Coxes Quarterly

No this isn’t the hotel

Ah, Geeze… that’s really the only thing that can really cover it… actually the only thing that covers it is the name itself, GEM-K conference… Greater Europe Mission Kids (ages 13- when you finish high school) all piled together in a cozy little Hotel in Hungary for five days…

Our scavenger hunt required that we put ourselves into, well, different situations. Yes, we are all piled into a bathtub!

Just another jazzy picture of me and my GEM-K friends on our scavenger hunt…

Ah, Geeze. Last time I wrote to you I was talking about how I had to remember how to breathe in the first place, this time I’m struggling to catch my breath. I’ve been throwing myself into this sea-like culture, enjoying the way that the waves batter against every part of me in a delightfully foreign rhythm. Like a sea sponge I’ve been absorbing the pleasures and challenges God has laid out for me here. However, swimming is hard work. (Despite what some Michael Phelps might make it look like…) Conference was my refresher course with my personal Swim-Trainer, Jesus. And after treading in the deep blue sea it was fun to take a splash in the kiddie pool with all the other GEM-Ks at conference. In Hungary and Austria for five days filled with rather strange adventures and exploits I hung out with some of the most awesome people ever! We pulled crazy stunt after stunt, partied where there wasn’t even a party and laughed our way through each day and into the next. We pranked each other, played really weird games, stormed Vienna, dance until dawn (literally) and (in some ways) refreshed each other so that we might each return to our own unique Olympic-sized pool and continue to tread in the deep and often dangerous waters in our respective places that God has placed us. We all embraced in emotional parting. We had all bonded in astonishing ways. I blinked and now I catch myself wondering if it actually happened. Did I really truly learn to swing dance and didn’t even step on anyone’s toes? (More than five times that is.) Did I really run face-first into that wall that appeared out of nowhere in that glass maze? Did I lie awake all hours of the night playing match maker?

Me and my match-making partner in crime!

Did I really get up in front of that group of teens and perform a practically flawless impression of Larry in the VeggieTales favorite “I Love My Lips?” [ed: see the evidence on Facebook]  Did I honestly seek out Burger King for dinner in the middle of Vienna? Did I really play Ultimate Frisbee with a frozen pigs tongue? Did I… never mind. The answer is yes. Yes, I am one of those blessed things called a MK. We get to have so much fun it should be illegal. And it’s all because my God is looking out for me and loving on my soul in ways I can’t even imagine. He knows how much stress, newness, and down right scariness I can handle. He knows how much fun I can handle… maybe that’s why I had to come home so quick…

He wouldn’t shake my hand…

During our deputation time, I had a chance to share with many people the tremendous impact Devere and Lee Curtiss have had on our lives.  Not only did they recruit us to missions and to Greater Europe Mission, but Devere has been a personal mentor.

Each year, all the missionaries in Greater Europe Mission’s family come together.  It’s a tremendous time where we catch a vision of the impact our organization is having not just in our particular field, but all across the continent.  We swap ideas, plan partnerships, encourage and energize each other for the coming year’s ministry.

In that context, it’s such a delight to get to share my first conference with Devere and Lee.  Devere shared with me that this may be their last conference.  I’m so glad to be here with them.

We have been here 61 days. The kids have grown 8.5 cm all together with Isaac topping the charts at 4.5 cm all on his own, one cm in the last two days! Faith is the runner up with 3 cm and Britt has accomplished her goal of passing up me. We have 5 language classes down and only a million more to go to learn our new country’s language. Life has been crazy. And very enjoyable.

We love our place it is beautiful and very peaceful. Right now we have 10 days til Ted and Britt venture off to Hungary for GEM’s annual conference while Isaac, Faith and I keep the home fire’s burning. Or should we say the home de-humidifiers running. We do miss the dryness of Colorado that’s for sure. The day after they return Ted and I begin our next round of language school at 9am sharp. Britt and Isaac start their first year at BFA on the 25th. Faith gets to begin second grade in her German school the 8th of September.

