Monday, September 16, 2013
God's Provision
Sunday, September 8, 2013
The Beginning of a Great Adventure
For years God has been stirring our hearts for a people and a land far from here. Years before Brian even got into medical school, before we even knew one another, God put Africa clearly on his heart.
He shared it with me when we met, but I tucked it neatly away with all of the thoughts labeled, "Not Sure What to Think About That." We dated, married, and a few months after our first anniversary Brian began the long, arduous journey of becoming a physician. Africa has always been on our minds, and slowly it increased as a topic of our conversations. It became a regular part of our prayers, and it has found its way knit into the very fabric of our hearts. It is clear that God is calling us there in some form, some capacity, to love a people we do not yet know and a land we have only heard about and seen pictures of. Something that doesn't make sense to others makes perfect sense to us. Why would you go when you can live a very nice, financially sound, stable life here in the states? There are plenty of people who need medical care and love here in the US. Very true! But God has told us to go. And when God tells you to go, you go. Remember Abraham? Moses? Jonah?!! The disciples? We will go because God wants us to, and it is not just a command from the Lord, but our hearts desire to go now as well.
Last year we attended a medical conference through World Medical Mission of Samaritan's Purse called Prescription for Renewal. It was there that He affirmed the calling on our lives and where He led us to the country of Kenya and Tenwek Hospital. This February, 2014, we will be traveling as a family to visit Tenwek for three weeks. We are using this as a scouting trip to see if it is what we are to do after Brian completes residency in June 2015. World Medical Mission has a two year Post-Residency Program that provides training in medical missions for doctors who feel called to the mission field. We feel very specifically called to apply to this program.
Our hopes are that we will know whether we should apply to serve these two years at Tenwek when we visit in February.
We know many people have questions and we hope to answer them the best we can. I love to research and have found the best way to find answers to my own questions is to read about it from those who are already living out what we feel called to do. I am including a couple of links to blogs from the Galat family that have been helpful to us to see what life will be like there. Brian has spoken with Dr. Galat in the last few months and we were so encouraged by their conversation! He lives in Kenya with his wife and five children. Dr. Galat is also an orthopedic surgeon, so Brian will be working with him while we are visiting Tenwek, and then again if we go back for the Post-Residency Program. They have a great video talking about the work God is doing at Tenwek.
Their personal blogs are:
http://dangalatkenya.blogspot.com/
http://heathergalatinkenya.blogspot.com (She hasn't updated in a while, but she has great posts about daily life.)
We are also aware of risks and dangers there, just as in our own country. We have researched every aspect of our trip and of living there. I am very thorough and like to know as much as I can about things before I do them, almost to the point of exhausting myself and those around me! I say that to say that we know what you may be thinking and feeling. We have probably had the same thoughts and feelings at some point. But being educated about where we are going and what life is really like there is the best way to dispel fears. Making assumptions can bring about many unnecessary fears. Our greatest peace is knowing that God is calling us there. We know that being in the middle of His will, no matter where in the world that is, is the safest place we can be. Our deepest desire is to be obedient to His calling for us. Yes, it will be incredibly hard to leave friends and family. But we know that the Lord knows that and He knows the desires of our hearts. Our future may be different than we had once pictured it, but there are so many times that I have looked back at our lives and praised God that things did not happen the way we thought it should.
So we are stepping forward and trusting Him to lead us on this new great adventure. Please keep us in constant prayer. There is nothing greater you could do for us. If you feel led to provide financial support, please click on our family picture to the right or just below. The link will take you to the support page for World Medical Mission. Scroll down to "Find Dr/Medical Professional: [example: Smith, John]" and enter Hodges. Hodges, Brian will appear and our family picture will appear once Brian's name is selected.
He shared it with me when we met, but I tucked it neatly away with all of the thoughts labeled, "Not Sure What to Think About That." We dated, married, and a few months after our first anniversary Brian began the long, arduous journey of becoming a physician. Africa has always been on our minds, and slowly it increased as a topic of our conversations. It became a regular part of our prayers, and it has found its way knit into the very fabric of our hearts. It is clear that God is calling us there in some form, some capacity, to love a people we do not yet know and a land we have only heard about and seen pictures of. Something that doesn't make sense to others makes perfect sense to us. Why would you go when you can live a very nice, financially sound, stable life here in the states? There are plenty of people who need medical care and love here in the US. Very true! But God has told us to go. And when God tells you to go, you go. Remember Abraham? Moses? Jonah?!! The disciples? We will go because God wants us to, and it is not just a command from the Lord, but our hearts desire to go now as well.
Last year we attended a medical conference through World Medical Mission of Samaritan's Purse called Prescription for Renewal. It was there that He affirmed the calling on our lives and where He led us to the country of Kenya and Tenwek Hospital. This February, 2014, we will be traveling as a family to visit Tenwek for three weeks. We are using this as a scouting trip to see if it is what we are to do after Brian completes residency in June 2015. World Medical Mission has a two year Post-Residency Program that provides training in medical missions for doctors who feel called to the mission field. We feel very specifically called to apply to this program.
