Four months have passed since Haley arrived home from her two-month missions trip to Africa this past summer, and so much has happened. The last blog entry here told of Harris's dad's passing, but then two weeks after that, Heath was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and a whole new blog was started: http://www.westerkamp-family.blogspot.com/. Everyone's focus has kind of shifted towards Heath, and in the meantime, our daughter Haley has been left to process a lot of emotions on her own. She was thrown right into her role as one of the swim team captains and then started her senior year of high school just 10 days after arriving back on American soil.
Probably a couple months ago already, she decided she was going to make one of those paper chains so she could take off a ring per day and thereby count down her last days of high school. All she really had to go back to school for was gym and one more class, so her plan for a long time already has been to graduate early in December. Many people, including her friends, seemed bothered by her decision to do that, and she was baffled why so many people would look at her funny or try and convince her that she would regret it later and that she should just enjoy these last few months in high school. It took some time and some confident assurances from us, but she finally came to grips with the fact that if she and we were all okay with her decision, then that was just okay, and she no longer needed to be bothered by the fact that everyone else seemed to be bothered.
What made it harder was when everyone would ask her what she was going to do once she was done, she really didn't know for sure. That made her decision sound even more crazy! She just knew she needed some down time, some carefree time to go visit some family, and more time spent with God than what she was getting. She knew she had two jobs that she planned to fall back on, and she knew she would finally have some time to think about college or future ministry plans or whatever. Heath has been going to a school on a sweet scholarship program, and once it came to light that she could do the same next fall, the decision was made very easily in her mind that she would do that too. Even if she goes there for a while and gets some of her general education classes out of the way for free, she will give herself some time to contemplate her next move in life.
Lately we've all been reminded every day of her countdown, and she quite often will share that fact with the utmost amount of joy, exuberance, delight, loudness, and the most uninhibited enthusiasm as only Haley can do! She's always been our most flamboyant child, but she has just been over the top in excitement lately. However, if she hasn't been in that realm, she's been the most aggravated, irritable, and impatient human being to be walking around the house, and it seems as though there hasn't been much even-keeled attitude in her for a while. It's caused more arguments than usual, and we've had a really hard time just connecting on some of the normal things in life.
In my mind, part of it was just chalked off to all the other stressors going on around here in the last couple months, but for the last couple weeks, it seemed to be getting worse, so I've been more diligently praying for insight and wisdom on the matter. Any attempt by me to help her even out seemed pointless, and last Thursday night we clashed again big time. Afterwards, God reminded me of a time when she and I had gone out to a restaurant together and that she had just opened up and talked and talked about everything on her heart in that environment. I sensed that my prayer for wisdom was being answered in that moment, and I started looking for a way to make that happen again.
Saturday night after coming home from hanging out with her group of friends, who happen to be an awesome, stable part of her life, the house was quiet and peaceful, and I asked her if she would consider going to something at church with me on Sunday night and then maybe we could go grab something to eat afterwards. She picked up on it right away that I was just wanting to have a big talk with her, and before we knew it, we were sitting here having a major discussion in the living room. It all started with me asking her why she seemed to be at such extremes lately and what was really bothering her, and her immediate response was, "School."
Before Africa she was our child who took her studies most seriously, but this fall we have seen the most careless and disinterested attitude towards her studies that we've ever seen. One class in particular has been very difficult for her, and it took a great amount of coaxing to get her to ask the teacher for some help, and that is not like her at all. She shared with me that she really could care less because she knows she'll still qualify for the free tuition next fall, she thinks that sitting in Spanish class will never help her long-term because she has no desire to ever minister in Mexico, playing dodgeball in gym for 90 minutes is dumb, and Office Aid is just a waste of her time because all she's doing is running notes around the school to help out the staff.
She also shared with me that she's just really, really tired of hearing all the pathetic stories of what people are doing on the weekends. "I don't want to know where kids are getting their drugs or where the parties are or who's having sex with who. No one shares my morals and my values, and I just can't stand being around that anymore."
After listening to her rant for a while, I quietly said, "May I share an observation?"
"Sure."
I said, "Let me guess. Your heart lies somewhere between here and Africa, and you have no idea where it should end up. You know you're a homebody, but you know your heart aches for those orphans and child soldiers there. You know you'd like to go help them, but you don't know when or how or for how long. You're all of a sudden going to be given your freedom from high school, and you're just not sure what that's supposed to look like. You're not sure if going to school for psychology will be your thing or not. You know you want to get married someday, but you have no idea when that will happen and to whom. You just have this big ball of emotions fighting with each other on the inside, and you don't know what to do with them all."
As I was talking, her tears started to trickle down and then started flowing. Only because of God's guidance in my spirit was I really able to pinpoint every area of frustration for her, and she was floored and amazed at how well I really knew her and ended up feeling relieved by it. Someone was finally able to understand what all was going on inside of her and talk with her about it. We were able to move into a peaceful and sweet time of conversation.
She said, "Mom, no one understands! No one! I'm so tired of people thinking they have it so badly. I'm sitting on a couch, for Pete's sake. I'm sitting in a warm home with people who love me. I have everything I need. There are children in Africa who are chewing SAND and running over pieces of broken glass without shoes on, but they are happy! They have nothing, and we have everything! I'm so tired of people grumbling about what they have to wear or not getting along with their parents. I just don't get it."
Our church recently had messages on tithing and giving, and we are in the midst of a capital campaign, so these thoughts came out of her mouth: "I don't understand why we should be giving to our local church so we can build a gym. We have so many churches here, and they would give anything to meet in a tiny fraction of our building. I just don't get it, Mom."
"I don't know why I have such a heart for Africa. I don't get it! I love being at home here with my family, but I just know I need to help those child soldiers in Sierra Leone or Uganda. Maybe I'm supposed to live with a family over there and help them. I know it's a scary place and tons of horrid things happen there every single day, but I just don't know why I feel I have to go there sometime."
Then the crux of the matter: "Mom, when I was over there, we had an hour every morning with God where all we did was spend time in the Word, worship, and pray. Then we'd go out on ministry all day and then come home where we would have a worship service under the African stars and hang out with everyone that had the same love for Africa, the same love for Jesus, and the same mindset all the time! Here we're all just busy all the time, and even though my intentions are good, I just can't find the time in my schedule to do that. Life is so simple there, and we just go around doing all these stupid things that don't even matter."
So much truth coming out of my 18-year-old's mouth.
Finally all we could do was talk about how to best utilize the next eight months of her life. Take time for peace and solitude. Take time to process what happened there and what goes on here and then figure out how to be content wherever she is. Take time to slow down a little and enjoy life. Take time to read the Word, study, and pray. Take time to be still and listen to what God may be saying.
I think that's probably a really good idea for everyone.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Replacing the African Daisy
Three weeks ago today, we woke up to one of those early-morning phone calls that are never fun to receive. It was Harris's mom, Bonnie, telling us that the ambulance had taken Harris's dad, Howard, to the hospital at 5:30 that morning after a difficult night of pain and not being able to breathe very well. We spent the next couple of days learning that in addition to his prostate cancer, he was now dealing with a heart that had gone out of rhythm, an infection in his blood, some pneumonia, and the need for insulin and morphine and breathing treatments. He was a very sick man.
Harris and his brother, Vance, headed there Friday morning, and Stephanie and I and all the kids left on Saturday so we could all be there together. We had no idea what we were in for, but amazingly enough, we were able to enjoy a wonderful weekend together as a family despite his condition. He was able to converse with us pretty normally, which was wonderful. A couple weeks prior to all of this, he had decided to give his three boys each a gift from his Pella MotorWorks business, so they were having fun with their new toys . . .
Because of his love for guns, he had placed a special order for gold-plated rifles to be sequentially made and numbered for each of his grandsons. The guys picked them up and took them to Pella so Grandpa could give them to the boys, but because we couldn't cause a raucous in the hospital, Grandpa wasn't able to give them to the boys himself. We decided to have a little photo shoot outside Bryce's home, and pictures were brought to Grandpa instead.
After the whole family gathered around him in the ICU on Sunday afternoon and demolished a tub of ice cream together, we had a very tearful good-bye. None of us knew whether he would ever go back home to the farm or if that would be our last time of seeing him.
Months ago, Harris and I had stepped out in total faith and booked an Alaskan cruise to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. It was something we had wanted to do for our 20th already, but life always had a way of interfering with our dream. Finally, we were at a point that we just knew how desperately we needed a vacation away together, so we just booked it and trusted that it would all work out. Harris's dad had been sick with cancer for three years already, so what were the chances that his health would interfere now any more than it already had?
Because his dad was in the hospital, we really struggled with whether or not it would be wise to leave in a week as planned. Two weeks ago today, I had a conversation in the morning with Harris's mom, and we found out that the doctor had told them he would be here less than six months. We all felt as though that was a pretty safe answer on the doctor's part, but when she told me that he was being transferred to Hospice care that night, I just knew in my heart that meant our trip was going to need to be canceled. Harris was out of town that day, and the dread of telling him my gut instinct was about more than I could handle. However, my sister-in-law and I decided that maybe, just maybe, it would be wise to call the doctor and see if he could give us any more of an educated opinion on what he thought we should do rather than go on the emotionally driven, uneducated gut feeling I was going on.
After a long conversation with the nurse, I was pleasantly surprised to receive a phone call from the doctor around 5:30 that evening. We agreed up front that neither of us could possibly know what God's plan for Howard's life was, but after talking through our predicament, he advised me that he thought we should go, that Howard would want us to go, and that he really felt from his 20 years of experience that Howard would be around for another month and a half. He is a trusted Christian family doctor who we've all grown to love and appreciate, so to receive his blessing on proceeding with our plans was enough of a relief to just move into serious preparation mode. He agreed to call me up until 5 a.m. on Sunday, departure time, if he had any second thoughts, and we just continued to pray that all would be well. We knew that if we didn't go and he lived a lot longer, we would always regret not going. Harris made plans to be with his dad on Friday and Saturday while I finalized a whole lot of details on this end.
Sunday morning our kids took us to the airport.
We flew from Moline to Atlanta to Seattle. We captured this beautiful picture of Mt. Rainier from our plane window . . .
Some dear friends from newlywed days picked us up from the airport, and they gave us the royal treatment for the next 48 hours.
Not only did they share their home and food with us, but they spent time sharing their lives and their part of the country with us.
While they were taking us to the ship on Tuesday afternoon, I asked Harris if he wanted to call his folks before we got on the ship, and he told me that he already had a brief conversation with both of them. His dad told Harris he was okay, but he wasn't real talkative. We found out later that it was probably one of the last coherent conversations that he had.
We proceeded to get on the Carnival Spirit . . .
The next 24 hours were sheer bliss. Together, just the two of us, we enjoyed our final sights of Seattle . . .
. . . we enjoyed our room that had been recently updated from interior to balcony for a ridiculously low additional fee . . .
. . . and we just enjoyed the amenities of the ship, hanging out together, and relaxing.
We had gotten a text Wednesday morning telling us that Harris's dad had not had a very good night, that he was very cold, didn't want to take his meds, and was sleeping a whole lot. We knew that wasn't great news, but when we got back to our room after a late afternoon lunch and some peaceful lingering over a cup of hot chocolate, we had another text from Steph saying, "Please call right away." We knew that wasn't a good sign at all. We were able to call her on my cell phone and found out that Harris's dad at the age of 69 had just passed away very peacefully in the middle of a breathing treatment at 6:15 p.m. CST on Wednesday, September 8, 2010.
The next 24 hours were anything but sheer bliss. We picked ourselves up and walked through the formally dressed crowd who had gathered for the Captain's Gala and found ourselves explaining our circumstances to the kind people at the Guest Services desk. They asked us to come into their office behind closed doors and proceeded to contact Carnival's insurance provider for us, made flight arrangements with us, offered us bottles of water and free unlimited use of their phone and anything else we needed, and just very graciously and lovingly cared for us for the next little while. Thankfully we had paid for the trip insurance coverage when we booked the cruise, or this fiasco would have been much worse. We have no idea yet how everything will play out financially, but we're trusting God will cover all the bases.
We went back to our room and decided that instead of sitting in there and wasting away our last night on the ship, which happened to be the most formal night in the dining room, we would throw on some dress clothes that really could have benefitted from some ironing and make the most out of it anyway. The seating line was rather long, so rather than stand there uncomfortably, I marched right up to the hostess, explained our situation, and she had someone whisk us away to a nice table for two. Harris enjoyed every bit of shrimp and lobster he could get his hands on.
Our moods were down, conversation was sparse, and tears started coming before dessert made its way to the table, so we ended up leaving early.
When the sun set, there was still just water surrounding us . . .
The next morning I wasn't sleeping very well, so I ended up putting on some jeans and a coat and made my way to the front of the ship so I could enjoy the Alaskan mountains on both sides of us and the sunrise. I ended up going back to the room and dragging Harris out of bed at 7 a.m. so that he could enjoy it with me, knowing full well that his heart needed to see God's landscape as we continued to venture north towards mainland Alaska. It was a cool 52 degrees and rather cloudy, but the sights were still beautiful.
We spent Thursday morning lingering over an early breakfast, resting in our room, spotting glimpses of whales and dolphins from our balcony, packing up our bags, and then eating one final lunch before handing our bags over to personnel at 1 p.m. so they could be taken through customs. The captain made a point of greeting us in person, visiting with us, and then even gave us a signed card.
We were finally sitting in Juneau, Alaska, at 1:30 p.m. Normally, we would have ventured off the boat to check out the city, but because it was cold and rainy, our bags were gone, and we just weren't in the mood, we opted to just hang out on the ship all afternoon. The time couldn't have passed more slowly, but at least we were able to enjoy the view of the city from our ship.
We grabbed a final bite to eat and then made our way off the ship at 6 p.m. and took a taxi to the Juneau airport for our 8 p.m. flight.
Our glimpses of Juneau probably weren't the best we could have seen, but we really had to kind of chuckle when we got to the airport. We thought Des Moines and Moline had small airports! This was just kind of funny.
We flew via Alaska Airlines and arrived in Seattle at 11 p.m. Then we stepped onto a Delta plane at 12:30 a.m. and arrived in Minneapolis around 6 a.m. Friday morning. Thankfully the three hours' worth of time changes worked in our favor! After our final one-hour flight, we arrived in Des Moines at 11:30 a.m., and we were very thankful that our bags had arrived safe and sound as well. My sister, Sheila, picked us up from the airport and transported us back to Pella. As I've been saying, we definitely took the scenic route to Pella compared to our usual two-hour drive across the state of Iowa!
We were greeted with lots of love, hugs, and compassion, and before we knew it, we were thrust into the reality of planning a funeral, which is something we'd never done. Harris's mom, brothers, and wives had to meet with the funeral director all morning, but they saved some of the decision-making until we could get there. We didn't realize just how good it would be for us to be surrounded by family in this time of loss. It had been a tough 24 hours for us. Bryce's brother-in-law offered to take Bryce's kids home for the night, and our kids and Vance's kids were all still here in Bettendorf, so the seven of us adults were able to thoroughly enjoy some time together before all the kids arrived back in Pella Saturday afternoon.
The outpouring of love and support from all our family and friends was unbelievable. Calls, texts, visits, food . . . the food! My goodness! Other than buying milk a couple times, we never lacked a thing for one single meal, and my sister even lightened the mood by spoiling our guys with a special treat from the bakery: Miss Piggy cookies, their favorite! Silly boys.
My camera went into hiding the rest of the weekend, but there are some visuals that I hope never leave my memory:
* The family all gathered around the casket for our first viewing on Saturday night.
* The little -- and then big -- hands that reached out and dared touch Grandpa's lifeless shell of a body.
* The perfect display of pictures that commemorated his life.
* The sight of all of us gathered in the embalming room while the funeral director patiently answered every last question we could think of.
* The three boys hovered around their dad's casket having their own private conversation before leaving the funeral home.
* The long -- two-hour-wait-time-long! -- line of family and friends from near and far who came to love on our family and express their sympathies at visitation on Sunday afternoon.
* The beautiful display of flowers and gifts, especially the one with three little Precious Moments boys in big shoes with the caption, "Who's Gonna Fill Your Shoes."
* The sight of one of his friends coming through the door, knowing that God used Howard and his illness as a way of getting this man's attention and knowing that he had just accepted Christ.
* The sanctuary full of people as we rounded the corner and made our way as a family to the front of the church for the funeral on Monday morning.
* The pallbearers picking up the casket and Brandon turning around and flashing a big smile because he was honored enough to help at age 12.
* The picture-perfect sunny day complemented by the casket spray of gorgeous fall flowers and ears of corn.
* The little boys watching intently as Grandpa's body was lowered into the ground.
* The fellowship hall full of people enjoying Grandpa's request, a catered meal, and the lineup of people ready to pour out some more love on Harris's mom.
In an effort to resume some sense of normalcy around here yesterday, I found myself tending the new flower arrangements we brought home and my flowers outside in my yard. Before Haley left for Africa, I had planted an African daisy in a pot, and it served as a gentle reminder for me all summer to pray for Haley while she was gone. The poor thing was completely dried up and gone when we got home, but as I took it out and found myself replacing it with this new beautiful fall mum that we had received . . .
. . . this blog entry was inspired. Replacing that dead African daisy with something so living, beautiful, and full of life and color made all the things I'd been thinking about come into perspective! Just as Howard passed from this earth and received his new life in Heaven, God is faithful to give us fresh reminders and promises of that new life while we are here on earth.
All weekend long we were reminded of just how generous a man Harris's dad was. It was not uncommon for him to loan out a vehicle or piece of machinery without even knowing who he was loaning it to or when he would get it back. It was not uncommon for him to just pick up the tab at a restaurant for a table full of family or friends, time and time again, and never expecting anything in return. It was not uncommon for him to help someone out who was struggling. He faced many obstacles in his life, but he was a hard worker, a risk taker, and a cheerful giver. God blessed his generous heart.
All weekend long I was reminded of just how special it is to be surrounded by loving family and friends and how important it is to care for each other. It bothers me to think of all the times I could have reached out and gave more or provided a meal for someone or sent a card or shown up to give a hug or just share a memory with someone about their loved one. The love and support we have received this weekend has inspired me to be much more sensitive to the needs of those around me.
We've transitioned from one season of our family's lives into another. A whole season full of new emotions, decisions, and changes has been forced upon us whether we're ready to plunge into it or not. Today is Harris's birthday, and to be honest, it's not exactly been a fun one. Along with the grieving, we're disappointed that we aren't flying back from our cruise today and frustrated that the hard drive in his brand-new laptop decided to fail today. All we can do is continually trust our Heavenly father with our future, learn from the victories and mistakes of Harris's earthly father, be thankful for the blessings God has bestowed upon us today, and keep glorifying God in the process.
Harris and his brother, Vance, headed there Friday morning, and Stephanie and I and all the kids left on Saturday so we could all be there together. We had no idea what we were in for, but amazingly enough, we were able to enjoy a wonderful weekend together as a family despite his condition. He was able to converse with us pretty normally, which was wonderful. A couple weeks prior to all of this, he had decided to give his three boys each a gift from his Pella MotorWorks business, so they were having fun with their new toys . . .
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| Bryce, Vance, Harris |
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| Conner, Camren, Keaton, Brandon, Karson, Heath |
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| Shanda, Alexa, Kelsey, Haley |
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| Vance & Steph, Bryce & Cherie, Harris & Jacki |
After the whole family gathered around him in the ICU on Sunday afternoon and demolished a tub of ice cream together, we had a very tearful good-bye. None of us knew whether he would ever go back home to the farm or if that would be our last time of seeing him.
Months ago, Harris and I had stepped out in total faith and booked an Alaskan cruise to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. It was something we had wanted to do for our 20th already, but life always had a way of interfering with our dream. Finally, we were at a point that we just knew how desperately we needed a vacation away together, so we just booked it and trusted that it would all work out. Harris's dad had been sick with cancer for three years already, so what were the chances that his health would interfere now any more than it already had?
Because his dad was in the hospital, we really struggled with whether or not it would be wise to leave in a week as planned. Two weeks ago today, I had a conversation in the morning with Harris's mom, and we found out that the doctor had told them he would be here less than six months. We all felt as though that was a pretty safe answer on the doctor's part, but when she told me that he was being transferred to Hospice care that night, I just knew in my heart that meant our trip was going to need to be canceled. Harris was out of town that day, and the dread of telling him my gut instinct was about more than I could handle. However, my sister-in-law and I decided that maybe, just maybe, it would be wise to call the doctor and see if he could give us any more of an educated opinion on what he thought we should do rather than go on the emotionally driven, uneducated gut feeling I was going on.
After a long conversation with the nurse, I was pleasantly surprised to receive a phone call from the doctor around 5:30 that evening. We agreed up front that neither of us could possibly know what God's plan for Howard's life was, but after talking through our predicament, he advised me that he thought we should go, that Howard would want us to go, and that he really felt from his 20 years of experience that Howard would be around for another month and a half. He is a trusted Christian family doctor who we've all grown to love and appreciate, so to receive his blessing on proceeding with our plans was enough of a relief to just move into serious preparation mode. He agreed to call me up until 5 a.m. on Sunday, departure time, if he had any second thoughts, and we just continued to pray that all would be well. We knew that if we didn't go and he lived a lot longer, we would always regret not going. Harris made plans to be with his dad on Friday and Saturday while I finalized a whole lot of details on this end.
Sunday morning our kids took us to the airport.
We flew from Moline to Atlanta to Seattle. We captured this beautiful picture of Mt. Rainier from our plane window . . .
Some dear friends from newlywed days picked us up from the airport, and they gave us the royal treatment for the next 48 hours.
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| Jerry & Janet |
While they were taking us to the ship on Tuesday afternoon, I asked Harris if he wanted to call his folks before we got on the ship, and he told me that he already had a brief conversation with both of them. His dad told Harris he was okay, but he wasn't real talkative. We found out later that it was probably one of the last coherent conversations that he had.
We proceeded to get on the Carnival Spirit . . .
The next 24 hours were sheer bliss. Together, just the two of us, we enjoyed our final sights of Seattle . . .
. . . we enjoyed our room that had been recently updated from interior to balcony for a ridiculously low additional fee . . .
. . . and we just enjoyed the amenities of the ship, hanging out together, and relaxing.
We had gotten a text Wednesday morning telling us that Harris's dad had not had a very good night, that he was very cold, didn't want to take his meds, and was sleeping a whole lot. We knew that wasn't great news, but when we got back to our room after a late afternoon lunch and some peaceful lingering over a cup of hot chocolate, we had another text from Steph saying, "Please call right away." We knew that wasn't a good sign at all. We were able to call her on my cell phone and found out that Harris's dad at the age of 69 had just passed away very peacefully in the middle of a breathing treatment at 6:15 p.m. CST on Wednesday, September 8, 2010.
The next 24 hours were anything but sheer bliss. We picked ourselves up and walked through the formally dressed crowd who had gathered for the Captain's Gala and found ourselves explaining our circumstances to the kind people at the Guest Services desk. They asked us to come into their office behind closed doors and proceeded to contact Carnival's insurance provider for us, made flight arrangements with us, offered us bottles of water and free unlimited use of their phone and anything else we needed, and just very graciously and lovingly cared for us for the next little while. Thankfully we had paid for the trip insurance coverage when we booked the cruise, or this fiasco would have been much worse. We have no idea yet how everything will play out financially, but we're trusting God will cover all the bases.
We went back to our room and decided that instead of sitting in there and wasting away our last night on the ship, which happened to be the most formal night in the dining room, we would throw on some dress clothes that really could have benefitted from some ironing and make the most out of it anyway. The seating line was rather long, so rather than stand there uncomfortably, I marched right up to the hostess, explained our situation, and she had someone whisk us away to a nice table for two. Harris enjoyed every bit of shrimp and lobster he could get his hands on.
Our moods were down, conversation was sparse, and tears started coming before dessert made its way to the table, so we ended up leaving early.
When the sun set, there was still just water surrounding us . . .
The next morning I wasn't sleeping very well, so I ended up putting on some jeans and a coat and made my way to the front of the ship so I could enjoy the Alaskan mountains on both sides of us and the sunrise. I ended up going back to the room and dragging Harris out of bed at 7 a.m. so that he could enjoy it with me, knowing full well that his heart needed to see God's landscape as we continued to venture north towards mainland Alaska. It was a cool 52 degrees and rather cloudy, but the sights were still beautiful.
We spent Thursday morning lingering over an early breakfast, resting in our room, spotting glimpses of whales and dolphins from our balcony, packing up our bags, and then eating one final lunch before handing our bags over to personnel at 1 p.m. so they could be taken through customs. The captain made a point of greeting us in person, visiting with us, and then even gave us a signed card.
We were finally sitting in Juneau, Alaska, at 1:30 p.m. Normally, we would have ventured off the boat to check out the city, but because it was cold and rainy, our bags were gone, and we just weren't in the mood, we opted to just hang out on the ship all afternoon. The time couldn't have passed more slowly, but at least we were able to enjoy the view of the city from our ship.
We grabbed a final bite to eat and then made our way off the ship at 6 p.m. and took a taxi to the Juneau airport for our 8 p.m. flight.
Our glimpses of Juneau probably weren't the best we could have seen, but we really had to kind of chuckle when we got to the airport. We thought Des Moines and Moline had small airports! This was just kind of funny.
We flew via Alaska Airlines and arrived in Seattle at 11 p.m. Then we stepped onto a Delta plane at 12:30 a.m. and arrived in Minneapolis around 6 a.m. Friday morning. Thankfully the three hours' worth of time changes worked in our favor! After our final one-hour flight, we arrived in Des Moines at 11:30 a.m., and we were very thankful that our bags had arrived safe and sound as well. My sister, Sheila, picked us up from the airport and transported us back to Pella. As I've been saying, we definitely took the scenic route to Pella compared to our usual two-hour drive across the state of Iowa!
We were greeted with lots of love, hugs, and compassion, and before we knew it, we were thrust into the reality of planning a funeral, which is something we'd never done. Harris's mom, brothers, and wives had to meet with the funeral director all morning, but they saved some of the decision-making until we could get there. We didn't realize just how good it would be for us to be surrounded by family in this time of loss. It had been a tough 24 hours for us. Bryce's brother-in-law offered to take Bryce's kids home for the night, and our kids and Vance's kids were all still here in Bettendorf, so the seven of us adults were able to thoroughly enjoy some time together before all the kids arrived back in Pella Saturday afternoon.
The outpouring of love and support from all our family and friends was unbelievable. Calls, texts, visits, food . . . the food! My goodness! Other than buying milk a couple times, we never lacked a thing for one single meal, and my sister even lightened the mood by spoiling our guys with a special treat from the bakery: Miss Piggy cookies, their favorite! Silly boys.
My camera went into hiding the rest of the weekend, but there are some visuals that I hope never leave my memory:
* The family all gathered around the casket for our first viewing on Saturday night.
* The little -- and then big -- hands that reached out and dared touch Grandpa's lifeless shell of a body.
* The perfect display of pictures that commemorated his life.
* The sight of all of us gathered in the embalming room while the funeral director patiently answered every last question we could think of.
* The three boys hovered around their dad's casket having their own private conversation before leaving the funeral home.
* The long -- two-hour-wait-time-long! -- line of family and friends from near and far who came to love on our family and express their sympathies at visitation on Sunday afternoon.
* The beautiful display of flowers and gifts, especially the one with three little Precious Moments boys in big shoes with the caption, "Who's Gonna Fill Your Shoes."
* The sight of one of his friends coming through the door, knowing that God used Howard and his illness as a way of getting this man's attention and knowing that he had just accepted Christ.
* The sanctuary full of people as we rounded the corner and made our way as a family to the front of the church for the funeral on Monday morning.
* The pallbearers picking up the casket and Brandon turning around and flashing a big smile because he was honored enough to help at age 12.
* The picture-perfect sunny day complemented by the casket spray of gorgeous fall flowers and ears of corn.
* The little boys watching intently as Grandpa's body was lowered into the ground.
* The fellowship hall full of people enjoying Grandpa's request, a catered meal, and the lineup of people ready to pour out some more love on Harris's mom.
In an effort to resume some sense of normalcy around here yesterday, I found myself tending the new flower arrangements we brought home and my flowers outside in my yard. Before Haley left for Africa, I had planted an African daisy in a pot, and it served as a gentle reminder for me all summer to pray for Haley while she was gone. The poor thing was completely dried up and gone when we got home, but as I took it out and found myself replacing it with this new beautiful fall mum that we had received . . .
. . . this blog entry was inspired. Replacing that dead African daisy with something so living, beautiful, and full of life and color made all the things I'd been thinking about come into perspective! Just as Howard passed from this earth and received his new life in Heaven, God is faithful to give us fresh reminders and promises of that new life while we are here on earth.
All weekend long we were reminded of just how generous a man Harris's dad was. It was not uncommon for him to loan out a vehicle or piece of machinery without even knowing who he was loaning it to or when he would get it back. It was not uncommon for him to just pick up the tab at a restaurant for a table full of family or friends, time and time again, and never expecting anything in return. It was not uncommon for him to help someone out who was struggling. He faced many obstacles in his life, but he was a hard worker, a risk taker, and a cheerful giver. God blessed his generous heart.
All weekend long I was reminded of just how special it is to be surrounded by loving family and friends and how important it is to care for each other. It bothers me to think of all the times I could have reached out and gave more or provided a meal for someone or sent a card or shown up to give a hug or just share a memory with someone about their loved one. The love and support we have received this weekend has inspired me to be much more sensitive to the needs of those around me.
We've transitioned from one season of our family's lives into another. A whole season full of new emotions, decisions, and changes has been forced upon us whether we're ready to plunge into it or not. Today is Harris's birthday, and to be honest, it's not exactly been a fun one. Along with the grieving, we're disappointed that we aren't flying back from our cruise today and frustrated that the hard drive in his brand-new laptop decided to fail today. All we can do is continually trust our Heavenly father with our future, learn from the victories and mistakes of Harris's earthly father, be thankful for the blessings God has bestowed upon us today, and keep glorifying God in the process.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Reflections
The two weeks since Haley has been home have been full of joys and challenges for our family, and words will never adequately describe the thoughts and emotions that have overtaken me especially. During worship on the first Sunday after she was home, tears were just spilling out all over my shirt before I even knew they were there. Tears of gratitude and tears of thinking how great our God is. A heart so full of thanksgiving to Him for bringing our baby back home to us and for all that He had done in her and through her. Her stories are still coming out, and there is just no way I can even attempt to capture them into words to share with you. I so wish I could because I know you would be so blessed.
There have also been some tears of frustration lately over some recent circumstances, and I was really struggling to figure it all out. When a friend of mine gave me some random verses to look up, she had no idea how one of them would end up standing out and being so pivotal in recognizing what was going on. Then it made perfect sense. The devil is really unhappy with us right now, and he's been taking every chance he can to just hurl arrows at us. Just check out these verses:
"A final word: Be strong with the Lord's mighty power. Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the Devil. For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms. Use every piece of God's armor to resist the enemy in the time of evil so that after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the sturdy belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for Christians everywhere." Ephesians 6:10-18, NLT
I'm just so thankful that my focus has been turned back to God's truth and that the Word of God is alive and active in my heart! The whole armor of God is so important to put on every day, and for me personally, that shield of faith is on and ready to dodge any more bullets!
Speaking of faith, check this out:
After Haley arrived home, she received this in the mail from someone with these words written in a card:
"Welcome home! I will be praying for you as you adjust! And here is some seed $ for the next place God calls you -- for I am sure He will."
Wow. If that doesn't give us something to ponder and pray about, I'm not sure what does! This didn't come from someone with piles of money. This was joyously and sacrificially given in faith!! May God bless this family!
Back to Haley . . . one of the main things I have noticed since her return is just how peaceful and joyful and full of the Spirit she is. Yep, she's still human and far from perfect, but she's feeling something uniquely different on the inside. She realizes that so many of the things in life that we get all stressed about just really don't matter in the long run. She has a new appreciation for the awesome power of God, and the words "only my God could do such a thing" have come from her mouth multiple times. She's still tired and still has things to put away and has many things on her mental to-do list, but last night she shared with me that normally that would stress her out and she'd have to get them on paper and get them done, but now that sense of urgency just isn't there like it used to be because all those "things" really don't matter. She feels as though she should probably be a little more stressed than what she is, but yet she's feeling such immense peace and joy in her life right now, and she's not ready to give in to all those pressures that could so easily squelch her spirit.
As we were sharing in this most delightful conversation, I kept wondering to myself what the world would be like if every American teenager at age 17 would have to spend two months in Africa or another poverty-stricken place. They'd all gain a much different perspective of life and the world in which we live, and I have a hunch the world would be a lot different than what it is today. Obviously Haley's been called to do this and the effect on her is much different than on someone who has been forced to do so. God prepared her heart in such a way to be willing to sacrifice her comforts of home for the sake of helping others, and in turn He has blessed her with an amazing sense of peace and joy that can only come from Him.
After thinking about that a lot last night, some pictures came to my attention on Facebook this morning, and they coincided perfectly with this topic. Just think . . . if every teenager's daily routine looked like this for a couple months of their life, I think there would be at least a few positive changes amongst a lot of them.
There have also been some tears of frustration lately over some recent circumstances, and I was really struggling to figure it all out. When a friend of mine gave me some random verses to look up, she had no idea how one of them would end up standing out and being so pivotal in recognizing what was going on. Then it made perfect sense. The devil is really unhappy with us right now, and he's been taking every chance he can to just hurl arrows at us. Just check out these verses:
"A final word: Be strong with the Lord's mighty power. Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the Devil. For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms. Use every piece of God's armor to resist the enemy in the time of evil so that after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the sturdy belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for Christians everywhere." Ephesians 6:10-18, NLT
I'm just so thankful that my focus has been turned back to God's truth and that the Word of God is alive and active in my heart! The whole armor of God is so important to put on every day, and for me personally, that shield of faith is on and ready to dodge any more bullets!
Speaking of faith, check this out:
After Haley arrived home, she received this in the mail from someone with these words written in a card:
"Welcome home! I will be praying for you as you adjust! And here is some seed $ for the next place God calls you -- for I am sure He will."
Wow. If that doesn't give us something to ponder and pray about, I'm not sure what does! This didn't come from someone with piles of money. This was joyously and sacrificially given in faith!! May God bless this family!
Back to Haley . . . one of the main things I have noticed since her return is just how peaceful and joyful and full of the Spirit she is. Yep, she's still human and far from perfect, but she's feeling something uniquely different on the inside. She realizes that so many of the things in life that we get all stressed about just really don't matter in the long run. She has a new appreciation for the awesome power of God, and the words "only my God could do such a thing" have come from her mouth multiple times. She's still tired and still has things to put away and has many things on her mental to-do list, but last night she shared with me that normally that would stress her out and she'd have to get them on paper and get them done, but now that sense of urgency just isn't there like it used to be because all those "things" really don't matter. She feels as though she should probably be a little more stressed than what she is, but yet she's feeling such immense peace and joy in her life right now, and she's not ready to give in to all those pressures that could so easily squelch her spirit.
As we were sharing in this most delightful conversation, I kept wondering to myself what the world would be like if every American teenager at age 17 would have to spend two months in Africa or another poverty-stricken place. They'd all gain a much different perspective of life and the world in which we live, and I have a hunch the world would be a lot different than what it is today. Obviously Haley's been called to do this and the effect on her is much different than on someone who has been forced to do so. God prepared her heart in such a way to be willing to sacrifice her comforts of home for the sake of helping others, and in turn He has blessed her with an amazing sense of peace and joy that can only come from Him.
After thinking about that a lot last night, some pictures came to my attention on Facebook this morning, and they coincided perfectly with this topic. Just think . . . if every teenager's daily routine looked like this for a couple months of their life, I think there would be at least a few positive changes amongst a lot of them.
An hour every day -- praying and in the Word of God.
Especially fun in the dark!
Keep in mind that there is just a 10-foot hole dug underneath this little seat.
Showers consist of baby wipes and cold water, and it was hard work just to get this water!
PB&J -- lunch every day for two months.
But wait!
What if all of us as adults would experience these kinds of things for a month or two? How differently would we view life? How would our lives change? Would we get so wrapped up in some of the petty little details of life? Would we value our relationships more? Love more? Serve more? What would we do to make the world a better place? Share the truth of God's word more?
As I was driving this morning, a song came on that I don't remember ever hearing before, but the lyrics were so moving, and "only my God" could have brought it to my attention today of all days. Check it out:
(If you click in the middle and then click on "Watch on YouTube," it should open up and start playing via YouTube.)
God's obviously doing some things to get my attention. I'm curious what He's doing with you.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Haley's Homecoming!!!
I hardly know where to begin! The last few days have just been filled with a whole lot of excitement around here!
Our week started out with one major task on our list that we wanted to accomplish: to paint Haley's bathroom before she got home. When we moved here seven years ago, the very first room that we painted was our guest bedroom in our basement. Why? I don't really know other than I knew exactly what was going in there, and I knew the color I wanted. There is an adjoining bathroom next to it, and painting that the same color with the leftover paint was always on my list of things to do, but other rooms around this house always crept up higher on the priority list, and eventually it just wasn't that important anymore.
Well, a few months ago a guest of ours was taking a shower down there, and because of an injury he was dealing with, he somehow fell into the towel rod, and it creased it good and proper. Replacing it seemed like an easy fix, but we found out that brass 30-inch rods are just not available anymore, so then we knew we had a little bigger dilemma on our hands. Finally last week Friday night, I grabbed Harris by the hand and said, "Let's go find some new fixtures. I want to have Haley's bathroom fixed up before she comes home." (She sleeps in a different bedroom in the basement.) Kelsey went along too, and it became a really fun night of also picking out some travel-related posters to hang in our basement family room, which we had painted shortly before Haley left. Kelsey, my artsy girl who loves anything French, suggested a travel theme for our basement, and when Harris spotted a poster with this verse on it, it all started coming together for us:
This week we were so excited to get the bathroom put together. Nothing fancy or elaborate but we knew that Haley would appreciate having a freshly painted bathroom complete with towel rod when she came home. Feel free to ask her about the kind of "bathrooms" she's been using for the last two months, and you'll understand why a shower, toilet, and hot running water have become so appreciated by her!
After we had put the last finishing touches on everything late Wednesday night, Harris and I were laying in bed and discussing the next few days. His dad had asked him to go to a couple sales for him on Friday and Saturday, so that meant he was going to need to leave late Thursday night after he'd spent adequate time with Haley, and he wanted to know if I would ride along with him to Pella so I could drive a vehicle back home since he had sold his car earlier in the week. The thought of being away from Haley so soon after she arrived home was horrible for both of us, and I was too tired to even think about making such a decision, so we drifted off to sleep rather quickly without finishing the discussion.
Just a few short hours later, Haley called bright and early from the airport in Dallas with a few questions about her flight. Despite my exhaustion, I could no longer sleep, and my excitement level all morning was completely out of control! Words cannot describe how giddy I was! I was so incredibly thankful that God had brought her thus far and was completely trusting in Him to deliver her into our arms by 6:06 p.m. that night! I went to the office, but while she was having a 5-hour layover in Atlanta, she called and spoke with Harris and I on speakerphone for nearly an hour. I had never been so thankful to hear the sound of her laughter!
And then it happened. Harris decided to break his weekend agenda to her. As she was trying to grasp what he was doing and why, he kind of threw it in there that he was going to need someone to go to Pella with him, and she immediately jumped in with "I'll go!!!!! Then I can see everyone!"
