Family time

Our timing for being home was perfect and it is hard to believe that it is almost to a close. 2 months flies by in a blink and there are still so many friends that I did not get to see. On the positive side, we have spent a lot of time with our families, and that has been very refreshing. Late night games and movies, watching the kids dance with their cousins, watching football, bowling, laser tag, eating big holiday meals, and just talking about life. My parents came up for 9 days and I even got to be a part of a small family reunion at my aunt and uncles house. Sometimes, it is like we really haven't been gone for a long time in the way it is so easy to catch up. Bryan's extended family got together for a fun day of bowling and catching up as well, and it was good. We are both very lucky to have such great family whom we enjoy being with.
We were also reminded in these past weeks how quickly all of it can be stripped away. Bryan's dad made it through cancer treatments and was having some ulcer problems when we arrived home on furlough, and then he had a heart attack which caught us all unawares. Thankfully, he got the help and care he needed at the hospital and had a stint put in. Unfortunately, that was not enough, so he had open heart surgery a week later. Wow, we are so fortunate for modern medicine. I do not think he would still be with us if we were living in Lesotho. I feel that I will always compare medical things between the US and Lesotho because I always fear for my Basotho friends when they need specific medical attention, since it may not be available. Or the one doctor who knows how to do the procedure is on a holiday. Our time here was a blessing and dad is recovering well. I am thankful for good medical care and also for good dental care (I had some cavities filled, had a root canal and had 3 wisdom teeth removed, yes I am ready to be done with all that!!!)
We have missed out on several scheduled visits with friends because after all our time here in the states, NOW it has decided to snow :) I have to admit that it is beautiful. I glanced outside tonight and it was just sparkling in the lights. God has made a beautiful creation with snow. Yesterday Mercy even said that it looked like a snow globe out the window. It is exciting for her to see this much snow! All that to say, we are sorry we missed seeing lots of you while we were home, but we are thankful that we were here during a time our family needed to be together. We will (hopefully) be leaving next week Wednesday as long as the weather cooperates, and then the real adventure of a lifetime begins once we get back to Lesotho for our final 2 year commitment.

Christmas and Babies

It has been over 2 weeks since I wrote anything on here. I think that in itself will give you an indication of how busy our lives have been!!!!!! I have eaten more food, been to more parties, and played more games that I could even count (ok, maybe I could count the parties and my belly will prove the food part). We have continued to be very loved and blessed by family and friends, and it has really filled us up. I loved seeing everyone and doing the fundraising that needed to be done last furlough, but being in one place for 2 months is pretty great.
I hope all of you had a very Merry Christmas!! We missed our first Christmas in Lesotho in 5 years, but we gained some good family memories too. It will be a Christmas to remember for a few years because we will miss it again for a year or two. It was not a white Christmas like my kids were praying for, in fact it was raining a little bit. We have less than a month for the snow to fall, so I am sure my kids will double their efforts in the praying snow department!

On a more serious note, I have been thinking so much about babies this Christmas. Last Sunday, a friend of ours shared a sad story of her grandchild's traumatic entry into the world and his death. Only a week before Christmas, and they are left to mourn this child who was desperately wanted. The parents wanted to give him their love and care and to tell Him how special he was for many years to come. Another baby entered the world this week to an incredible loving couple (Congrats Steve and Heidi). This child was born healthy, and it was so great to see the huge smile on the proud father's face today. That little baby will be loved, cared for, and raised to know and love her Lord. A third baby entered the world today whose mother is barely more than a child herself with no job, and no real means of supporting her child other than government assistance. I do not think that she knows the Lord and I know that her mother was not a good role model, so I wonder how raising this child will go for her.
Jesus came into the world as a baby. He did not chose the easiest or most comfortable way to enter the world (I seriously doubt the comfort of a manger and rags, poverty and a mother who was probably shunned for having a baby out of wedlock). He experienced so many things (like poverty and living in a strange land when they fled to Egypt) and can relate to so many things that we all go through because He lived as one of us. It breaks my heart that my friend's grandchild did not get to live, and it breaks my heart that children is Lesotho are thrown away as if they are no more than a candy wrapper. It is also hard to watch children growing up in poverty struggling to find their next meal. But, it is also beautiful to see a family coming together to celebrate the birth of their child. Some situations seem so much more unfair than others, and yet, we do not walk through any of the hard stuff without our loving Father by our side. We do not go through the injustices without Jesus walking along with us, and saying that everything is going to be ok and He understands. We do not go through the valleys without the Holy Spirit comforting us, or carrying us when the shadow of death is upon us. I am glad God sent His son to us as a tiny baby so we can know how much He cares and understands.

