THE WHOLE PACKAGE INCLUDES SOCKS

The whole package includes socks

or how to feel over-committed without over committing.

So I got a little note from Ana's school that said that Ana took her shoes off at school and the teachers had to put fresh socks on her because hers were wet.

Since she did not have socks with her change of clothes in her backpack the teachers had to borrow socks from another student. And this is how the note ended: "...Please send the used socks back as well as send a 'whole package' of fresh clothes for Ana, including socks. Thank you."

So there I was. "The whole package". I have never considered that sending a change of clothes to school included socks. My mind races. I am utterly embarrassed! I want those teachers to like me and know that I am a committed mom. I'm on top of things! But socks? At least in my mind, I never included socks. Socks were not even included in life in general. We lived in California and South Carolina. We wore sandals and flip-flops or Ana had orthopedic inserts which did not let Ana take her socks off and blocked any kind of moisture to get in (or out for that matter :-)!).

Of course, I will include socks from now on....

Just like I have to learn to include a pair of Gummistiefel (galoshes) - shoes for dirty, rainy weather, Hausschuhe - shoes for inside use only, Normale Schule - shoes for normal weather, Turnschuhe - PE slippers, Turnhose und T-shirt - PE clothes, Matsch Hose - pants for wet weather, long underwear, long socks, Matsch Jacke - jacket for wet weather, lunch (HEALTHY THAT IS - even though I have discovered that smearing Nutella on a semi dark slice of bread does pass as semi healthy, and if you then include some slices of apple or cucumber - you are sooo set!).

Gummiestiefel

Yes, of course, I knew that all these things are needed in Germany. I respect that, like that, support that..... 

....but I never had to make sure 3 or 4 more people besides myself had to have them.

And of course I also have to make sure that we are always wearing appropriate clothes for the right weather. Cold weather - thick sweater, pants and underwear and big time warm jacket, semi cold weather - semi thick sweater, semi thick pants! And I know I've forgotten something!

 

And then I have to still make sure that the boy wears boy clothes, and the girls have at least something that looks girly! I have to make sure that the sweaters are at least long enough to cover the belly button, and if not wear something over it that is big enough to cover my insufficiency as a "kids dressing expert" - but wait - that's my own "whole package".

I was so relieved when all the kids were set in their own classrooms. Because that meant I have a free morning to work on the 20 half opened boxes standing around. But quickly I discovered that it was a full-time job to just get all the items needed to cover all the needs my kids now have at school. You see, the brain of a German native works differently. It is easily going down the list of "the necessities", whereas my brain was a beach girl from the get go. "No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problem!"

I am committed to fit in! I am over-committed! Yes, priorities. Making a big move into a country that wears at least 3 more layers of clothes then what I have been used to, makes my head fuzzy and my priorities frizzy! Or is that vice versa?

I find myself being more committed to pleasing everybody around me before they possibly get to the point of thinking badly of me. In this new place, in this new culture I am fearful of hurting other peoples feelings of being looked at as a "typical American", and I fear I will fail right from the get go. I am fearful to be looked at as lazy and culturally insensitive, and in all this pressure I don't take the time to be safe. I'm committed to everything around me without committing to the one priority that would keep me sane. 

Fear of man, becomes a trap,
    but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe. (Proverbs 29:25)

Must I say more?

I tend to want to please people - but does that honor God?  - NO

It is you oh Lord I want to please, it is you oh Lord who hears my prayers

It is you who listens, and answers, and protects, and prioritizes! I do not have to fall into the trap of believing that I am loved only if I can please people! Whatever I do, I want to do "heartily, as for the Lord and not for men" (Colossians 3:23)

I am committed to understanding (or re-understanding) the German culture - but it has to be on God's terms!

so now....

....lets sit down with a cup of awesome German coffee, in this 
    very messy house and let God talk to me!

....lets make HIM our priority! 

....lets look forward to another day where yummy German bread
    and cheese and cake is readily available.

....lets love him first and and so have more than enough love left 
    over for others!

....lets full-heartedly embrace a new/old, unfamiliar/so very
    familiar culture!
...And we will give God the "whole package" including the socks!

Being grateful!