What????? It was bad enough for me to think about leaving her, even though she probably would have slept the whole time I was gone, but the thought of her leaving me and sharing her stories with everyone without me was way worse, so I sulked and pouted about that for the next few minutes . . . until it dawned on me that maybe we could just all go with Harris and enjoy the ride together and the day in Pella!!! Crazy, I know, but you have to understand that that's how our family rolls -- sometimes totally crazy, random, and spontaneous! Who would have thought that she would have been so willing to give up her bed her first night home? But that's just how much she loves her family!
The rest of the afternoon was a mad rush of rearranging and making new plans. How could we still get Kelsey's sports physical done by Monday morning, where would we sleep, would Heath want to take off work and go with us, and how could we maximize our time on such short notice with a whole lot of family in the Pella area who she would be very excited to see? It was a little bit intense.
In a message to me partway through her trip, she had indicated that she wanted just our family at the airport so as to not be totally overwhelmed with a whole host of people, but when her uncle Vance gave her a hard time on the phone yesterday afternoon, she very quickly gave in and decided their family could be at the airport too! We all made it to the airport just a few minutes before she arrived. Here are a few pictures for you!
Keaton had informed me several times that he missed her more than anyone! He was pretty quick to be the first in line to hug her.
At that moment in time, I think the whole world could have been there to greet her, and she would have been a very happy camper, but it made for a very special family reunion with it being a smaller group!
Once she realized that her swim team was having their annual family picnic, she decided that she wanted to make a brief appearance since she is one of the three captains this year. If the coach hadn't been in the middle of his spiel, the whole place may have erupted with jubilation upon her arrival, but instead Caitlyn had to calmly keep Taylor from giving Haley the jump hug she had threatened to do if Haley showed up. They just got to calmly introduce her instead.
A plop on the couch was the first "Ah, I'm home!" moment, but then Harris quickly whisked her away to show her the pickup she'll now be driving. That gave me a chance to get dinner ready, and the rest of the evening was filled with good food, lively conversation, Haley's first real shower in two months, and souvenir distribution.
She even shared with us a few other "treasures" from her suitcase. This was supposedly the cleaner pair of the two. I have yet to fully dive in to discover the contents. Is another day really going to matter?!?
At about 10:45 p.m., we left for Pella, and within the first 10 miles, Haley was sound asleep. We quietly entered Harris's parents' home at 1 a.m., quickly crashed, and ended up having the whole morning to ourselves to rest at their house because they had an appointment in town at 8 a.m. Eventually we headed to our former chiropractor's office for Kelsey's sports physical and then splurged a little to get a treat for the ride home.
We felt like such tourists, but who could resist a trip to the bakery? We had to celebrate a little bit!
Neither of my brothers' families could come, but we sure enjoyed a gorgeous afternoon of fellowship at the park with my sister and her girls . . .
. . . Harris's parents and his brother's wife and three boys . . .
On our way home, she found out that a few of her friends were gathered together watching a movie tonight, so she decided to surprise them with a little visit! I would have loved to have seen the expressions on their faces when she walked in the room!
I wish I could somehow share all the stories and details that we've been hearing, but there is just no way that I can do it justice. You just have to hear it from Haley! She had such a fabulous time, and I really hope that she will have ample opportunities to share with all those who want to know more. God proved Himself very faithful and did so many things in her and through her. We're so very proud of her and her willingness to sacrifice so much, all for the sake of following Christ's call on her life.
From here on, life will start returning back to "normal" for our family. I'm not sure any of us really know what that is anymore because we've been so focused on Haley going to Africa for so long. Huge kudos to Heath, Kelsey, and Keaton for their hearts and attitudes throughout all of this. I would imagine at times they felt as though all attention was given to Haley, but they have been so supportive throughout the whole journey, and I'm so proud of them.
Harris has survived. To be honest, it was not easy for him to send her. Even though he gave her his blessing early on in the process, he struggled at times with whether or not we had made the right decision in letting her go. He just wanted to know that she would come back physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy, but he knew that if God called her to it, He would bring her through it. He really missed her, and last Sunday he commented, "I'm just really ready to love on my girl."
That leaves me. An African excursion from a mom's perspective. You've heard everything from me that you could possibly hear. Communicating through this blog has been such an awesome outlet for me, and now that her experience is over, I'm not sure where to go from here. I have loved the writing process and sharing pictures with you. There may be future entries on here, and there may not be. All I know is that if God prompts me with something to write about like He has been doing, I will keep writing and trusting that someone needs to read it. There were times in this process that I have felt as though my heart was probably a little more exposed than I was comfortable with, and I would wonder why I was setting myself up for potential public scrutiny. My whole goal was that somehow my vulnerability would help someone else in some way, shape, or form and also bring God tremendous glory. He has been so faithful!
As I potentially close this down, I can't help but wonder what God has taught YOU throughout this whole experience. Maybe God's placed a nudging on your heart to do something missions-related. Maybe God's taught you a lesson in faithfulness or trust or whatever. Maybe you supported Haley financially and He blessed you for your obedience. Whatever it is, would you be willing to be vulnerable and share it so as to give HIM the glory???
If so, feel free to publicly make a comment here or else email me at thewesterkamps@msn.com. If you give me your permission in that email, I would love to post it here for others to read either with your name or anonymously.
To GOD be ALL the glory, forever and ever!! Amen
Our week started out with one major task on our list that we wanted to accomplish: to paint Haley's bathroom before she got home. When we moved here seven years ago, the very first room that we painted was our guest bedroom in our basement. Why? I don't really know other than I knew exactly what was going in there, and I knew the color I wanted. There is an adjoining bathroom next to it, and painting that the same color with the leftover paint was always on my list of things to do, but other rooms around this house always crept up higher on the priority list, and eventually it just wasn't that important anymore.
Well, a few months ago a guest of ours was taking a shower down there, and because of an injury he was dealing with, he somehow fell into the towel rod, and it creased it good and proper. Replacing it seemed like an easy fix, but we found out that brass 30-inch rods are just not available anymore, so then we knew we had a little bigger dilemma on our hands. Finally last week Friday night, I grabbed Harris by the hand and said, "Let's go find some new fixtures. I want to have Haley's bathroom fixed up before she comes home." (She sleeps in a different bedroom in the basement.) Kelsey went along too, and it became a really fun night of also picking out some travel-related posters to hang in our basement family room, which we had painted shortly before Haley left. Kelsey, my artsy girl who loves anything French, suggested a travel theme for our basement, and when Harris spotted a poster with this verse on it, it all started coming together for us:
That led to a whole grouping on our large wall, and we figured Haley might come home with a few pieces to add in somewhere! We're planning on having a whole lot of fun with it! Can you spot the verse in one of the pictures?
This week we were so excited to get the bathroom put together. Nothing fancy or elaborate but we knew that Haley would appreciate having a freshly painted bathroom complete with towel rod when she came home. Feel free to ask her about the kind of "bathrooms" she's been using for the last two months, and you'll understand why a shower, toilet, and hot running water have become so appreciated by her!
