Drew's parents just arrived to help us get our kids and our belongings back to the Midwest. We just wanted to fill you in on our moving plan, so you could be praying.
Tomorrow (Friday), we get our moving truck. We'll load everything up, clean, and enjoy our final meal out in Vancouver.
Saturday morning, I fly with the kids and Drew's mom to Indianapolis. As soon as they drop us off, Drew and his Dad will drive our van up onto the trailor, get in the truck and start the drive back. Their planned stops are:
Saturday: Spokane, WA
Sunday: Glendive, MT
Monday: Minneapolis, MN
Tuesday: Archbold, OH (to pick up our furniture and remaining stuff)
Wednesday: Upland, IN!!!!
Prayers for them as they make the drive back are greatly appreciated!
This will be the flight to end all flights for our children. :) Okay so maybe we will fly again as a family but we are very excited that we won't have to do it anytime soon. We would appreciate your prayers for peace to cover all of our children as we fly.
We are incredibly excited about this next chapter of our life and yet I have cried my eyes out over closing this present chapter.
For those who continue to invest in and encourage our family, thank you! We are so blessed by you. Over and out!
We would greatly appreciate your prayers these next few weeks for our nephew, Jackson. Most of our readers know that due to complications during labor and delivery Jackson was born with Cerebral Palsy. Jackson is almost 7 and 1/2 (how is that possible?!) and is sweet, funny, and totally handsome. His laugh is contagious. We so long to hear the hilarious things that Jackson is saying in his mind but can't yet communicate through words!
Jackson is headed to Germany this coming Saturday with his mom and his Grandma Judy for stem cell treatment at the XCell-Center.
"The stem cells are first collected from a patient’s bone marrow, extracted from the hipbone (iliac crest) then implanted back into the body days later. Prior to re-implantation of the cells, the bone marrow is processed in one of our labs, where the quantity and quality of the stem cells is also checked. These re-injected stem cells have the potential to transform into multiple types of cells and are capable of regenerating damaged tissue. Our innovative stem cell treatments use the healing potential of each patient’s body to stimulate regeneration or repair."
This treatment is producing phenomenal results in patients with Diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, Autism, CP, MS, Parkinson's etc. (Just to be clear, the stem cells are Jackson's own stem cells. They don't use embryos. They don't keep some and harvest them, and they don't use any other donors.)
Click HERE to read an awesome article about one of their patients with CP and HERE to watch a video of what will be done (warning: must like needles to watch).
Some of Megan's specific prayer requests for their time in Germany:
Safe and quick plane rides
Jackson (as well as us) does well with time change and on plane
Tuesday and Thursday Jackson can't eat anything 6 hours before which means pretty much nothing to eat until Late afternoon - pray that goes well
Tuesday and Thursday - for the treatments to go well and he does well with the anesthesia
That the Lord will work through this procedure and keep Jackson safe - and of course for good results if it is the Lord's will
Minimal side effects. The worst is headaches by a majority but maybe he won't have any
Overall, safety
Their blog address is below. She may try to keep up while they are in Germany!
We have some big changes coming up that we need to share with you. I (Drew) have accepted a faculty/residence life position at Taylor University. I'm sure this is a shock to many of you. In many ways, it's a shock to us.
As we were on our 'Epic Moser Family Road Trip' from the Midwest to Vancouver (5 days, 2,500 miles), I had a phone call with a good friend who is an Associate Dean at Taylor. He wanted to talk to me about a position opening up, and he wanted my permission to pass along my information.
I said yes, but honestly didn't think too much about it at the time. We were heading back to Vancouver, and looking forward to exploring what God had in store for us there.
Well, one thing led to another: a phone call, a phone interview, an invitation to interview on campus, a last minute trip to Indiana to interview; which leads us to Friday, when I received the official offer to serve as the residence hall director at Samuel Morris Hall.
We asked for this past weekend to pray about this, and felt strongly that God was calling us to take this job. In many ways, it's a fulfillment of a dream of mine: to work in the Christian college and develop college students. Primarily, I will develop and train young men to be leaders among their peers. Much of the job falls right in line with my passions and gifts.
