to all the faithful "color green" checkers, sorry this is so late in coming...you guys are so faithful to stick with us! ;o)
a lot of life has happened since i last posted...i'll ramble a bit to catch up...
on tuesday, aug 26 we got the great news that hinkson's educational license was renewed! this is something that hinkson has been trying to get since february of 2007, and then just that tuesday, the governing body in moscow that oversees the educational system granted it to us. this comes just in time as we are being prosecuted by another system within the government for not having our license for the last year and a half - we needed to have it by september 1. the next issue is getting cleared with the prosecutors office.
hinkson is in full swing, and tim is working hard! besides being an amazing husband and dad, he has taken on a lot this year at the school...designing and implementing the chaplain program and all that goes along with that (silas got to be a part of the first chapel of the year (see pic)), small groups, school counselor (our school counselor left this last year), teaching a psychology class and joining the middle school band to learn to play the trombone...to name a few! he is indeed a man of many talents! in a game we played with friends here two years ago, where those involved had to describe from the words given what the person was most like, the beautifully adaptable nature of tim who is "all things to all men" was supported once again...the results were in and on the question, "if tim were something you would put on your hand, what would he be?" the answers were evenly split between "a puppet" and "brass knuckles" and on the question "if tim were a boat, what kind of boat would he be?" the answers were evenly split between "destroyer" and "kayak." what started as a joke 2 years ago during a game with friends, has developed into a really sweet picture of the man who loves the Lord who is a Marine who loves high school kids who has fought for our country in a far away land who likes salty and sweet...so now he is learning to play the trombone.
silas is more amazing everyday... seriously, so entertaining. i sat on the kitchen floor with him for a hour this morning and we just "talked" as he emptied the drawers filled with kitchen utensils and tupperware, every few minutes taking a break to come show me what new thing he found in a drawer and get a shot of juice before he went back to work. he actually walked yesterday, too! tomorrow he will be 11 months old, and for the last few weeks, he seems to be getting stronger and more interested in letting go of whatever he's holding onto to cruise around the apartment. and yesterday, he just stood up and walked across the livingroom, laughing all the way. the video is on picasa. we figured there would be a little regression this morning and he would need to get his land legs back, but first thing this morning he scooted down off the chair we were sitting in and he walked to the other side of the apartment! granted, that is only a few steps away (we live in a very small aparment) but that counts! we are so proud. it truly is an amazing thing to know life without him, and then after a few short months, he's here, and learning and growing and walking and developing and changing and asking questions with his eyes. "they will come through your womb but not be coming from you, they will be with you but they do not belong to you..." great quote about these little ones from jason mraz, musician. and from sheryl crow "love is letting go, and this i'll know, cause you were mine for a time"...she wrote this for her son. i'm so happy to know silas and get to be with him for this time. what an honor.
moscow life is a dynamic thing, like all of life, but i've definetly encountered more challenges here than ever before in my life. sometimes simple tasks like grocery shopping, or communicating well enough with our landlord to know if we can live in this apartment next month becomes difficult and this has caused a whole new part of my heart to develop...this part is about the simplicity of communication in a culture you know and the security that i so easily have taken for granted in the past where i know my rights and the law and the right words for what i want to say and the way the unspoken system works. and with all my heart i am loving this time, even though sometimes it's hard - it is with all joy that i am here and i wouldn't trade it for the world. and i will try to take the system i do know less for granted when i am living within it again. "i will not take these things for granted..." ~ toad the wet sprocket.
if you're still with me, then i had another thought i wanted to write about...the term "missionary." i understand and agree with what people mean when they say missionary, and that is what we are, but that is what we all are. if you work at quik trip, or an outdoor adventure shop, or a hospital or a school or at home, that is your mission field. we are sojourners here for a time.
it's funny to me... scrolling through these pictures you would think that silas doesn't have any clothes at all...he does, he just really is naked most of the time.