After we had put the last finishing touches on everything late Wednesday night, Harris and I were laying in bed and discussing the next few days. His dad had asked him to go to a couple sales for him on Friday and Saturday, so that meant he was going to need to leave late Thursday night after he'd spent adequate time with Haley, and he wanted to know if I would ride along with him to Pella so I could drive a vehicle back home since he had sold his car earlier in the week. The thought of being away from Haley so soon after she arrived home was horrible for both of us, and I was too tired to even think about making such a decision, so we drifted off to sleep rather quickly without finishing the discussion.
Just a few short hours later, Haley called bright and early from the airport in Dallas with a few questions about her flight. Despite my exhaustion, I could no longer sleep, and my excitement level all morning was completely out of control! Words cannot describe how giddy I was! I was so incredibly thankful that God had brought her thus far and was completely trusting in Him to deliver her into our arms by 6:06 p.m. that night! I went to the office, but while she was having a 5-hour layover in Atlanta, she called and spoke with Harris and I on speakerphone for nearly an hour. I had never been so thankful to hear the sound of her laughter!
And then it happened. Harris decided to break his weekend agenda to her. As she was trying to grasp what he was doing and why, he kind of threw it in there that he was going to need someone to go to Pella with him, and she immediately jumped in with "I'll go!!!!! Then I can see everyone!"
What????? It was bad enough for me to think about leaving her, even though she probably would have slept the whole time I was gone, but the thought of her leaving me and sharing her stories with everyone without me was way worse, so I sulked and pouted about that for the next few minutes . . . until it dawned on me that maybe we could just all go with Harris and enjoy the ride together and the day in Pella!!! Crazy, I know, but you have to understand that that's how our family rolls -- sometimes totally crazy, random, and spontaneous! Who would have thought that she would have been so willing to give up her bed her first night home? But that's just how much she loves her family!
The rest of the afternoon was a mad rush of rearranging and making new plans. How could we still get Kelsey's sports physical done by Monday morning, where would we sleep, would Heath want to take off work and go with us, and how could we maximize our time on such short notice with a whole lot of family in the Pella area who she would be very excited to see? It was a little bit intense.
In a message to me partway through her trip, she had indicated that she wanted just our family at the airport so as to not be totally overwhelmed with a whole host of people, but when her uncle Vance gave her a hard time on the phone yesterday afternoon, she very quickly gave in and decided their family could be at the airport too! We all made it to the airport just a few minutes before she arrived. Here are a few pictures for you!
Keaton had informed me several times that he missed her more than anyone! He was pretty quick to be the first in line to hug her.
Alexa was right there with a big hug!
Haley realized while she was gone that she's even more of a daddy's girl than she already thought she was, and her daddy was just pretty tickled to have her back in his arms as well!
Three years ago when Haley went to Australia for three weeks, she came home and found out that in that time frame, Heath had some pretty life-changing experiences which caused him not to be at the airport, so she made him promise that he'd be there this time. He was!
His girlfriend, Jenny, has been a part of our family for a few months. Vance and Steph are in the background. My other picture of them turned out way too blurry.
Shanda was quietly observing, and all of a sudden, Haley realized that she hadn't given her a hug yet!
It about killed Karson to not be there, but he was at football practice.
Keaton and Alexa just couldn't get enough of her!
Need I say anything more?
So happy to have my baby girl in my arms!!
Haley and Kelsey couldn't be any more opposite, but they are having a wonderful time reconnecting and are looking forward to swimming and being in high school together!
A very happy girl!
Once she realized that her swim team was having their annual family picnic, she decided that she wanted to make a brief appearance since she is one of the three captains this year. If the coach hadn't been in the middle of his spiel, the whole place may have erupted with jubilation upon her arrival, but instead Caitlyn had to calmly keep Taylor from giving Haley the jump hug she had threatened to do if Haley showed up. They just got to calmly introduce her instead.
She even shared with us a few other "treasures" from her suitcase. This was supposedly the cleaner pair of the two. I have yet to fully dive in to discover the contents. Is another day really going to matter?!?
Neither of my brothers' families could come, but we sure enjoyed a gorgeous afternoon of fellowship at the park with my sister and her girls . . .
. . . and my parents.
On our way home, she found out that a few of her friends were gathered together watching a movie tonight, so she decided to surprise them with a little visit! I would have loved to have seen the expressions on their faces when she walked in the room!
I wish I could somehow share all the stories and details that we've been hearing, but there is just no way that I can do it justice. You just have to hear it from Haley! She had such a fabulous time, and I really hope that she will have ample opportunities to share with all those who want to know more. God proved Himself very faithful and did so many things in her and through her. We're so very proud of her and her willingness to sacrifice so much, all for the sake of following Christ's call on her life.
From here on, life will start returning back to "normal" for our family. I'm not sure any of us really know what that is anymore because we've been so focused on Haley going to Africa for so long. Huge kudos to Heath, Kelsey, and Keaton for their hearts and attitudes throughout all of this. I would imagine at times they felt as though all attention was given to Haley, but they have been so supportive throughout the whole journey, and I'm so proud of them.
Harris has survived. To be honest, it was not easy for him to send her. Even though he gave her his blessing early on in the process, he struggled at times with whether or not we had made the right decision in letting her go. He just wanted to know that she would come back physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy, but he knew that if God called her to it, He would bring her through it. He really missed her, and last Sunday he commented, "I'm just really ready to love on my girl."
That leaves me. An African excursion from a mom's perspective. You've heard everything from me that you could possibly hear. Communicating through this blog has been such an awesome outlet for me, and now that her experience is over, I'm not sure where to go from here. I have loved the writing process and sharing pictures with you. There may be future entries on here, and there may not be. All I know is that if God prompts me with something to write about like He has been doing, I will keep writing and trusting that someone needs to read it. There were times in this process that I have felt as though my heart was probably a little more exposed than I was comfortable with, and I would wonder why I was setting myself up for potential public scrutiny. My whole goal was that somehow my vulnerability would help someone else in some way, shape, or form and also bring God tremendous glory. He has been so faithful!
As I potentially close this down, I can't help but wonder what God has taught YOU throughout this whole experience. Maybe God's placed a nudging on your heart to do something missions-related. Maybe God's taught you a lesson in faithfulness or trust or whatever. Maybe you supported Haley financially and He blessed you for your obedience. Whatever it is, would you be willing to be vulnerable and share it so as to give HIM the glory???
If so, feel free to publicly make a comment here or else email me at thewesterkamps@msn.com. If you give me your permission in that email, I would love to post it here for others to read either with your name or anonymously.
To GOD be ALL the glory, forever and ever!! Amen
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