Mission Safari: The Next Chapter(s)

Ministry in W'burg

Defining your service and ministry is much easier when you are "on the mission field."  But as I have long maintained on this blog, God calls each of us to ministry where we are...in our neighborhood or in a foreign land.  However, I must confess, that we have struggled with that truism when we returned; partly because everything was blurred in all the transition, and partly because it is "easier" quite frankly to define your ministry when you are doing it overseas.

Happily, we are beginning to see an area of service and ministry that God has prepared for us here in W'burg. Last year, as we were preparing to leave Africa, God was leading one of the rising Seniors at William and Mary (the local university) to start an outreach to international students there at the school.  He prayed about it, got one of the campus ministers to agree to help with certain logistics, and approached our elders for local church support.

Since the beginning of the school year, we as a family have gotten real involved in this outreach.  I have met with this young man (who just got accepted to seminary) on several occasions to pray with him and encourage him.  I have also met with the student leadership team (the outreach is student led...they intentionally seek ways to get involved with international students and develop relationships with them).  And we have hosted several meals at our house.

One of the international students who has consisently showed up for these meals is a Muslim.  She has shown more and more interest in our open discussions about Christianity.  Last Sunday, we invited her over for an Easter meal.  At the end of supper, I read from John 19 and 20 (the account of the crucifixion and resurrection) and then discussed why it is so essential to the Christian faith.  We then gave her a parallel English and Arabic New Testament.

We are excited about this ministry.  It is very similar to what we were doing in Kenya.  The kids love having the college students over.  Marti loves the hospitality.  Pray for us in this endeavor.  Pray for the college students who are involved in the leadership team.  And mostly pray for the international students we as a group are reaching out to.

Rollercoaster Mania!

March 21, 2008. 10:00 am. This was a very important date for all teens living here in Williamsburg. It marked the beginning of something beautiful. It marked the beginning of a summer of friends and fun( oh yeah, and that little thing called tourists). It was the beginning of something we had all missed, something we all wanted to have back.

March 21 was the opening day of our wonderful Busch Gardens Europe!!! We had been anticipating this day since Busch closed for the winter back in October. I went ahead and bought my 2008 all year pass last fall on my last trip to Busch for the 2007 season.

It felt weired all winter not hearing about who went last Friday and why don't such and such come with us this Saturday. Even though I'm new to Williamsburg, I've still been several times and cant wait to begin a summer of going. I'm a small town girl and the thought of having a major theme park 10 minuets from my house is very exciting! Its going to be even weirder to see some of my friends working  there this season! Wow, I must be growing up!

So, I'm very much looking forward to going in the next week or so. All I have to do is find some people's numbers that I've long since lost, call them up( no, texting is quicker and cheaper), OK, so text them and set a date. My pass is snugly tucked away in a pocket of my wallet all ready to use for the first time in 2008. Now all thats left is to find that perfect pair of shoes, a pair with the perfect balance of fashion and comfort....... and that stay on on all those up-side down roller coasters!

Sarah

Thoughts from an Invalid: A Post by Sarah

Yes everyone, it is I. And yes, I'm using correct grammar!( That rhetoric course in school is really paying off!) A few weeks ago I expressed a wish to begin writing on the blog, and WOW, Daddy was all for it! His only instructions were " Make sure everyone knows its you ( hmmmm... is he embarrassed by my writing?) and PLEASE make sure to spell right!" Anyone who knows me well, or for that matter- not well, knows that I am the WORST speller ever.I started freaking out when Daddy informed me that the blog doesn't have spelling check, " Oh no! No telling what people will think I was trying to say!!" But I'm trying real hard- which, of course, means there will be NO mistakes! I think Daddy needs a little help keeping our busy lives updated and posted, so Super Sarah is here to help! Thankfully, I really do love writing, just like my Daddy, and found the thought of being "published" very exciting! Did you know that when you Goggle " Mission Safari" our website comes up first out of 691,000 items!? ( Don't worry- I didn't know that either until I just looked it up- the web is so convenient!) Well, thats all the thoughts I have for the next few minuets- if you check back in an hour or so, you never know, I might have gotten another urge to write. ( Oh, please don't hold me to that!) Now I've got to hobble as best as I can on these confounded crutches to help get dinner ready for guests.... Oh yeah, Happy Easter!!

Sarah

P.S I just found spelling check!!!

Spring Is In the Air

Sam's first baseball practice. Our first BBQ. Our first day of yardwork. Yes, the calendar listed the first day of Spring this past week, and it certainly is beginning to feel like it.  And it is refreshing.

Living in Kenya, where the weather is basically either warm and sunny (10 months out of the year) or cold and rainy (2 months), you forget that there are seasons.  And that you will miss them.  But after the short cold days and long colder nights of winter, we are finally entering Spring time.  The daffodils and forsythia are in full bloom.  Buds on the trees and bushes promise full foliage soon.  And the return of the song birds and yard birds encourage the heart and mind that better days are ahead.

