My how time passes when one is busy!! 

2012 started out with 3 new schools here.  One of these is the first Spanish-English blingual DTS of 12 students.   I enjoyed very much interpreting for most of the evening meetings from Jan. – Mar. (Tues. nights) as well as helping to translate some of the teachings of the various teachers in written form or the students.  It was interesting to me to realize that, literally, the 12 DTS students are all leaders — meaning, having strong leadership personalities and giftings.  I believe it has to do with a good shifting in leadership going on here at the base.

The ESL finished several weeks ago.  The Crossroads DTS team is in Fiji ministering  on their outreach; the bilingual DTS is in Romania on theirs.  Both teams return to the states next week, and will be serving in ministries in the US.  I havde been/am translating the posts of both teams as they appear in the English blog, and have now finished translating roughly 130 pages of a teaching for helping folks to figure out their personalities, giftings, mental, physical, and emotional abilites, etc.  These will be used for the bilingual DTS when they return, around May 23 and 24; I am excited to be able to sit it on this training to be able to start leading these sessions with the different schools and programs here .

Last week I (Vicki) had two days where only the top pads of two fingers were partially numb.  It’s still the great unknown as to what makes the numbness increase and decrease, but I can’t wait til I can report that the numbness is gone forever!

Something our children in particular are excited about is that we are travelling as one of 5 families of 5 to an orphanage in Baja, Mexico May-12-20.  We are believing to raise the support to go, an amazing cost of only about $650 total for the five of us.  The children from the families  have learned one drama to present at the different outreaches to nearby work camps, plus are working on motions for a few songs to share.  Some of us adults will be working on some worship songs to share as well.  (If you feel led to help us with this outreach, please go to the “Partner with Us” page.)

The girls have really been enjoying playing soccer.  Rebecca’s team has played two “seasons” of 8 weeks.  This last season they took 3rd place, quite impressive since the 1st and 2nd place teams are travelling teams.  Hannah has started practicing with the travel team of 9-10 yr. olds.  She has injured a knee twice in the past 3 weeks (once here at school and once playing with her team), but she hasn’t needed a brace since last Friday.

Here is a drawing Hannah did about 2 weeks ago without any nudging or guidance:

Caleb has been accepted to the 24/7 program again this summer which is a program that models leadership through servanthood, and we hope to help him raise support for this as well.  The program itself is $150 for 8 wks., an amazing deal!  He needs some supplies and such.

I will be travelling to Honduras July 14 – Aug. 6th, as I was able to use air miles for the trip.  We need to finish “cleaning up” down there.  I will also obviously be open to whatever else the Lord may have for me during that time.  My mom is planning to come care for our girls since Caleb will be in the summer program, and Lorne will be working a regular schedule.

I had a nice time at a Women’s Retreat with our church here this past weekend, and this week we are blessed that our friend Kirk Bartha is visiting from Canada, through May 8th.  He is a “Mission Builder” and is working alongside Lorne, so they will have lots of time to talk and share hearts, also with the other two Mission Builders here now.

Thank you for your prayers and support,

The Parsons Family

Dear Family and Friends,

We are so thankful for being here in the US this Christmas, and that for the first time in their lives, our children (and us too) are sharing Christmas with a set of cousins, one aunt (one of my sisters) and one uncle.  We had fun Christmas Eve singing Christmas carols (and then telling some jokes) in front of a fireplace with another family from here between dinner and dessert.

Hannah snuggling with Uncle Paul during caroling

Lorne spent almost 4 weeks in Honduras taking care of things, dealing with a vehicle that needed repairs which he had to just deal with until he left.  We recently sold it for way under its value to a young man and his wife from the Manos Extendidas ministry — folks who have been discipled and now the husband leads the ministry in one of the prisons for juvenile delinquent males.  We were able to sell some other items, and move the rest to a safe place.  Lorne also made some more contacts regarding one of the properties he continues to pray will become a place where many are led into a relationship with the Lord, along with providing food and income.

The Lord is directing us to stay here at YWAM Chico for the forseeable future, hopefully eventually as a place to do short-term work in Honduras, but for now, to plug in here.  I enjoyed working at the school and helping translate some documents for the first Spanish/English DTS beginning Jan. 5, 2012.  I (Vicki) plan to work on getting a TESOL credential to be able to teach ESL.  I eventually also would like to renew my Childbirth and Lactation credentials, and get a credential for teaching Spanish.  Lorne is sensing to be involved in unique ways here, yet to be discussed with the Leadership (this will happen in January).