Showered in love

I feel so blessed and overwhelmed with love today. We are now living in our home town of Zeeland. A wonderful couple from this area has gone out west for the winter and are letting us stay in their condo rent free. It is on a pond, in a quiet community and it is a great fit for our family. What a blessing to have our own space so we are close to our church family, and we can invite people over. It was great staying with our family for the last month, and they were so generous with their time and space, and we lacked for nothing.
Yesterday, we moved into this condo, but I had agreed to meet my nieces after school (they had a half day) so we could all hang out and then we went to a hockey game that my brother got us tickets to. I did not have time to get many groceries, only breakfast and lunch stuff since it was 10:45pm and my kids were in the car.
Today, our accountability group (friends who have walked with us for the last 5 years and prayed with us) stopped by dropping off groceries, baked goods, and even a gift card. We feel completely blessed and overwhelmed by the love and generosity of our family and our church family/ community. One of our sending churches even collected some gift cards for our family so I could get my kids, and Bryan and I some new clothes.
We have had so many offers for visits and heard from many friends and family who want to see us and it is overwhelming, but good. Being away for a few years and then walking back into such a loving community really makes us feel lucky. We have been out of sight for a long time, but we have not been overlooked or forgotten. For those of you who have been walking this journey with us for the last 5 years, thank you. Thank you for your love, your prayers, your comments and encouragement. We just celebrated our 5th anniversary as missionaries to Beautiful Gate on December 4th, and we are feeling revived and re-energized to finish our final 2 years well.

Reconnecting Cousins

Our nieces are staying with us for the week and 2 days ago, Bryan had a blast pulling our kids and their cousins on a sled behind the 4 wheeler. I have not heard that much laughter and screaming in a long time. Elijah and my mother-in-law built up a really nice ramp so the sled riders could get some air. Wow, what fun!
Today we took a long walk in the woods and stood watching the river for a little while. It is a mixture of crazy fun and relaxation as we spend time up here in the woods. My kids and their cousins get along as if they had never been apart and that is such a blessing. They still have a lot in common despite their life experiences being so different over the last 5 years. It gives me hope that my kids will be able to transition back into their community in 2 years.

Is it safer with their eyes closed?? Probably not :)

Let the snow balls fly cause for once, Eli can't get us back!

This one is pretty awesome. It is the first time Mercy has been sledding with a ramp. I'd say that she likes it quite a bit :)

These 5 are pretty awesome together! Friends for life.

Family Fun

We made it safely home to America and we are hiding away in the forest of Michigan. There have been SO MANY things that we have noticed that are different than what we are used to in Lesotho, and it has been a fun family game. Mercy and Faith are just amazed at all the trees. Elijah is amazed because there are no people (no shepherds). There are no taxis or pedestrians and because we are in the woods, it is sooooooo quiet! We laughed about how soft the toilet paper is and were appalled at the ridiculous size of a large coke at McDonalds (it is a liter or more in size, crazy). We were surprised to see police actually pulling over speeders and had to remember to slow down. Also needed to remember to be on the proper side of the road (that has been a tough thing to remember and there have been a few close calls, oops). We actually have to get out of our cars and pump our own gas (petrol). I am sure there are plenty of more things that will come up, I just thought I'd share a few :)
I promised the kids to do my best to take them to do 1 fun thing each week while we are home, so today, we went to the beach. I knew it was too cold to play there, but the wind was blowing hard and we wanted to see the waves. It was totally worth it!!!!! Living in a land locked country has really helped us appreciate Lake Michigan. We grabbed some take out and had a nice time together as a family. Here are a few pictures...

I also wanted to point out that Bryan and his mom took the time to make me a special cake for my birthday this week. It was picked due to my like of Kit Kats and not because of the pig theme in case you are wondering :) It was really yummy too!

Mercy and Faith's thoughts on furlough

"I am very excited to be going on furlough. I hope the 4 days will go by fast. Can't wait to see my family and friends, but I am sad that it is only 9 weeks. School is going great, and I am sad that I have to do some work on furlough (no offense Miss Dawn or Miss Beth). I am looking forward to doing some roller skating. I want to see some snow and go sledding, make a snowman and play with my grandparents dog. After I play in the snow, I want to go inside and drink some hot cocoa. At Thanksgiving, I hope my Oma will make some of her famous pickles.
I definitely will miss the Beautiful Gate Christmas party cause the food is really, really good (thank you Ntate KB).
Miss you all."
Faith


"I would really appreciate it if I could hang out with my family and friends and have fun. I would like it if our whole family is there. I would like to go roller skating and sledding with our cousins. I also hope to build a snowman and play with my grandparent's dog.
I love everyone and I am so happy to see everyone. I will really miss Lesotho because it is so beautiful and I have spent most of my life here. I am really going to miss school and my friends there."
Love,
Mercy


We are leaving in 4 days! Ready or not West Michigan, here come the Geurinks!

My kids at school and playgroup

Last full week of school for my kiddos till we head out on furlough!!!! I get a 9 week break from packing their lunches :) Just saying that reminds me of the hundreds of things which will be available to our taste buds in a very short period of time. I do not miss the food from home when I am here, but I do remember there are many things which we cannot get here. I better not get started on all of them or I will fill an entire post with things none of you care to read about, hahaha.

My kids had wacky Wednesday and pajama Friday last week so I thought it would be fun to post a couple pictures of my cute kids when looking "not" so cute. I am so thankful for their new school, but I am also so thankful to have them around more for the next 9 weeks.

I brought my kids to play group last week too because they have really been missing living on campus and having the play group available whenever they wanted to play. We had such a good time playing with the kids and I thought I would post a couple pictures of them playing here too. I know they are going to miss it for a few months.

I am so blessed by having these 3 kids. God has been so good to us, and I love watching them grow in their love and friendship with each other and with the BG kids.