Life at Home – Page 4 – A Liddle Good News

Playing catch-up, and maybe adding mayonnaise

The last time I wrote here was in July. The pace of life for us here is so normal, or so slow, that there doesn’t seem to be much to report to those who follow our ministry to Wycliffe and our life that surrounds it. Let me get you caught up on the past few months, ending with the inspiration for the title. (Which means that you’ll either skip to the end or read the whole thing.)

Baker Street Station — We couldn’t resist the urge to capture these two scoundrels in such a well-known place.

In July, we had the benefit of a two-week vacation to Scotland and London with Katherine’s parents. It was relaxing and fun. No one wanted to come home to Germany.

Shortly after we returned, J left for ten days of summer camp. A few days after that, Katherine and C left for their summer camp. (Katherine worked on the kitchen crew; she hasn’t been a camper for a while.) I stayed at home, cleaned, and enjoyed the quiet house.

J prepares to set the ball to one of his teammates.

School began soon after camp ended. The elder boy is in 7th grade and the younger in 6th. So far, they enjoy their classes and teachers quite a lot. In our area, sports aren’t associated with the schools, but both boys are involved in volleyball with the local athletic club, and C plays for the local soccer club. You can see from the last picture that he’s taking up a new interest as well.

For a while now, Katherine has been volunteering a few times each month in the library at the boys’ school. This year, she also began working in the library that Wycliffe Germany maintains. The holdings consist of resources for languages, linguistics, translation, and exegesis.

They’re used by Wycliffe members on furlough, doing home study, or who work close enough for the shipping costs to be reasonable. Katherine is now the main contact for the library and works several hours there each week. It’s a great fit for her, and she enjoys it.

Next week, C is going to be heading to the allergist’s office here for a thrilling endeavor. Tests measuring his sensitivity to eggs have given results low enough to warrant a food challenge. His loving and skilled mother will bake him some goody that contains eggs. Then they’ll journey together out to the children’s hospital where the allergist is located. Under the watchful eyes of ready medical staff, C will test whether or not his body can tolerate the stuff. We’re all both excited and nervous!

So, when you pray to the Lord our God on our behalf, please pray for our son to be relieved of this burdensome and dangerous threat to his health. And pray for Katherine to have wisdom that will help her make the library’s resources more accessible to people who could benefit from them.

Nothing to write home about?

A dear fellow who was one of my co-workers back in Dallas wrote to me – some time ago now – that it had been a while since I had written anything. He was right. And he was very kind to put it so mildly.

I like to distinguish between the terms reason and excuse. To use myself as an example, there are reasons why I haven’t written, but there are no excuses for the absence of communication. I hope that makes it clear.

Why am I sad? Because I've been a bad boy. The newsletter that we sent out last fall summarized our first two years here. I just read it again, and I think it was a fair description. What’s not fair is for you who care about our lives and our work to hear from us every two years, or nine months, or whatever gap causes you to ask, “I wonder whatever became of the Liddles?” or “I wonder how the Liddles are doing?”

I’m not going to try to use this space to give yet another belated summary of a long gap in time. Over the next week, though, I’m going to – I’m really, really going to – alternate between writing about our work and describing our
home life to give you the insight into our Wycliffe ministry that you deserve.

For those of you who pray to the Lord our God for us – you patient, forbearing souls – please pray for the fortitude I need to set aside time to write as I should for people who care.