Greetings from Stroopie. He started kicking as I was sitting here staring at the blank screen as if to say, "Let's go, Mom. You don't have all day." No time for writer's block when you have a kid--or a fetus--apparently.

I read today that my uteris has graduated from soccer ball to basketball. I didn't realize there was much of a size difference between those balls, and I'm not convinced I'm WNBA material yet, from the number of people who tell me I "don't look pregnant," and I "certainly couldn't be entering my 3rd trimester." On the other hand, no one noticed my haircut yesterday in church, so I'm a little curious what people see when they look at me. I was dreading all the helpful comments from people who would try to make me feel better about my middle-aged-woman-wannabe-80s-rockstar haircut, but it was a nonissue...which didn't make me feel better.

Here's a pic taken 2 days ago, which shows both belly and new hair cut. I don't fully understand why beauticians like to blowdry my hair straight and then curl it, because I'm pretty sure that when I leave it alone it comes out just as curly, but that has very little to do with the size of my belly, so I'll move on.

This one was taken this afternoon. Maybe it's just my posture that affects my ABS ("apparent belly size").

Danish Camping

After a long 2 weeks of pretty steady work, we arrived at our campsite on Thurs afternoon with high hopes and huge, homemade marshmallows. The tent went up quickly and we were happy to see that the rustic end of Lake Wabasis Campground was pretty deserted, except for us and one small family. Our expectations began to change, however, as rumbles of thunder and a sudden, short downpour convinced us to explore the surrounding towns with a short drive. To Dave's delight, this little excursion led to the discovery of a Starbucks and so we "officially" started our camping adventure with a decaf soy latte (Erika's choice).

We returned to the campsite and found plenty of semi-dry firewood for the weekend, and also discovered that some "neighbors" had pitched their tent in the woods. Our campfire dinner was delicious and the gigantic s'mores were fantastic! It was also a blessing that our camping neighbors went to bed early, probably tired out from shouting obscenities at each other throughout the evening.

The next morning Erika went for a Danish dip in the lake, and all was still quiet as we left our little campsite and headed to the Danish Festival (one of only 8 Denmark-themed festivals in the US). The crowded main street included two booths that seemed to fit the bill. One sold Danish souvenirs, the other sold a version on Aebelskiver (the Danish "pancake ball"). We walked all over the town looking at the occasional Danish flag, and searching for something that might remind Erika of her visits to Denmark. At last we sat down to watch the children's parade. Little kids dressed like up as fairytale characters (a la Hans Christian Andersen)--and some dressed like superheros--walked, ran, biked, and powerwheeled along behind a volunteer band in red vests and black knickers. The parade was followed by a mildly entertaining "Princess and the Pea" bed race in which teams pushed hospital gurneys up and down the road. We did not find Tivoli Gardens or the Danish cuisine that we had hoped for, but it was nice day to be outside and it was fun for Dave to hear about Erika's memories of Denmark.

Back at the campsite, we were looking forwarding to using our campfire popcorn-popper, and we were wondering if our fellow campers had discovered any new ways to drop "The F-Bomb." We arrived at our campsite to a mixed blessing. Our noisy neighbors were keeping pace with the previous evening's tirades, but now their voices were mixing with three other raucous groups to form an indistinct background chatter of profane language, which was somehow less distracting. While the cursing, swearing, and shouting of our new, younger neighbors helped in that way, we eventually discovered that they also had a much later bedtime.

We dismissed the idea of waking up at dawn and preparing a very loud breakfast, but we did make a very good-smelling breakfast (take that!) before we packed up our tent and headed out (just as we began to hear our neighbors waking up and complaining about headaches).

Despite the crazy evenings, God did bless us with good sleeping, good eating, and good hiking on some short yet beautiful trails that helped us to clear our heads and relax after our "vacation."

We are Everywhere!

Last year we helped out with AWANA at our local church (and we will probably sign up to help this year, too). One of the favorite games to watch is the 4-way tug-o-war in which all four teams pull on a circle of rope as they strain to grab the pin behind them. It should be an Olympic event. These past few weeks, Erika and I feeling like the rope in the contest.