I had a free ticket which had to be used by early 2012, so Lorne let me go down to San Diego for 10 days.  It was a great time to spend with several good friends, all friends I’ve had at least 18 years, some as far back as 27 years – yipes!!    We had a fun day in Sacramento at the State Capitol, all learning some California history, and just enjoying being reunited as a family again on 12/19.  The numbness in my left fingers, and the issue with my right thumb remain a challenge, but I’m getting used to them.  Caleb is just barely shorter than me now, and was very happy to find out last night that he is now taller than two of his older cousins  :).

Something occurred to me a while back.  We could always use air miles for Continental:  Vicki Parsons, # HS758294, and Lorne J. Parsons, #JU870944.  We have no concrete plans to travel at the moment, but we can get to Honduras and back from the airport just 5 miles from here for 35,000 miles roundtrip.  United is also connected with Continental, and Air Canada is a partner as well.  One would just need to check as to how to donate the miles.

We were blessed to move to a different cabin here on the base on Dec. 1st.  We have a much larger living area, plus two bathrooms and indoor washer and dryer.

I was saddened recently to hear that Honduras tops the list for the country with the most homocides in the world for 2010: 82.1 per 100,000.  Just Dec. 23rd, the Peace Corps pulled its 158 volunteers from the country, hopeful they will be able to return as the country steps up its war on violence (mostly drug related).  I read a few weeks ago that the President has basically put the military in charge of the police work in the country for up to 18 mos., a drastic but welcome step with there being so much corruption in the police force.

Our children are flourishing here, and we are all deepening friendships.

If the Lord so puts in on your heart, we would really appreciate any one-time gifts, year-end gifts, or some regular new supporters. Even though month-to-month expenses seem to be a little less here, taking into account travelling to Honduras occasionally and two children needing braces, we could really use some help.  You can look on the “Partner With Us” page to learn how to do that.  We would also be happy to pay shipment for any laptop or desktop anyone anyone is getting rid of, having upgraded their own to a newer model  ;).

Many blessings as you celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus!!

The Parsons Family

Parsons Family with Nan, Oct. 2011

We had a wonderful two days here Oct. 10-11th called Acts 1, as we corporately spent time before the Lord seeking His heart.  YWAMers from a couple of other No. Cal. bases joined us.  I appreciated the transparency between us, praying for each other, and worshipping the Lord together.

I have to be careful with my hands and body, but have a found 2 ways to help out  :).  I am working as a Teacher Assistant for the 3rd-6th grade class for 2 hrs. each day, plus I started helping to translate the YWAM Chico web page.  After the 1st day and 1st page, it was discovered that the manual for the bilingual DTS was lost in a computer crash; I finished translating the 27 pages last night .  That DTS starts in early January.  The current Crossroads DTS and DTS leave on outreach tomorrow and Sunday — one team to Guatemala, the other to Fiji.

We will be moving early next week to a different cabin due to health issues for us in this one.  We are thankful that there will be 2 bathrooms, indoor washer/dryer, and a bigger kitchen and living area.

I was going to head to Honduras Nov. 28/29, but did not have peace about it.  We decided last night for Lorne to stay longer instead since he has yet to move any furniture and I cannot do that.  It took almost a week to fix problems with our PathFinder and a motorcycle.  He thought we had loan of a truck to move our belongings, but found out yesterday that it is a van.  Thankfully we have loan of a trailer which hitches to our PathFinder.

Lorne was interviewed by a National Radio station on Monday along with other friends ministering there in Honduras, and will be appearing briefly on the same Sat. night show as last year tomorrow night.

Bless you as you move into a busy season.  God is always faithful  :0.

Just a quick update; sorry folks for the long delay in communicating!  We are still at Youth With A Mission in Chico, CA, after the Lord made it abundantly clear to our whole family that HE is not done with what HE wants to do in us/through us in this place.  There are many undercurrents making us acutely aware of God’s timing — we will give details as they develop  :0.

We decided the Lord was directing us to have Lorne postpone his trip to Honduras for now, so he did not head down there on August 23rd.  I will be going October 12th, arriving on the 13th, to go through the things in storage, hopefully having found a new place or places to store our things, go through some essentials to bring back up here, etc., as well as discerning whether or not to sell our belongings.  Assuming I am well enough to travel, I will have x-rays done there on my neck and back as well (oops, getting ahead of myself!).

