I can't believe how quickly August flew by! We had a great time learning many lessons at our Intercultural Communications Course at
JAARS. We wanted to share some of the pictures and memories we made while gone this past month.
Andrew & many of the other boys formed their own "tribe" while we were staying at JAARS. They had their own language, that of course needed to be translated and written down, and even had their own tribal war paint. This is his "war face". Fortunately it was washable marker and came off fairly easy.
Every day the kids would come home for lunch, do school as quick as possible and go outside. We wouldn't see them again until it was time for dinner, or one was looking for food, bringing friends inside to play (usually this was Rebekah) or going to someone else's house for food!
They spent much of their time down at the "creek", which was really a drainage ditch that ran behind the apartments. This is a "bridge" they built to cross the "creek". It was good practice as they prepare for some of the equally dangerous bridges in Papua New Guinea.
MK's (Missionary Kids) learn to entertain themselves with whatever they find. The boys found one of those Cozy Coupe cars at the dumpster. Obviously it was there for a reason. The kids found uses for all the pieces, though. In this picture Andrew is sliding down the side of the 'creek' on the top of the car.
See that small speck way up in the tree- toward the right? (Notice the bottom half of the cozy coupe next to the picnic table...)
Yep, this is that little speck. When I couldn't find Andrew on the ground, I knew I needed to look up in the tree for the monkey. Hey, NO broken bones!!!! That in and of itself is a miracle!
Here are the boys gathered around the picnic table. They had a going away party the last day everyone was there. There is the bread shop located just across the street. The boys learned when the truck came and went to get snacks for their 'club'. They scored an apple pie from Costco the day before, so that was their party treat!
Bekah loved the freedom of being able to ride her bike anywhere! She spent lots of time on her bike! Tim, on the other hand, didn't bring his bike, so he had to find an alternate mode of transportation. Didn't know I had such a talented husband!
What do MKs do when it rains while the parents are playing cards? Why, they go outside and play in it, of course. I'm still trying to figure out why our soaking wet daughter decided to open the umbrella she got from the car, especially since they were on the porch at this time!
We enjoyed a picnic at a local park one gorgeous Saturday evening. The kids discovered some sort of freshwater clams in the lake. They collected tons of them. The boys decided they were going to sell them. Then we found these tiny black things swimming around in them. Back all of them went in the water.
Rebekah turned 7 while we were there. We had a big party with her friend Isabella who turned 5 the day before. They had no trouble picking out a chocolate princess cake! Next year we'll celebrate their birthdays together in Papua New Guinea!
For her birthday, we took Rebekah to get her ears pierced. She had been asking for quite a while. Here she is doing a silly pose showing off her new earrings!
Each family was assigned an ethnic church to attend while at ICC. We attended Open Church of Charlotte, a Korean Church located in Matthews. It was a new experience for all of us. We thoroughly enjoyed our time. An important lesson we learned was that Andrew does NOT like Korean food. We didn't think there was anything he didn't like...
Obviously someone did not seek permission for the chocolate lollipop and chocolate covered doughnut. I guess he was making up for not eating the Korean food.
The last week we were there, we had a talent show that was for everyone. This is Rebekah and her friend Nikki waiting for the talent show to begin. One of the hardest things for MKs is making and leaving new friends. They really hit it off and bonded. Unfortunately Nikki is leaving for Tanzania this weekend.
This was my favorite part of the talent show. They asked for two strong, competitive men. Of course, I volunteered my husband! They had to sit in front of the room and begin by taking their shoes and socks off. Then they were blindfolded. The "purpose" of the game (at least what they were told) was they had to use their sense of touch to figure out different food items. The very first one was using the sense of touch in their feet. That didn't work so well, so they let them use their hands and sense of smell. Well, as you can see, unbeknownst to them, they were receiving a pedicure. Poor Tim didn't even realize it until he was about to put his socks back on. The boys thought this was horrible while the girls loved every minute. In fact Rebekah wanted to do it again and paint her Daddy's toe nails!
As part of the talent show, each table group had to perform a skit describing ICC. I had to play the part of a person with a high "D" personality (dominant, demanding, etc). In this picture I had just taken the microphone away from the "announcer" to tell him how it was. It was hard, really, it was...
This is a group shot of all the people headed to the Pacific. With the exception of one family, we will all be serving in Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea. Many of us are hoping to be at the Pacific Orientation Course in January!
This is Tim's table group. Don't let the sweet innocent smiles fool you!
We ended the course with "Stones of Remembrance". Everyone shared what God had been teaching them during the month. It was so encouraging to see how God used the same material to teach each person something that they needed in their lives!
There is only ONE way we will achieve that goal- through our almighty God, who is our provider. Please join with us in praying that we will reach the goal. We know that prayer is the number one tool we have in life. 