....and we moved again. Yes, we could have stayed in our first miracle home till January, but decided to move right after Christmas (to another miracle missionary house) so the kids could get adjusted before they had to go back to school. At first  though we were thinking of moving right before Christmas, but some very wise friends (also missionaries who had a period when they had to move a lot) spoke truth into our life's reminding us that Christmas is just not the same for the children in a brand new home. Very grateful for sound advice!
So we enjoyed Christmas in the environment we had gotten used to and moved afterwards with the help of our family. Now that is something new and wonderful...to have family help. Very Grateful to be surrounded by aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents! 
 
In the past month all our energy went into job searches and relocating our family. It is not easy and we need your prayer and support.

Ana: always seems to be going back into the habit of taking her diaper off with poop in it when she is in a unfamiliar new home. That means piles and piles of very dirty laundry almost daily for the first two weeks. We try to be on top of it and use this as a opportunity to continue to potty train her, but with two other kids, cooking, and doing other (move-in) routines, she will have a few unsupervised moments every day. We are waiting for a appointment with a Developmental Pediatrician to get help through a Behavioral Specialist. 
Lydia: is now full time at Ben Lippen. Our new home is much further away from both schools. Since we cannot get transportation for Ana, it is easier to pick up both girls around the same time so we do not have to pay a lot for gas. Lydia is trying so hard to be strong and happy and encouraging to all of us (beyond her years, really!) but her anxiety shows itself in nightmares and tears at school.
Caleb: is active! Very active. Just a fun little 2 year old, interested in everything, eating everything but the food on his plate, much more courageous then his mother and just happy and carefree. If we both find jobs we will have to find care for him.
 
Our time frame for Germany is now to be there some time in summer 2014. We are thankful for many new friends and people who are interested in the path God is leading us.
With this new time frame, we are now getting to the place where we urgently need jobs, since we do not want to live off our savings.
Richard: has two very exciting possibilities - we will know more by the end of January. 
Simone: Is looking to expand her teaching. There are several part-time jobs that have to be considered and decided on.
When times are different then what you expected them to be, when your dreams are put on hold, when God's answer is WAIT and you don't quite understand why, it is easy to start complaining. But over the past years of God revealing himself faithfully to me as a women and mother I know that focusing on the things he IS providing right now will immediately lift my spirits and I start living with a grateful spirit. I know that Emmanuel - GOD IS WITH US - is with us.
 
In the meantime we create a family routine that will become normal where ever in the world we are, serving our faithful God and trusting in his lead.

Grateful that the kids are content, love each other and are healthy.

(This is Lydia, hiding in Ana's sensory sock...)

Grateful for a successful surgery. (Permanent ear tubes and a hearing test which she passed with flying colors. No hearing loss!) 

 

Grateful that this did not happen to the trailer while we were traveling 3000 miles from CA to SC....

Grateful for going ice-skating in flip-flops, finding a snowman on the beach,

 

and taking pictures of our name on Street Road signs....

Grateful to spend time with family!

Grateful for going from no-shave November to this....

(no comment!)

Grateful for part-time work!

Grateful for a brand-new, fenced-in back yard to explore and a helmet that fits Caleb's head (found at the new house....)

 Grateful for free tickets to a very "exciting" basketball game!

Grateful for Chick-fil-a!!!!

And grateful for a personal interior designer.

October update!

 

Dear friends,

it has been a while since we gave you an update. I can't believe it has been 7 weeks since we left California. It is odd to find yourselves in a mode to think that our time in San Leandro has now become past tense. Our thoughts are often over at the West Coast and we often talk about people and experiences. God has widened our horizon and given us the opportunity to expand our experience with him and our trust in his provision. I find myself often being filled with thankfulness while thinking about our journey.     

                                        

Columbia has a different flare then Oakland and we are rejoicing in the family friendly environments and the overall feeling of safety. Especially in the neighborhood we are living, we find ourselves surround by family and friends from our church and retired professors from the Seminary right around the corner. How good to see a person walking their dog and to know they are possibly on a prayer walk and are lifting up their neighborhood to our GOD. WOW.

We have found a church. Funny enough the name is 

"Riverside Community Church". God has lead us from Creekside to Riverside....haha. I'm
wondering if the next church we are going to go to will have something to do with oceans or lakes...
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 (Broad River in Columbia, SC)

 

 

Ana is about to have her first IEP.

Please lift us up in your prayers for we are in need of new hope and faith every day. Today I first want to focus on our need for prayer for Ana.