For the first time in a long time, I have really been inspired to fix up the yard.  We had a landscape crew come by early last week to trim up some bushes, put in some stone borders, plant a few crepe myrtles, and throw down some mulch.  The yard was transformed in a day.  Then noticing the number of birds in the back yard, I put up a few bird feeders, a bird bath, and bird house.  That has been a great source of joy and relaxation already. (Marti teases and says I am getting old - enjoying yard work and bird watching).

Spring is here...and I am going to enjoy each day of it this year.

Race Results - Shamrock Sportsfest

Last week, Sarah and Ben ran their first road race - the Shamrock 8K race (nearly 5 miles - 4.97 to be exact).  Since before Christmas, Sarah and Ben have been working out hard to prepare.  They have run in rain, bitter cold, and the occasional warm day the past 12 weeks.  They were very consistent...and their results showed.

Last weekend we had a great time down in Virginia Beach at the Shamrock Sportsfest.  We traveled down Friday afternoon to settle into our hotel room before going to collect our race packets and going out to Doughboy's California Pizza (which was ummy!)  Saturday morning, Sarah, Ben, and I got up at the crack of dawn to eat a bite of breakfast and put on our race gear.  The weather was sunny and clear with temps in the 50's - a great day for their first road race. They were a bit nervous lining up with 6,000 other runners.  But they were ready.

The kids did great the whole race.  Sarah showed a lot of grit when her ankle started bother her with two miles to go.  We would later realize that she had suffered a Stress Fracture.  Ben showed a lot of character as well, being patient with Sarah, and even graciously encouraging her towards the home stretch as each stride became more and more painful for her.  And happily, we all finished in 50 minutes...a 10 minute per mile pace...our goal time!  To see some of the race pictures just click on here for Ben's pics, Sarah's pics, or mine.

To double (or quintiple) the fun, on Sunday, I ran the full 26.2 mile Marathon.  Although I felt pretty rested, the previous days race had an impact.  I ran very well for the first 21 miles but ran into some problems from mile 21-24.  These slower miles cost me a chance to beat my personal marathon best that I set way back when I was only 30 years old.  I missed my goal by 50 seconds.  Painful and sad, but nonetheless something to be proud about...if I only slow down an average of six seconds per year that I get older I will still be running a marathon in less than 4 hours even when I am 134 years old!  Now that is seeing things in a positive light!  (To see the pain and misery, click on these pictures - not for the squeamish!

Oh, and before I forget...Sam also ran a one mile race Saturday...in 8 minutes and 45 seconds...not bad given that he HAD NOT trained for the race!

$1.61 A Gallon

Folks, I only paid $1.61 today for a gallon of gas.  In fact, I bought 13.5 gallons at that price.  No, I did not use a gun to threaten the attendant (by the way, do they even have attendants anymore?)  And No, I am not dreaming about some late 90's early 2000's prices.  However, before you make a made dash to Williamsburg to buy this "cheap" gas (can we really believe that we think $1.61 is cheap?), you need to realize that it was a promotional price I paid today.

The local grocer here, Farm Fresh, discounts its gas every day depending on different sale items in the store.  I usually am not swayed to buy the product, but often enough the items I frequently buy are discounted.  Fortunately (and unbeknownst to me before walking in the store to buy groceries) the supermarket had a special deal that discounted gas 50 cents for every $50 dollars spent.  And so, after buying groceries and getting my $1.50 off per gallon discount, I promptly drove my car (which happily was almost on empty) across the lot and paid only $1.61 per gallon for gas.  My only regret was that I could have bought up to 15 gallons today and so wasted 1.5 gallons at $1.61/gal !  But such is life.

Too bad I won't need groceries for another week...the van is almost on empty as well!

Changes

"The only constant in life is change."

If I weren't feeling a bit lazy right now, I would "Google" this quote and see who it is attributed to.  But anyway, if I have learned anything in the past few years, this might be the best summary of it.  Generally, I have found Change to be interesting and fun...but I have also found it hard.  But this is not really what this post is about. 

This post is to state the obvious.  This blog has undergone a few changes (just like its author and editor)!  From the new colors, design, and layout.  Even some of the content is different.  Hopefully, I can get a bit savvy and add more pictures on a more frequent basis.  Especially since Amy and the other kids are growing so fast! 

So sit back and (again "hopefully") I will find the joy of blogging and sharing again.

"Change is good, but $50 and $100 bills are better." (Tim Hutchison)

With Trepidation

I sit before the screen with some anxiety as I consider taking the plunge back into blogging.  It has been 5 months since I last posted anything.  Is it because there hasn't been anything going on in the Hutchison household?  (Yeah right!).  Or does it have more to do with what is going on in my heart and head?  You guessed it...the latter seems to be the cause of 5 months of writer's block.

And yet, I am not sure if sit before this screen today because  A) I am bored today, B) I want to start writing again, or C) I NEED to start.  And really, who knows.  Nonetheless, I am typing out these words wondering if anyone out there really even cares about what is going on here...and knowing of course that at least a small subset of people (ie, my family and some of our close friends) will be at least interested in me updating the blog (even if only for the pictures of the kids!).  And so, with some trepidation, I am going to try to update this blog on a more frequent basis than every 5 months.