God is good. He has provided many things for us and we are learning to be content in all circumstances. Because we had to use nearly all of our settling money on filling our oil tank so we could have hot water and some heat come the winter months, we have had to give up some of the things we’d hoped to be able to replace once we got here. Ted and I are living in a bedroom with our bed and one shrunk (we have no closets here in Germany). So we’re in desperate need of some bedroom furniture, among many other things big and small. We are learning how to do things quite differently everyday.

Our monthly budget is very tight, we knew it would be when we left Connecticut and it has been worth it, just to get here. We haven’t been able to go out and enjoy the area near as much as we’d hoped because gas costs so much, but we do have a gorgeous view. So we spend a lot of time just enjoying each other’s company and the things we already have. Which is what God calls us to do anyway. So we are growing in many ways. Some of us up, all of us in a new language and in spiritual contentment.

We need to raise more funds so that we can purchase clothing for all these growing children, pay for school supplies, fix broken media equipment, replace bedroom furniture, etc. So please join us in prayer as we begin to work on ministry partner development from across the pond. God will provide, we know He will, so we praise His name now and when the answers come later.

click here for the entire thing

The two most common comments we receive on our newsletters are “I love the pictures” and “I always mean to read them, but never get around to it.” That said, this month there are a lot less words and a whole lot more pictures. I hope you’ll let us know what you think.

Hey All,
Sorry we haven’t been great about updating on a regular basis since we got here. We had no idea how much work it was to move across the ocean. Our stuff all arrived safely. We’ve only had one major casualty regarding our goods and that was one fairly old desk, which originated here in Germany, so I guess it’s only right that it came home to it’s final resting place.

We’ve been traveling around a tiny bit. We will post pictures soon. There are some castle ruins only 20 minutes away that we took the kids to this last weekend. Then the next day our good friends, the Meyers invited us to follow them up to the tallest waterfall in all of Germany, only an hour away to avoid the 90 degree temperatures. (there is no air conditioning in Germany and the humidity is 80%- 90% all the time.)

The kids are all doing great in their German classes and making friends. Isaac’s been playing fussball during recess with a group of boys from all different nationalities. Britt has been hanging out with several girls from her class, chatting of course. And Faith has been sharing her pretzels with half of her class everyday during snack and then jump-roping for a while. They’re all doing great. However they’re all feeling a little jipped about not getting a full summer’s vacation.

We begin our language school on Monday. That is part of the reason we’ve been so busy trying to get the house all together, cuz once language school starts we won’t have time for anything else. We’re going to have our German neighbors over for dinner soon. They speak excellent English and are willing to also help us out with our German. We’ve been sucked into the excitement of the Euro 2008 tournament. Germany has made it all the way to the finals which are on Sunday. We’re so excited and have something in common with almost everyone we meet on the streets.

We’ve attended one German church where we had headphones with English translation for us. We’ve been bouncing back and forth between English church and German church for the last couple of weeks, trying to find the church God has picked out for us.

Laundry takes 3-4 hours per load here so I’ve been busy doing lots of laundry. Ted’s been changing out light fixtures and getting quite savvy with the electrical wiring. Well, I think dinner is burning…haven’t gotten the hang of Celsius yet. Many blessings to each of you! We are so blessed to be here and can’t wait to see what God has planned for us. Thank you so much for your involvement in our lives and God’s ministry here in Germany.

Now begins the real transition…  At about 2am EST, midnight mountain our container will arrive from Colorado Springs.  The shipper was unable to confirm the time with me until a few hours ago, so it’s going to be very exciting.  Hopefully we’ll see enough folks here to get unloaded within our two hours.

Will you be in prayer today?  We’re hopefully that tomorrow will be the beginning of a wonderful new comfort, as we can begin to make a home here, and have some more homey space from which to venture forth and try to learn how to live in Germany.  Pray that our things will not have shifted too much and been damaged, that we’ll be able to unload in the allotted two hours, and that no one will be injured.

Thanks so much for your prayers.  They make a world of difference for us.

Can you believe this is 510lbs of luggage?  How about that this doesn’t include our carryons in the trunk of the other car? 

Our first stop was Boston’s Logan International Airport.  You can see the sign above the kid’s heads, but it’s a bit hard to read.  Frankfurt, Germany, 3671 Miles.

Faith was very excited to change some left over birthday money into Euros.

Shortly before we boarded the plane, Faith asked me, “Daddy, is this real?  Because this happens to me all the time, and then I wake up and it wasn’t real.”

This is as real as it gets.  Somewhat the worse for wear after 15 hours of travel, we arrived in Basel, Switzerland, our luggage trailing endlessly off into the horizon…

We looked a lot better the next day after a little bit of rest.

Day two in Germany, after some settling, setting up a bank account, and registering with the town, we took the kids to see the storks in Holzen, a near by village.

One of the most incredible blessings God has provided for us as we arrived here, has been the tremendous support we have received from the Greater Europe Mission staff people.  In this picture, you can see Brandy with Sara Meyer, wife of my supervisor, Jim, admiring the storks.  Because we’re such a large family, the Meyers have been driving us everywhere in two cars, which since we’re running many errands trying to work out school for the kids, navigating the German buerocracy, and get heating oil for our house (which is preventing us from having hot water) the Meyers have been a tremendous help.  Not to mention they’ve been acting as interpreters for us.  But they aren’t the only ones!  Our neighbors down the street, the Bonhams, put us up in their home for several nights, and they and the Meyers have been taking turns feeding us since we got here.

Saturday morning, GemStone Media had our first team building event, as the whole crew traveled to nearby Switzerland to view some Roman ruins.  It was a nice time, allowing the kids to get a sense of Europe’s rich cultural history, and giving us a chance to connect with our new colleagues.

For Isaac and Faith, it was another great excuse to have an ice cream.

In so many ways this is such a surreal experience.  We wake up each morning and look out at the farmer’s fields on the other side of the hill, and the mists make everything hazy and dream like.  I keep having to remind myself this isn’t a dream.  Part of our training was to prepare us for culture shock.  We’re in the tourist phase now, where everything is charming and wonderful.  But lingering our there in the distance are the language barrier, all the little cultural snags we’re just beginning to learn, like always saying hello and good bye, and not calling people you see in the distance.  Little things we don’t think about, but which can be very rude here.

Because I’ve been here on several short trips the last five years, I keep having the same problem Faith had in the airport.  I keep forgetting we’re not leaving in a few days.  This is home now.  It’s an awesome feeling.  After five years of working, it’s finally real.  I can pinch myself and not wake up.  :)  Our God is so incredibly good.

Over the next several months, we have to balance the demands of language school, setting up our household, helping the kids get acclimated, and building working relationships with our team.  Unfortunately, it’s way too easy to make language our bottom priority, but we need to stay focused.  I hope you’ll pray along with us, that God will keep us focused.

Bless you all, and thanks for all the ways you have prayed us here!

Library Fine $0.05

Flowers for teachers $10.00

Space bags $30

Shipping boxes to Germany $340

Less than 24 hours until we leave for Germany… Priceless

Some time back, the Women’s Fellowship here gave Brandy a membership to Mystic Seaport about 50 minutes down the road from where we’re living here. We enjoyed our trip to Mystic very much, and had been intending to go back for some time. On our final family outing in Connecticut, returning to Mystic seemed a fitting way to say goodbye to this place where so much has happened to us.

Because it was Memorial Day, Mystic was reenacting a Memorial Day ceremony from shortly after the civil war, complete with a church service, parade and floating flowers out of the harbor. It was more solemn than I expected, but it was great reminder of what Memorial Day is all about.

She’s so pretty.

Yep. Her too.

Yeah… And her.

What scheme is Isaac plotting here? I see rope… This could be dangerous.

Isaac wrestled a whale while Faith had a snack and Britt nearly became one.

It was a very nice day.

God is so good! I know in scripture the number 40 is significant. In Genesis it rained 40 days and nights in preparation for the world to have a new beginning. Moses was on Mt. Sinai for 40 days. When he came down he had the directions for making the tabernacle and the arc, in preparation for God to dwell among His chosen people. The Israelites were in the desert for 40 years before entering their promised land. Christ was in the wilderness for 40 days being tempted by satan before He began His public ministry. We left Colorado 40 weeks ago.

I have to believe that God had this move to Connecticut planned all along. Each of us has learned some extremely important lessons and some fun ones along the way. We were told over and over today that Britt was a very specific answer to prayer. The teen leaders had been praying for a “spark plug” to come and light a fire in the teen club. For all of you that know Britt and know her well, that describes her to a T. I was brave enough to take up playing the djembe. It’s great fun! Faith has learned how to make new friends and learned that “when you’re stuck and can’t really get out, God tries to help you.” Isaac has found a love for soccer and his exceptional trumpet talent while here. He also learned that he loves small communities, which is a huge benefit because our community in Kandern will definitely be small. We’ve all learned very exciting things, but what I can’t wait to find out is what was all this in preparation for? Each time in scripture the 40 days/weeks/years were in preparation for something. So what awesome ministry opportunities does God have in store for us? I can’t wait to find out and share with each of you.

But the first exciting thing we would like to share with you after our 40 weeks is this morning Pastor Paul challenged the congregation of Calvary Chapel to meet our last $95/mo need. We were hugely blessed by not only the $95/mo but $135/mo in new pledges! Our God is good. We are currently at 102%! It’s still 102% of our reduced budget which is very tight, but regardless it’s another amazing blessing from the Lord. We want to thank each of you for your prayers and support of us during these last couple of years while we worked on support-raising. God was preparing us for His work. We can’t wait.

Our prayer letter is out for May and June.

Since we announced our date, a lot of people have said to me, “you must be so excited.” And my response has consistently been affirmative. After five years of working, trusting, and hoping, we’re finally seeing God’s calling in our lives coalescing before us. What’s not to be exited about?

Today we hit one of the hard parts. For literally years, we’ve been saying goodbyes. One of the downsides of living in limbo is you never really know when the next time you’ll see someone is. I’ve said goodbye to my brothers and parents many times now, and while each time is difficult, I know that it really isn’t a goodbye because I’ll see them again. Even if I don’t see them again in this life, I know they’ll be there with me in the next.

That isn’t true in every case. Tonight we had to say goodbye to our dog, Aslan. She’s been with us for nine years, since she was just a few week old puppy. While she hasn’t always been the best behaved dog, she has been a fierce lover and protector of us. She’s going to live with some wonderful animal lovers here in Connecticut. But will we ever see her again? At nine years old, it’s doubtful.

That wasn’t the only goodbye of the evening though. Just across the way, the Calvary Chapel teens have put together what they’re calling a coffee house. I didn’t actually see any coffee, mostly soda, and junk food, but the idea is similar. They all hang out in a big room and take turns performing, and — in this case — trying to share the gospel in innovative ways.

Not surprisingly, Britt managed to bring together not just her church friends, but a large contingent of unchurched friends as well (which seemed to be predominately made up of male admirers). She had a great time, and refrained from being even slightly dramatic. (wink).

Note: this isn’t one of the skits. This is just a candid of her chatting with friends.

Amid the skits, contests, speeches and even a girl solving a scrambled Rubick’s cube in just over a minute, Britt sang her goodbye.

She chose a song by Barlow Girl called Here’s My Life. It’s a song that explores fairly deeply the feeling of loss that we experience when we have to sacrifice for God while reaffirming the commitment to make the sacrifice. The chorus says:

And God I’m crying out tonight
Cause I’ve given You my life
But I’m tired and I’m missing what’s behind
So once more here’s my life

If you know Brittany, you can imagine the passion she poured into the song as she sang it.

