63 years

        My parents, Russ and Dody Barton, celebrated 63 years of marriage on Sunday September 18th.  Although my dad had a drastic deline in his ability to move himself the last 3 weeks, Jim and I decided to do all we could to help make this anniversary special.  Due to our commitments at the church in Mattawa, Mom and Dad were not able to attend their church here in the TriCities.  Once they get to church there are a couple of faithful men who help dad in and out of the car and church but my mother is not able to get him in and out of the car here at the house by herself.  So part of our plan to make their day special was to get them to church to see friends and hear the preaching. 

     On the way home we stopped at a local chinese restaurant for Dad's favorite dish - Shrimp in Lobster Sauce and other yummy dishes we got from the buffet bar to take home with us.  A small detour to the Dairy Queen allowed us to finish off the meal with an ice cream cake.  My dad is known for having to have a dish of vanilla ice cream every night so this was a treat for him.

My sister's card probably expressed our feelings about their anniversary best.
            In a couple's little everyday choices,  
           in the grace and love and support they give each other,
           they honor God and will always shine as a beautiful light to the world.

We see in my parents marriage the everyday choices to love and support each other and honor God and it certainly does shine as a beautiful light in our world.

 Mom and Dad - Thanks for the example of a good marriage and blessings for 63 years of loving God and each other.

Teaching Sunday School

After the summer off, I again began teaching the younger Sunday School class.  This year we have started with basically the siblings of 2 families. 

Jasime has been coming for a couple of years now and just started 2nd grade. Her "little" brother is Johnny, who just started kindergarten and our SS program. 

Jacob Cruz is also in 2nd grade.  His younger sister, Sarah will turn 4 next month but is learning her letters and does quite well with the crafts even if her attention span isn't quite equal to the older ones.  Their older sister, Ada, is in 5th grade and very happy to learn more about God.  She helps as my assistant teacher when I need an extra hand (or voice).  Ada is in my class since we don't have any other upper elementary kids at the moment. They all moved up to Junior High and more teen topics in class.

And then there is Jaide.  It is amazing I got a photo of her by herself and quiet!   She is 2 and her mom helps with the Junior and High School group.  We do not have a nursery program and so Jaide tends to roam between the classes enjoying whatever toys are out and getting lots of attention from the older kids.

Please pray for the children in the Sunday School program.  Most have difficult family lives and yet God has given us the opportunity to share His love and salvation with them.  Pray I would communicate clearly and that these little ones would grow in wisdom and knowledge of Christ.

Mattawa Communities Day

   When we were living in the Solomon Islands, I would hear about Mattawa Communitites Day from my sister Ginny and my parents.  Held in the town park, the church and individual members would join businesses and other organizations for a festive day - kind of local fair for Mattawa and surrounding rural communities.  After moving to Mattawa in 2005, Communities Day activities were either not held or we missed it due to traveling.  So when Mattawa decided to restart the event and one of our church members volunteered to organize the booths, I was excited that I would get to be involved. 

   August 27th  was a hot day that began with a parade down the main road through Mattawa. The vehicles ranged from a balloon festooned 3 wheel bicycle and old classic cars to highly decorated floats and even huge combine driven by a young woman.

  The current Miss Washington was there promoting her platform of education for the poor. Once at the park there were dancing horses, booths from various school and business organizations, and of course food stalls selling typical fair food. 

   Our church, Saddle Mountain Bible Church, put up 2 booths side by side. Jim helped some of the other men put up plastic sheeting for one end.

    One was for adults to sit around and listen to Christian music, have a cookie, and talk - hopefully about spiritual things.  The other was for the children to hear Bible stories. In between them was a cooler with free water for all who were thristy.  Displayed near the cooler was John 7: 37-38, "...Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, 'If anyone is thristy, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me,as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.' "    The men, including my brother-in -law, Mark, pictured below, had some meaningful conversations. 

  The plan was for the children to have a different story presentation every 20 minutes or so.  We had a couple of flannelgraph Bible stories, a missionary story from Africa and one about a Japanese POW in WWII, the Wordless book, and a presentation using a giant Evangicube. 

What we didn't plan, was the constant loud music blaring from the bandstand.  I told my story twice but even shouting I am not sure anyone past the front row heard me.  Since I was the one with the camera, I didn't get any photos of me but below are a couple of the other women doing their presentations. 

 

   My sister, Ginny shared the Evangicube with a small group toward the end of the afternoon.  The young boy on the far left in the photos had heard the gospel for the first time via the Evangicube earlier.  He came back later and ended up explaining it himself to another boy.  Ginny gave him a Bible and we pray God will continue to help him mature in his faith.

 



 Pray for all those young and old that heard the stories and talked about spiritual things during the Mattawa Communities Day.  And pray that our small congregation would be a light in the community every day of the year. 

How does our garden grow??

         Back in May, Jim and I cleaned out an old garden area of the yard and planted our first "real" garden here in the USA.  We had one that lasted one season at our Munda house when Jeffrey and Emily were small by carting soil from the bush to cover over the coral base left over from World War II.  Another attempt at a garden was at our Honiara house in 2000 which was planted just before we were evacuated due to the ethnic conflict and didn't get back for 14 months. We never saw the "fruit of our labor" for that garden. 

So it has been exciting to see this empty ground fill up with plants

and produce.

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 We enjoyed fresh peas and a couple of peppers and currently have an abundance of summer squash and cucumbers. We are waiting for more of  the tomatoes to ripen.   It is always nice to find people without a garden to share with and I even found a recipe for a summer squash coffee cake/ bread. 

Healing Heart

Many of you have asked about how my mother is after her open heart surgery on June 15th.  We are still working on a prayer letter to help update everyone but I thought I ought to fill in at least those of you who read this blog.

God answered the many prayers for Mom.  First there was the the heart catherization done a week before surgery.  It showed no blockage of her arteries ("clean as a whistle" was the phrase the doctor used) which meant the surgery would only be to replace her failing valve.
Then the surgery itself went well and the many tubes and wires that are necessary afterwards began coming out within a couple of hours.  She spent about 24 hours in ICU before being moved to a room on the cardiac floor where she continued to amaze all the doctor and staff with her progress.  Although we had been told most patients took 7-10 days in the hospital to be sure they were strong enough to be sent home, Mom was discharged in only 4 days.  A week after surgery I took the photo below while mom sat at the dinner table.
She tires quickly but continues to improve each day.  Now, a month later, it is only because of concern for the sterum bone to heal properly ( they say 12 weeks of no lifting, pushing, or twisting) that she has any restrictions.
We thank you for praying for her surgery and recovery and praise God for His healing. 

Thanks too for praying for Jim and I as we cared for both mom and dad during this last month. Jim has been wonderful to do most of the physically demanding work of my father's care. The first two weeks were challenging but things get easier every day.

Happy Birthday Jim

Yes today, for a few minutes more here in Pasco, Washington, it is Jim's birthday. Most of the celebration happened earlier this week though as we got to spend a couple of days in Spokane.

On Tuesday we enjoyed a restaurant meal (a treat for me even if it wasn't my birthday!), a walk through various specialty gardens in a park south of the city, and a night in a nice motel near the Riverfront Park of downtown Spokane. The weather was gorgeous, unlike the rest of the country which seems to be having either too hot or too wet weather.
Wednesday wasn't so gorgeous as it was raining when we began the day of seeing all there is to do at Riverfront Park itself.  Fortunately our plan was to begin with 2 IMAX shows.  The first was on Spokane World's Fair in 1974 - did we really dress and drive like that when I graduated from college??! and the second was about the Lewis and Clark expedition.  A couple of games of mini golf and lunch in the same building allowed the weather to clear up which made the walking tour of the open areas like the Spokane Falls more enjoyable.

 Along way Jim noticed in one lookout that there were metal disks in the pavement that honored the Christian leaders of Spokane's early developement.  I was most taken with the first one, an native American who understood the importance of translation and difficulty of living and understanding two cultures both of which conflict many times with God's Kingdom.

 It was very relaxing day which ended with a ride on the 100 year old Looff Carrousel.

Birthdays are great times to remember God's many blessings to us and thank Him for all He is doing in our lives. So one last time today I will say HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JIM !!

Four generations

     It has been a busy but wonderful week of being with family.  My parents, Russ and Dody Barton had my older sister Janet and her husband Mike Ewing from Colorado Springs stay with us for a few days starting on Saturday June 4th. The reason for the family gathering was to celebrate the college graduation of my younger sister Ginny and husband Mark Hedman's daughter, Hannah.  Hannah's older brothers came from the South, East and North - Daniel from Florida, Luke, his wife Angie and one year old son, Josiah from Michigan, and Joel (minus wife Meg who couldn't make it) from Alaska.

L-R back row: Mike & Janet Ewing; Carolyn &Jim Mudge; Josiah, Angie & Luke Hedman; Daniel Hedman; Hannah Hedman and Ginny Hedman.  Front: Russ and Dody Barton; Joel Hedman



     On Tuesday we welcomed them all plus a couple of Hannah's college friends for lunch here.  It was the first time for my parents to see their great grandson and naturally he was the star of the occasion.  He entertained us all with his love/fear relationship to my parent's cat, Penny, his desire to be outside, and his love of watermelon. 


Josiah and Gramps Hedman play with Penny and entertains everyone.



     We got to repeat the fellowship at Ginny's house in Mattawa on Thursday with a BBQ of hamburgers and hot dogs.  There Daniel played guitar while we sang some favorite hymns and an old time song my Dad likes about not leaving the watermelon on the vine.  It was great to get time with four generations!

     The actual graduation ceremony was yesterday, Saturday June 11th, at Eastern Washington University about 2 hours away. Although my parents couldn't go, Jim and I joined the family to watch Hannah "walk" and then picnic in a park in nearby Spokane. 


Hannah is the one with the red sash.



     We toured a few of the beautiful gardens.  I enjoyed the Lilac garden (just coming into full bloom) and the Conservatory, which had tropical plants that made me homesick for the Solomons!   Unfortunately Jim's allergies did not like the pollens in the air and today he has had to give in to medication. 

       We praise God that we are family not only physically but spiritually as each one is God's child.  Now the family is gone again but I still have something to look forward to.  Emily comes next week after she finishes her commitment to the Red Cross through the AmeriCorps Vista program.  Stay tuned for updated photos and more news from our own kids!



 

God's designs

     Last Sunday, May 29th, Jim and I drove "to the other side" - of the mountains that is.  Specifically we went west through White Pass near Mt Rainer to Eatonville, WA.   Although cloudy and cooler than on our side of the mountain we enjoyed God's design in the beautiful scenery as we wound our way around Mt. Rainer.   

The weather was cloudy and cool but we didn't get rain until on the way home.

It was hard to believe it was almost June looking at the snow still covering the sides of the road.

 
     The purpose of our drive was to enjoy another of God's designs - the celebration of marriage of Janell Talbot to Joshua Lum.  Janell's family attend church with us in Mattawa where her father, Brian, manages an apple orchard. Her mother, Mashell, comes from the founding family of Eatonville. 

Brian walks Janell down the aisle.

 
        A couple of the church families arrived early enough to help with setting up for the ceremony.  Jim and I helped put the "clouds of apples" centerpieces on the reception tables. 

 As Pre-med and Chemistry majors at Whitworth University in Spokane, both Josh and Janell are putting God first in their relationship. That was evident in every part of the ceremony. I was impressed with the floral arrangement that greeted everyone as they entered the church. The apple box container declared to all that this was a "Triple J" relationship - Josh, Janell, and Jesus!

 Praise the Lord for this young couple and pray for others in the up-coming generation to establish their marriages on the foundation of God's design.

New Parts and Prayer

The last couple of weeks we have been busy with organizing for new parts and asking for prayer.

The first "new part" discussed was when the cardio surgeon told my mother, Dody Barton, that she needed a new heart valve.  My sister Ginny (Hedman) and I listened and asked questions.  Although she is not showing any crisis symptoms it is better to do the surgery to replace her valve while she is not dealing with any other health issues.

Mom wanted to wait until after the 4th of July but the doctor compromised and said she could wait until after Ginny's daughter Hannah graduates from Eastern Washington University so the date of June 15th was set for the surgery.  She will be having other tests in the next couple of weeks to be sure the doctor knows all that needs to be done.  Please pray for the surgery and for a full recovery. 

New car parts were needed for the Crown Victoria Emily has just bought and a smaller part replacement job was needed for our Toyota Camry.   Emily decided it was time for her own car so she looked on-line for cars being sold by owners here in the TriCities.  As many of you may already know, used car prices are up and quality cars are hard to find.  There were more available here in Washington than in the college town of Bloomington.   We both learned a lot from the process and eventually she decided on the reliability and low cost of this good condition car. The color green was an added plus.

  Just to be sure she wouldn't have any trouble with it for the next 3-4 years of law school, we had an auto repair shop which we have found to be really great,  replace a few starting-to-wear-out parts.  Emily will fly home on June 21 for about a week before she and Jim drive it back to Indiana.   Please pray this car will give Emily safe and reliable transportation.

Jim and I sent out our latest prayer letter and most of you should have already received it by email or post office. Please pray for our translator, Rev. Aaron Bea,  who had prostate cancer surgery in April and is suffering greatly from bone cancer.  We hope he is now back in Munda with his family and friends.  Also pray for Jim as he continues to work on the Roviana Old Testament.  Some aspects of the work will naturally change.

A couple again

At 11:25 pm on May 3rd Jim arrived back in Pasco, Washington. It is great to have my husband home again.  I had flipped the calendar page 3 times since his departure early morning on February 26th.  Everytime he needs to be away I always plan lots of fun or productive "projects"  only to discover that I actually have less time since I am dealing with lots of the work he usually does - finance, car, yard, etc.   A few days before he returned I had to give up trying to get the lawn mower going despite the desperate need to mow the overgrown lawn. 

After a few days of being wide awake in the middle of the night and falling asleep in the afternoon, Jim overcame most of the jet lag of traveling east for 37 hours. He was barely recovered in time to prepare a presentation and sermon  on Mother's Day for the church we attend in Mattawa.  This allowed my sister Ginny and her husband Mark (who are the normal leaders for Sunday School and the church service) to visit some of Mark's family and their daughter Hannah in Spokane.   Jim had more material than time, and my craft of making a Mother's Day card with the Sunday School students was more involved than I anticipated but we both were glad to be able to minister in this small way.

It seemed like Jim brought some of the South Pacific weather with him.  We have had a very cool and rainy spring and most of the plants were about 2 weeks behind.  The last of the tulips were dying but our iris were just starting to reveal their beauty.

We also are awed by the huge bleeding heart plant that seems to thrive due to the nearby dryer exhaust vent. Unfortunately we are the only ones to enjoy the sight since it is behind the fence seperating the back yard from those walking or driving by.  We are so blessed that the previous owners loved flowers!

With the better weather we joined our neighbors in planting flowers and vegetables. Jim is the gardener in this couple.  My part is to enjoy the tomatoes, peppers, beans, and squash by the end of the summer!

 I am so glad Jim is back but also excited  he brought back our camera!  I hope I can keep giving you, our friends a  "glimpse" into our lives. Thanks for your prayers for Jim and I as were were apart.  Continue to pray for a united ministry wherever we are.

Another year

Where do the days, weeks, years, go?   A month ago, another birthday rolled around.  Jim was in the Solomons, Jeffrey and Emily were in Indiana.   I figured it would slide by fairly unnoticed.  Next year I hit the 6th decade so this one was not one to celebrate anyway.  But my family and friends are great and I had lots of emails, cards, telephone calls, and gifts wishing me a happy day.  Thanks to everyone who made me feel special.

 Jim, who is not always good at thinking ahead for gifts, had a card and a gift hidden away in the garage.  It was something I have wanted for awhile now - an outside clothesline!  I know that doesn't sound exciting to most of you but I do enjoy the fresh air drying for clothes after all the years of hanging them outside in the Solomon Islands.  And it will save the expense of running the dryer since most days here in Central Washington are clear and dry.   Now if we can just get the cement needed to put it in the ground so I can use it .... 

Good News Club

For most of the time Jim was in the Solomon Islands,  I helped my sister Ginny (pictured above) with a children's outreach ministry in Mattawa, WA which is about an hour drive from where we are now living in Pasco.  This is where our family lived from 2005 until we returned to the Solomons in 2007.  She has run an after-school club for 2nd- 4th graders in the local elementary schoool for several years.

.   There is a time for snacks, games, songs, a Bible lesson, and a missionary story for anyone with parental permission.  This year we had a consistent group of about 30 kids come every Tuesday afternoon.  Many of the children were really interested in learning more about the Bible.  The boy in the photo below got to play the game of throwing the ball into the egg carton for points by enthusiatically answering the review game question of where the Bible verse for that week was found by saying "palms!"   He had learned the reference from reading it and not understanding the pronunciation of Psalms. 

 My part was to tell the missionary story and help with snacks.

The story this year was about a World War II prisoner of war in Japan who came to know Christ by reading the Bible.  When he obeyed the commands of Christ, his hate for his enemies turned into love.  His desire for them to know the forgivness of God led him to return to Japan with his family as a missionary.  

These children are also surrounded by the hate and violence of gangs in their community. The final day I passed out crosses with the Japanese word for love to help them to remember the death and resurrection of Christ  brings forgiveness and strength to love and forgive.                                                                            Pray with me for these young children to remember the command from Jesus in Mattew 5:44. 

  Love your enemies and pray for those that persecute you.                                 

Time flies when you are having fun??!

I can't believe it is already mid-May!  My apologies for anyone checking this blog to find out what is new with the Mudge family.  I think I will share some of what we have been doing from the last few weeks as they happened in new posts with the dates of the events.  It may take a few days but adding to the blog has finally hit the top of my list!   Thanks for being interested and for your prayers as we continue to serve God in all that we do.

The decision is made

After hearing back from all the law schools she applied to,  Emily has decided to attend Indiana University's  Maurer School of Law.  The law school's home page says it is the national leader in the study of the global legal profession...  which is exactly what interests Emily.  The positives of attending there are that it is an excellant program, she got a great scholarship, she knows the area since she is already living in Bloomington, and she already has a good church and Christian friends.   The negatives...hmm. Well the only one from her parent's point of view is that it is still on the other side of the country!

There is an introductory course that begins in early July which allows Emily to ease back into graduate level work after a year off and gives her an extra course elective later on.  She will finish her commitment with the Red Cross in mid June and can begin her 3 year law degree right away.  

Thank you for all who prayed for her during the decison process.  Emily is very excited!!

Signs of Spring

For an area of Washington that boasts more than 300 days a year of sunshine, February and March are the times we do get rain.  For the last couple of weeks we have been getting wave after wave of wet weather coming inland over the mountains. On my way to Mattawa a couple of days ago I saw the rain clouds hanging on the top of the mountains.It was an amazing sight although I don't think my phone camera caught it very well.

Even the miles of desert on both sides of the road have a twinge of green.  A sure sign of Spring!

Low clouds hug the top of the Rattlesnake mountains

On the return trip the clouds were clearing but still magnificent to see.

 A more colorful signs of Spring are the hyachinths, daffodills, and tulips that are begining to bud. Yesterday I couldn't resist taking a photo of the first daffodill blossoms. We also have rubbarb and bleeding heart sprouting and the lilacs have fat buds. Although I don't have any in our yard, they say the forsythia is beginning to bloom so it is time to prune the roses I didn't get to last fall.  Wonderful signs of Spring here in South Central Washington.

Two weeks later

It is hard to believe it has been two weeks since Jim left for the Solomon Islands.  He had a very busy stay in the capitol, Honiara, before catching the plane to the Roviana language area.  It took Jim a couple of days to get our personal things stored at the translation office and set up in the United Church Rest house flat that we have been allowed to rent when we are in Munda.  The cooking issue was resolved and he was able to reconnect phone and electric service at the office so he seemed ready to settle down to work.  

Unfortunately, his body decided to make sure he took a rest. Either exposure to a new flu bug or old familiar allergens, eating new foods, reacting to the heat, or just a drop in the adrenalin level, caused Jim to spend a couple of days in bed and near the toilet.  Perhaps it was  a combination of all of the above.  Regaining strength and energy was helped later last week by cooler temperatures as some tropical storms passed through the area.  One day he emailed that it was raining sideways – not unusual during a windy rainstorm in the Pacific. 

What a blessing that we have been able to communicate via email almost every day.  Writing him about my day and news from the kids helps me feel like he is a part of it all.  And I enjoy hearing about what verses he has been working on and news from our friends there.

Jim has been working alone since arriving in Munda because our translator and friend,  Rev Aaron Bea (bay-ah) is in Honiara undergoing medical tests.  It looks serious.  

Please PRAY for him and any decisions that will need to be made based on his diagnosis.

Jim leaves for the Solomons February 26th

          As we backed the car out of the garage at 4:30 in the morning we met the lady delivering the newspaper.  She offered for us to take the paper but our minds were more on getting to the Pasco airport to try to beat the crowd at the check in counter.  Yes, at our small community airport, which is only about 10 minutes from where we are living, there is quite a rush between 5 and 6 am as many of the regional flights take off early morning to hub destinations like Seattle, Denver, and San Fransisco.   Jim was hoping to get his luggage book from Pasco straight through to Honiara and he knew that would really hold up the line.  As she had to look up the codes for 4 connecting flights, the check-in clerk commented on the "unusual" places he was heading for;  Nadi, Fiji and Honirara, Solomon Islands.

Jim at home making sure his bags aren't overweight.


I intended to send this post out 3 days ago but had trouble downloading this photo of him groggily waiting at the Pasco airport.

           With hours of layovers in San Fransisco and again in Los Angles, Jim had plenty of time to call me several times and even Jeffrey and Emily to say one last goodbye.  The flight from LA left at 9:30 pm and while he slept, he "lost" his Sunday and arrived in Fiji on Monday morning.  Although he had a couple of "travel experiences" in Fiji, Jim eventually got to Honiara only an hour late.  He said he had the normal reaction on arriving from winter in very dry, eastern Washington to the heat and humidity of Honiara - like walking into a suana! 

          Twenty four hours later he got on another smaller plane and flew to Munda.  While in Honiara Jim had done banking and shopping, met individually with our translator, Rev Bea, the Bible Society consultant, and our SITAG director, sorted stuff from storage and washed the musty linens, and enjoyed the fellowship of other translation families over meals. 

         Now he is trying to settle into a very basic living situation and get back to translation work.