Life continues on in spite of the lockdown. We are thankful for the ways that we can still be involved in what God is doing here and around the world. In addition to other projects and distance-consultancy, Steve is currently teaching 3 weekly online classes, and several people have expressed a desire to serve overseas full-time in recent weeks. Exciting!
We are also thankful for my sister and family living so close. We have had some great times together, including a "staycation" (we desperately tried to get out somewhere ANYWHERE for a couple days, but no luck, so we just all stayed in the same house for a couple days.
We also found a nearby motorcross track that offered lessons to kids (not really sure how they're getting around the whole "kids under 21 aren't allowed to leave their house" thing, but we're not complaining!), so all 5 of the cousins had a blast learning to ride motorcross bikes. Zach and Ben both completed the off-road basics course, and all 5 of them gave their safety gear some good tests - the gear is good! :)
Another thing that has kept Zach and Ben busy was some painting and construction at a friend's house. They couldn't make much money (rates here are too low), but they learned some skills and were able to work together on a productive project, so that was great.
We are also thankful for this house we're subletting. The view is amazing, and the sunsets have been spectacular. Also, Steve's asthma is so much better now. He still has asthma, and he can still get triggered occasionally, but it is no longer a 24/7 fight to breathe. He's been able to exercise again finally, and he is feeling night and day better.
We are also thankful for how well Mikayla is doing this summer. Us not being able to come back to the States was a tough blow on her for sure, but she is thriving at the camp where she is working. Their camp ministers to kids in the foster system who have too many discipline issues to be placed in homes, so they live in residential programs. This camp uses adventure therapy to help them work through issues. They live in tents (can only take showers 1x/week on their day off!), and they are dealing with some very challenging kids. But she is absolutely loving the opportunity to love on them and speak into their lives, and God is using her in big ways. Their camp got shut down for 10 days when the staff was all exposed to covid, but thankfully everyone's tests came back negative, so they were able to open back up. So very proud of her and can't wait until we can see her again.
Zach left last week, and that was incredibly hard. Still is. It's always hard to send your kid to the other side of the world, but sending another one off when we have no idea when we will be able to see either of them again...wow so hard. Zach is doing well though, and he's LOVING all the freedom he has, even though he is still taking precautions of social distancing etc during the first few weeks, still so much more freedom there!). We are so incredibly thankful for our parents and others there who are helping him settle in and make the transition. We covet your prayers as he transitions into his new life in the States, especially after such a traumatic end of the school year here. Please also pray for Ben as being left behind is hard, especially when we are still in lockdown and he's not allowed to leave the house. To make it worse, we found out recently that his school will be online this whole next semester, so that was a painful blow. And now even more of his friends are packing up and heading back to home countries to wait it out...lots to be thankful for, but also lots of hard things, so we appreciate your continued prayers.
One more thing to be thankful for is that during lockdown, Zach picked his guitar back up and started playing again. Then he stepped waaay out of his comfort zone to start leading worship in our little house church. It was such a blessing to us to see him developing this new skill and wanting to use it for God's glory. The last song he led us in worship in (the day he flew to the States...I bawled through it) has been going through my head since then. I'm gonna sing in the middle of the storm...louder and louder, you're gonna hear my praises roar...