Since returning from training in Farmington we have: sent out newsletters (some by e-mail and some by post); called churches; started planning a trip through the Midwest; met with a pastor, a professor, and a fund-raiser; enjoyed leading our first Bible study for young-adults; took a last minute baby-sitting job watching 7 kids; and tried to keep up with our "regular" communication and prayer for our Ministry Partners. (Our list doesn't hold a candle to Paul's in 2 Corinthians 11:23-29, but we are not boasting either.) Now, on Day 11 of our daunting 12-day schedule, we are trying to finish on two sets of frazzled nerves.

On the bright side, we look forward to a refreshing and refocusing weekend camping trip this week. Please keep us in your prayers as we finish up a long to-do list, take our short vacation, and then get right back into the thick of things to finish the month well.

MK Camp

This summer's dates for MK Camp in Croatia were July 23-29 and August 3-9. We missed it! Actually, we never planned on being able to get to Croatia for camp in 2008, but we did originally hope to be moving to Croatia to begin language classes in September 2008. Seeing "move to Croatia!" written on the calendar this month has been a little bit hard on me, but it was written in pencil. God has been teaching me a lot through the waiting process. Things like patience, trust, and confidence in God's control are at the top of the list. God has blessed us in many ways and I would hate to miss out on enjoying what He has given because I feel sorry about what I am still waiting for. We are convinced that we be arriving in Croatia right on schedule (His Schedule).

FYI there are some interesting testimonies and articles written by campers and other MKs on the "MK Camp" website. Check out the links to Counselor Helpers and MK to MK -- You will like reading "Why Do Mountains Matter" by Erika Sterken.

-Dave's first blog entry

Mango or Melon?

When my friends are pregnant, my two favorite things are: 1) to hear what size produce their baby compares to at any given time, and 2) to see pics of how their bellies are progressing. Dave and I have tried (with slightly above average success) to take a sideways picture of me every Sunday since we found out about Stroopie. We were originially thinking we'd make a flipbook so you could make my belly grow in fast-forward, but I haven't been able to wear the same shirt or stand in front of the same wall every time. Plus, I'm afraid that I might notice my butt growing, too, and I'm pretending that's not happening...at least not yet, anyway.

So, Stroopie is about the size of a mango (the yellow, stringy ones--I think--as opposed to the small green ones), but I can't guarentee what you'll see in the picture. Apparently my belly presents some sort of optical illusion, because people who see me a few days in a row inevitably comment on how pregnant I'm looking, while people who see me for the first time ever inevitably exclaim, "You're expecting a baby in November? I never would've guessed!" I take it as a compliment either way. :)

Sharpening Our Interpersonal Skills

Watch out, we're pokey.















We spent the last week at a training designed to help us think through topics like "Relationship Killers," "Managing Our Conflicts," "Building Trust," "Helping Others Grieve Well," etc. While we don't feel like we got a lot of brand new information, the fact that we were forced to take time to think through these things, to look at Bible passages concerning them, and to express our ideas out loud with a group helped us make sure we know what we think, and that we do what we know.

As a result of this week, I'm planning on making a "time budget" for myself to make sure I prioritize the things I say are my priorities, but which I often neglect because they don't feel urgent. (Example: "I have there rest of my life to develop my prayer life, but this bill needs to be sent in right NOW." Does it? What if I took half an hour to pray before I wrote the check? Would the world fall off its axis?)

We also got to spend time with a few couples that are headed to our part of the world around the same time we are. The Ortizes hope to head to Zagreb before the year is over, and the Hestons will go to Kosova around the same time we go to Croatia (Lord willing). They're all A-#1 people, and it was great to get to know them better!

Now that these 2 weeks are over, we only have 1 training left (in January). Our main focus now is on doing our part as far as fundraising and partner development. We know that ultimately everything will come from God, so we're even trusting Him for the faithfulness to do our parts. Thank you for joining us in prayer as we wait for God to "open the doors to Croatia."