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| View from Little Stony Man |
Here we are on Ethiopian Airlines, back in the air and in the transition back to Addis Ababa after a full 2 months of home leave. It’s time
to reflect and be grateful before we land tomorrow morning in a different
reality.
When we last wrote, we had just arrived at a vacation home
near Luray, Virginia, in the Shenandoah mountains. Paul’s youngest brother
Jonathan and wife Emma had done some great research and found this beautiful
Victorian house in the woods, with enough space for a nice family gathering. Our
two families stayed the whole week together, enjoying the quiet, cool forest,
the views up to the mountains and playing lots of games.
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| Games with the grandparents |
On Sunday, Paul’s
parents Bunny and Henry also drove down to stay three nights. His middle
brother Mark, with his wife Christine, stayed at a motel nearby and joined all of
us for most of the day Sunday and Monday. We were really glad to all be
together for those days – it had been maybe four or five years since all of us
were able to get together at the same time. We had a lot to catch up on – the
kids have really grown, for example! There have been major job changes and
health issues. While we may have our differences in some of the ways that so
many families find themselves at odds, we really do care about each other and
want to be supportive of each other. Sometimes it takes a little courage to
take the risk to get together, but I know we were all really glad that we did.  |
| Family appreciation time |
While we were having the family reunion part of the week, we
mainly ate good food and played lots of games, Besides, it was raining a lot so
it wasn’t easy to be outdoors. We even set up the corn hole game in the big
garage for lots of fun, trash-talking competition. David worked on several
puzzles over the week, listening to his audiobooks. Grammy joined him on one,
which was really impressive considering the trouble she has with one eye. We
watched a lot of movies in the evening (from Enola Holmes to Home Alone
I&II) and just enjoyed talking. And there was time for the early risers to
walk and run, or go fishing at a nearby Arrowhead lake.
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| Paul & Jon on the Porch |
The other highlight of the week in Virginia was a developing
tradition of sitting on the front porch each evening (Jonathan, Paul, and I),
shooting the breeze as the sunset. We realized that we were looking straight
up at Stony Man and Little Stony Man peaks. The mountain shifted and got clearer
in the evening light and there’s always so much to talk about as these two
brothers share and remember and debate what’s going on in the world.
On Thursday morning, we visited Luray Caverns, arguably “the
longest and most beautiful caverns in Virginia.” It was fascinating to learn
that three men discovered the caverns shortly after the civil war. They were
expressly looking for something – anything! – that would draw tourists and
provide jobs for their economically decimated community. One day they got
lucky, stumbled across a little hole in the ground and discovered this massive
cavern system. The company today has made it completely wheelchair accessible,
with one long pathway to follow. The wonderful stone formations are beautifully
lit for better effect. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a marvelous
underground place, and it apparently still provides lots of jobs in Luray.
Our family went on to drive to Harrisonburg to visit our
Ethiopia MCC predecessors Rose and Bruce. They are now engaged in a completely
different kind of life, as the owners and main workers on a small organic farm,
focused on animals. We toured their poultry section, from tiny quail, through
heirloom chickens and new young turkeys. They raise some chickens for eggs and
others for meat. There were 3 pigs for winter ham. They have about a dozen
goats now, because they have discovered a real market for goat meat among the
varied immigrant populations of the Washington, D.C. area. They are planning to
expand their herd of meat goats into more of their land, but to keep the goats
safe, they have gotten a specially bred guard dog who lives with the goats full
time. So we also met their dog Luna while we were together. Finally, we settled
down to have some time to talk and catch up in their remodeled log house. It’s
great to have time with people who have shared many similar experiences. They
are sending their youngest son Jacob off to college soon, and so we had lots to
talk about there. While we adults talked, Jacob and his brother invited our
sons to go to a trampoline park nearby. It was such a fun visit and great to
catch up.
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| Corn hole with Mr. Robe |
On Friday, we made sure to play one last round of each of
our favorite board games, finished off “A Series of Unfortunate Events” and had
some final matches of Corn Hole. It was a great time; we’re glad to share
vacations with Jonathan’s family each summer for the past several years.
We finally left early Saturday morning, for the fairly short
drive back to my parent’s house. Oren has been requesting to please try out
different Asian restaurant options while we’ve been stateside. And so we
ventured to take a stop at the Eden Center in Falls Church, a marvelous
Vietnamese mall. The kids were not so sure about it all, once they got there,
but they had some really good Pho, and Paul and I had various summer rolls.
Finally, we arrived back mid-afternoon, just in time to do laundry for Oren and
help him make the mental turnaround for his next adventure.
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| NBMC youth service team |
In fact, we had to wake up early on Sunday to drive him to
downtown Baltimore to join the other youth from our home church on a service
week. One of the coolest things about this week is that Oren’s cousin Miriam
was the lead chaperone for the week (at age 18). His other cousin Gabe was also
on the team, together with 2 other college-bound kids he knows pretty well. So,
it was a really great cousin bonding time for Oren, both working and playing
side by side and spending independent time together. Most of their service was
outdoor shifts at community gardens and eco-justice projects. They helped weed,
prepare shade net shelters for an urban farm in a food desert, and do a lot of
other kids of manual labour. They worked til early afternoon and then came back
to “the Center,” a dorm owned by the Presbyterian Church of Baltimore. They had
downtime, cooked for themselves, and slept there.
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| Oren in charge of the grill |
A rotation of adults
came in for 12-hour shifts to support Miriam and help drive people around.
I was privileged to help out on Wednesday. I had to leave at the crack of dawn
to be downtown by 6 am but I basically made it, arriving before the kids were
awake to let the overnight adult go home to prepare for work. It was really
amazing to see Miriam out of bed early, ready to wake up everyone by 7 am. All
these teenagers rolled out of bed, made themselves breakfast, packed a lunch, and put on sunscreen… all without nagging or yelling or reminders. It was really
impressive to see the kind of independence kids are capable of when supervised
by a peer! And I give Miriam a lot of credit for excellent leadership style.
Another really cool thing: The week connected with Dickey
Memorial Presbyterian, a church where our youth group had supported a Kids Club
program for two years while I was a youth pastor at our home church. At that
point, in 2016 & 2017, we were
helping to facilitate a really fun week for underprivileged kids in the nearby
neighborhood. This year, the former “kids” are all also high school students
and they were serving side by side as peers with our kids. Our older youth,
including Oren, still remembered them. I was super happy to have one of those
kids on my team, pulling ivy off of trees.
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| Youth work team |
The Wednesday work site was in a suburban neighborhood,
where the church owns a large lot, formerly a farm. They have now turned it
into a community native plant garden and green space for walking and prayer. We
just helped with lots of manual labour, provided by almost 20 youth volunteers.
I was really proud of Oren for stepping up to one of the hardest jobs,
shoveling mulch in the full, hot sun, and pushing wheelbarrows to restore the
walkways. After the work, we went to a local soft serve place to celebrate the
labor and then headed back into town for downtime. I really enjoyed the time to
talk and connect with the youth I used to know very well as their pastor –
they’ve changed a lot!! – as well as the younger kids who are more David’s age.
We decided not to put both our kids on the same service week, hence David was
off doing separate things with Paul that day. |
| Youth peeling potatoes for Pakistani Kima dinner |
Other interesting events of the week Oren was away…
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| Genet, me and my mom |
On Sunday evening, we invited our Ethiopian friends and
renters to come out for an American dinner at my parents’ house. I was so glad
we had a second time to be with them, to be the ones sharing our cultural foods
(salmon, sweet corn, and salad), and to catch up with their newlywed son and
daughter-in-law, who were in town visiting. They had another relative with them
who turned out to be a guitarist and singer. When we were done eating, we
all sat in the living room and he led us in Amharic worship songs, many of
which we have learned over the past year. It was a very sweet and special
moment, to realize how much more we have in common now.
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| Gathering with Derebs at our house |
We enjoyed a very nice evening at Oakcrest with Paul’s
parents, playing all the outdoor games of Bocce, minigolf and shuffleboard.
David then stayed the night and had a really good time alone with his
grandparents – the second opportunity this home leave. We had a bunch of
evening trips for fishing on the Gunpowder River – David’s favorite local
activity. We did a bunch of shopping, making sure everyone had the shoes they
need. One morning, my mom took David and me to Ladew Topiary Gardens. It is
always beautiful there and we really enjoyed the butterfly garden. But
truthfully it was just too hot to spend very long. We all came back very, very
tired!
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| Digging through the sand |
On Friday we had an actual real adventure: We met up with my
old friend from high school, Chris Ballard, and his daughter for a trip to go
hunt for shark’s teeth. It was a 2-hour drive south to Purse State Park on the
Potomac River, south of Washington, D.C. The river is wide and shallow there.
It used to be an inland bay and nursery for baby sharks in prehistoric times.