She’s wrapping up the evening with a sleep-over/friend-a-thon at Aslan’s new home, hopefully easing our dog’s transition, and giving her a chance to say a longer farewell to some of her dearest friends here.

In truth, we have it so easy compared to so many of our brothers and sisters in Christ, it’s almost silly for me to be writing about this. However, coming from our comfortable American life, giving up our beloved dog, and saying hard goodbyes is tough stuff. God keeps asking me this week, what am I unwilling to give up? I fear to even answer the question. The perversity of my human nature wants to respond “haven’t we given up enough already?” And yet I’ve a dear brother in Africa trying to balance the safety of his family against the calling God is laying on his life. My sacrifices are pretty petty, but they still hurt.

Bless you all.

Brandy rescued a baby bunny from highway 14

Isaac had his band concert

Note: he’s a fifth grader playing in the Middle School advanced band his first year playing!

And I got new glasses. I put on the shirt prior to getting my vision checked, however.

Oops!  I skipped eight.  I was never really a numbers guy…

We packed yesterday (and Brandy unpacked again this morning).  We’re trying to work out exactly how much we can take on the plane with us.  I keep thinking space will be at a premium, but the problem is really weight.  Each checked bag can be 50lbs.  That sounds like a lot, but it really doesn’t take much to make a bag that heavy.

Today we’re making calls and canceling things.. internet services, supplemental medical plans, all those things we needed here in Connecticut that won’t do us an ounce of good in Germany.  It’s amazing how many tiny pieces there are to a move like this.  Thanks so much for your prayers.  We need them.

Another frantic day of errand running is now behind us. I’m writing from Brandy’s computer while Apple puts a new superdrive in mine. We exchanged a mountain of email with the Meyers today hammering through details. Britt has spent most of the night on the phone. Brandy is getting very task oriented, and Isaac is encouragable. Everyone deals with stress in their own way.

Yesterday in church, the sermon was given by a missionary to Turkey who we’ve gotten to know a little while we’ve been here. He began by talking about how his life was going down hill until he found Christ. That thought has lingered with me because it is so much easier to go down hill. Down hill we can coast, up hill is always work. Getting this far has really been an up hill battle for us. I don’t like up hill. I want to coast. One of the lessons God has been teaching me, though, is that coasting down hill is just a quick trip to the pits. My walk with the Lord, following in His will is always going to be work. It’s always going to be up hill. When I’m exhausted and I can’t go any further, He may carry me, but the journey is always climbing, because at the end of the road is the most incredible summit we can imagine. That’s the goal. This side of eternity we will never get there, but we have to keep climbing.

Well the days don’t add up quite as nicely as they did with Britt’s April 29th birthday and 29 days to go, but Faith’s birthday was an exciting one none the less. Her actual birthday was May 15th, and we celebrated at home where she opened all her presents from family, then went to our local pizza place and had yummy cheese pizza and home-made cake decorated by Daddy, then we headed off to Griswold High to see Britt perform in her Spring Concert. It was fun for all.
Today, we celebrated again with her friends from church and school at Build-A-Bear. “Today is the best day of my life!” she said as we were leaving the party and heading toward Cold Stones for ice cream. She had a lot of friends and some teenage party crashers join her for her special day. They all had a great time and Faith really enjoyed herself. We are so blessed to have 3 beautiful, healthy, and loving children. I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we enjoyed the party. Love to you all. And Happy Birthday to our Sweet Princess Faith!

This one is of the whole gang. They had lots of fun.

Circle time with the Party leader.

Even Britt and Isaac got cute dolls.

The party ended with lots of birthday hugs.

I’m predicting there may only be 9 more posts in the “When do we leave” and “Progress to the field” categories.

Our May newsletter went out today on email. I’m uncertain what we’re going to do for print, but it’s likely to be disappointing by comparison this time (and somewhat late), so if you have a chance, check it out online here:

http://www.coxesquarterly.com/cq-email/cq-2008/May.html