New School Year!

My first baby started junior high! And my littlest baby started nursery! Where has the time gone.......

And more camping!

Camp

Once we were home from out trip out East, we settled into a nice routine of summer holidays. I was back at work and the girls went back to gymnastics. But within 2 weeks, we were packing up the oldest three for camp. 

It was Asha's first time at overnight camp, and I admit, I was a bit nervous. I knew that the counsellors would be fabulous with her, but I was preoccupied nonetheless. As it turned out, a wonderful girl from our church ended up being Asha's counsellor for the week. It set my heart at ease.

Kezia went again with Avery and had a blast. This time, Joel ventured into the more rustic program of camp. He cooked most of his food over a fire, they slept in tents and didn't have many of the "luxuries" that the girls had. He loved it and begged to go back the following year. 

It certainly was a quiet week with only having Elena at home. Carl and I actually had an evening once she was in bed! I think she liked being an only child for five days, but she did miss her siblings. The other three had a fabulous week at camp. Joel was covered in mosquito bites, Kezia was exhausted, and Asha was filthy, but they were all happy and content.

Meeting my Sister and other delights in New York

Over the last number of years, I have met my biological family. I met my half siblings, the ones younger than me once we returned back from Bolivia. But there were a number more that I didn't know and this summer while we were in Pennsylvania, I was able to meet another sibling face to face.

Claire is my older sister who has a lovely husband William and daughter Grace who live in New York. As soon as I laid eyes on them, I saw family resemblance. Wow! So that's where the long legs, muscles and height in my children come from! We had the opportunity to talk on the phone a number of times so we picked up on conversation very easily. I loved how the children were so happy to meet and it melted my heart when Grace affectionately called me her Aunty and my children her cousins.

We spent two days together, enjoying each other's company and seeing some sights in New York. It was a beautiful connection and I can't wait to see them again.

 

While in Pennsylvania.....

 

 

     

 

Mennonite World Conference

The whole purpose of heading down to Pennsylvania this summer was to attend Mennonite World Conference. It's a conference that happens every 6 years, and we wanted to take the opportunity to go since it was on our continent. In 2008, it was in Paraguay, and even though we were in Bolivia, we were not able to attend.

I was really looking forward to this event because many of our friends from Bolivia, Paraguay, Japan, Lesotho, the Congo, California and other parts of the world were planning to be there. It was going to be an amazing reunion.

I admit, on the first day of the 5 day conference, I was a bit anxious. I wondered how I would be with all the crowds and sessions for that many days. I wondered how the kids would be and even more, how my introverted husband would cope! I was also very excited about spending time with dear friends. We had booked a fabulous hotel that was a 15 minute drive and planned that we would have most of our meals at the hotel. That gave us a break and a place to retreat to.

The first day, I tried to take in all the workshops and the displays. There was a lot to see. Over 8400 people from 77 different countries attended and shared their Anabaptist experiences with everyone. It was almost surreal. The music was amazing! Each main session it featured another continent. I loved singing Spanish songs again, standing right beside my Bolivian friends. The following days, I decided that I would balance attending workshops and the main sessions with visiting with people and lingering beyond the meal times. And on one of the last days, I spent the morning sight seeing and spending time with my dear friend Yuneth.

What did the kids do? Well, Joel was with the youth and he went to various workshops and field trips. He really enjoyed chumming with his old Bolivia friends, Kailey, Jessica, and Clara. Most of the time we weren't exactly sure where he was, but knew that somewhere in that enormous farming complex, he was with friends.

The girls took part in the children's activities and were in groups with other children from around the world. Kezia and Maria were happy to be together. Asha mentioned a number of times she was making new friends, but many of them didn't speak English! And Elena was convinced that this was her new daycare, since she was in groups, went to meals with the kids and participated in fun activities. For weeks afterwards she talked about her American daycare!

It was a once in a life time experience. Joel is already talking about Mennonite World Conference in Indonesia. That will be in 2021 and he'll be 18. Wow.