Lorne is in the Grounds Dept., which involves a myriad of things.  He has cut some dead trees to help the base get ready for the winter — the large hotel has a huge fireplace in the main lobby which is used during conferences, and has been asked to help beautify the property with flowers and things, planning ahead for the Spring.  He is also clearing out areas for prayer and contemplation by staff, students of the schools here, and conference guests.

We are currently hosting 3 schools here at YWAM — DTS (Discipleship Training School), CDTS (DTS for those over 30, with children, or both), and ESL.  There are approximately 30 adults in the 3 schools, plus 7 children, 2 from Brazil, 2 from Colombia and 3 from Korea.  The parents of the children from Colombia have asked our whole family to speak to their children in Spanish, as they have been forgetting it since being adopted 3-4 years ago.  The children are enjoying their friendships here very much.

This base also operates a Conference Center.  It is a place where many have deep encounters with the Lord, often for the first time in their lives.  We host groups, usually on weekends, for retreats and conferences.  This afternoon a group arrives for the weekend.  As soon as they leave, all staff will be meeting at 1 PM Sunday for “Hotel Turnaround” (basically, clean out all of the used rooms and prepare for new guests) as another group will arrive a few hours later, about 420 people.   Sept. 25-30 we will be having 3 different groups of 420, each for 2 days, so it will be hectic.  We’ll have 3 Hotel Turnarounds in  5 days.

From Aug. 29th – Sept. 16th,  I was helping out in the main kitchen for lunches — 3 people  preparing lunches for 100 M-F as we serve the rest of the staff, the DTS/CrossroadsDTS and ESL schools which began Aug. 29th.  Saturday Sept. 17th I awoke to a huge muscle spasm on the whole left side of my back (felt like childbirth pains concentrated to my back), which eventually extended into my left arm. Lorne took me to a precious servant of God through Chiropractic care (he tithes care to many of us YWAMers) for an emergency treatment Sunday, and I wound up in an Immediate Care with a shot for the muscles, muscle relaxants and an analgesic for the pain.  To make a short story longer, the Chiropractor believes that C6 in my neck has a bulging disc, and thus the continued numbness down my left arm and hand.

PRAISE:  The hospital where Lorne had his procedures done in May called Weds. to let us know they have cancelled the “extra” charges which were more than the procedures!

Lorne also has a garden in our backyard — the cornstalks are over 15 ft. tall!  He is harvesting about a lb. of tomatoes a day among other things.  The girls are playing on soccer teams for the 1st time in their lives and loving it.  Rebecca’s team is undefeated so far.  It does add to “hectic” around here!

So this morning after Monday morning meeting, moms and school age children here at YWAM Chico (ywamchico.com) were asked to help (voluntarily) pick up trash after the record breaking camp of 470+ that left here last Friday, as a new camp was arriving after lunch.  Rebecca and I were heading out to help.  But, for more than a month, Hannah (not yet 9) has been begging me to get permission for her to sweep the floor of the huge dining room (seats 400).

Before the meeting, I had stopped and asked the faithful clean up man (he’s been here more than 30 years I think) if sometime she might be able to sweep, and he told me that all of the chairs were on top of the tables for sweeping, and given all he had to do, he’d love the help.  After the meeting and break, he gave Hannah a brand new broom to use!  For almost the next two hours, she swept that dining room spick and span.  He was amazed at how much dirt she swept up.  He even brought another staff father to show her sweeping — he said that they’d just see the end of the broom, and then occasionally her little blonde head would pop up between the tables.  She finally came home, sweating all over, but happy.  She kept saying, “I’m Honduran; I know how to sweep!” (that isn’t a prerequisite to being Honduran, but it doesn’t hurt :0)

At the pool this afternoon (24/7 goes to the pool after lunch), for the first time this summer the girls and I went down just before 24/7 was leaving.  Caleb and I chatted a little bit in there.  He asked me, “Mom?  Are we going back to Honduras next year?”  I asked him, “Do you want to?”  His response sort of blew me away:  ”I want to be wherever God wants me to be.”  Amen — God is at work!  As I wrote in the last post a couple of days ago, we don’t know what God has in store for us, but we will follow his leading  :).

After the pool, that same, sweet little girl got herself in trouble, so I told her she would have to go to her room after getting out of the bath.  She retorted, but didn’t come out of the bathroom for 2 hours!  When I went in, she had organized the two shelves, straightened the shelves of the bathroom and the sink.  I was floored again; twice in one day!