So, the tornado of details has begun to spin. We're lining up a moving company, looking into flights, beginning to pack....all with the goal of getting to Taylor's campus by Aug. 1. I officially start my new position Aug. 3.
As you can imagine, this is very bittersweet for us. We're truly grieving leaving this place. We've had the unbelievable blessing and gift of living directly above some of our dearest friends in the entire world: Tim and Kristi. Leaving them, leaving our apartment, leaving our team, and leaving this city are all 'losses' that we will grieve. We're making space to be sad, say good goodbyes, and cherish these moments with dear friends while we have them.
At the same time, we're thrilled at joining the Taylor community, and excited to be back in the Midwest, where so many of our friends and family are.
So, for those of you who support us financially, our account with NieuCommunities will be closed the first week of August. If you give monthly, we humbly ask you (if you haven't already) to send in your July donation, and then prayerfully consider where else you can invest that money for God's kingdom. If you'd like some ideas, we have many friends/family worthy of support. If there is any money left in our account, it will be divided up among missionaries within CRM who have the greatest need.
I'm sure many of you have questions, and we'd be more than happy to answer them. We also wanted to again say "Thank you," from the depths of our heart, for your unbelievable support through prayer, finances, and encouragement. We truly felt uplifted our entire time in Vancouver.
As we transition, please pray for us specifically in these ways:
1. The Move--We're still figuring out a moving plan, and Aug 1 is quickly approaching. Pray for God to specifically provide a plan that efficiently gets us and our possessions to Indiana safe and sound.
2. The Transition--This is a big transition for us as a family. We feel it will be very good for us in the long run, but immediately it means some pretty big changes for our kids. Pray for a peace that surpasses understanding on our part.
3. The Ministry--Pray for our ministry within and beyond the Taylor community. Pray that God would prepare us, equip us, and strengthen us to do this work He has called us to.
Again, thank you for investing in us so wholeheartedly here. We're so grateful for each and every one of you. -- PEACE,
The Mosers
Sunday, July 12, 2009
"It is such a comfort to know that Jesus' wounds remain visible in his risen body. Our wounds are not taken away, but become sources of hope to others." -Henri Nouwen
This exact scene happens too many times to count in a day. I hear Sam scream and look over in time to see Isa dashing away. Me: "Isa, why is Sam crying?" Isa: "I dunno, mama." Right.
Eloisa joined our family sixteen months ago today. Eloisa was exactly 16 months old that day. I have been thinking a lot about that time for a few reasons.
For one, it means that as of today, Eloisa has now officially been with us as long as she was apart from us. It's a good feeling to know that we have now (as of tomorrow I guess) known her longer than we didn't know her. I must admit that it has been a hard and wonderful 16 months. There have been days that I wanted to pull my hair out trying to get to know and understand my daughter. There are still so many days when I go to bed feeling totally defeated because I don't know how to discipline her defiance and disobedience. Is it her age, or her personality, or what she has gone through in her short life that make some days so incredibly draining? And yet there are days that her love and joy and trust and humor are so radiant that my heart is able to hope and heal because I know in those moments that her heart is hoping and healing. It's been a wild ride.
The second reason this milestone has hit me so hard is the fact that my sweet Samuel will be 16 months old in 6 days. He is attached to my hip. He finds comfort and security in me. When he falls down, he comes to me for a kiss. He follows me around when he's tired. He hugs me around the neck so tight every morning, every noon, every night. If in 6 days a family from another country, speaking another language, and sporting a different skin color came and removed him from me; he would be traumatized. And yet, that is what my daughter has endured. She was wounded in this exact way. She experienced that fear and confusion and heartache. I believe it is a wound-a mark-she will always carry with her. She may not remember that time nor truly understand its impact, yet I pray and trust and hope that the Lord uses it to develop in her a grace and compassion for this world that she wouldn't have otherwise. I pray that it would drive her to contend for others to know their identity in Christ alone and their place in his Kingdom. Here's looking at you, kid. We love you.
