Missions accomplished

Celebrating my mom's birthday 

For the past 3 weeks, Paul and I have been on different continents, working on separate missions. On August 4, he headed back to Nairobi with David to start 11^th grade. He has been valiantly holding together our MCC Kenya/Tanzania office during this time when we’ve been extremely short-staffed – he will probably write more about that separately. Meanwhile, I have needed to focus on different and important family events back in the US, along with a couple of extracurricular ministry assignments.

    Jean Sack’s 80^th birthday!!

My mother officially celebrated her 80^th birthday on August 21^st. She remains extremely healthy and active, working in her garden, making jam, supporting friends and immigrants, and raising money for the Church World Service Crop walk by pledging to walk 100 miles in September. We are extremely grateful for her continued commitment to live life fully so it was time to have a big celebration this past month. 

Cake and speeches

We had to carefully choose a Saturday when most of the extended family could be present (unfortunately, Paul and David had to leave before the date). We decided to host the event at my parents’ home in Fallston, which got me thinking about how to accommodate 40 people potentially in their living/dining room in case of inclement weather. Which then in turn led to quite a bit of sorting and simplifying in those spaces so that we could use the dining buffets and table to serve food. Local thrift shops received donations of quite a few dishes, glasses and other household goods that had not been used much of late, and by the day of the party, their inside spaces were looking quite tidy and put together. 

Gathered friends

We also needed to work on sprucing up the deck and the flowers on the deck – but that was something that we should have done anyway. Parties are always a great opportunity to put the energy towards making your home a place you really want to live and enjoy! And at the last minute, we were able to get a tent to provide more shade on their deck. The weather was reasonably cool on the day of the party (that is, not stinking hot), and so we were able to have our big group gathering events outside rather than being cramped indoors.

In fact, I was able to enjoy quality visits with most of the people who came to help celebrate my mom. It was so good to see Mike and Elaine Crauderreuff who came down from Philly, along with Connie and Phil Church and Stan and Fanny Becker, all friends from Bangladesh days. 

Many friends came from my parents’ Church of the Brethren and another large group came from North Baltimore Mennonite Church, where my parents were part of a small group/book club. We had some extended family join us, good friends from my parents’ choir (Job and Sue, Louise and Peter) and also our good Ethiopian friends the Derebs. Of course my brother Paul helped with all the hosting and heavy lifting, along with his family and the significant others of both of their kids. My dad wrote a special Mad Lib, telling the story of my mom’s life while inviting us to fill in the blanks on every adjective of the story. We had a lot of good laughs over that.

My dad helped my brother and I cater most of the food, and so we didn’t have to work hard on cooking while at the same time entertaining the gathering of friends. And actually, we ate for the rest of the week on the leftovers for the party!! It was a really lovely time and I was so glad to be able to be present and help my mom celebrate this milestone.

2.      Getting Oren off to college…

Anniversary dinner out with Dave and Jean

This was the second major project I needed to work on after the birthday party. Over the past months, Oren had decided to transfer from William and Mary (large, impersonal, frustrating course selection process, no relationships with faculty, etc) to Goshen College. It's a much smaller school in Indiana, with a Mennonite and international ethos. We all felt like he would find more people who understand him and his background, and actually get to know the faculty teaching him. He also decided to switch majors, from chemistry to accounting. All that upcoming transition required some preparation
. 

Dinner at Oakcrest with Grandparents

I couldn’t really do this at every moment, because he was still working at his summer job, serving up Mediterranean Mezze food at CAVA restaurant on many evenings. But in order to be present and help out, I moved over to stay at my brother’s house. We had some time to work on buying the supplies he needed. He got a gym membership for a month and we went to work out together quite regularly. He had to see a dentist and get his laptop repaired, and had a few doctor’s visits. We sat together at did admin work, he for college and me for MCC.

Cromwell Valley

While Oren was sleeping in, I took advantage of my early rising tendencies and took some great walks. Actually, I was able to make a pilgrimage to all three of my favorite walking trails near Timonium over the course of the summer, in particular the long trail at Cromwell Valley and the Ivy Hill trail at Oregon Ridge. I used to walk those trails once a week as my Sabbath rhythm when we lived in Maryland and I have many special memories of times of prayer, frustration, peace, and wonder, which come back when I get to walk the trails again. It was truly a gift to have that time. I also got to take a walk in a new place and catch up with a dear friend Rebecca Heidkamp, who has been so instrumental in connecting me with people I needed as friends in our new places.

Oregon Ridge

The walks in the woods were also super important because I had a couple of ministry assignments due in August. In the past, I have written for the Mennonite quarterly devotional Rejoice! It’s been a few years since I accepted a writing assignment – too much transition and other pressure – but I was invited again to send in a week’s worth of devotionals by mid-August. At a certain point, I wasn’t sure I would be able to pull it together, and two days ahead of the deadline, I almost bailed. But I was able to turn in the writing on time in the end, thanks be to God.

Preaching at North Baltimore

I was also invited to preach at our home church, and I almost turned that one down. But somehow, I slept on it and prayed on it and felt like Jesus was inviting me to prepare a sermon for my own spiritual well-being. It is always challenging to preach about Jesus’ most important command from John 15: "Abide in me." I suddenly become aware of all the times and ways that I am not well-connected and not abiding in the love and joy of Jesus. But then the challenge invites me to really seek Jesus and trust that the Holy Spirit will help me to abide more. I was able to support a preaching series on Spiritual temperaments and the importance of knowing ourselves better so that we can connect with God in the ways that will be most meaningful and natural to us, according to how God has created us. I felt like I could connect well with this community – where I’ve known many people for decades sometimes. Probably the most touching affirmation came from my son Oren later in the week: “Mom, with your sermon, you brought a tank to a knife fight.” Not quite a Mennonite pacifist compliment, mind you, but it was so reassuring to hear from him. Sometimes those of us in ministry worry that our teens and young adults will be totally turned off to faith. Thank God that hasn't happened for Oren.

Thanksgiving in August!

Part of preparing Oren for college was receiving of blessings from his community. Oren’s cousin Gabriel is starting college this week, also, and so Gabriel’s aunt Amy and uncle Kent (my outlaws) invited all of us over for Thanksgiving in August at their house. We had an absolutely delicious feast, thanks to a holiday turkey gift that needed to be used from the freezer. Even more meaningful was the encouraging conversation with Kent and Amy, and my brother Paul and Gwendolyn. All four of them attended Goshen College. They had a lot of insight and advice, and encouragement. They are ready to sound the trumpet and help Oren get connected in the wider community. Along the way, I was so glad to have a week to spend with Paul and Gwendolyn at their house, just doing normal things, cooking together, eating and talking, spending time. It’s not really possible at this point to go away and do a family vacation with them, so this was another good way to spend time with them in their everyday life.

Farewell steak dinner

 

We also had a couple of meaningful dinners with all four of Oren’s grandparents. Once we went over to Oakcrest ot have dinner with Paul’s parents. And then the night before we left for Goshen, the Mosleys came over to us and we had delicious grilled steak. We always have a tradition of prayers before big departures, and I’m glad that’s part of our rhythm, to remember to ask God for help at these moments of transition.

By late Monday night, Oren’s Honda Accord was loaded, and we set off for parts west early on Tuesday. Overall, the drive was smooth – we (Oren) slept and talked, and listened to disturbing programs about different ways the world is going to end. :-) At a certain point, we left the highway and suddenly found ourselves driving on small country roads, frequently passing Amish horse-drawn buggies. 

Indiana traffic

We finally turned on College Avenue, still in the middle of farms, with 6 more miles to go. Apparently, the college was a landmark that made a big impression for a wide radius: Goshen College is certainly nestled in a very rural area! We found our lodging for the 3 days, a guest room in the Greencroft retirement center, and then went off to hunt for dinner. It was after 8 pm by that time, and almost all of the restaurants people recommended were already closing at 9. Nevertheless, we found some fine mushroom pad thai and root beer at the Goshen Brewing Company and then got some rest.

In the morning, our host, Norene very kindly picked us up to take us on a tour of the Goshen area. Apparently, the town is still in the USA – we discovered that while we were very close to farms, we also were very close to McDonald's, Walmart and Aldi. Commerce is still available in the boonies. We toured the area all the way out towards Elkhart and then eventually came back to town to pick up some pizza. Norene graciously hosted us in her building and had invited two other Goshen juniors, her granddaughter and a cousin of the granddaughter. 

Parking spaces for buggies available

Fun fact: We later learned that 3% of the current Goshen student body are part of the Kaufmann family that the granddaughter is a part of. The current students were very friendly and welcoming to Oren and had great answers and suggestions for all his questions. It was so reassuring for both of us to meet them. They gave us practical tips that we also immediately needed, like where to find a good men’s haircut. The salon was our next stop, followed by some final supply shopping at Walmart. And lastly we picked up a nice little area rug at Menards. It is so interesting to shop in Goshen, where every parking lot is equipped with several hitching posts for buggies, and the store aisles are packed with Amish people, also doing their shopping with the rest of us English folks.

