Greetings, friends. I thought for this post I’d update you on some of the things my family members are up to.

Alyssa started school this week, and it is a whole new experience, especially for her and Holly. She is enrolled in a “virtual academy” which is online, is a public charter school, and is absolutely perfect for her. Due to Allie’s chronic fatigue syndrome, she does not have enough energy to make it through the day at school, but she is a very bright girl and does not want to fall behind in her studies. Also, due to Holly’s sickness, she does not have the energy to homeschool Allie, but is able to “coach her,” augmenting what the virtual academy teachers provide. So far, she is very motivated and things seem to be moving forward well.

 

 

 

 

Andrew has become very involved with the youth group at a local church, and went with them on a music festival summer camp which he thoroughly enjoyed. He’s making great connections with other Christian students, which is very important to the relational kid. He also LOVES art, and is having a blast painting pictures, drawing, and even painting the wall of his room! Just today, he got his driving permit, and will be learning to drive this fall.

 

 

 

Adam will be starting the “running start” program in a couple weeks. He gets high school AND college credit for courses he takes at the community college, and is excited to be with his friends out there. He and I went for a backpacking trip up Mt. Adams a few weeks ago, one of the five volcanoes in Washington State. It was a great time together as we climbed from 6500 elevation to 12,500 elevation, summiting on our second day after camping at “lunch counter.”

We didn’t have any of the recommended equipment such as cramp-ons or ice axe, which would have made the trip easier. And my hiking boots started to lose their soul as it peeled away at the toe and I had to tie it together with nylon cord.

 

 

 

 

 

But we made it to the top and celebrated our victory!

 

 

 

 

Then had a BLAST by sliding down a steep chute others had made in the snow.

What took us four hours to climb up on the second day took about 45 minutes to slide down!

Now that looks like FUN!

 

Holly is slowly making progress, and we are thankful that she is no longer bed-ridden all the time. She is able to get to the kitchen and do some cooking, and a few other things around the house. We continue to pray for her complete healing, as she carefully monitors the foods she eats to maximize a balanced, nutritional plan low in iron and heavy metals, and seeks to rid her body of parasites as well as various toxins apparently her liver absorbed and has been storing since Africa.

 

As a family, we were able to make it out to the beach for a couple days recently, and that was so refreshing for us all!

 

 

 

In addition to taking care of the family, I’ve been working on my DMiss coursework for the fall, which includes reading books, writing papers and posting responses to other students’ writings. I’m taking two courses in the fall: Spiritual Warfare, which is an online BIOLA course, and Intercultural Leadership, which is a course I’ll take at Western Seminary in Portland. I recently preached at a church in Olympia and you can listen to the message by CLICKING HERE. I’ll also continue making trips each month to train pastors globally, and offer stateside trainings to pastors as well.

 

We are thankful for God’s grace and provision as we continue this journey of life. Pressing on, Eric