It's amazing the difference 16 months makes. When Samuel was born, Benjamin was never interested in holding him. We would talk him into it and then he was done after a minute. But now, Benjamin is quite smitten with his new neighbor. Benjamin sat and held his little friend Samantha Jean for over 30 minutes. He just grinned at her, squished her little cheeks, rubbed her hair, kissed her head, and pressed on her nose. It was a sweet time.
(Drew here: Bekah's been strongly encouraging me to 'get writing' again, an unfortunate casualty in the chaos of moving to and living in Vancouver. I'll be popping in here every now and then with a short story, essay, or limerick. Ok, don't expect any limericks...)
For those of you who have never had the distinct privilege of visiting our home on William St. on the east side of Vancouver, BC, let me paint a picture for you. Imagine a row of old, quant, but well-kept homes on a cozy, quiet street under the majestic canopy of old deciduous trees lining both sides of the street. Now imagine an unsightly, unkempt, crumbling two story home with little landscaping to draw your eye off of the unfortunate architecture.
This is our home. Here, they call the style: 'Vancouver Special', though the only thing 'special' about it is that it's e'special'ly hideous. Vancouver Specials are cheaply built 2 unit homes built in the 70's during a Vancouver housing boom. We rent the upstairs unit, not for its beauty. Simply, you can't find a better deal per square foot. So we put up with the ugliness.
Recently, we've been inspired to do what we can with the yard. Think bushwhacking unexplored country. We thought the front yard would be the best place to start. We zeroed in on an enormous row of holly bushes that were simply out of control. Our kids had experience far too many run-ins with its prickly leaves, and I have chased far too many baseballs and soccer balls into the bushes ensnaring branches.
It appeared as if they hadn't been touched in years. I thought to myself: "this will make our neighbors happy...someone finally keeping up this place." I started trimming away.
After a dozen or so snips, our neighbor Frank (whose home is on the other side of the holly), rode up in his bike. He smiled and said, "Good for you guys, we trimmed our side a few months ago. That'll look great."
With this boost of encouragement, we kept working away. We trimmed the bushes up, thinned them out a bit, and raked up all of the dead leaves underneath (holly leaves take forever to decompose). We cleaned up, admired our work, and went inside.
Later that night, our doorbell rang. It was Frank, and his smile was replaced with a furrowed brow: "You clipped one of our the holly bushes that we planted. It was a female" [GULP] Apparently plants have genders? Apparently holly bushes need female plants to produce red berries, and I chopped off the whole rows source of red berries.
He showed me the scene of my crime, and I remembered doing the deed. It was a pathetic plant, resembling a rogue weed. I thought I was putting it out of its misery....
I apoligized to my neighbor profusely, and promised to replace the plant the next day. In my head are a number of questions: Why didn't you say these were your plants...I mean, you were standing their approving of our work, right? Why are they so overgrown on my lawn? If they are your plants, why didn't you trim our side as well?" I kept my mouth shut, and focused on trying to reconcile.
That next morning I called at least a dozen landscape centers and nurseries, and discovered a few interesting facts:
1. English holly bushes are out of season
2. Which really doesn't matter, because no one wants them anyway (they're foreign, invasive, nutrient sucking, etc.)
3. Thus, no respectable nursery carries them.
So I was on a wild goose chase for a plant noone likes...except for my neighbor. I started scouring the internet, looking for a creative way to replace the bush I chopped. I found a park a little ways away that claimed to have an abundance of holly, and set off to get a cutting.
I found something that could optimistically be described as a distant cousin of an English holly and drove back feeling pretty defeated. I made one last call to a Home Depot, and sure enough, they had female English holly in stock; but it was EXPENSIVE.
I suddenly had a dilemna. I could take the cheap route, and try planting the cutting, and pray it produces red berries...or I could take the safer, much more expensive route and get the plant from Home Depot.
Suddenly, (I must admit annoyingly), the words of Christ came into my head: "Love your neighbor..."
I went to Home Depot, bought a replacement that was far, far, far superior to the runt of a plant I cut, and reconciled with my neighbor.
