Paul and Rebecca Mosley in Kenya: 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: