DC: The Surprise October 27, 2009

a few months ago, kevin got an e-mail from capitol hill baptist church‘s secretary informing him of a master plan to surprise pastor mark dever for his last 15 years of pastoring chbc.  kevin normally doesn’t like to travel very much, so i was very surprised when he expressed his desire to take the family to D.C. for the surprise.  basically, they were inviting former interns and members who are now pastoring other churches to join the chbc congregation in surprising mark and honoring him as their faithful pastor.  it was a massive endeavor, as there were families coming from the u.k., dubai, the cayman islands, and all over the states, so props to all the many people who were involved in putting this together.  i was afraid i was somehow going to ruin the surprise, because i kept telling people about it, and kevin thought somehow mark was going to find out, because he knows a lot of people.  thankfully, he was surprised!  when he walked into the church where all the people were waiting to surprise him, amidst all the clapping and noise, i saw him mouth ‘i had no idea’ to his wife.  after everyone sat down, thabiti (a former associate pastor, and now pastor of the cayman islands) began the program and introduced the many interns who have now gone on to pastoring and serving at other local churches.  here were men that were heavily influenced by mark’s preaching and discipleship and had gone forth from chbc to faithfully preach God’s Word elsewhere.

the whole celebration was an incredible encouragement to me, as i heard several men share about mark’s influence on their life.  mark has an incredible heart for raising up leaders and to send the best of his congregation to serve other needy areas, so that the gospel would not just thrive and grow the church he’s pastoring, but there would be many churches that would thrive and grow.  one man thanked mark and connie for their unselfishness, in investing and loving so many people, knowing that they would leave, and even encouraging them to do so.  every pastor (former chbc intern/pastor) that shared, emphasized how much they learned about the priority of studying and preaching God’s Word, and trusting that it is the faithful preaching of the Bible along with the Spirit that will grow His people.  one pastor remembered one of mark’s analogy of preaching, how every sunday sermon, the pastor’s duty is to shepherd the flock uphill to the foot of the cross and to lead them in beholding Calvary, and then to slowly step away.  wow.  i am so appreciative of mark and his family for pouring into kevin’s life, as well as many others, as it has helped form kevin to be the man that he is today.

oh, and i have to share the two gifts that were presented during the celebration. one, the church secretary, mark’s wife and daughter helped put together a massive scrapbook that contained photos of the many interns and pastors that have passed through chbc as well as personally written letters by each of them.  the second was done by mark’s wife.  one of mark’s favorite hymns that he wants sung at his funeral is, the sands of time are sinking, but he doesn’t like the tune of it very much.  so, mark’s wife re-wrote the melody to the hymn and we all sung it together at the end of the celebration.  the melody was incredibly beautiful and to have 500 voices singing the last verse acapella was a glimpse of heaven.

DC: Hospitality October 26, 2009

to be honest, before we left, i was a little nervous about taking this trip to D.C.  i was particularly dreading the upheaval of chloe’s routine and being in a place where i didn’t know where everything i needed was.  the night before we left, kevin asked me what i was most looking forward to about the trip and i told him, ‘coming back home’.  however, one of the first things i most appreciated was how well we were taken care of, and what incredible hospitality was shown by the two families we stayed with.  we first stayed with the Law family in the arlington suburbs for a couple of days.  even amidst taking care of two young children of their own, and mike prepping a sermon, they welcomed us into their cozy home and took such good care of us.  any anxieties about traveling and being away from home were quickly put to ease as we felt very much at home in their place.  it was a great joy to be a part of their family for a few days and for chloe to have some other kiddoes to play with.  it was sweet to fellowship over play times, meals, walks and drives, and to share how each of our respective ‘church plants‘ are going.

it was also so sweet to stay with the ho family.  we felt quite at home in their apartment, and it was so good to spend time with good friends.  even though kevin and stella are cousins, i feel like we are much closer like brothers and sisters, and not just in Christ.  and, i’m excited for chloe to have a little cousin to grow up with.  it’s been a long time since we’ve really gotten to spend some quality time with them, so staying in their home was so good for us.  i appreciated the ease in sharing the ways the Lord is growing our hearts, exposing our sin and welcoming God’s grace that covers it, and encouraging each other in continuing to praise the Lord.  plus, we had one of the best breakfasts at the eastern market with them.

by the end of the trip, i was dreading having to leave a place that quickly felt like home and family for us.

next up…the reason we went to D.C. in the first place…’the surprise’

back from vacation October 26, 2009

we’re back from D.C. and we survived two flights with a baby.  people ask if we’re tired.  i think we are physically, but i know at least for myself, i feel so refreshed and renewed in my soul that i almost feel giddy.  it’s  like we’ve come back from an uplifting spiritual retreat and i just want to hold onto every precious moment and encouraging conversation.  i’m afraid if i don’t write it all down, it’s slowly going to slip away from my memory.  i’m hoping to spend some time in the next few days  to reflect and share how our first family trip to D.C. went.

one of my favorite activities:   taking pictures of the leaves changing into BEAUTIFUL autumn colors.  i LOVE the autumn, and now i love it even more, because i have seen firsthand how beautiful the trees become during this season.

leaving…on a jetblue October 20, 2009

…tomorrow!  the hsu family is going on our first family vacation tomorrow.  it’ll be a short trip, and we’ll be back by sunday, but we’re looking forward to seeing old friends.  we’ve never traveled with a baby before, so i’ve been trying to pack days in advance (very unlike me) and plan for every possible scenario that might happen.  i even went out to buy banana baby food to feed to chloe, so that she won’t poop as much while we’re travelling.  i can’t even imagine how i’d handle a huge poopy blowout on the plane.  anyway, please pray for us!  that kevin and i would be flexible and patient throughout our vacation, esp with chloe, and that chloe would be extra cooperative and excited to be on this trip.

i think we’ve found the cheapest and easiest option to getting chloe to our destination.

‘is that your mom?’ October 1, 2009

so, today i went to visit my friend who teaches the 4th grade. i came a little early, so the kids were lining up to go to lunch. right as my friend (who is the same age) was introducing me and chloe, a kid asked, ‘miss -, is that your mom?’ yikes, didn’t know motherhood has aged me that much. that question was followed by a ‘miss -, is that what you looked like when you were a baby?’ fourth-graders.

in other news, chloe recently turned 6 months! with her 6 month well-check visit, we started her on the highly anticipated solids. it’s been fun to see her react to mushy stuff entering her mouth through a spoon for the first time. we’ve tried rice cereal, mashed bananas, and pureed pears. with the advent of solids into her diet, also came firmer poops. that has been less fun for her, and us, as passing stools has been really painful for her. when she tries to pass a stool, she’ll start whimpering and leaning forward in pain, reminding me very much of my experience with labor. poor girl. we think she’s also teething, so she’s constantly looking for hard things to gnaw on. although none of her pearly whites have popped out, you can sorta see the teeth bulging from her gums. poor girl. can you imagine having your teeth emerge from your gums? needless to say, it’s been a rough week for us. chloe’s been fussier than normal, and has started waking up in the middle of the night again, after weeks of sleeping through the night. i’m trying not to feel utterly discouraged, since i feel like we worked so hard to get her to sleep through the night (i.e. enduring nights of her crying in the next room while i lay awake with my heart breaking at each cry). hopefully, this phase will pass and she’ll be her cheerful, and all-night sleeping self.