Please, if you have a chance, read the last two “blogs” from a new link I just attached this evening to our website, written by the Wiggs Family.  It is called, “The Kingdom Life”.  They haven’t completed quite two years in Honduras, came home for 5 weeks, but now their return has been delayed as their children told them in the past couple of weeks (I’m not sure how it all came up — they are 13 and 10) that they feel that everything, from ministry to street children they minister to, are more important than they are to their parents — very humbling.  So, life in Honduras is on hold until they all feel prepared to return down there.

God sure is more interested in what He does IN us, than through us.  I am more and more convinced of that, along with the conviction that when we are willing to expose our brokenness (not showcase it), God works even more powerfully, since all can see that HE is the one to receive the praise.

Here we are on July 29, 2011, and our return trip to Honduras is scheduled for Aug. 9-10, just over a week away.  But when God whispers, it is incumbent upon us to listen when we call Him LORD.  Lorne felt before we left Honduras last fall that we would not be returning as scheduled, and I heard a whisper from the Lord a week after arriving back in our little cabin at YWAM Chico last November (Richardson Springs) asking me if I would be willing to stay another year.

In about February, I stumbled on the following verse in Jeremiah 10 which was one of many confirmations for me:  ”²³ LORD, I know that people’s lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps.”  Wow.  In January, Hannah started asking if we could stay another year at YWAM Chico; by February, Rebecca had joined the chorus.  Caleb was steadfast about wanting to return as scheduled to Honduras.  Then about 2 months ago, he brought up the subject and said, “Mom?  I’m fine with staying another year here.”

We are ECSTATIC that Caleb is in “24/7″, a summer program of discipleship, leadership training through servanthood, at YWAM Chico.  It is designed for 15-18 yr. olds and is running from June 12 – Aug. 6 — he just turned 15 on May 24th.  We humbly ask that you would pray for God to do a mighty work in Caleb’s heart and life through this summer.  We have been getting good reports from all sides about his growth in who he is, depth in the Lord, etc.  Grandma Lundberg and Aunt Robin are coming for his “graduation” Aug. 6th.

Being on sabbatical has been hard  – WHAT??? I hear people say.  HARD???  Yes, to slow down long enough for the Lord to start showing us things in ourselves that need to be changed, dealt with, healed, to move into a new season with Him.  Why didn’t He do that while we were in Honduras?  I do not know the answer to that question, but I also know God is always on time.  We are being challenged in new ways to do what He asks us to do, pray what He asks us to pray (there’s a song about that which I love  :0).

Right now, that means getting involved in YWAM Chico — please pray for us as in the coming days and weeks we meet with the Director and his wife and others to see how the Lord is leading for this next year, and perhaps beyond.  Lorne has been assigned to the “Grounds” department, something he is happy about.  Other than a scare this week with possible poison oak contact, he is helping identify trees that are dead and getting machinery working again.  I will find out sometime between now and Aug. 29th where I will be plugged in.  My prayer is to be a blessing to the base while also being fulfilled in what I am doing.  I am considering doing online course work during this coming year, possibly TESOL accreditation (although I’d rather teach Spanish than English :0).

Being at this juncture now, I can see how it would not be wise to return in another week and a half.  For one thing, our children are finally feeling like this is “home”, though they keep talking about Honduras.  It took quite a while to actually be able to get past the feeling of sheer exhaustion and then the: “I have to do something”, to “I am loved for who I am” again.  We have begun to feel like we have another extended family in the rest of the staff at YWAM Chico, and we believe more strongly than ever that wherever we go, we need to be connected in relationship with many others in the body of Christ.  Our being in Honduras, or anywhere else for that matter, is for the purpose of being and doing what God leads us to do, always in relationship with others.

We KNOW beyond a shadow of doubt that we are still called to Honduras, but admit that we don’t know what that looks like from where we are at the moment.  Lorne will be travelling down Aug. 23rd – Sept. 13th to take care of a multitude of things.  ”Nan” (Lorne’s mom) is coming for almost a month on Oct. 1st.  It will be her first time seeing Rebecca and Hannah since Spring of 2005 when Rebecca was 6 and Hannah just 2.  Hannah will turn 9 the day after Nan arrives.

Maintaining (and sometimes building onto) a great network of friends and prayer warriors takes time, and it is quite difficult to do from a developing nation.  We need each other — to talk, share, and pray face to face.  We just came back on June 29th from 3 1/2 wks. in So. California, re-connecting with many friends and some family.  It was like compressing 4-6 months of life into that time frame — we left feeling like we hadn’t had enough time!  We also found, over and over, that folks we’ve barely seen (some in more than 20 years) are still true, deep friends.

