Paul and Rebecca Mosley in Ethiopia: He Leadeth Me Beside Still Waters

Oren's baptism in the Chesapeake

Water is generally a central feature of our summer home leaves. We have been coming back to the US to visit family in the summer for over 10 years in the last 13 and we have fallen into a routine-- or better stated a 'ritual' of visiting certain places and partaking of certain activities that we find renewing. Most of them revolve around being near or in water.

We call Maryland home as both of our parents live here, and the Chesapeake Bay is Maryland's most significant body of water. Usually, we spend a week to ten days there, and I will talk about that soon. Rebecca's parents' home serves as a base during our time in Maryland and the Little Gunpowder River runs nearby. We take walks in the woods there or go trout fishing several times per week when we are staying at their house.

Bay house

We went to the Chesapeake Bay less than a week after Oren's surgery. We have access to a really beautiful A-frame house which I described in the last installment as regaled in shag and a tribute to Brady Bunch mid-century decor. We typically invite my brother Jonathan with his wife Emma and son Fletcher, who is Oren's age, to spend the week with us there. They drive up from Nashville. Fletcher is Oren's age, so the 3 boys usually have a very good time together.

Annual cornhole tournement

This year, although Oren's mobility was limited, we were able to play many board games and have long indoor debates. Fletcher, now a licensed driver, was able to take David and Oren on trips to pizza parlors or Walmart to buy stuff, without parental supervision. I think this was a highlight for the kids to have this new level of independence. Adults enjoyed this as well as it allowed us to go to an adult restaurant by a marina where we had great seafood and listened to a decent country western singer from Nashville.

Canoe trip

The activities we engage in over the week include fishing, kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding, swimming, board games, Texas hold-em, puzzles, grilling, sampling craft IPAs, spike ball, corn hole, and croquet with the most amazing croquet set made by Brookstone. We also did some outings to play miniature golf and experience a modern urban golf driving range/restaurant.

family dinner

We also had both sets of parents as well as other cousins come out and visit while we stayed there since it is only about an hour from Baltimore.

Jenn and Rebecca

We also had a special visitor who has come in past years, Jennifer, a very long-time friend who worked with us in the MCC program in Burundi. (We hired her). She now works for another humanitarian organization in Ukraine. She had numerous stories about old friends as well as the challenges of living in Kyiv while they are at war with Russia. It was so great to catch up with her and she is really like a member of the family and has known the kids since Oren was about 5.

This year, though we added another unique event. Over the year, as Oren was applying for college he made the decision to be baptized this summer. We come from a faith tradition called 'believers baptism' which means we don't baptize infants, but rather wait for a person to make a decision on their own about their committment to following Jesus. Oren had done some preparation with us over the past few months. He also had some meetings with Arthur, the new pastor at our home Mennonite church in Baltimore in the past few months.

Mennonites usually immerse people in water for baptism and this was going to be a challenge with Oren in a boot. On the day of the baptism, we went to church on Sunday where Oren gave a testimony and we helped lead one of his favorite worship songs (Psalm 34, Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir). Paul also shared about our work in Ethiopia on the same Sunday! then we invited the church community to rendezvous in the afternoon by the Bay near our summer house. (at a retreat center called Charter Hall, where Rebecca's family has been going since she was 8 years old.) We made a plan that 6 of us would carry Oren out on a makeshift stretcher and lower him into the water in front of the pastor. (Normally a person would walk out on their own power.) The day had a miraculous feel because it rained all morning. Then at 2pm it cleared and stayed clear until 5pm. The ceremony was scheduled for 3. So it was timed perfectly.

As planned, we had the ceremony on the water edge with Oren sitting in a chair, then we lowered him on a stretcher and walked him out into the bay where he was dipped into the water and raised up and carried back. (I helped hold his leg safely above the water, so no danger to his surgical wound.)

Actually, the whole event was very moving because of the assistance of the community to make this happen. Even David and one of his cousins as well as his two uncles were there to assist. It was also a courageous testimony as baptism seems to have 'fallen out of fashion' among the youth at the church these days. I think Oren set a good example of what making a vowcommittment of faith looks like. Hopefully, it will serve him well as he begins his life away from home this fall.

We returned to Baltimore at the end of our stay and spent a couple of days with Rebecca's parents. We had another special trip planned though, this time to Canada, a bit west of Toronto. Although we were not right on a lake, there was one nearby that we went to during the week.

This trip was planned so we could connect with very dear friends from Tanzania who were part of our small group when we were there: The Gingeriches, a family of 5 with boys the ages of Oren and David, and a younger daughter, as well as the Taylors, a family of 6 with 2 boys the ages of Oren and David, and 2 younger girls. We have stayed in touch for at least 5 years and saw the Gingeriches last summer at Charter Hall by the Bay, and the Taylors over Christmas in Kenya at Brackenhurst for New Years.

Spikeball

We had all rented a big house at a church retreat center near Kitchener, Ontario. The drive up from Baltimore took 8 hours during which we listened to the audiobook 'The Maze Runner'. The border crossing was uneventful.

The kids are almost all like cousins and there was a great deal of joy for all of them to reconnect. Many of the games mentioned above were played indoors and out. The adults enjoyed games as well, especially since Eli Gingerich is a real games aficionado, and often gets very new or even unreleased games to try out. I think I tried about 7 I had never played before, as did the kids who went through them much more quickly than us.

St. Jacob's market

One highlight was going to a huge Mennonite farmers market in Kitchener. We had a great time as a whole group shopping like tourists and trying the local cuisine, which is mainly Poutine. We also had apple fritters that were delicious. (Admittedly, poutine is a bit too much for me-putting gravy and cheese curds on french fries sounds just too heavy.)

Our friend group

I could give more details about meals cooked, games played, and side trips, but what was most renewing was the fellowship with very dear friends. It is really good to catch up and to hear updates, joys, and concerns. I am sure we will meet up again in the future and already anticipate seeing the Taylors in Kenya next New Year again.

We returned from Canada, back again to Baltimore where we have spent days catching up with friends from church, extended family, and our previous time living in Maryland. We have also gone over to my parent's retirement community where the kids can play Bocce ball, mini golf, and hand shuffleboard, even frisbee golf. It is actually nice for Oren because it is very accommodating to people with movement limitations.

My dad, Oren, and I also made a quick side-trip to North Carolina, about a 7-hour drive to visit my other brother Mark and his wife Christine. They are family we try to see every year, although we could not all go down because of some appointment conflicts. The long drive south with my dad and Oren was a time to have some good conversations. Oren requested having 'Southern food' on the menu when we got there. My brother prepared ribs in 3 different ways so we could sample different barbecue styles. We had a good chance to talk on Saturday evening. On Sunday morning we went to a church service where Mark was preaching. Oren's cousin Grace, who is college-age, joined us, as well as some of Christine's family. We had an Italian lunch after church before heading back up to Baltimore. The visit was short but felt very valuable as we only have the chance to connect once per year.

Shark tooth hunting

We continued with one more tradition of the past 3 years, a favorite of David's, which is shark tooth hunting. There is a place in southern Maryland on the Potomac River, that used to be an ancient sea, where ancient shark teeth can be found quite readily. We have gone before with our friend Chris and his daughter Ella. This time only David went with us as it is really not a place for a knee scooter. We spent the day (the trip alone is nearly 2 hours) on a strand of beach straining for teeth. David also perused down the beach where he found some of the largest specimens. (about an inch long.) We also had a nice time swimming and visiting. In the evening we went back to Chris' house and joined his wife Lisa for dinner. The good thing about a long drive is that it's plenty of time to talk and catch up with a good friend. We relate so well to their family because they also grew up overseas and then served as missionaries in Asia.

Our most recent activity was helping Jean, Rebecca's mother set up a house for some Syrian refugees who are arriving soon. Jean is a volunteer with IRC (International Rescue Committee), and has done this for the arrival of many Afghan refugees in the past two years. It was a good opportunity for David to get some service hours in for school. We worked with a team of about 8 and left, in my opinion, a very cozy apartment for a family arriving from a Syrian camp next week to call home.

This brings us up to date. David and I have about a week left before we return and Rebecca will come a couple weeks later after she drops Oren off at college. Updates on that to come.

Bonus Photos: