Flying with a Toddler

The wait is almost over!  We have enjoyed this extra time with family and are excited that in a matter of 5 days, we will be cruising the friendly skies and on our way to Indonesia!  It's been a long journey to get to the point and we are eager to see all that God has in store for us as we begin life overseas.

After 36 hours of flying and hanging out in airports, and after loosing 12 hours of Monday or Tuesday (I'm not sure which), we will arrive in Jakarta!

During those 36 hours, we will be traveling with a toddler - our sweet little Cade-man is almost two and  full of life!  He's constantly running, talking and playing.  In the past, flights have been relatively easy.  When Cade was a little baby, traveling was a series of snuggles, feedings, and the occasional diaper change.  As Cade has grown... he's become... well, a boy.  Boy, oh boy, is he ever a BOY!  And I love that about him!  I am grateful he's a fun-loving, rambunctious little boy.  But for our upcoming flight, his on-the-go attitude frightens me a bit.  I envision him squirming in the seat, frustrated as we ask him to sit still, his "need" to be up and walking the aisle, along with a bit of difficulty falling asleep with a ton of people and opportunities for action at his fingertips.

In order to make this airplane adventure a bit less chaotic and in an effort to keep him sitting and happy as long as possible, we have devised a little plan.  A friend of ours told us that when their kiddos were on long plane rides, they would give each one a little toy/present every couple of hours.  They also made sure to pack snacks that would be easy to pull out and eat (which was especially helpful on international flights when the food wasn't as familiar as the kids liked.)  So here's our list of yummy and fun ways to keep Cade's attention on our 36 hours of flying mayhem (I mean... FUN)!

Toys:
1. Foam Elmo Book
2. Silly Putty
3. Cars Coloring Book and Stickers
4. Legos with Book
5. Pastic Airplane with Tools to FULLY Take Apart! (As the son of a pilot/mechanic, it is important that he learns from a young age how to take apart and put together airplanes - plastic or otherwise!)
6. Duck Hand Puppet

Food:
1. Sugar Free Twizzlers (an item referred to us by a friend who recently traveled with their toddler)
2. Trailmix
3. Teddy Grahams
4. Whole Wheat Goldfish Crackers

We've also contemplated making "Journey Bags" for those sitting in the seats around us.  Filled with some gum, ear plugs, and a few snacks, and armed with a note that says, "We're trying to make this an enjoyable flight for all of us."  Because we ALL know that there are (and perhaps we are or have been) that person who groans when he/she sees the family with baby/toddler/kids board the plan and sit near them.  And we want our flight neighbors to know we are trying to make the flight wonderful for ALL of us!

I'm sure we will get a few more "tools" for our "Flying with a Toddler" tool belt, but I'm hoping this will help keep him happy, fed, and seat-bound active for our journey!  If you have any advice or suggestions for traveling with a toddler, please share them with us, we are eager to make this flight AWESOME for Cade and for us!

...waiting...

In the last couple of weeks Pete and I have had an up close and personal relationship with waiting.  Waiting is probably one of the single hardest things to do for both of us, as we like to do, act, move, go.  We fully understand the importance of just being.  Being still, knowing God.  Being found in Him.  Resting in the goodness and faithfulness of a God who is bigger than our circumstances, bigger than our thoughts, and bigger than our plans.  And we know that His plans and His ways are higher than our own.  So as we wait for our visas to come in, we are learning and finding contentment in the knowledge that He is sovereign and He has a plan and purpose for everything.  He doesn't waste an experience.  He doesn't waste a waiting period.  So we learn, we lean, we seek Him first.

As we are waiting, will you please join in praying with us for our visas to be approved and back to us in the Lord's timing.  Until we have the visas, we will stay here in the states in a waiting period, learning from our Lord and spending quality time with family and friends we will miss dearly in the coming years.  And yet our hearts are eager to be in Indonesia, where He has called us.  So please ask the Lord for His timing, His will, His best for us during this time!

Recommended for Field Service

Yesterday Pete sat down for his last debrief of MAF Standardization.  After reviewing his flight performance over the past couple weeks, he was officially "recommended for field service"!

Here are some pictures of his flights and the terrain he was recently trained in:

In Case You Haven't Heard

A lot of you who read this little blog also receive our weekly prayer update (if you don't and want to join our prayer team, leave a comment with your email address or email me at agreenwald@maf.org and I will add you to the list) and have heard our amazing news.

But in case you haven't heard, as we were packing our crates and preparing for our big move to Indonesia and our trip to Idaho, we received some great news - we hit 100% of the on-going funding we needed to go overseas!  It was a milestone Pete and I will never forget.  Throughout the past year of focus on developing a partnership of faithful givers and prayer warriors, we have seen God do amazing things and how He completed our team was no exception.  This year is a testament to God's faithfulness, goodness, and promise to work in us until we reach completion (which we are by no means close to).  It is a year that we will look back on as a reminder during tough times that He is for us, not against us, that He loves us, that He has plans and purposes beyond what we see and know.  Beyond what we can comprehend.  Beyond what we can ask or imagine.

A year ago 100% seemed daunting and impossible - but nothing is impossible with God.  NOTHING!