The Lord opened some wonderful doors to us — like housesitting for over 2 weeks in San Diego, Legoland for 4 on a pass, watching dolphins play in the waves for over 45 mins. late one afternoon, kayaking on a lake with a friend and his wife, and a stop at Sequoia/King’s Canyon National Park in Central California in the Sierra Nevadas for a day, plus making more new friends at another YWAM base called “Gleanings for the Hungry”.  We plan to take a couple of days in mid-August showing our children the Redwoods in No. California.

The past few weeks have also been busy.  We have hosted 3 camps (YWAM Chico), the last one of 470 left today.  It was great to get a chance to attend one of the meetings this week and see youth praying for each other to receive the Lord, and to go deeper in Him.  We have worked in the kitchen multiple times.  The middle week, Lorne and I got to go away for 4 days alone together on the Mendocino Coast while our girls attended kids’ camp here and while Caleb is still in 24/7.

Thank you so much for following us on our journey with the Lord.

This thing called a sabbatical is good, but difficult.  Sometimes it’s hard to rest not knowing what is awaiting at the end.  Sometimes it seems better to know.

We keep hearing from many how most denominations require a 1-year time back “home” after every 4 years.  That means we’re due for 2 years, having been gone 10.  We’re not going to take a 2-yr. sabbatical, but it has been hard to rest when both of us are the type to notice needs and want to help.  But we keep being told to go deeper in our relationship with the Lord, with each other, with our children.  We’re learning to play games (like Mexican train dominoes) — what a novelty!  It helps not to have cable TV.

To be out of a place where kidnappings are common, violence and theft-at gun point (Lorne once had a gun to his head), drive by shootings (another time a  bullet passed by his face through open windows while driving his truck from a solar project), and instead be in a place where the above are not the underlying paradigms of life, is amazing.  I’ve recently realized that in many ways, living with seeing guns everywhere, dead bodies, and horrible crashes over and over,  poverty up close and personal daily, over a period of time, has taken its toll.  The first few months here, I was nervous in public places.

We know for a fact we are still called to Honduras.

In the meantime, here at YWAM Chico, we are beginning to plug in to areas where we can serve out of a place of rest — kitchen duties  for the huge conference center here  (a school was here all last week … a camp arrives 4/18 with about 400 attending, other groups come for a weekend, or to pray).  I did not wind up observing the ESL school, as I was told that rest was more important.

God continually blesses us with being able to minister to those who come here, as exampled by the following after a Pastor’s Summit here in Feb.:  ”Many pastors and leaders were refreshed and many strategic relationships were begun or grew during the time … your prayers are vital to its success.  Much warfare occurs around our leaders trying to prevent them from attending.  Your role … holding back the darkness and making room for the Holy Spirit to work in the lives of these (people) is critical … thank you … for your generous servant hearts (and) your intercession on our behalf.  I am confident we would not be successful without them.”

I (Vicki) am helping with the ICS school, teaching P.E. for two different classes, as well as being available to tutor/answer questions with the students learning Spanish, plus a little administrative help with the Director of the school.  Lorne organized the “medical room”, and will again be helping cut up some dead trees (always needed for the HUGE fireplace here, though Spring is here  :0).

Hannah has started playing “farm league”  baseball with 4 other boys from here, in town.  In her first game ever last week, she made a double play single-handedly!  Rebecca wants to play also, but as of now, the teams are all full.

Lorne uses his time doing errands to minister God’s love to people, and sometimes goes in with a group from the base on Friday nights to the streets to reach out to folks who are searching.

Lorne has got some physical issues he is dealing with which are affecting his ability to work, and we hope to have some answers soon.

It looks like we will make it to San Diego for most of June.  A trip to NL is not going to happen.  We will be back here at the base for most of July, though Lorne and I hope to have a get-away without the children July 18-22 while the girls are in camp.  Caleb is applying for the 24/7 summer program here that lasts 8 weeks, ending Aug. 7th if he is accepted.

More to come soon!

March 22, 2011

For the past month and a half, we have been dealing with trying to get things that had been left  on the property adjacent to the park of the house we rented in Honduras stored.  We weren’t able to do it before we left due to:

(1) the road down to the items being inaccessible from excessive rains, and huge boulders lying across the access road; and (2) the property’s owner hadn’t appeared for more than 10 years, moved off of this property.  Suddenly, the owner appeared, and our previous landlords bought the property.  Crazy trying to organize moving things from over 3,000 miles away….

Please pray that communications would improve and that we would be able to get everything taken care of (including a place for the cat we left behind).

