what came to our neighborhood? Krispy Kreme (in Arabic)

The Comfort of His Rod and Staff...

This month's update is primarily about us taking care of us. Thankfully, there has been a steady steam of fellow workers through Dubai for us to care for in tandem with our steady flow of doctor appointments. Dave’s blood sugar levels are consistently falling within normal range now and his insulin production, although low, is still sufficient…so no shots. This is all very good news and it means we should be traveling again soon. Our Stateside Assignment time, which starts in early July, is quickly approaching and there are several places we’d like to visit before returning to the States for six months. I’m sure to some folks we must seem like Haley’s comet….”I wonder when they will shoot through here again?”

We’re still working on dates and locations for our stateside time and we long to go everywhere and see everyone but we know that isn’t realistic. When I think about all the places we’d like to go…it would take some kind of intergalactic contortionist. Maybe it’s time to reread, “Hitchhikers Guide the Galaxy” a little closer for tips. Right now, we’d be willing to start wherever we can find a car to use, which is prayer request number one. We need wheels. Request number two is for many dear friends who are now returning to Afghanistan after a very tense and difficult time in that country. Although Afghanistan is not in our NAME region many of their workers pass through Dubai on medical leave, vacation or meetings and this affords us the wonderful opportunity of connecting with a few of them. Ask for peace, resiliency and wisdom as they adjust to security measures that become necessary from time to time as the situation warrants. Request three is for co-workers who are being denied access back into their country of service. It seems to be happening quit a bit this year. It obviously causes disruptions on so many different levels and in so many different lives. We do trust in his sovereignty. It is his field and he can certainly place us anywhere he desires. Ask for fresh vision and a reaffirmation of his calling for those who must move and also for those that remain and feel their absence. It is hard to leave and it is hard to be left. He is faithful. We praise him for the grace he gives to each one. Their faith in him is honoring and contagious. What I would really like to do is kick the enemy out of NAME so he can never come back! So, thanks for helping us give that old deceiver the boot!

Sara - for Dave too
PS- Enjoy the pictures of our neighbors in the Gulf

When your sweetheart is too sweet!

It seems some updates hold more news than others and this is one of them. Our visit to Yemen came to an abrupt halt when we reached our airport’s passport control and discovered Dave’s resident visa had just expired and we could not leave the country. It seems that I can’t get into countries (Syria) and Dave can’t get out (UAE). We were in a holding pattern for two weeks as we awaited paper work. Then we were off to Lebanon to lead a three-day workshop and visit with those living under such stressful conditions, especially in the south where Lebanon and Israel occasionally fire shots at each other.

We then returned home to make a quick turn around and head to Yemen (once again) and Ethiopia but were delayed again. This detour came at the doctor’s office. Tests showed that Dave is diabetic. It will take about a month to find the right balance of medication and diet to maintain his blood sugars at a healthy level. My man is becoming a walking pharmacy. I don’t think of Dave as having a sweet tooth but if he did he could probably arrange to have it pulled when he visits the dentist this week for a root canal. Sometimes, I feel like the enemy is turning us into a dartboard. Thankfully, I am in fairly good health with the exception of ‘tennis elbow’ (a flattering diagnosis), which has me in an unattractive elbow support and on painkillers for two weeks. We think it’s more likely ‘luggage arm’. I am also in the early stages of osteoporosis and now enjoy a high-octane drink each evening to combat the degenerative aspects of being me.

So, we are sidelined once more. As our change of plans was shared in Yemen, we were copied on an email that promised new comers that we actually did exist. We’re becoming urban legends in our own time. We really don’t want to be out of the game but truthfully, I am grateful for a break from the airlines. Air travel is, ‘No Country for Old Men’. Flying is challenging and it’s own kind of purgatory. You’re neither here nor there but uncomfortably stuck between. However, ‘stuck’ seems to be stalking us of late wherever we are.

So requests seem to fall into five categories: our health, friends living under very unfriendly conditions, training dates that have been derailed, visits with those who will now go unvisited and prayers for a cranky old lady who felt like throwing something this week if her arm hadn’t hurt so much. On the brighter side, we did enjoy time with dear friends who came to Dubai (for vacation!) and shared in our doctor’s visits. I haven’t told them about our AIDS test yet. (Kidding) Well, that about wraps it up (to use an orthopedic phrase). Thanks for remembering us, Sara for Dave too

PS-pictures are of Roman ruins and coastline in Tyre

The Elephant Man...and Woman

Hi from Thailand,


Dave and I finished our ‘Peer-to-Peer Debriefing’ training and took a few extra days to relax and explore this wonderful country. My favorite way of doing this was from the back of an elephant. We wandered through thick forestation, down streams and along riverbanks for nearly two hours atop an amazingly agile mastodon. I used to think horses were big. For a fleeting moment, I remembered an old movie where ‘mad elephants’ went on the rampage destroying palatial homes and tossing people into the air. It seemed like a somewhat horrifying but oddly humorous way to close out my life. The obit might read, “Sara B. fell from an elephant today. After years of living out of a trunk, she died near one.” Of course, that didn’t happen but buying the tourist trap picture of the two of us perched on Jumbo’s back did. As I look at it now, I’m reminded of the guide we have in Jesus. The power that carries us moment by moment through our days and the confidence we can have in his sure footedness along unfamiliar paths. Maybe that picture was a steal after all.


Riding in a Tuk-Tuk to the market
We leave for Yemen in a week. We will be in several locations in that country followed by a month’s stay in Ethiopia. Part of our ministry will be to re-teach what we have just learned about debriefing peers. It will comprise a two to three day workshop. The possibility of becoming discombobulated with so much new information to present is probably more than a possibility. So, prayer request number one is that: The Holy Spirit, who is never ruffled, will coordinate our thoughts (and papers) and convey all that needs to be shared in an orderly, fun, usable and enlightened way in both Yemen and Ethiopia. Request number two: There are many in Yemen who have experienced the recent loss of dear co-worker. Ask that, through us, He will comfort those who mourn. There are others, in both countries, which are new and confronted with all the large and small issues of adjusting to a new home. Ask that they will experience his grace and courage. And there are those who have served long and difficult years, who are in much need of a fresh touch. Although you do not know these workers, I can see each face and the immediacy of their needs. Please know that when you pray, these faces, unseen from your vantage point, reap blessings in a very real way. He is the master and time travel has never been a problem in prayer. A final request (since that last one comprised several) is for our continual surrender to him. May he always be our first love and that our cups would be filled to overflowing so that others can drink of him from our lives.

Thanks for your availability to Him in defense of those who serve in NAME.

Sara for Dave too

Night Market in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Left Behind

You’re looking at Mt. Herman from the spot where Paul heard the risen Christ speak on the road to Damascus as well as a picture of Ananias’ house on Straight Street. I’m afraid these pictures and the following update are a bit like finding last week’s newspaper on your front lawn. But, tardy though it may be, here is an account of recent and not so recent events over the past two weeks starting with notes I made during our time in Jordan.

Amman is covered in a foot of snow. You may never hear such wintry words from me again. Many twists and turns have delayed our correspondence. Upon arrival, our computer went about regurgitating 980 past emails in triplicate. Although, we didn’t consider it a rough flight perhaps Hewlett Packard did. It was several days before we could stem the flow. It was then difficult to jump aboard our secure network and thus we were handicapped in both the means and the time to write. Most of the past few days we’ve spent in meetings, which have been good but lengthy. When we finally ventured forth from the land of agendas, we headed toward Syria. I’m not sure I can fully describe (not that I would want to) the hoops we’ve tumbled through, the walls we’ve besieged, the rivers we’ve traversed and the patience we’ve extended to the bureaucratic world of red tape. While in the States, Dave made two trips to Washington D.C. to acquire a much needed second passport. So now, with a new passport and Syrian visas in hand, we were confidently breezing our way through passport control when our light-hearted chatter was interrupted with the abrupt news that I would be staying behind. Apparently, my much-scrutinized passport revealed I’d left Jordan and returned to Jordan with no indication of where I’d been in the intervening time. They didn’t need to wonder…it was obvious…the west bank. Well, a life of crossing borders does hit a few roadblocks.

Dave and the friend we were traveling with had clean passports so off they went to Damascus. (As I recall, this road is noted for surprising folks with a change of plan.) I pulled a few good books from my backpack, reminded Dave to let someone know I was here, and took a cold seat on a metal chair to wait for a ride back to Amman. Nearly five hours later the ride came in the form of a taxi already occupied by a Syrian woman with enough baggage to accommodate a small band of Bedouins. I was content to hop aboard, as the weather had turned gray with winds and rain nearly slicing through what remaining fortitude I had left. Our entire luggage, meaning mostly hers, every bit of it, was unloaded and inspected in the freezing rain. I was then taken inside a building to briefly speak to an officer concerning my predicament and discovered I was still on the Syrian side of things in regards to the border. All this time I thought I’d been in Jordan. I love breaking news. I gave him my best-dumbfounded, confused American tourist blank stare, which took very little acting and soon I was back in the taxi and on my way.

The ride back to Amman allowed me just enough time to calculate all the items I would need that were now kindly making their way to Damascus with Dave. He had my make-up. I had his iron. He had the toothbrushes. I had the paste. He had the electric teakettle. I had the tea. He had the blow dryer. I had the hair. Well, as a result of my natural beauty, good friends and Jesus, things never are as bad as they seem. I found my way to a very comfortable guesthouse where I’ve spent the past five days in virtual anonymity. I, with the rest of Amman, have been completely snowed in but this little resident has happily found herself as cozy as a cub in a cave. ‘Good friends’ checked in on me frequently and usually found me in my bright pink bathrobe. (The one that makes me look like a sumo wrestler.) They came with offers of food and since I had very little, I agreed to trek to their home. I considered wearing my bright pink robe because of its obvious warmth and secondary function as a beacon, making it easier to spot me in the snow if I failed to arrive. But, I’m happy to report no such misadventures accompanied me or Dave as he safely returned from Syria after a God appointed trip. We are now home in the Gulf for a few days before flying to Thailand on Sunday. As my computer indicates, I’ve just begun my second page of monologue so I better get to some prayer requests. I can’t think of a time when they have been more needed. We’re unable to be as specific as we would like but if you will pray, God knows the details and will answer.
Pray for God’s grace, goodness and power to sustain those who currently find themselves in harms way.
Pray for a bold witness with authority and great courage from those who stand before Caesar and men of much less worldly importance.
Pray for those in our company who are the decision makers.
Pray for the couple who now shares a role like ours who are walking with many from Chad who are in deep need of a healing touch from Jesus.
Pray for us as we travel to Thailand to receive training in Peer-to-Peer debriefing. If ever a region of the world was in need of debriefing their challenges, traumas and losses…we are surely one.
Pray for stamina, wisdom and emotional resiliency for Dave and I as we and others absorb many second-hand jolts walking and living so closely with those who are getting hit and hit hard.
Pray for an eternal perspective at all times at all costs.

A thousands thanks, Sara for Dave too…near the trenches

Trimming trees - not waistlines!!

I feel as though we left 2007 like a lion and I am more then willing to see 2008 come in like a lamb. There was a flight to the States two weeks before our daughter's wedding where we all became wedding planners on steroids. There was the Thanksgiving meal with a house full of family and friends (it couldn't have been more fun). There was the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner (prime rib, swordfish steak, glorified chicken) the day after the Thanksgiving feast (we'd already tossed our belts) followed by the wedding with a lovely reception at a beautiful country club where more amazing food was shared with over a hundred friends and family. Natasha and her groom, Scott, are living somewhere between heaven and earth, so in love! What a treat to bask in their glow.

We managed to leave the land of plenty a few days later for Richmond, Va. where we spent two weeks working along side our new personnel and attending a member care conference. We then barely beat a snow storm back to Ohio to spend a few more days with the newly weds and our son, Jonathan. (More holiday feasting, shopping and credit card fun. Forget pulling out a wallet, I should have carried that card between my teeth.) We caught an early Christmas Eve flight to the Gulf arriving on Christmas morning. Since then, I have been resting, scheduling our next six months and bemoaning my waste line. We head back to the States for our Stateside assignment (furlough) in late June and between then and now we should be traveling about half the time. At present, the word 'suitcase' and 'root canal' produce about the same reaction in me. I am weary of viewing my cloths in a horizontal pile...hanging them vertically is still my personal preference.

Well, there is so much more I could share but continuing jet lag and wedding jag has me in it's grip. But if you ever want to hear a litany of funny, unexpected, goofy happenings on a wedding day, we can supply you with some entertainment. Fortunately, our family has a sense of humor and thoroughly enjoyed and treasured each moment no matter what was missing, stuck, broken, unyielding, forgotten, falling, crying, ripped, tripped, unlit, too late, too early and bleeding. Perfection will exist at the wedding and banqueting table of Jesus and not until then. But love, commitment and the celebration of friends and family is a wonderful foretaste of this future heavenly reality. God has such good ideas.

Thanks for following us this past year. What valued companions you are. May an abundance of blessings find you and your families in 2008 and may we all recognize with thankful hearts when they come.