With Bradley and family

After we had dinner together, we stopped by to greet my brother’s best friend from college, Bradley (also the dad of the same granddaughter we’d met earlier). It was late but Bradley’s family was also super encouraging and helped Oren think outside the box on ways that he could get involved and find his people at Goshen. He left that conversation feeling very hopeful and actually open to joining the theater crew, or maybe the men’s choir or the newspaper.

A friendly face, Tim O, 
Fellow MCC kid from 
East Africa

Orientation started on Thursday morning, but unfortunately, we had to first make a visit to the dentist in town – Oren had lost a filling the night before we left Baltimore. What a way to add anxiety to an already very stressful day! He was not able to complete the procedure that day, but at least we could schedule it and pay ahead. And then Oren had to dive right into the registration process, passing through 10 different stations, until he finally had his room key and ID card. We drove up next to his dorm – we had been promised some help unloading. And the help was amazing! 10 students descended on the car and emptied it, picked it clean, within 90 seconds, like a swarm of benevolent piranhas. They carried Oren up with them to show him his room, and I was left to park the car and then join them all. This was such a contrast to unloading at William and Mary in past years, where we had to carry everything ourselves, even when Oren was still on crutches with a boot. 

Kulp Hall and helpful student crew

We did our best to get things set up and unpacked in his room but we couldn’t get it all done before we were due to show up at the first official gathering of the orientation. Later, the students were ushered into their own sessions while parents had a separate time of hearing about how to support the students. And finally, we were meant to have one final hug and then part ways – but honestly, the transfer students did not have a lot of programming set up for them. Oren really wanted my help, so we went back and truly completed his room set up. He’d picked out some extra décor: RBG lights and vine fairy lights and fake plants to make it look more homey, and I was so glad for him that he had decided to invest in making the space safe and happy for himself.  He was really content with how good it looked by the time he left for dinner and I left him –

-- And then I had that moment again, just like when I left him in his freshman year. What do I do now? Where do I go? It was a very lonely sensation

But he needed a few more supplies, so I went and bought those. Neither of us had eaten all day – too much anxiety and too little time – so I took a sandwich to Fidler Pond. And then thankfully, Paul and Gwendolyn called me on their way back from dropping off Gabriel at Lafayette College. We were all in the same state of feeling that loneliness of having left our sons and now needing to move on. It was so good to talk and commiserate, and process. I walked around the pond and enjoyed the amazing light as the sun came out for two minutes at the end of a very cool and grey day. And then back in my guestroom, there was some MCC work to finish.

Decorated room

Oren had an evening session, but we needed to meet up one more time after that. At 10:30, I got a final look at his very cool room. I took him to Fidler pond so he would know that was a good place to go and hang out. And then, because he was hungry, we went and got him a burger at the only place that is open LATE (til midnight). We had a very good, hopeful final talk before he dropped me back at the room and left in his car.

The rest of this journey has been anticlimactic – I spent the entire day on two planes and waiting around to get back from South Bend to Baltimore. Many thanks to Norene for getting me to the airport in South Bend, though, and for good conversation. And then today, there was a lot of final packing and organizing at my parents’ house before I was ready to leave. 

Favorite spot at the Gunpowder

But I had just enough time for one final early morning run in the woods at the Gunpowder River. Such a gift, reminding me of God’s faithfulness to me during these two months of home leave. By serendipity, my dad was also traveling today from Dulles airport (going to Zambia), so we shared his rental car and drove down together. I was able to get him into my special credit card lounge for a bit before I had to head off and catch this flight. If all goes well, I will post this blog in the Premier Lounge in Brussels, halfway on my journey. That's happening. Hopefully I won't miss my flight getting this done!!

International luggage for two

I can hardly bear to think about all we will need to attend to in the next three weeks, with our new group of young adult volunteers just having arrived. But God’s grace somehow seems to keep proving sufficient for all the challenges. I’m praying for the determination to keep abiding in the vine through it all. 

Bonus photos:

Tintin decore in the room

Safe space

Shalom from Ethiopia

Who needes a 12 foot Wendigo?

Dad's new mower while the riding mower was out of commission

Dad, Co and George

Miriam and Emmett

Cammie (behind the dog Nacci) and Gabe

Summer Recap

It has been a long time since my last update, and since we missed the entire month of July, it seems a summer recap is in order. By way of orientation, I (Paul) am currently back in Nairobi, having arrived with David three days ago. He is starting school this week. Rebecca is remaining in the US to get Oren started at Goshen College, where he transferred this year. She will be back in a couple of weeks. 