Our children are loving it here mostly — Rebecca and Hannah now say they want to stay here.  Caleb now works about 6-7 hrs. per month up at the hotel (this property also serves as a conference center for various groups) helping out in the dining room with clean-up.  He loves the pay!

We are also very proud of him completing a 13.1 mile half-marathon on March 5th.  He made it in 2:33 and seconds, 7th in his age group of 14-16 yr. olds.

'Gobbling Gingerbread Giants'

Caleb, Rebecca and Hannah are fitting in well with the school here at the YWAM center where we are living.  www.ywamchico.com Unlike Honduras, where security issues can restrict a child’s playing freedoms, there is liberty to ride bikes & explore, plus it’s an added pressure off of Vicki’s shoulders not to be homeschooling Hannah & Rebecca.   There are now 24 students in the 3 classroom school.

Caleb is training for a ½ marathon in March!   He has 4 classmates his age now as of last week, all boys, so has several friends to hang out with, and he will be working a little in the kitchen here on weekends, on kitchen clean-up.  It’s exciting to see the ways God has orchestrated our time here, for all of us.

We are thankful for the privilege to live in the same little 1920’s cabin we renovated 13 years ago.

1920's Cabin

A 24 hour prayer and worship cabin was  dedicated here on the base last October, a place to spend time in quiet with God and others.  We look forward to spending some time there.  Check out the 24/7 Live Prayer and Intercession Internet feed here if you are interested:  http://www.ihop.org/Publisher/Article.aspx?ID=1000058181

The word to us from the Director here for now is “rest”, “tacit” and “selah” — time for soaking in God’ Presence  :)    We are truly blessed by the Lord’s tender care in this season.

As a couple, we have the time and atmosphere to read and pray together.  Currently we are starting through a book called The 6 Mosquitoes that Drain the Life out of Marriage and Relationships –by Steve and Debbie Wilson, whose seminar we went to in Honduras last September.  One of our goals is for us to strengthen our friendship/marriage ties to produce higher quality fruit as we press forward into God’s heart and purposes for our lives.

Soon I (Vicki)  will receive tutoring on how to play the keyboard with chords, and also hope to learn a bit about teaching ESL, as an ESL started this past week and runs for 11 more weeks.  (Hannah got sick this week, so I haven’t been able to start yet.)

Lorne met with one of the YWAM Guatemala base leaders last week, who “just happens” to have come here now instead of when they had planned, which would have been August when we will be gone.  Interestingly, Steve worked alongside a Discipleship Training School student of Lorne’s from 23 years ago while on the Caribbean Mercy Ship.

Lorne was encouraged by Steve as Lorne shared his heart and the vision God has been showing him over the past number of years.  Steve told Lorne that he perceives him to be like a networking “electron” in the body of Christ.  Steve also encouraged Lorne to take advantage of our time here on sabbatical availing of the wisdom in our Director here, in organizing vision and calling — but this is not for right now.  Right now is rest.

At this point, we are trusting the Lord to open doors for housing in San Diego and the LA area for most of June, then a trip to Newfoundland in July.

Lorne & Vicki

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It’s amazing to me that we have now been here at the YWAM base near Chico, CA for 5 weeks.   The base closes down for Christmas (Dec. 3 – Jan. 3), so it’s been really quiet the past couple of weeks.

Hannah learned how to ride a bicycle two weeks ago!  She finally had a flat place to learn.  The children are loving the freedom to ride bikes and play outside without us having to be concerned about their whereabouts constantly.

As I wrote earlier, Hannah got to see and play in snow for the first time ever over Thanksgiving weekend, and Caleb got his first chance in 12 years.

About every day it hasn’t rained, the children have been out riding bikes, playing their own creation of volleyball for two, hiking, building forts, etc.

We were gearing up for a wonderful Christmas, but then I (Vicki) dropped like a fly last Tuesday and by Weds. was bedridden until Sunday.  We did go up to join a Carol Sing Christmas Eve for an hour here at the base.

Finally went in to Urgent Care Sunday night to discover I have complications from the flu:  a sinus/throat/ bronchial infection.   So, now 3 different meds and taking it easy.  Rebecca also got sick Christmas Eve.  She’s still coughing, but doing better.

Grandma Lundberg came up to spend Christmas with us (she visited us once in Honduras), but she’s resting in her cabin today, having started coughing yesterday.

We will find out next week what our work duties will be while here, but they should be minimal as agreed upon before we arrived.  Just wish I didn’t have to spend two weeks of “holiday” stuck in the cabin!