I planted a garden for the first time! Last December our Young Life office moved down to the Newport Marina and there is a big, unused garden plot out front. Although I think I experienced a net financial loss, it was a blast and I learned a lot. Here are a few lessons: 1. Everybody loves a garden. Maybe it stems back to our beginnings in Eden, but nobody could pass me by without some sort of garden-related comment or conversation, even if the person knew nothing about gardening! 2. Rabbits cannot jump very high. My lettuce was in a rowboat in the middle of the garden and was untouched. My bean sprouts below were eaten to the stems however. Fortunately for my beans, the rabbit became breakfast for a hawk one morning! 3. Weeding is therapeutic. Really, it is. 4. Every seed is a miracle. I was overjoyed at each little sprout that came up from the ground and even more so when I was actually able to harvest food from it some months later! I could draw a number of great spiritual truths out here, but the Bible already does it so well.
For the third summer in a row, I took my Sunday School girls to camp. This year I brought Anya as well, and we went to Camp Berachah in Auburn. They kept us busy from morning until night with lots of fun activities and the great theme of “Faith Hero” (a play on Guitar Hero.) It was an awesome week, but I was totally drained, both emotionally and physically by the end. Next summer my girls will go to junior high camp, and I can’t say I am sorry this was my last year as a camp counselor!
At the end of July my brother Mike married his longtime girlfriend Teresa. It was a beautiful outdoor wedding at my mom’s neighborhood’s community center. I was honored to be a bridesmaid and had a blast. You would think that nothing would be that different after them living together for 11 years, but it feels special and different to have Teresa as my official sister-in-law. I feel closer to her, and love to call her “sister.” There was a gap left by missing groomsman Hans, but we were blessed to have Erik, Bernice and Nashesha here from Tanzania, and Seth, Amber and Gavin here from Minnesota. We had a huge, wonderful family reunion in Carnation the three days following the wedding.
In August I spent a week at the Washington Family Ranch in Oregon as a nanny for the YoungLives week. This was a special week for teenager mothers and their babies to come to camp. The nannies provided care during activities and clubs so that these moms could be kids for a little while, and hear about the God who loves and accepts them, even while they are condemned by our society. It was special to spend time with the three Bellevue ladies I went with: Darnell, Lisa, and Hillary. Darnell and I even climbed Communication Hill every morning at 6:30 am! I took care of a beautiful little girl named Kaydence, and enjoyed evening walks with my new nanny friends while strolling or holding the babies. Kaydence’s mom stood up at “Say So” to tell everyone that she had accepted Jesus that week!
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