I believe I left off since my last update here: A View From the Other Side of the Pond, with news about my hip replacement surgery and convalescence at my parents' house. Needless to say, at this point, I have fully recovered without any complications. 

After leaving my parents' apartment, I spent about 10 days housesitting for Rebecca's brother with David and Oren. David finished driver's ed., and Oren worked at Cava. I did my best to keep up with MCC work as well as manage two small dogs that lived at her brother's house. From there, I spent a week at Rebecca's parents' house while they were gone for a week in Europe. During that week, Rebecca arrived, and we had a few days as a family there. David and Oren spent a lot of time doing different crafts. David loves to sculpt in clay, and he worked on a cool diorama of a tree that had fallen over a brook. 

Among the things we did that have become tradition when we are back in Baltimore as a family, included going to the zoo, grilling salmon and having it with sweet corn for dinner, playing croquet, mowing the lawn, riding a bike, fishing in the Little Gunpowder, and walking in the woods.  

We also typically celebrate Oren's Birthday, which usually falls shortly after our arrival in the US, with family. This year, we had a party at Rebecca's brother's house as well as a separate one with grandparents. Oren wanted a cheesecake, which we acquired from a grocery store. The highlight of the gift-giving was a bas-relief of a Tintin scene constructed by David in clay. Oren collects Tintin memorabilia, and this piece was pretty cool as an addition to his collection. He also got some nice shirts from me. 

Other activities included playing different board games. Grandparents like Rummicube, but we also played Mexican Train, a dominoes game that can be played by a large group. We also introduced Telestrations to many groups during our time. It is the best group game I can think of.

I think the most important highlights were the visits with friends whom we have not seen for a long time. Bereket, our Ethiopian 'son' who we helped get a visa to attend EMU when we lived in Addis, is spending the summer with his host family in Virginia. We made a plan for him to come up by bus to Baltimore to see us. He is a great friend of Oren and David, and we were all very excited to see him. We picked him up on July 7th from the bus terminal downtown. This was very serendipitous because we went downtown that day to meet another family we had known in Ethiopia (Paul and Yemmi with kids Lisan and Brana) who had been in DC helping Lisan get ready for college. They had a short window of time to swing by Baltimore, and we had lunch and toured the Visionary Art Museum with them before they returned to DC, and we picked up Bereket. 

As an aside, I will mention that the Visionary Art Museum is quite a unique experience. It is a collection of works, paintings as well as installations, created by people who have no formal art training. Some of the media that are used are quite unique--matchsticks, yarn, etc. Many of them suggest the creators suffered from OCD or other mental challenges that compelled them to create these meticulously elaborate pieces. 

Bereket arrived and spent the first night with us at Rebecca's parents' house. We introduced him to croquet, which was a new experience for him. At this point in our croquet careers, David wins pretty much every game. He gave us a really good report of the past year at EMU, and we continue to be thankful for the nearly miraculous visa acquisition last year. 

The next day, our family moved out to a house on the Bay, where we have spent some time every year since COVID in 2020. It was at that time that we met the couple who owned the house and let us use it during our time we were stranded in the US because of flight restrictions. It is an incredible place that resembles a Swiss chalet but decorated in 1970s Brady Bunch style. There is even a floating spiral staircase up to a loft that overlooks the open-plan living room-dining room. 

The house is right on an estuary of the Upper Chesapeake Bay, so we can launch some boats we have, as well as fish or just walk along the shore. We usually bring a kayak, canoe, and inflatable stand-up paddleboard, as well as fishing gear, games, puzzles, etc. 

We spent 10 days there, the first three with Bereket, and had a very relaxing time. I was glad that I had recovered sufficiently from surgery to go in the water without risk of infection at the site of the incision. (I was told to wait a month before swimming). We fished and canoed. The family who owns the house has an amazing oversized croquet set that is really fun to play with. 

On the third day of our time there, we had to take Bereket down to Washington, DC to meet his host family and go back to Virginia. He is staying with Bruce and Rose, the former MCC Ethiopia Reps, whom we know well. We took Bereket down in the morning and spent some time in the Smithsonian Natural History and Air and Space Museums (where we met up with Bruce and Rose), BUT on the way, we also stopped at the National Aquarium in Baltimore since Bereket had wanted to see that. It was quite an experience for Bereket, albeit quite exhausting to get through 3 museums in two cities. 

