Missions Weekend at Oak Harbor

This April our family had the opportunity to share about our ministry with Mission Aviation Fellowship at a church up in Oak Harbor, WA during their missions conference weekend.  It was very encouraging to share with so many people who share our excitement about missions, and it was fun for us learning about what other mission organizations are doing around the world as well.  We finally had the chance to meet a missionary in person after seeing his picture on multiple refrigerators over the past few years, which was fun.  (I'm still getting used to the fact that we are hanging on people's fridges).  

We also met two girls who grew up in Indonesia because their dad was a pilot with MAF!  How crazy is that?!  It was encouraging for me as a mom to hear that they loved growing up in Indonesia and that it was a positive experience for them.  One of my biggest fears about moving overseas and serving with MAF is that my kids would feel "deprived" looking back on the whole experience, so it is good to hear that it can be positive for them.  

Always fun riding on the ferry to Great Grandma's house.

We stayed at Grandma's house which is always a blast for the kids and relaxing for us.  Colton loves his "Whidbey Island Grandma" and Macie loves her "Island Grandma".  The weather was beautiful and we recharged our batteries running, biking, kayaking, throwing rocks into the Pudget Sound and reading.  Grandma has no internet at her house and we only got one bar of cellphone coverage (by a window) so we were forced to take it slow and relax. 

Colton helping Great Grandma in the garden.

We were invited to stay with a couple who live in Pt Townsend, just a short ferry ride away from Grandma's place.  Their house, much to Colton's liking, had a doggy door that he could fit through.  Even though we only stayed in Pt Townsend overnight, I fell in love with it!  There are so many outdoor activities to get involved in, I don't think you could ever get bored.  We went hiking/exploring at Fort Worden state park and checked out all of the old army bunkers the US built before WW1 to protect the Pudget Sound from invading ships.