No fancy blog post this time, just an update. See our most recent newsletters (archived on a separate page on our blog site -- click on the menu (three white bars) and then drag the page down to find the "PRAYER LETTERS" link) for all the deets.
Yesterday came and went and we did not board the plane to travel to Cameroon. Still saddened by all of the unrest going on in Cameroon and for the unclear path, we are excited to move forward and see what God has planned. Currently our plan is to attend school for a year in Massy, France to learn French! (I say currently because we had been planning to move to Cameroon for over a year...things are always changing and we are learning to be flexible!). We are praying that things settle down in Cameroon after a year of language school and that we will be able to move there in the fall of 2019.
Saying Goodbye
You know how you feel when you see someone in the grocery store, have a conversation, then say your goodbyes....then see them 15 more awkward times in the store. That's how I currently feel!! We've been SO HONORED to have so many wonderful friends throw us goodbye parties. The funny thing is that we knew we will see a lot of those people at those parties at least one more time due to the fact that our departure date was pushed back (but YAY we now have a departure date of May 28!) Despite sometimes having those awkward interactions, I am so glad we've had the opportunity to have some closure with the goodbye get togethers (because "goodbye party" just sounds funny to me!).
These first pictures are from the farewell lunch thrown by my amazing colleagues at Children's Clinic! I was blown away!! And as if one party wasn't good enough, they even threw me a super thoughtful goodbye lunch at the Greer office!! Seriously, I was just overwhelmed by all the sweet goodbyes. Going to miss you guys a TON!
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These next pictures are from a going away party thrown by our previous and current community groups and included many friends from our time in Greenville! Thank you Laurie and Silvia for hosting/organizing/planning! You are the best!!
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Below are a few pictures from the get together hosted by Beth and David Jacobs for a lot of our friends from GHS residency...they put together a photo booth and printing station and MADE us a photo book at the party! So thoughtful! :)
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And last but not least, the farewell get together thrown by my amazing friends from Atlanta. These are some of my oldest and dearest friends. Thank you for all of your years of friendship! Love you all.
Creating this blog post has been so humbling. We have such wonderful friends and family and without your love and support we would not be where we are today -- headed to Africa!
Goodbyes are not easy, and we want them to be sincere. So while we are so excited about our new life in Cameroon, a sense of sadness laces every interaction we have in these last few months here. Please know that even if our faces or words do not express our sadness about leaving, we are very much going to miss those who we are leaving behind.
When it snows it blizzards...
As many of you know the holiday season was interesting in the Harling household. Fair warning, this post is long. Here's the short version: There are a lot of risks in life both seen and unseen; God is always in control and is always good.
Here it goes....
We had a chance to spend Thanksgiving with Jenn's parents and really enjoyed our time in Atlanta. There was an unexpected extension of our time there when Jenn herniated a lumbar disc the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Fortunately we have many connections in the area through her and her family. The now chair of PAACS, Dr. Doug Lundy, who happens to be an orthopedic surgeon also happens to practice at a hospital close to the Brostrand house. After an MRI, short hospital stay, and an injection of steroids into her spine, Jenn was up and walking again.
I was so grateful to have loving (and flexible!) in-laws who took care of Amelia and Madelyn so I could spend time with Jenn at the hospital. Being away from the girls was hard for Jenn, and she was so excited to return home and hold them again!
Any of you who have had back problems know the recovery process can be slow going, but Jenn continued to improve. A visit with a spine surgeon here in Greenville reassured us that non-operative management was the way to go. Amelia was quick to understand Jenn's limitations and kept asking if "mama's boo-boo all better?" She has since celebrated with us "mama's boo-boo is all better now!" As of January, Jenn has officially graduated outpatient PT and is now just doing exercises at home.
On the way home from a doctors appointment at the beginning of December Madelyn and I were in a car accident which resulted in this --> It happened about 500 yards away from home. By God's grace no one was injured; it was definitely a scary moment. Our insurance company was great to work with and we had the car in the shop that afternoon. It took a bit to complete the repairs, but it's like new again.
At the end of December we traveled to Findley Lake, NY to spend Christmas at my grandma's house. Amelia had a wonderful time playing with her cousin Hannah. Of course the snow outside made it all the more enjoyable. And when I say snow, I mean record lake effect snow fall that made national news... 65" over the course of 4 days. We made it home just in time to ring in the New Year in Greenville. We were glad for the extra family time.
But there were plenty of serious moments too. One session in particular stuck in my mind with everything that has gone on in our lives between Thanksgiving and New Years. The session was about developing a theology of risk. The document they compiled on the subject is some 13 pages long, but very well written. Because I can't really put it in better words myself, I wanted to copy some of the statements from the document.
We are confident that our sins are forgiven through Christ, that we have been given eternal life, and that our bodies will be raised incorruptible.
Therefore all of our decisions should be made in the light of eternity.
[Rom. 8:14-39; 1 Cor. 15, esp. v.58; 1 Tim. 6:12-16; 2 Tim. 1:11-12; 2 Tim. 4:6-8; Heb.
13:13-14; Rev. 2:8-11]
We serve a caring and faithful God; therefore we affirm that our security is based ultimately in God’s providence rather than on our circumstances. We are to fear God, not people.
Therefore prayer must be our first and last response to crisis. While many types of crisis may create fear, decisions should not be made or actions taken based on fear. Our calm confidence is our best witness to our living faith in God. No major decision should be made without reference to the character of God.
[Josh. 1:6-9; 1 Sam. 17:45-47; Ps. 20:7; Ps. 33:16-22; Ps. 34:6-10; Ps. 91; Prov. 21:30-31;
Isa. 31:1-3; Matt. 10:26-31; 2 Tim. 4:16-18]
We affirm that the mission given to us (to make disciples, baptize, and teach) is rooted in God’s eternal love for humankind and is therefore more important than a simple consideration for our personal safety. Rather, it includes a willingness to give our all, including our safety and even our lives.
Therefore, while we have a high regard for life, our lives and that of others as God’s gift of high value, we do not rule out the possibility of making decisions which might put us in danger or result in suffering or even death. We weigh up the value of our lives in terms of God’s great love for us, the ministry that He has given to us, and the lives of those that He has called us to serve.
[Ac. 20:22-24; Ac. 21:12-14; Rom. 14:7-8; 2 Tim. 2:8-10; Rev. 12:11. Also Esth. 4:16; Dan.
3:13-18]
I've been asked on a few occasions about how safe we will be at Mbingo and I admit, I've let my mind wander through various scenarios from deadly outbreaks to outright military assault on the hospital, formulating my response to each and how I would go about protecting my family. But I think God has used the recent destabilizing events in our lives to radically change my perspective on risk. Being in God's will doesn't guarantee physical safety and in fact it may put us in harms way. But nothing surprises Him and it's not just our knowledge, skills, and ability that we have chosen to hand over to God, it is our lives as a whole.
Here it goes....
THANKSGIVING!
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| Jenn missed the memo on our color scheme :) |
We had a chance to spend Thanksgiving with Jenn's parents and really enjoyed our time in Atlanta. There was an unexpected extension of our time there when Jenn herniated a lumbar disc the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Fortunately we have many connections in the area through her and her family. The now chair of PAACS, Dr. Doug Lundy, who happens to be an orthopedic surgeon also happens to practice at a hospital close to the Brostrand house. After an MRI, short hospital stay, and an injection of steroids into her spine, Jenn was up and walking again.
I was so grateful to have loving (and flexible!) in-laws who took care of Amelia and Madelyn so I could spend time with Jenn at the hospital. Being away from the girls was hard for Jenn, and she was so excited to return home and hold them again!
