March Movement

Here are tidbits of news about Hines Goings-Ons in Texas:

Partner Development
Not too long ago, the good folks in the office of Global Teams and I had a long phone conversation in which we reviewed our budget one more time and looked at the financial numbers with regard to our pledging and giving partners.  Deep breath -- are now under $700 per month away from our goal!  A few more pledging individuals, families, and churches, and we are released to buy our tickets for Uganda.

We sent out a letter in February, visited a few churches, and had a wonderful gathering at my parents' friends' home.  We're still waiting for official responses from some of these.  Others, including some churches, have come right alongside us.  We are so grateful!  Please pray for the final completion of this part of our preparation.

Team Building 
One of the most enjoyable gifts of this season in Texas has been the time spent with our teammates, Aaron and Wendy Morrow and their kids.  The past couple of Thursdays Wendy walked us through a teaching on gifts, resulting in greater understanding of who we are as individuals and as a team.  We were using material new to me -- Given for Life, by Andy Raine -- which looks at the 7 gifts mentioned in Romans 7, presenting them not as "spiritual" gifts, but as "motivational" gifts.  In short, this approach explores how each of us are shaped at the core of our identities -- why we do what we do.  Some very interesting discoveries came out of this time.


We've also continued learning how to live together with our different personalities, values, approaches to parenting, ways of making decisions....  It's so good to begin working through these things here rather than on the field.

Continue to pray for their daughter, Emma Shae, who still has a blood condition that must be resolved before they are released to go to the field.  One of our next discussions is a timetable given these issues of health and finances.

Family and Farm

 

We continue to enjoy life on the farm with our family, with the recent added bonus of having my older brother's family with us.  The rain has let up enough that we've been riding horses, throwing hay into the hayloft, exploring the back pasture, and riding bikes.  The kids continue to do well in school, and Georgia has recently been enjoying a growing friendship with another girl at school  She has been the loneliest and saddest one among us, so this friendship is a gift.


Just last night we had the added bonus of a visit from a long time friend of ours.  Paul is one of the most amazing guitarists I've heard (and I mean amazing), and one who has a quiet, steady, compelling faith.  He is a joy to be around.  After a wonderful dinner of smoked salmon and salad (prepared by my dad and my wife), we sat on the back porch as the sun set and listened to Paul play everything from "Grandpa Hal Had a Farm, Ee I Ee I O..." to a beautiful guitar piece called "Mayim" to a haunting and contemplative melody on an Indian flute.

It's Spring Break in Texas, and our schedule is in flux, but it's a fun time.  Additionally, I preached at a friend's church this past Sunday on the Lord's Supper and the renewal of covenant (Restoration Anglican Church is a wonderful church, by the way, and folks in the Dallas area should visit it), and we'll be going to another church in Austin where I'll preach on John 9.  We're looking forward to be back in the capital of Texas and seeing whether Austin has remained weird.  If you're in the area, come see us at Christ Church Anglican on Sunday, March 21!

People Behind the Counter

I call them the "People Behind the Counter."  That guy at the register at CVS, the kids at the drive-thru windows of Macdonald's, the waitress as Snuffer's, the store clerk stacking shelves at Giant Eagle, the librarian behind the desk.  These are the people we whisk past throughout our day, hardly seeing them past the immediate service they provide us.  If they're exceptionally kind or exceptionally rude, they'll gain our notice and a few extra comments, but otherwise we give them little but our money and quick questions, and receive in turn our change, answers, and goods.

The truth is, of course, that each of these People Behind the Counter is a creation of God standing there with worlds of pain and joy, disappointment and hope, suffering and life whirling inside him, inside her.  That person fishing for your change is loved by God, and needs to receive that love, and now is the moment when you can be a conduit of that love.

I'm not talking about an extended moment of evangelism, or reaching across the counter to lay hands on and pray for the person, or an attempt to get a person to bare her soul while others wait impatiently behind you.  It might be as simple as making eye contact and giving the most authentic "How are you?" or "Have a good day" that the person will have all day.  (The Lord, of course, may break open the moment for even more grace to flow in.  A simple question like "Why are you so ready for your break?" may lead to a moment of unexpected listening, giving, and receiving.)

I've been trying to do this, to be more present to the people serving me from behind the literal and metaphorical counters.  It's hard.  It requires an internal and external slowness of pace that's not normal for me, and a level of caring that has little space in my hurried, harried days.  So I'm trying to take a moment before I enter a store or restaurant to ask God to remind me that at least one of his sons or daughters is waiting inside to meet with me, and for Him to give me the grace to be attentive and responsive, at least for a moment.

Rhythm of Life (Take 2)

A month or so ago I wrote about how we're settling into a rhythm of life.  Well, in all honesty, it's not so easy to create rhythm in any life.  Take the past 7 days, for example...

Unexpected Snow

Our part of Texas is not known for snow.  A week ago Thursday, however, we had the most snowfall the area has seen in about 32 years.  I know, I know, our family and friends back east don't even want to hear it.  But, as snow often is, it was both beautiful and disruptive.  A planned 3 day weekend for the kids (due to Presidents' Day on Monday) became a 4 day weekend -- a lot of fun for them, redefining my planned productivity for me.  Yes, yes, I should receive it as a gift, and in moments I did, but I also battled with a simmering frustration due to worry about untouched to-do lists

Nevertheless, we still had a lot of fun in it all -- our Team Building Time (now happening on Thursdays) had an added peace and beauty to it, the kids played and built and explored, snowball fights occurred, and we even had a fire in the fireplace and roasted marshmellows.

An added joy for the weekend was a visit from Leslie's youngest brother James and his new bride.  More snowball fights ensued (with added intensity, pain, and fun due to James' competitive nature and stinging accuracy), plus fun dinners, enjoying getting to know Cheri, and learning a new Ninja game with the kids.

Unsurprising Sickness

Sickness is just a part of winter.  One by one each member of the family fell prey to various forms of illness of the week.  Some vomiting, some sneezing, some in the middle of the night, some in the middle of the school day, all spaced throughout the week.  We're mostly over it now (kids still sound like Sleestacks), but the weariness and yuckiness dominated the week.

Life on the Farm

We're enjoying living on a farm, and it does involve helping out in new ways.  From time to time Granddad needs help feeding the animals, and I sling Julia onto my back and squelch through the mud to lend a hand unloading feed or tossing hay.  The kids have taken on three rabbits (Monty, Snowflake, and Sniffles), which involves not only regular feeding but also weekly dumping of rabbit dung and cleaning the cage.  It also means finding bunnies hopping throughout the house at odd hours, then hunting them down and returning them to their cage.  They have a remarkable ability for escaping.

Partner Development

That's what we call our support raising, and we really do see it as asking folks to partner with us in ways that are beyond just giving money.  But it requires a lot of time on the phone and writing email -- and very little of either were done last week because of the above occurrences.  Nevertheless, we received word from two more churches that they're partnering with us.  Additionally, the rector of my parents' church (Transformation Anglican) gave me time to speak in church this past Sunday, and several folks responded.  Also, a friend and past of a new church plant in Addison (Restoration Anglican) has invited me to preach twice at his church.  So even as we focus on caring for our family, God continues working behind the scenes.

Team Kabale

Almost 3 years ago Leslie and I were officially accepted as Global Teams missionaries.  Kevin Higgins, our director, coach, and friend, said at the end of our acceptance phone call, "Would you guys pray about whether there is someone you could invite to join you?  We are Global Teams, after all, and we would like to send you out with at team."

After we hung up the phone, Leslie and looked at each other and essentially said, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"  Back in her college days at UT Austin (Hook 'em!), Leslie and her sister roomed with a girl named Wendy Deyo.  The three of them grew in Christ together, and Wendy was a woman of tender -- and often radical -- passion.  (Leslie tells the story of Wendy banging on her door at 3am during the month of Ramadan demanding that she get up and pray with her.)  Wendy went off to Eastern Europe as a missionary and ESL teacher, where she met Aaron Morrow.  They returned to the States and married, and then Aaron pursued medicine so they could return to the mission field as medical missionaries.

Leslie and Wendy kept up over the years, so we knew the Morrows were done with medical school and had been preparing to go overseas.  We gave them a call one Friday and said, "This may be a bit crazy, but what would y'all think about going to Uganda with us?"  It just so happened they had just finished a week of fasting and prayer with regard to their next steps, since Aaron had finished his residency plus work in a local clinic that had paid off their school debts.  They took a bit more time to pray, and then said yes!

The Morrows (Aaron, Wendy, Micah (8), Emma Shae (5), and Mallory (3)) were living in Waco, TX when we first began pulling together as a team through Skype sessions and phone calls.  They spent the past fall in Liverpool, England so Aaron could take an intensive course in tropical medicine.  (Ask Wendy to talk to you in Scouse.)  They returned to Houston at the end of December.  Within the next several weeks they raised their remaining support, and were ready to leave for Uganda at the end of January.  Medical issues, however, have required them to stay Stateside a few more months.

One gift of this forced delay is that at last we get to spend face-to-face time together as a team before we leave for Uganda.  The Morrows spent the past 5 days with us at my parents' place in Sunnyvale.  While we searched for a place for them to live, we also got extensive team-building time simply by living together, going to the rodeo, watching movies, praying, and beginning to talk through our vision, goals and strategies.

(Wendy and Aaron)

(The Girls: Georgia, Emma Shae, Mallory, Lucy.  Julia is napping.)

 

(The Boys: Micah and Jesse)

God has provided a place for them 20 minutes away from our house.  We called a lot of people and churches, waited, prayed, and wondered.  Then, First Baptist Church in Garland graciously opened up one of their missionary homes to the Morrows, so they now have a great place to live, and we can continue building our team for the next couple of months.

Hmmmm...as I scan back through this post, I'm realizing that it's not quite communicating one of the important points.  Our Father has been weaving together circumstances and relationships to ensure that our families are well prepared and cared for in Uganda, and in doing so he's ensuring that the community of Kabale will be well served by an increasingly healthy team.  We planned very little of what has occurred -- team members whose gifts complement ours and whose kids will be great friends for our kids, and extended time together in the Dallas area, for example -- yet the Jesus we all love has indeed worked all things together for our good, and for the good of the people of Kabale.

("African Weaving" by Rachele Unter)

Rhythm of Life

So, we're settled in -- as settled as we can expect to be in this season of transition.

I take the older kids to school every morning but Wednesdays, when Granddad gets to do the honors.  They ride the bus home from Sunnyvale Elementary and are dropped off at the front of the long, gravel driveway.   Chance the dog runs to greet them, and Julia does as well whenever she's outside.  The donkeys occasionally bray a welcome (or demand a feeding) as the kids walk up the drive.  After snacks, when the weather is nice, everyone dashes outdoors to play fetch with Chance or explore the back pasture or ride the zip line or hunt for eggs or get too close to the pond or snuggle their new pet bunnies (Snowflake, Monty, and Sniffles) ....

Later in the day I pick up the walkie-talkie (that's how we stayed connected on a 10 acre spread) and call, "Bald Leader to Blue 9, Gold 6, and Pink 3, time to come in!"  "Copy that Bald Leader!"  The kids tumble in the doors to homework, dinner, baths, and sundry evening activities.  They are loving life here, although definitely missing friends back in PA and feeling some concern about having to move again in the near future.  Jesse and Georgia really like their school, and Lucy enjoys pre-school twice a week plus a Wednesday "Grandmommy Day."  Julia simply loves life (and exhausts us).  She's crawling on tables, emptying drawers into the trash, toddling out doors when we're not looking, eating packets of silicon, and making her presence known through a loud loquacity that leaves us either laughing or angry, depending on the timing.

We graciously have been given free office space at a neighbor's place of business (ID Plates).  It's a warm community of workers, and they've welcomed us right in.  Several days a week I sit in a cubicle making phone calls and sending emails to current and potential partners, working on budgets and letters, hanging out on Facebook, and handling other issues.  Leslie continues keeping the home front happening, and several times a week we work together at the house or take the younger two girls out to breakfast.

My parents are living in their garage apartment.  Formally it was called "The Cowboy Quarters," but we've begun to refer to their space as "Mouse House" and ours as "Big House."  (As an aside -- we have way too many means of communication in the house.  There are four different cell phones with four different numbers, a land line, four walkie-talkies, three computers, and an intercom system.)  This living arrangement is going wonderfully well!  Mom and Dad/Grandmommy and Granddaddy have become a natural part of our lives (and we a part of theirs), with their comings and goings adding an enjoyable rhythm to the weeks.

In most ways we're living the good life.  (We'll leave the story of the odoriferous rotting rat corpse for another day.)  God's over-abundant faithfulness is evident on a daily basis, and the occasional overwhelm our Partner Development and Uganda to-do list is itself overwhelmed by the provision of our Father.