We are going to meet with Psychologist, Therapist and Teachers that know her now for about 6 weeks. We are confident that her team is excellent and are very ecstatic about phenomenal teachers in her life. Since Ana has started talking a lot we are more aware of the need of regular and focused mouth/oral therapy to help her speak more clearly. Please pray for us to have the discipline to continue with the Therapy we started with Heather at the Down Syndrome Connection in Danville, CA, as well as find therapy here in Columbia that will enhance this path. We know that there is a therapist in Charleston that works with Talk Tools, but Charleston is about 2 hours away and so we could not go there on a regular basis.

We are also praying to get help with a behavioral Therapist who could guide our efforts to help Ana get potty trained. Since she is very uncomfortable with a wet or soiled diaper she continues to take them off and henceforth spill whatever is in the diaper onto her bed and/or other surroundings. She will go to the restroom by herself and when I/we ask her. She can tell us if she needs to go but it is very inconsistent and she often only realizes that she had to go potty after the fact. We are praying for a way to help her with a practical routine to continue this training and find a happy way for all of us. With 2 other children in the house my attention is often divided and Richard and I are not able to help her.

(having fun in the warm Atlantic Ocean water)

Another big prayer is the need for a job for Richard.

Since I have started working at the University and teach Tuesdays and Wednesdays all day Richard will need to stay home those days to take care of Caleb. We knew that we are not looking for a full time job for either one of us but in Richard's line of work that is a very difficult thing to find. Richard has had plenty of interested churches but most of them are unable to hire him for only 3-6 months or the pay is not compatible with the time and work he would have to invest. Please pray for comfort for Richard in time of searching as well as furthering our support raising efforts. We are praying for a part time job that pays decently and leaves enough time to raise support.

Support Raising:

In general we are trying to focus on getting to know old friends again and making new friends. That in itself is a fulltime job and with 3 kids and me working and Richard taking on odd jobs here and there we are pulled in many different directions. Our desire to get to Germany is pushing us forward but our focus gets distracted by every day life.

We very much would like to hear from you all. Please write us on this blog, who you are and how you are doing. We love to get your feed back.

Until then,

God's rich blessings!

The Moore Family

Little ones to Him belong. They are weak but HE is strong!"

We have to stop some times and just ponder that little truth. It is often a bit of a side thought....Oh, Yeah great, and by the way Jesus loves me...yay, yay, yay.
It actually needs to be my EVERYTHING! That the son of God, creator of the universe, who sacrificially gave up his companionship with God and died on the cross so we can live a life that has forgiveness, joy and peace beyond our own comprehension is just that....beyond our comprehension.

We have a lot going on right now.

Richard is getting ready for the last House Boat Camp with the Generation 24/7 Ministry and I am basically keeping the kids entertained as well as selling one big furniture item after another. We got a few moving bids from big companies like Allied, United, and Mayflower, and have decided that it is too expensive to move anything more then just the basics. So we are only taken books we cannot replace and clothing. We have not decided yet if we should ship everything directly to Germany (where there is very little storage opportunity without having to pay a lot) or take it all to South Carolina and then ship it from there. - Please pray for peace of mind and clear understanding on what we need to do.
 
And so I come back to "Yes, Jesus loves me".

Richard and I where sitting down to watch the movie "Lincoln" last night. (It was a bit slow and I personally fell asleep after 5 minutes, but that is what I do with every movie, so don't let that be the indicator of how good the movie was...). Ana sleeps next door to the TV room and suddenly we heard her singing.
We turned the TV off and just listened. All was dark and silent and we heard her voice forming a melody and creating words. It was clearly the song verses and chorus of "Yes Jesus loves mEEEE". Not just is she saying words she also hit the melody pretty accurately. It does not seem like anything big, but we as her parents who have been praying for her to know God, and to know that she is deeply loved and wanted by the creator of the universe this was a special moment beyond description. So long we have waited to hear words and a voice from her and now the very first sentences she is forming are geared towards her God and King. If we are rejoicing over this worship we are experiencing how much is God and the Angels rejoicing! In German we call it "Jauchzet"!

 And as so many things with our kids, we are reminded about the real truth and the actual importance of life in the moments when everything is easy and reduced to simple truths.


 "...little ones to Him belong. They are weak but HE is strong!"

What's going on right now...Prayer request!

So whats going on right now at the Moore House? 

We just came back from a Joni and friends Camp at Mission Springs.

 It was one more week of gloriously awesome and beautiful fellowship. An example of heaven on earth. A picture of inclusion, caring and servant hood. We were spoiled beyond measure by the STM's (short term missionaries) who watched our children. They loved them and made this week unforgettable for us. Lydia is now old enough to understand how special this time is and was in tears when we drove away missing her friend Jenny. Ana did not understand anymore why she started hearing words like: "stay here..." or "no you can't just role on the floor anywhere you go", when mommy and daddy took over.. Lindsey was the person who cared for Ana. Ana was free to go from  ball pit to swing to water game to jump house.... And Lindsey followed her around and let her have the time of her life.
And our little Caleb was in love with his STM Liana and ended up showering her with kisses and hugs and even fell asleep in her arms or while she was pushing the stroller.
I don't have words! "THANK YOU" is coming from the deepest part of our heart.

For those of you with special needs kids or parents..you should truly consider going to one of these family camps! There is nothing like it out there!
http://www.joniandfriends.org/family-retreats/

Today we are back home. 

Richard is working the afternoon at a wedding and I have the kids by myself. It is pretty calm but Ana did have a poop accident, fortunately contained to her room but never the less, very smelly. I don't know how to get that carpet clean again. She has gotten into the habit of taking her diaper off after a bowel movement and then.....I don't need to say more.... I just can't be around her every second...and most of the time she does very well....until something like this happens.
It makes me sad, because I know she does it because she can't stand the feeling of a full diaper (don't blame her...) but can't communicate or call me to help her. As easy as she is often these moments are very difficult!

Also, I am trying to sell our furniture on Craigslist. Right now it is our large wardrobe (PAX from IKEA), a large red corner sleeper sofa (EKTORP from IKEA), and a living room table from the 70's. We had our first garage sale and I made the mistake of keeping some stuff here to sell at the next garage sale. And now it is driving me crazy because it is cluttering up the already very cluttery (I know....cluttered is the word I should use by I like "cluttery") living room...

So that is where we are right now....

Lydia is about to help me make dinner...mashed potatoes and hotdogs....All the ways hotdogs are used in our house are quite remarkable and Caleb has figured out how to turn the microwave on and off and on and off....always with a scream of delight ("YEAHY"), thank you very much! And Ana is mad because I locked her out of her room since the carpet is full of .... you know what.
I really don't know how to clean it. I sprayed it with Oxi-clean spray and am washing the linens and the cover and the pillow...yup all had a distinct coloring....And then she got into the jar of peanut butter...but that is a story for another day....





If you would pray for us at this time of transition: 

- Pray for a week without stress
- Pray that our furniture can be sold for a descent prize.
- We are going to Chicago on Sunday the 23rd of June till the 29th of June, for a Missionary training week. Pray for a safe trip and kids that are sleeping ok in a (again) new environment. Oh, and I so hope the beds are not too hard....but that is minor since I realized that if you are exhausted you start to sleep anywhere....
- Please pray for me since I am leading worship during this week.
- I am grateful that Caleb is eating a bigger verity of food. Makes life a bit easier.

CHILDREN LEANING ON JESUS

Lydia was at youth group with me last night. I had to go to another group to present our Germany ministry. When I came back Lydia was crying and she said that she thought I had left her and was afraid. She said, "but I prayed to Jesus", when I heard this I started crying too. I asked her what she prayed and she said she asked Jesus to help her. I asked "did he help you"? she said "yes, He did I wasn't afraid anymore." She then said she even thought about walking home. I thought of the scripture, "I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth." (3 John 1:4 NASB) I have been praying that our children would learn to call on Jesus above us as parents. I am so grateful for this early lesson for Lydia where she learned to call on Jesus! Pray and ask God to grow a vision for your children that they would Learn to see and savor Christ even at an early age. 

Also after Ana's birthday party this past weekend Lydia came into the room where Simone was and was also crying and said, "I'm going to miss all our friends when we move to Germany." Simone told her that Jesus will help us make new friends when we get to Germany. She was so surprised and happy that we will make friends there too. These small revelations and learning experiences help our children look to Jesus in all things in this process of becoming missionaries to Geramny. How are you savoring Christ this week?