We could not be more thrilled to be at a point where we are fully-funded and doing the last preparations for our move.  We will continue to seek the Lord for new financial partners throughout the length of our ministry, because we are excited about what He is doing in Indonesia and want others to experience the joy of joining in His work, and because giving fluctuates and costs increase.  

Join with us as we praise the Lord for all He has done - for He has done GREAT things! - and pray that our Visas come in soon so that we may purchase our tickets to Indonesia. 

It Takes a Village

An old proverb goes a little something like this, "It takes a village to raise a child."  I must admit I was always one of those women who didn't think she needed the village.  Wouldn't ask for the help.  Couldn't possibly impose on someone else for something that she should be able to do herself.

But being a mom, being a wife, being a "missionary"... I've learned a lot about the village it takes.

The village of supporters.
The village of surrogate families.
The village of helpers for Cade.
The village of friends and encouragers.

All who truly care, desire to help, enjoy rejoicing with us and express their deepest sympathy when we mourn.  The village of people with whom we do life.

Over the past year our village has been in Georgia, with our blood relatives, Pete's parents, my parents, Pete's sister and her family, my best friend and her wonderful husband, the amazing amount of people who have come alongside us in ministry and in life... to help us raise Cade... to help raise us.

Right now our village is in Nampa, at MAF headquarters.  It consists of amazing home staff who love seeing how big Cade has become, who help as we prepare for our big move, who want to form memories we can hold onto and relationships we can return to in four years.  It consists of four wonderful, rowdy, older boys who love to show Cade the ropes, ask him for a fist bump every time he see's them, and teach him new games with the ball.  And it consists of other MAF families preparing for their big moves.  Some going to Indonesia, like us, others to Africa, all of us mourning the distance we are about to put between us and our villages here, yet eager to go to the land God has shown us.

In a matter of months our village will change again.  And we can't wait to see who the Lord allows us to encounter, the village of people He will put us in, the ways He will grow us and raise us in Indonesia, and the people who will come alongside us to help raise our son into the man God desires him to be.

It takes a village to raise a child... to raise a family... to raise missionaries...  It takes a village and we couldn't be more privileged for the village God has provided!

Nesting

Many of you know that on Saturday Pete, Cade and I flew out to Nampa, ID for MAF's Standardization and Orientation.  (When Pete learns how to operate safely and within MAF guidelines both flying and maintaining the planes and when we both learn how to integrate into a new culture.)

Due to a good-sized crew up here for Candidacy (what Pete and I did a year ago - learning about MAF, receiving our assignment, and preparing to raise support), field staff home on furlough, and Technical Evaluations (what Pete and I did 2 years ago - the two week long job interview when the MAF flight and maintenance staff see if you have what it takes to fly for MAF overseas), we were put up at a local hotel.  The hotel was nice, had a pool and hot tub, with a restaurant just out the door.  Cade enjoyed playing in the lobby, finding things in the room that were "no, no's," and walking across the parking lot for lunch.

But, today was move-in day at the apartments.  And boy did we live it up.  All the bags are unpacked and clothes, toiletries, etc. put away.  Groceries are purchased and ready to become delicious meals.  Toys are out of the closet and in a Cade-friendly place for easy accessibility, without being constantly under-foot.  But the best by far - the playground, outdoor toys, and luscious green grass is just out our front door.  Ahh, we are seriously blessed!

I've always been one to not feel settled until everything was unpacked and all was in its place.  And today was no different.  As soon as all the bags were unpacked and put away, I hunkered down for a good nap - in fact, Pete came home from work (which is just a short walk away) to me snoozing on the couch.  My nesting complete, our home - for now - prepared.

Nesting today reminded me that in a few short months I will be nesting again, setting up home, preparing to begin language school, figuring out the lay of the land, but this time on the other side of the globe, in a country I've only dreamed of!  I look forward to sharing with you how our move goes and what the Lord teaches us as we move around the world for Him!

His Power in My Weakness

And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.  ”Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me."

2 Corinthians 12:9

I haven't stopped thinking about this verse all night long.  Last night we received a message from a family friend letting us know that they wanted to be a part of our ministry team and they were hoping that we would ask them to join the ministry of MAF as we seek to follow Jesus in Indonesia.  Needless to say, we were (and are) thrilled that they would want to join our team.  But all night long, all I could do was think about how it would have been so easy for them not to send us a message, for it to just slide right under the table and not ever have been mentioned, for my lack of faith, my timidity in sharing His call, my weakness to have kept a generous and caring long-time friend from being a part of His Kingdom work in Indonesia.  


And all night long, as I have been thinking through my weaknesses, I have been reminded that He is perfected in my weakness.  That His power can come through in my weakness.  That it's not about me, it's about what He can and will do regardless of my fears and failures.  And for that I am thankful.


Thankful that He is the One who soften hearts.  He is the One who draws people near to Him.  He is the One who tenderly speaks to our heart and desires to be loved, because He first loved us.  It is He who does the work.  Whew!  A relief, and yet we are still called to share, to speak of His truth and love, and to act it out as His body here on earth.  


I am grateful, that despite my weakness, and in fact because of my weakness, He is made GREAT!  He can show His power.  He can dwell in me and strengthen the work that He is doing in my heart.  And He can give me the grace to boast only in Him and have faith in His plans and purposes!  


He is made strong and is glorified in my weakness, as I surrender to Him and let His power move me.