Now, there are chalk cliffs along the edge, where erosion gradually washes
fossil shark teeth into the sand. We brought colanders to strain the sand and
gravel and look for the teeth. They are mostly pretty small, but fascinating.
It’s a highly restful activity, just sitting in the cool water on a hot day,
breeze blowing, chatting, and sifting through the sand. When we got tired of digging
around, Paul got out his Stand-up paddle board and we did a little boating. Our
two rising 8th graders get along very well, after many summers of
meet-ups and get-togethers like this. I’m glad when kids can be good friends,
even if they are not the same gender.  |
| Paddleboarding |
And we have a lot in common with Chris,
as a former missionary. Just before 3, we noted that clouds were building up
for a storm and so we carted our things out of the woods and headed back home.
Within a half hour, the heavens opened and it began to pour. It just never got
any better. Rather, we had to drive through blinding rain on the highway for
almost 3 and a half hours. Paul was virtually driving on instruments.
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| Sharks teeth |
We were supposed to pick up Oren around 6 pm, which should
have been no problem, except that we were driving really slowly. Then we
started getting messages from the youth team – There would be delays… and more
delays…they had gone to Washington for the day to visit the new
African-American history museum. They had missed a commuter train back to
Baltimore, and were waiting for the next one, and then lightning struck and the
entire rail system shut down for several hours. In the end, our delays were
nothing compared to theirs.
We dropped off Chris and then went to hang out at
my brother’s house to wait. And wait. And wait. David stacked M&M's. We made
dinner together. We ate and waited more. The poor youth service kids did not
even have money for dinner or time or
opportunity. It was nearly 11 pm when we all drove downtown to meet them at the
Center, and help them pack and clean up. We got Oren home at midnight – what a
finish!!
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| David & M&Ms |
Saturday was another big day. Mid-morning, we went to see
friends from Tanzania, the Wensel family who serve in missions there but their
home is in the same Maryland county as my parents. They had been running around
the country, doing support raising, but finally, we had a time when all of us
were in town. Our kids really had a great time seeing old friends, playing pool, and jumping in the swimming pool. It’s very odd to see people in such a
different context, but also very refreshing. Again, so many shared experiences
as well as shared apprehension for things coming up. They are leaving their
oldest in the US this month for a gap year program after high school, and it’s
all new territory for them, and coming up for us. It takes prayer and courage
for all of us to have our kids on other continents – and we will be facing that
next year.
Saturday was also my parents’ 56th wedding
anniversary, so another good reason for a family get-together. People were tired
from the long night before, but it was still a beautiful evening for talking
and hanging out together, eating good food (salmon of course!), joking and
sharing memories. It was clear how much Oren had bonded with Miriam and Gabe –
and I’m really thankful for that because they hadn’t spent much time together
over the past 5 years since we moved.
On Sunday, Paul and I presented at his parents’ church,
Valley Baptist, at their request. I guess a bunch of people follow our work and
the changes in our lives, so they were interested to learn more about the work
in our new setting, Ethiopia. I shared the practical parts, focusing on our
peacebuilding projects. Paul gave a very good sermon from John 21, seeing the
conversation between Jesus and Peter through the lens of reconciliation. We
joined them all for potluck lunch, and it was extra nice to spend some time
with our family friend Louise Carlson.
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| Loch Raven hike |
My mother is mostly retired but has a lot of energy to be
contributing to the many needs around us. In the past year, she has become
heavily involved with helping to resettle Afghan refugees in the US. She has
used her superpower of hunting down free or used furniture to contribute to
“move-ins” – where IRC has volunteers furnish and stock an apartment for a
refugee family. In fact, there was a halt in resettlement and her garage has
been jam-packed all summer waiting for families in need. On Monday, she got a
call to contribute some goods and labour, so I went with her and my boys to
load up some furniture and move it into a new place. At least 10 other
volunteers (mostly retirement-age church people) showed up with food donations,
sheets, and incidentals, and helped to get the apartment completely set up for a
small family, with sheets on the bed, flowers on the table, and food in the cupboards,
etc. We are not allowed personal contact with the families, for their
protection and privacy, but it was nice to be a small part of showing an act of
love for people in such a tough situation.
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| natural bench for journaling |
On our last Tuesday, I asked Paul to give me a Sabbath day
of solitude and I am so thankful that he understands that need. He took the
kids to do other stuff – Oren hung out with the church youth for a few hours
actually to keep playing their favorite card game. I took the opportunity for a
very long walk at Loch Raven Reservoir. I started in familiar territory – it’s
a beautiful, rocky spot right along the water. And then I walked much farther
along to a path that’s new to me, all the way out to a spot called Sam’s grave.
I never found his grave, but I loved walking along the water and catching the
cooler breezes on a blazing hot day. It really just felt so good to walk and
walk for four hours and not worry about how long I was taking or where I was
(now that I have the AllTrails app!). I am thankful my parents live in such a
lush, green area with so many public state parks for walks like that.
And then on Wednesday, the Zoo, with David’s friends Liam
and Sarah, and my friend Ashley. Our kids really love revisiting the places
that were special to them as little kids and it brings out the kid in them
again. We had fun taking them and observing their silliness and joy. We had
some great times observing lions and baby chimps and penguins. Oren’s favorite
was the collection of life-sized Dinosaurs (animatronics) in the Maryland
forest. They even blinked and breathed and roared and lashed their tails. It
was great!
In the evening, we helped my brother host a gathering of the
Baltimore-based Sack family cousins, which include the two of us, Colette, Dan, and Jon. My aunt Jo came too. We don’t see each other very often, but it’s
always nice to see each of them and have a chance to catch up. Interestingly,
Jo’s family and my husband Paul’s family were part of the same small group
“Family Singers” that welcomed my family to Baltimore in the 70s. (That’s how
Paul and I met, as kids) So, Paul was good friends with Dan and Jon when they
were teens and have a lot of history too. And now there is a new generation of
Sack cousins that had fun together, but in another room (that being our
offspring).
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| Sack cousins' reunion |
Wow, the last week was so full! There were a bunch of
planned and less planned doctor visits that we had to fit in. The kids helped
with chores around the yard, mowing the lawn, and washing the car. Thursday
included another nice dinner with Paul’s parents. The weather was spectacularly
perfect. I sat outside at the bocce court talking with Bunny for quite a long
time while the males played games. And then Oren stayed on for his second sleepover with the grandparents. On Friday, we needed to do some packing and
finish up with errands of various kinds. But we decided we needed a special
night with my mom and dad. At 6 pm we stopped working and went outside to enjoy
one last round of croquet. And then everyone pitched in to prepare one final
dinner of salmon and sweet corn – we just can’t get enough of it! |
| Miriam's birthday |
The highlight of Saturday was Miriam’s birthday – they
turned 19! All four families who were present are people we’ve known for a long
time from North Baltimore Mennonite – and it was wonderful to talk with all the
adults and the kids who were there. Again, it was a perfect evening to sit
outdoors, enjoy the firepit, and tell stories about Miriam with people who have
known them since birth. It was a night of all happiness. And by the way, Oren
was able to complete 10 hours of driving practice in the week.
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| Gabe, Paul, Miriam, Gwendolyn |
Our last full day was Sunday and it was about as perfect as
it could be. I preached at North Baltimore – it was a tough passage and a tough
sermon, but I was still glad to share the good news of the divisive nature of
Jesus’ mission. And share more about our work in Ethiopia. We shared one last
delicious Indian lunch with all our parents and then went back to the house to
sit and share final prayers for each other. There was still some packing to do,
but we made sure to leave time for a final trip to the Gunpowder. I took my
last “forest bathing” run in the woods; Paul and the boys did some fishing and
caught sunfish, trout, and even bass – many bites! My parents brought their camp
chairs and contemplated the forest scene. We all ended up enjoying a little swim
in the creek. We can’t take this kind of beauty for granted anymore.
And challenges await! We get back on Tuesday at 7 am. On
Wednesday at 7 am, we need to be driving off to the first day of school for the
kids. Poor kids! Our accountant had her baby a month early, on Sunday, The baby
seems to be doing OK, praise God. We hope that her new assistant has had enough
time to learn the job. We shall see! There is a lot of work to catch up on
after two months away (We have been working, but it’s not the same as being in
person). And I will need a lot of prayer to manage volunteer responsibilities
at church. Our Pastoral team is down to 2 members, and the other man needs to
go for his home leave in September. I am praying that someone else in the
community will be able to say yes to joining the team. So, that’s a wrap on
Home Leave 2022!
Bonus Photos
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| On Stony Man Mountain |
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| Stony Man |
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| Luray Cavern |
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| Good catch |
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| Senior youth on service week |
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| At the butterfly house |
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| Wensels and Mosleys |
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| Rebecca and Lena |
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| Gabe Sack |
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| Miriam Sack |
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| Flowers for my parents |
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| Gunpowder hike |
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| Forest bathing |
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| Kids at the arcade |
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| Rebecca preaching at NBMC |
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| Another good catch |