Our hopes are that we will know whether we should apply to serve these two years at Tenwek when we visit in February.
We know many people have questions and we hope to answer them the best we can. I love to research and have found the best way to find answers to my own questions is to read about it from those who are already living out what we feel called to do. I am including a couple of links to blogs from the Galat family that have been helpful to us to see what life will be like there. Brian has spoken with Dr. Galat in the last few months and we were so encouraged by their conversation! He lives in Kenya with his wife and five children. Dr. Galat is also an orthopedic surgeon, so Brian will be working with him while we are visiting Tenwek, and then again if we go back for the Post-Residency Program. They have a great video talking about the work God is doing at Tenwek.
Their personal blogs are:
http://dangalatkenya.blogspot.com/
http://heathergalatinkenya.blogspot.com (She hasn't updated in a while, but she has great posts about daily life.)
We are also aware of risks and dangers there, just as in our own country. We have researched every aspect of our trip and of living there. I am very thorough and like to know as much as I can about things before I do them, almost to the point of exhausting myself and those around me! I say that to say that we know what you may be thinking and feeling. We have probably had the same thoughts and feelings at some point. But being educated about where we are going and what life is really like there is the best way to dispel fears. Making assumptions can bring about many unnecessary fears. Our greatest peace is knowing that God is calling us there. We know that being in the middle of His will, no matter where in the world that is, is the safest place we can be. Our deepest desire is to be obedient to His calling for us. Yes, it will be incredibly hard to leave friends and family. But we know that the Lord knows that and He knows the desires of our hearts. Our future may be different than we had once pictured it, but there are so many times that I have looked back at our lives and praised God that things did not happen the way we thought it should.
So we are stepping forward and trusting Him to lead us on this new great adventure. Please keep us in constant prayer. There is nothing greater you could do for us. If you feel led to provide financial support, please click on our family picture to the right or just below. The link will take you to the support page for World Medical Mission. Scroll down to "Find Dr/Medical Professional: [example: Smith, John]" and enter Hodges. Hodges, Brian will appear and our family picture will appear once Brian's name is selected.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Back to School
Last year we home schooled Elisabeth for Kindergarten, and loved it. It was something that we prayed long and hard about, made lists of pros and cons, and talked to friends, family, mentors, and teachers. In the end it was just something that we knew we were supposed to do for our family, and we are so glad that we did. She is in First Grade this year and Abigail has been begging to do school, so we are indulging her in Preschool activities every day. She loves it! I love that our girls love to learn! And I love to teach them, so it's been a great all around. A lot of work, but so worth it.
Last year Elisabeth also participated in Classical Conversations, a program that puts her in a class one day a week with seven other children her age led by a tutor who covers math, timeline/history, English grammar, Latin, science, and geography. She also participates in a fine arts project/lesson, a science project, and does an oral presentation each week. It's a lot of fun learning with her friends each week. She starts again in a couple of weeks and is looking forward to her new classmates and tutor. It's a fun change to our week to be in a class setting versus being at home.
Being in a class is fun, but we manage to have a lot of fun at home too. Our playroom is set up to be a school room/playroom, and it works so well for us.
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| View into the dining room where we have a chalkboard and baskets for our library books. |
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| Chalkboard and Library Books |
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| My desk and subject organization for the girls. Drawers and baskets for play clothes, baby dolls, and more school supply organization. |
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| My desk and the white bookshelves separate the school area from the play area. |
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| View toward the play area. |
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| Table, white board, piano (I completely underestimated how much the kids would LOVE having a piano!) |
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| The play area is set up like a house with table, piano, living/bedroom area, and a play kitchen. John is hanging out in the living/bedroom area. |
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| Play kitchen area |
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| Play kitchen and back side of bookshelves. |
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| View from the playroom door into the school area. |
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| Books, toys, and school stuff accessible from both sides of bookshelf. This makes a great divider for when we are trying to do school and John needs to be occupied on the other side! |
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| The girls each have a specified desk, and they love having their own supplies handy when we need them for particular activities or subjects. Our reading spot is in the middle. It's the perfect spot for snuggling up to read a book alone or together. |
We are thankful for this time together. I know home school does not work for everyone. Not everyone feels called in that direction and not everyone has the desire. Honestly some days I don't have the desire to do it either. But it is what we feel called to do at this particular time, and overall I do love it. The flexibility allows us to take breaks when I need it or the kids need it, or just take a day to do something completely opposite of what we have planned. We are taking it year by year to see what is best for each child and for our family. This year we are excited to see what First Grade and Preschool hold for us as we enjoy it together!
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