Bruce and Rose also brought their son Jacob. Unfortunately, Oren was not with us as he had to work at Cava that day. He is a friend of Jacob, and they will both be at Goshen next year. 

Before saying goodbye to Bereket and returning to the bay, we all went out to an excellent Ethiopian restaurant in DC and had an incredible meal. I thought I had had my fill of Ethiopian food after living there for 3 years, but it was great to have enjira again, and we even ordered kitfo (raw beef) for Bereket. We said our goodbyes and drove back that night. 

The rest of the time at the bay was probably the most relaxing part of the summer. Six days with very little work or visitors. This was a bit unusual because every year since COVID, we have hosted my brother Jonathan's family while we are out there, as well as Jennifer P., who is a fellow humanitarian worker and comes back for vacation when we are there. Jonathan and co. moved to Dallas this summer so did not have time to come out, and Jennifer was in Kiev and was recovering from some surgery and could not visit us either. Despite this, we enjoyed our time there with visits from grandparents who only live an hour away. We celebrated Rebecca's Birthday as well as our anniversary and Bunny and Henry's anniversary (my parents) during those days. 

We also did some work around the property, as we appreciate the generosity of the family that let us use it. This included mowing, weeding, powerwashing, clearing hornets' nests, and chainsawing down a large black locust tree that fell during a storm while we were there. We usually end up doing that at least once every year we are there. On the last day, Rebeca and I spent most of it cleaning the house and leaving it better than we found it. We remain grateful every year we are able to stay there. 

When we returned, we went back to Dave and Jean's house (Rebecca's parents) and had a week of catching up on work as well as multiple doctors' appointments, driving lessons, shopping for items for our return to Kenya, and other business related to getting ready to go back. We did have some good family time with grandparents as well. 

In our final full week in the US as a family, we attended a family reunion with my siblings on my side of the family. This was organized by my dad, and we all agreed to meet up in a place midway between all participants. That ended up being in Ohio, next to Lake Milton, near Cleveland. My brother Jonathan and his wife Emma came up from Texas with son Fletcher, who is Oren's age. My brother Mark and Christine came up from NC. Our family drove with my parents from Baltimore. We were also joined by Mark and Christine's two adult children, Grace, who came with them from NC, and Prisha came with her partner Eli and two young children, Astraya and Aurelius. We arrived in shifts over the first weekend. 

This was a special and likely singular gathering as my parents are older and won't be up for a lot of travel in the future, and this is a very disparate group. We had a very meaningful time nonetheless. I had never seen my niece's children, for instance. We had also missed Jonathan's family the whole summer, so I was happy they were all there. A number of us have health problems that could also limit travel in the future. We did many activities, most of them on or about the lake. We spent a day on a boat with a towable tube which was a blast. David and I played golf one day, we went swimming another, and did some short hikes. We also played board games and did puzzles. In the afternoons at 4pm, we had family time with discussions or presentations on different topics. 

The height of our entertainment, though, was playing music. Jonathan and Rebecca both play guitar, as well as David. I brought my banjo, and Grace brought her ukulele. Christine, my parents like to sing as well as all of the musicians. We did a ton of folk and southern rock songs that had good harmonies (like the Eagles), as well as some bluegrass. 

The littles (Aurelius and Astraya) also introduced a new dynamic of young children, which we have not had at a Mosley reunion since our kids were young. I was amazed at how great the older cousins (Oren, David, and Fletcher) were with the kids. They entertained them for many hours a day. 

We also took turns cooking meals, which resulted in an amazing array of cuisine, from TexMex to Indian and Cajun.

We all left at the end of the week, and our family returned to Baltimore with my parents. That left two days for David and me to pack and do any last things we needed to do before departing for Kenya. Among the last things Rebecca and I did was to give a presentation (mission moment) to our North Baltimore Mennonite, our home church, on opportunities for young adult volunteers with MCC in Kenya. David and I did a last fishing trip and caught some large trout and smallmouth bass-- a good one to end on.

We had a traditional last supper with Rebecca and my parents on the night before our departure. On the last day, I took one final bike ride through the rural countryside near Rebecca's parents' house, then we left for Dulles at noon. Rebecca dropped us off since she is staying in Baltimore for an extra two weeks. She can say more about that in the next blog.

The flight home was about average. I did have the worst seat on the plane, the second leg--last row, in the middle of the aisle section of seats. David was not close by either. But I endured by watching a bunch of movies. 

We arrived home late on Tuesday, all bags intact, and I went to work on Wednesday morning to a full docket of tasks. I am looking forward to Rebecca's return.