Tuesday Flashback Fun

I was looking thru some photos from last year and found this one. It was a nice warm day and we were getting the "redneck" slip-n-slid ready for Memorial Day. She loved playing in the scooter, but no the slid too much. She has changed so much in a year.

18 Months

Has it really been 18 months since that day in Chengdu when Yang Rui became Rae Michelle Dear. A LOT has happened in the last 18 months. There have been great days and some horrible days. God has blessed us with this amazing little girl who is full of wonder and many questions. She is making great strides in her language thanks to her awesome speech therapist. We seem to have her blood disorder more manageable, and we do not have to do weekly platelet counts.  She will have have her second eye surgery (hopefully the last)this summer. She has also been seizure free which is truly a miracle.  She has defied science and baffled doctors of how well she is doing. We do still have a medical thing or two creep in occasionally (like missing a permanent tooth and no wisdom teeth), but we mostly just laugh and move on.

Yes, we found out she is missing a permanent tooth, one of the front teeth.  I just laughed when the dentist told me, what else was I to do.  Thanks to our wonderful orthodontist, we are waiting till all her permanent teeth come in before they do an implant.  Thankfully she has plenty of space in her mouth.

Rae is an amazing little girl, and it is fun to watch her get excited about things and learn new things. Our family has been so blessed by her.  I can't wait to see what God has in store for her.

Our first family photo 18 months ago

Please click on this banner and vote for our blog.

What to say..

I know I do well writing some weeks and others not so much. I get ready to start, but then something comes up and I don't get it typed up. I often just put a quick blurb on Facebook. Many things happen in our family each week and I need to do better writing them down, not only for me but for my girls. So here goes...

A couple of weeks ago hubby and I left on a Vision Mission trip to Italy.  Our girls did not go, but they did get to stay with my in-laws for 2 weeks.  I know your first thought - Italy - why? why not? Italy is one of the least evangelize countries in modern world.  You may think they are all Catholic - less than 10% are practicing Catholics.  Here is the shocking statistic - less than 1% are evangelical Christians! This is why Italy. Out of a country of 60 million people, less than 1% have a relationship with Jesus Christ.  It is a sad fact to think of the lostness of such a beautiful country.

For eight days we visited different areas of the country to see where our church would like to partner and help the local Christians and missionaries. We were in Rome, Naples, Arezzo, Milan (Binasco), and Torrino.  We enjoyed meeting local missionaries and pastors, and also enjoyed getting to know the people we traveled with. The main missionary we worked with was Charlie Worthy.  He is basically the coordinator for all the mission work in Italy with the IMB.  It was a crazy, busy trip being in a different city every day.  We are looking forward to seeing where God has us work and sharing with the church how they can. The trip also included getting to see sites of the country and to eat local food.

I enjoyed seeing the areas of the country where Peter, Paul and the early missionaries walked. Visiting the Vatican was amazing as well as seeing the ruins of the Roman empire. We did get to visit the Colosseum where Christians were killed for their faith for sport.  It was amazing to see a country that dates back to Biblical times and to see sites older than America, and it reminded me of when we were in China.  Here in the US we just have nothing that compare to those sites. While there I was just reminded how thankful I am that I have a direct relationship with Christ.  I can go Him on my own and not thru anyone.  He is my sole source of joy and forgiveness

Hubby and I did enjoy a little time away.  We missed our girls and were worried about being away from the little one so long.  They did great, but we did have to do a little disciplining via Facetime. It was nice getting to spend time enjoying each other and to reconnect. We enjoyed holding hands and being silly walking thru the stone streets of Italy. Getting away as a couple is something we need because life gets busy, and we need time alone together away from (almost)everything.

Hubby and I at Sant'Elmo in Naples over looking the city.  That is Mt. Vesuvius on the right.

This church represents the state of the church in Italy. It like many others are no longer in use.