I learned a few lessons:
1. Just because a hideously ugly, lethal weapon of a plant resides primarily on your property, and mirrors the homes ugliness, doesn't necessarily mean it's yours. ASK FIRST. ALWAYS ASK FIRST.
2. Sometimes loving our neighbor requires us to sacrifice. In this case, my wallet and my pride (and my sense of logic) took a hit.
3. Just when you think you've gone above and beyond to love your neighbor, sometimes it's not enough....
...To be continued.
[Donate to the Moser family's mission in Vancouver! Click HERE to give online.]
Greetings from Canada! It's hard to believe we've only been here a few weeks. It's as if the sudden change in culture, distance, and weather (it's cool and rainy today) makes it feel as if we've been gone much longer.
Our kids were happy to return to their beds and toys, and we were happy just to be allowed back into the country. We left the Midwest without visas to get into Canada, and God gave us favor with the border agents; after about 30 minutes of waiting in immigration limbo, we were given our visas.
Now that we're here, it's time to get to work. I've been working on developing the leadership coaching side of my ministry, reconnecting with relationships here, and working with the NieuCommunities team as we seek God in how to most effectively and authentically reach Vancouver with the love of Christ. We also are joining the efforts of our church here (10th Ave.: www.tenth.ca) in helping them plant a new church in a neighborhood called Kitsilano. We love our church here, and look forward to helping them in their ministry to this neighborhood.
We're still getting used to the way of life here again: parking nightmares, traffic, cost of living, etc. But we're also enjoying the beautiful weather, the view of the mountains, and the sounds of the ships coming into port. Now that we've finally got a bit of time to take a breath, we just wanted to say 'Thanks!' to all of you for your support in helping us get here. We continue to covet your prayers. Here are a few specifics:
1. Finances: We made some great strides while in the states, but are still a little short of where we need to be. Currently, we're about 85% funded. Pray for God to provide that last 15%
2. Our team: We're undergoing a lot of changes here at NieuCommunities, and it can be unsettling. Pray for God's wisdom and direction to guide us.
3. Our ministry: Pray for God to continue to open doors of opportunity to share His love.
Prior to writing this, I was reading Paul's letter to the Philippian church. His greeting to the Philipians (chapter 1) is a good summary of how we cherish you all: "I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now..."
Thanks so much! Come visit us!
The Mosers
[Donate to the Moser family's mission in Vancouver! Click HERE to give online.]
Most of the time Benjamin loves how wild Isa is and he spends most of his day giggling at her as she runs around like a crazy woman. However, when he is in the mood to play a board game, he gets really frustrated with her. The other day he wanted to play Candy Land. I told him if we played that he had to be patient with Isa. She was being particularly wild-not able to wait her turn, knocking everyone's gingerbread men off the board, scattering cards everywhere. I got firm with Isa that if she wanted to play with us then she needed to sit still. She said she would and then she proceeded to accidentally bump the board and send everything flying again. Benjamin let out this huge sigh and said, "Ugh, this is too hard! Jesus, please help Isa not to be wild every day! Amen." The whole situation became hilarious to me and I just started laughing. We packed up the board game and went back to racing up and down the hall.
Two nights ago we were getting the kids ready for bed. Out of the blue Benjamin said, "Mama, do I have hair on my back like Isa?" Drew and I lost it. I said, "No, but someday you probably will."
The kids' favorite thing about our apartment is the long hallway that they use for racing, pulling each other on sleeping bags, pushing each other in laundry baskets, playing dodge ball and the list goes on and on. (God bless our neighbors downstairs for putting up with the noise of 6 little feet!) Samuel was cracking me up last night running up and down the hall with his bubble sword.
Also, we have a new neighbor! Our precious friends downstairs welcomed a beautiful little girl into the world on Saturday. I told Benjamin at breakfast yesterday morning that T and K had their baby and it was a girl. His first response (in a somewhat defeated tone), "I wanted it to be a boy. Isa, you were right. It was a girl." And his next response (in a delighted tone), "Mama, know what? Now I have two sisters!"
