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.