Any of you who have had back problems know the recovery process can be slow going, but Jenn continued to improve. A visit with a spine surgeon here in Greenville reassured us that non-operative management was the way to go. Amelia was quick to understand Jenn's limitations and kept asking if "mama's boo-boo all better?" She has since celebrated with us "mama's boo-boo is all better now!" As of January, Jenn has officially graduated outpatient PT and is now just doing exercises at home.
On the way home from a doctors appointment at the beginning of December Madelyn and I were in a car accident which resulted in this --> It happened about 500 yards away from home. By God's grace no one was injured; it was definitely a scary moment. Our insurance company was great to work with and we had the car in the shop that afternoon. It took a bit to complete the repairs, but it's like new again.
CHRISTMAS!!
About a week after returning to Greenville, we hopped back in the car and made our way to Charlotte, NC. We had a week of training at SIM USA headquarters called SIMGo. It's the second of three programs at SIM (SIMStart, SIMGo, SIMSendOff). We detailed a little of what went on there in our last prayer letter. Check the Prayer Letter archive if you missed it! Our time there was challenging, refreshing, and educational all wrapped up in one. We also managed to have a little fun:
We are confident that our sins are forgiven through Christ, that we have been given eternal life, and that our bodies will be raised incorruptible.
Therefore all of our decisions should be made in the light of eternity.
[Rom. 8:14-39; 1 Cor. 15, esp. v.58; 1 Tim. 6:12-16; 2 Tim. 1:11-12; 2 Tim. 4:6-8; Heb.
13:13-14; Rev. 2:8-11]
We serve a caring and faithful God; therefore we affirm that our security is based ultimately in God’s providence rather than on our circumstances. We are to fear God, not people.
Therefore prayer must be our first and last response to crisis. While many types of crisis may create fear, decisions should not be made or actions taken based on fear. Our calm confidence is our best witness to our living faith in God. No major decision should be made without reference to the character of God.
[Josh. 1:6-9; 1 Sam. 17:45-47; Ps. 20:7; Ps. 33:16-22; Ps. 34:6-10; Ps. 91; Prov. 21:30-31;
Isa. 31:1-3; Matt. 10:26-31; 2 Tim. 4:16-18]
We affirm that the mission given to us (to make disciples, baptize, and teach) is rooted in God’s eternal love for humankind and is therefore more important than a simple consideration for our personal safety. Rather, it includes a willingness to give our all, including our safety and even our lives.
Therefore, while we have a high regard for life, our lives and that of others as God’s gift of high value, we do not rule out the possibility of making decisions which might put us in danger or result in suffering or even death. We weigh up the value of our lives in terms of God’s great love for us, the ministry that He has given to us, and the lives of those that He has called us to serve.
[Ac. 20:22-24; Ac. 21:12-14; Rom. 14:7-8; 2 Tim. 2:8-10; Rev. 12:11. Also Esth. 4:16; Dan.
3:13-18]
I've been asked on a few occasions about how safe we will be at Mbingo and I admit, I've let my mind wander through various scenarios from deadly outbreaks to outright military assault on the hospital, formulating my response to each and how I would go about protecting my family. But I think God has used the recent destabilizing events in our lives to radically change my perspective on risk. Being in God's will doesn't guarantee physical safety and in fact it may put us in harms way. But nothing surprises Him and it's not just our knowledge, skills, and ability that we have chosen to hand over to God, it is our lives as a whole.
-Michael
Birthdays and Busyness
First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to AMELIA!! She's getting so big. We celebrated with family a few weekends ago and for her actual birthday she got a whole doughnut from The Doughnut Experiment.
People have been asking "How are Africa things going? What are ya'll doing to get ready?"
When people ask that my mind kind of goes in about a million directions! Here's why....
On top of working, managing a household, raising two precious girls, and maintaining life,
1. We are applying for passports for our girls so that we can apply for visas so that we can get into the country. We can't get Visas, though, without proof of Yellow Fever vaccine. Michael has his, Madelyn is too young. So...
2. Amelia and I are going to the travel clinic this week to get our Yellow Fever vaccines!
3. Speaking of vaccines, we all have to get rabies and typhoid vaccines. Amelia is getting her 4 year old vaccines early at two years of age (some people want to space them out... we see how close we can put them together! Hah! That's what you get for having a pediatrician for a mommy! Oh yeah dad's a huge fan of vaccines too.) Poor Madelyn will be getting some sort of vaccine almost every month between now and when we leave.
4. Support raising. We may sound like broken records. Things are going well. We have raised our "one time needs" goal and now all of the "one time gifts" will go towards our HOUSE BUDGET!! WOO HOO!!!!!! Praise the Lord for all of the gifts that will make it possible for us to get to Africa! Michael and I have seen Him move people to give in ways we never thought imaginable. And I'll be honest, at some points I do get discouraged and feel like we are never going to stop asking people to support us. But one day we will. We are so grateful for everyone who has already gotten behind us either through committing to pray for us while we are there, through financial support, for general excitement for our move/adventure/ministry or any combination of those!! It has been so fun sharing the story of our future life in Africa!! All that to say, we are meeting with a lot of people to continue telling them our story and inviting them to be a part of our journey if they feel led to do so! We truly believe that the Lord is in control and that He will provide what we need. If you feel led to give financially, great. If you don't, great. If you feel led to join with us in prayer, great. If you want to be our cheerleader and encourage us before we leave, great. If you want to continue living life as if we are not going because the thought of us leaving is simply unbearable, you do what you gotta do ;) . But in all seriousness, we do not want guilt or a feeling of obligation to us to push anyone to support us. We want this to be God-driven. Ok done.
5. Speaking of house... once funds start coming in for our future house, we will start thinking about what we will want the layout of the house to look like. We will likely be discussing this with a missionary in Cameroon who is a general contractor. Exciting!
6. Michael had to apply to be a PAACS attending. Submitted that a few days ago.
7. We are starting to think about our shipping container because it takes a long while from the time we ship it to actually receiving the container at Mbingo. And guess what, folks. We are LESS THAN 6 MONTHS AWAY from being in Africa! So not only do we have to figure out the logistics of the shipping container (what size container, likely 20 feet... what company to use to ship it... where to load up the container...how to get our belongings from our house to wherever they will pack the container...what can we live without now...AND what can we live without there if the container gets stuck in customs...). So in celebration of being less than 6 months away, I have started to purge by...
8. Cleaning out my closet. I just went through and got rid of all my spring/summer clothes that I won't be able to wear in Africa. NOTE TO FRIENDS WHO ARE MY SIZE --- free clothes if you can come get them by this weekend :D Otherwise they go to Goodwill.
9. We are also in the process of figuring out what to do with our house. We've decided to rent it out while we are overseas so we have to find a property management company. We also are going to turn our house into an LLC which apparently is the thing to do in this situation per our financial advisor! Also, there are a LOT of things that need to happen to get our house rent-ready.
Anywho, that's what we are doing right now :) (Plus probably another 15 other things I forgot about.) We're learning to embrace the chaos and enjoy seeing God working through this time of transition in our lives.
OK side note, if you guys don't know Vivian, here she is. She is the MOST AMAZING nanny/friend/woman. She has blessed us by loving Amelia for almost 2 years now and is doing the same with Madelyn. She's a gem. Just thought I needed to put that out on the world wide web.
We went to Atlanta to meet with some people to share about Africa and while we were at dinner, Amelia hung out with Gigi and Papa and watched the Georgia Game. In this picture, she is thinking "If Georgia wins, I wonder if they will move to the #1 spot." Good question, Amelia. Good question. (They did.)
People have been asking "How are Africa things going? What are ya'll doing to get ready?"
When people ask that my mind kind of goes in about a million directions! Here's why....
On top of working, managing a household, raising two precious girls, and maintaining life,
1. We are applying for passports for our girls so that we can apply for visas so that we can get into the country. We can't get Visas, though, without proof of Yellow Fever vaccine. Michael has his, Madelyn is too young. So...
2. Amelia and I are going to the travel clinic this week to get our Yellow Fever vaccines!
3. Speaking of vaccines, we all have to get rabies and typhoid vaccines. Amelia is getting her 4 year old vaccines early at two years of age (some people want to space them out... we see how close we can put them together! Hah! That's what you get for having a pediatrician for a mommy! Oh yeah dad's a huge fan of vaccines too.) Poor Madelyn will be getting some sort of vaccine almost every month between now and when we leave.
4. Support raising. We may sound like broken records. Things are going well. We have raised our "one time needs" goal and now all of the "one time gifts" will go towards our HOUSE BUDGET!! WOO HOO!!!!!! Praise the Lord for all of the gifts that will make it possible for us to get to Africa! Michael and I have seen Him move people to give in ways we never thought imaginable. And I'll be honest, at some points I do get discouraged and feel like we are never going to stop asking people to support us. But one day we will. We are so grateful for everyone who has already gotten behind us either through committing to pray for us while we are there, through financial support, for general excitement for our move/adventure/ministry or any combination of those!! It has been so fun sharing the story of our future life in Africa!! All that to say, we are meeting with a lot of people to continue telling them our story and inviting them to be a part of our journey if they feel led to do so! We truly believe that the Lord is in control and that He will provide what we need. If you feel led to give financially, great. If you don't, great. If you feel led to join with us in prayer, great. If you want to be our cheerleader and encourage us before we leave, great. If you want to continue living life as if we are not going because the thought of us leaving is simply unbearable, you do what you gotta do ;) . But in all seriousness, we do not want guilt or a feeling of obligation to us to push anyone to support us. We want this to be God-driven. Ok done.
5. Speaking of house... once funds start coming in for our future house, we will start thinking about what we will want the layout of the house to look like. We will likely be discussing this with a missionary in Cameroon who is a general contractor. Exciting!
6. Michael had to apply to be a PAACS attending. Submitted that a few days ago.
7. We are starting to think about our shipping container because it takes a long while from the time we ship it to actually receiving the container at Mbingo. And guess what, folks. We are LESS THAN 6 MONTHS AWAY from being in Africa! So not only do we have to figure out the logistics of the shipping container (what size container, likely 20 feet... what company to use to ship it... where to load up the container...how to get our belongings from our house to wherever they will pack the container...what can we live without now...AND what can we live without there if the container gets stuck in customs...). So in celebration of being less than 6 months away, I have started to purge by...
8. Cleaning out my closet. I just went through and got rid of all my spring/summer clothes that I won't be able to wear in Africa. NOTE TO FRIENDS WHO ARE MY SIZE --- free clothes if you can come get them by this weekend :D Otherwise they go to Goodwill.
9. We are also in the process of figuring out what to do with our house. We've decided to rent it out while we are overseas so we have to find a property management company. We also are going to turn our house into an LLC which apparently is the thing to do in this situation per our financial advisor! Also, there are a LOT of things that need to happen to get our house rent-ready.
Anywho, that's what we are doing right now :) (Plus probably another 15 other things I forgot about.) We're learning to embrace the chaos and enjoy seeing God working through this time of transition in our lives.
OK side note, if you guys don't know Vivian, here she is. She is the MOST AMAZING nanny/friend/woman. She has blessed us by loving Amelia for almost 2 years now and is doing the same with Madelyn. She's a gem. Just thought I needed to put that out on the world wide web.
We went to Atlanta to meet with some people to share about Africa and while we were at dinner, Amelia hung out with Gigi and Papa and watched the Georgia Game. In this picture, she is thinking "If Georgia wins, I wonder if they will move to the #1 spot." Good question, Amelia. Good question. (They did.)
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| Amelia loved seeing her uncle Andrew :) |
Hips, Boards, and Job Changes
Well hello!
Exciting things this month:
JOB: Jenn had her last day working at Kids' Care (pediatric urgent care in AnMed Women's and Children's Hospital) last week and will start working for Children's Clinic in Greenville this week. This is to bridge the gap between when her contract was completed at KC until the move in April.
Prayer requests:
Exciting things this month:
- MICHAEL PASSED ORAL BOARDS which means he is now a board certified surgeon!!! WOO HOO way to go Michael!!!
- Madelyn's hips are good 👍
- Jenn has a job change
- Support raising is going well!
BOARDS: done. passed. board certified surgeon. smarty pants. that is all.
HIPS: Madelyn was comfy and cozy flipped head up most of the time she was in mommy's tummy and since she was breech most of the time, her pediatrician (shout out to Dr. Amanda O'Kelly!!) recommended a hip ultrasound (*Side note for those pediatricians out there... can we talk about how NEBULOUS the recommendations for hip ultrasounds are for breech babies!?!) Anywho... her ultrasound was normal.
JOB: Jenn had her last day working at Kids' Care (pediatric urgent care in AnMed Women's and Children's Hospital) last week and will start working for Children's Clinic in Greenville this week. This is to bridge the gap between when her contract was completed at KC until the move in April.
SUPPORT RAISING: As most of you who are reading this know, we have to raise $50,000 (one time need) and $7,000/month in pledges before we go. We are about a third of the way towards our monthly goal and about one half of the way towards our one time needs goal. Things are going well, but we still have some work to do! It has been amazing to see God work during this process.
Prayer requests:
- There are currently two pediatricians at Mbingo. They both will complete their commitments in December and we will not get there till April. Pray for a pediatrician to be available to bridge the gap.
- For guidance as we continue raising support and for wisdom as we start planing the logistics of our move.
Praises:
- Michael passed boards
- Support raising is going well
- Michael isn't practicing surgery right now, but we have truly enjoyed the extra family time together!
Amelia, almost 2
Madelyn, 2.5 months
Scripture:
Psalm 25:4-6
Show me your ways, Lord,
teach me your paths.
5 Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.
6 Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love,
for they are from of old.
teach me your paths.
5 Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.
6 Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love,
for they are from of old.
I think a big thing that trips me up is that I am tempted to base my judgement of what is good and bad off what I know. And our thoughts are not Gods thoughts. We don't see the big picture.
I'm not saying that it's "ok" when bad things happen, nor am I happy about it.
But just like so many other things in life, I trust.
I trust that He is sovereign. It still doesn't take away my confusion about some things.
And I pray for God to show me His ways.
Family of Four
Exciting things last month:
- Michael passed written surgery boards! YAY!
- Madelyn was born! YAY!
- We have a strong candidate for our nanny in Cameroon!!! YAY
- Michael has a job!!!!
BOARDS:
Michael still has to take oral surgery boards in September and if (read: WHEN) he passes them, he will be a board certified surgeon!! MADELYN:
Jenn had to be induced at 39 weeks for preeclampsia. Thank the Lord she did not have any complications. Labor lasted a short 6.5 hours, she only had to push for 8 minutes, and she was able to do it without an epidural!
We are adjusting well to life as a family of four. Amelia is a great big sister! Every once in a while she gets a little jealous and wants mommy to hold her, but otherwise loves to give her kisses and help burp her.
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| Photo Credit: Kasey Brown (thanks Kas!) |
NANNY:
We are so thankful to have friends who we met when we went on our quick visit to Mbingo back in April who are able to help us with our transition! Ethan and Elizabeth are doctors currently spending 2 years at Mbingo. Elizabeth knew of our need for a nanny and let us know last week that there is a Cameroonian girl who is interested in helping our family! This is definitely an answer to prayer! We will be talking to her (potential nanny) a little more to see if it will be a good fit but we are very hopeful that she will be able to keep the girls while Jenn works!
JOB:
NEXT UP:
Continued support raising
Jenn returns to work in September
Michael takes oral boards in September
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