Partnering Together

We had a wonderful family vacation at the Skinner's dacha (summer house) this past week. God gave us beautiful weather with cool temperatures. The area around the dacha is really pretty and we just drank in the beauty of it all. The boys were free to run in and out of the house whenever they wanted and they loved it. They spent most of their time outdoors playing baseball, digging worms, fishing, whittling, playing ping pong, playing volleyball, etc. Of course, they are the new generation of "campers", so when they got tired, they would play their Gameboys a little and then be ready to play outside again. The dacha has no running water so the boys had to help with getting water from the well and it was cool enough that we needed a fire at night, so they helped with chopping and stacking wood.

Brad and I are mentoring some new missionaries, Doyle and Karen Fletcher. They came out for part of the week and we enjoyed getting to know them a little better. They have a daughter, Falyn, who is 12. Their son, Tristyn, who is 10, is a good friend of Drew's. Ben and Mark both love playing with Deagan, who is 7. Of course, we enjoyed time with our good friends, the Skinners, too. They are always so kind and generous and being around them always encourages us. We spent a few days in their home at the end of the week.

We're very thankful for the chance to take this much needed vacation. We needed some time to slow down and just focus on each other and God allowed us to do just that. At the end of the week, Drew came to me and was blinking back tears. He said, " Mom, my best time at the dacha just happened. I was in the tent by myself. I read my Bible and then I was listening to my new CD and a song called, "Here Comes Our King" came on. As I listened to it, all the memories of this whole week at the dacha were running through my mind. It was like the love of God just came over me all at once and I started crying". Wow! God is so good and I'm so thankful. Hope you enjoy the photos.