Life is Good!

We have been in Vickery for 3.5 weeks and it gets better everyday. There are so many things about the neighborhood that we love! I am not sure how many places in the world a person could have the opportunity to live in an apartment complex that is so diverse with people from so many different nations. We are so blessed to be here!!

One of the best things about Towne Center (our complex) is that we are never alone. People there live in community. Kids play outside (often in the parking lot which is a little scary) together. Adults sit outside and chat. We have people over everyday. We live with some of the most wonderful people from Northwest Bible Church. It is sheer joy to spend time with them and we are learning so much.  We live with wonderful refugee kids and families that are teaching us all about community and love and brokenness. We have been blessed by family, friends, and small group coming over to be with us.

So here is a bit of what we have been up to. Andy has been spending lots of time with the youth boys and young men. Between basketball, soccer, and bible study, he is busy and sore. He has enjoyed teaching basketball to the Nepali boys and learning soccer from Latin, African, Nepali, and Burmese players. He loves going out the soccer fields at Conrad to play with skilled players from 4 different continents (it is cool to see people of all races united by a game and maybe a glimpse of what heaven will be like when people from all nations are united in Christ). The girls and I spend most of our time sewing and hanging out with the Vickery Threads ladies and their children.

Ruth woke up at 2:30 last night and came out to the living room to find me. I picked her up and started to go lay down with her. She said, “I don’t want to sleep, I just want to sew.” I am so thankful that God has provided an opportunity for us to do ministry with our kids that they are enjoying too.

I also want to share a little more about Vickery Threads. There are now 2 Nepali and 10 Burmese women that sew with us. They are amazing. I want to share a little about a few of them. Jamuna is one of the Nepali refugees. She is a beautiful sophomore at Conrad High School. She is a blast to be around and we love having her at our house. I am so proud (and humbled by her). Last week she was given an award for being the most outstanding girl in the 10^th grade at Conrad (remember she has only been in the US for a few years and English is not her first language).  Way to go Jamuna! She works hard and it shows in her school work and in her life. She makes really cute bags and wants to use the money to help her parents. She is dreaming of attending a University when she graduates.

I am going to tell you a little about the Burmese women as a group and will share more individual stories later. I am most impressed with the way they live in community and support each other. For example, 6 women will come to my apartment with anywhere from 6-12 kids depending on the day. They will then manage to each complete atleast one purse. Most of the time, I feel like I can not accomplish much when I am with a group of kids. It is awesome the way the work together to take care of everyone’s kids, thread needles or sew buttons for one another, and accomplish amazing things as a group. I am having so much fun watching, learning, and hanging out. (if you want to see some of the stuff they make it is at facebook.com/vickerythreads)

This week has been amazing for us. The Newby’s moved in! My Mom and Dad came to visit and Mom got to stay all week. That was so wonderful I can’t describe it. We had a fun Vickery girls night, lots of fun sewing time, and several Mavs watching nights! Now we are headed to Austin to see Andy’s brother DJ graduate from law school and be with Andy’s family. Life doesn’t get any better than this!

THis is Jamuna!

At the zoo with Nonni!

Soccer!