Nate had his second knee surgery and is doing very well. He is glad he had the surgeries and never really realized how much pain he had all this time.
Writing takes up more and more of his time. He enjoys most of the writing tasks most of the time, but often goes a little stir crazy sitting inside at a computer when the weather is so beautiful and so many ranch tasks beg for attention. He has taken on the irrigating responsibilities this summer as an excuse to go out and play in the mud.
Disaster Relief
On June 17-22 Nate attended a course on Disaster Assistance Relief Training in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. He was able to drop Natalia and me at my sister’s house in Kansas for the week and then he traveled on to Oklahoma. The training centered on preparedness for relief trips related to disasters, wars and persecution around the world. HCJB Global has recently had the opportunity to step into this role following natural disasters in Indonesia, Pakistan and the Solomon Islands, often coupling in-country contacts from partner radio stations with medical expertise from their training hospital in Ecuador. While recovering from knee surgery Nate had to decline an invitation to join the team headed to Pakistan following the terrible earthquake there. He jokes that they just want him to go along because he knows how to boil water over a campfire. However, someone to help with various logistics for the team can enable medical workers to focus on treatment rather than various other necessities. On top of that, the training course was a big spiritual lift as Nate got to interact with a lot of great Christian folks who challenged his faith. He was especially challenged by the testimonies of several of the instructors who have entered incredibly difficult areas, literally risking their lives to share God’s love with desperate people.
Africa!
He’s also scheduled to go to Burkina Faso, Africa in August to help teach a carpentry course as part of a vocational training program at an orphanage there. He will be teamed up with a church group from California and some co-workers from HCJB Global who are organizing the trip. Nate was included late in the planning in response to a request from the orphanage for the carpentry training. We will report more on this when he gets back and we see what God actually ends up using the team for—regardless of the best laid plans. Please pray for safety and cooperation for the team and that the earthly goals wouldn’t mask God’s intentions.
Writing, disaster training, carpentry and irrigating—a combination that only God could weave together!
Natalia is busy growing up.
Fourth Grade was a great experience with a wonderful teacher and a close friend in a classmate.
Right now she is enjoying summer at Latigo Ranch—swimming, horseback riding, hiking, fishing, and square dancing.
Nate, Natalia and our friends Kevin and Madeline Flack got to go to Lake Dillon on a Daddy/Daughter Canoe trip one Saturday.
Add a week of soccer camp and it makes for a full summer. Nate has teased her in the evenings when she is so tired she can hardly make it to bed that she is suffering from “fun poisoning.”
School starts again on August 20, making it seem like a short summer. She is much more upbeat, full of enthusiasm and joy these days. Thanks for your prayers for her!
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