January and February 2009

It has been busy! Linda went to Orlando for meetings with her CHED Specialty Recruitment staff and other recruiters. It was a good time and she felt it was a worthwhile time. Here she is with her team.

We were to leave for India and Nepal, but learned a valuable, but painful lesson. You need a visa for India before you leave! We got to the airport and had to turn around, come home and reschedule everything! But we now have 10 year tourist visas for India, so that shouldn't be a problem again for a while. We will post a new update when we get back. Thanks for praying for us!

Christmas in Florida

We drove from Steven's in Arkansas to Clermont, FL where Jeff and Rebekah and Cole had just bought a new house. They had only been in it for a week, but were amazingly settled. They both worked hard getting ready for us.

We missed Jeff's birthday on the 17th, but enjoyed Christmas and New Year's with them. Rebekah's friend, Alexis, also was there from Dallas. We live in the same town, but had to come all the way to Florida to see her! Christmas dinner was great, with turkey and all the fixin's! Jeff and Rebekah are encouraging us to consider moving to Florida to be near them. It is quite tempting! The houses there have come down dramatically. Now we are torn, do we go to Lancaster to help Linda's parents, or do we move to Florida to let our kids take care of us? :-)

New Year's day had some added excitement as Bob came down with a kidney stone that evening. Jeff had one before, so he knew what it was and took us to their hospital ER. The pain was so great he was throwing up. Once they got the pain under control he was fine. Apparently he passed it as he has not had any other problems.

Cole was a little shy with us at first as he had been moved around a lot. Just about the time we had to leave he began warming up to us. It made it really hard to leave. At 17 months, we will probably have to get to know him all over again next time we see them. But Skype helps with video chats.

Linda is back in Orlando now, for meetings, but won't likely get to see much of them.

Celebrating with Steven and Samantha & family!

Linda went to be with Steven and Samantha, Leila and Eli for Thanksgiving (while Bob was in Asia) and then we both went to see them the 17th to the 21st of December.

The 18th is Steven and Samantha's wedding anniversary(6th) and it is also Bob's birthday (64th - Wow!) We enjoyed getting to know our grandchildren again. Eli was just 5 months old and cute as can be! He is starting to smile a lot and is such a good baby. He enjoys being held by Nana and Papa. Of course we loved it too! While there we went to the Precious Moments place (I don't know what else to call it) near Joplin, MO. It is quite the place! We all had a great time and we were sad to have to leave. We look forward to the next visit.

Dedication in the Philippines

Following my (Bob's) trip to Hong Kong, I went directly to the Philippines. I was asked to come for the dedication of the new Performing Arts building at Faith Academy Mindanao in Davao. I had helped to lay the ground work for starting the high school (Mindanao International Christian Academy) there, so it was great to be able to go back and see the school since it merged with the elementary school there. I was welcomed by flooding and had to wade in knee deep water into the house where I stayed. But by morning the water had receded. The day before the dedication I discovered that I was the keynote speaker! However, the school also had their Christmas program with the band and choirs performing, so they were not looking for a long speech. It all went well and I was able to meet with some of the leadership from Faith Academy Manila, who came down for the dedication. On the way to Davao, I stopped in Manila to meet with my boss. However, I didn't realize that the Monday I was to be there was a holiday. Not only that, but my boss' sister had been killed in an auto accident and she was in Japan with her family. I did have some time on Tuesday and was able to meet with others in the office. One meeting was very helpful. On the way back to Dallas, I went through Hong Kong again and stayed with Aaron and his family. That was another fun visit. God has been good!

ICEC in Hong Kong

The International Children's Education Conference in Hong Kong was great! There were about 850 people registered. Unfortunately, about 40 who were coming from Thailand were unable to make it because the airport in Bangkok was shut down. I gave a workshop on "Bilingual Education in International Schools—Feasible or Fantasy?" I had just under 30 people attend and there was lively interaction during the hour and 15 minutes I had. Several came up afterwards and expressed appreciation and some had further questions. It was also a great place to network! I was able to see a number of people that I needed to see and we were able to have supper with two people who are considering joining us as teachers. God is good! Thanks for praying!

Hong Kong 2008

In October we had a great time with Eden and Elani, while Ray and Laura were in Guatemela. We put puzzles together...









Read stories...














Went to the Pumpkin Patch...













And had a great time!

November Prayer Requests

Prayer Requests:

• Bob leaves for Hong Kong November 24th and will be giving a workshop at the International Children's Education Conference (ICEC). There are 850 people registered. The workshop is on "Bilingual Education in International Schools."
• Following ICEC Bob will be going to the Philippines to meet with his boss and to attend a building dedication in Davao, Philippines. This is at a school that he helped to get started. Faith Academy Mindanao.
• Linda will be spending Thanksgiving with Steven and Samantha in Northwest Arkansas.