A New Season

We are in a new season... and in this season this is my prayer -

Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. 

We are now Washingtonians! Hard to believe for me seeing as my home is still so. far. away., but we are settling in. Most of our things are in storage thanks to the 24 ft truck that we rented to move. Here is a glimpse of how our move went:

While packing Ezra learned how to scoot across the width of the apartment. (GREAT). Things were thrown into boxes at the last minute to prepare for "loading the truck day." We decided to load the truck on Wednesday to make sure everything would fit. D had originally reserved a 20 ft truck with a trailer to tow one of our cars. Well, we pull up to pick the truck up and guess what. I laughed out loud. NO WAY would all of our things fit in this truck. Maybe half! So, we scramble. We begin calling around to all the Uhaul places in town and NO ONE has a 24 ft truck. The closet truck is at least 45 minutes away. Countdown to all of our friends coming over to load the truck, t-4 hours. Boxes left to pack before friends arrive = countless! After calling places for over an hour, we find a 24 footer in Odessa that could be ready for pick up by 2 pm. We have to settle for a diesel truck ($$$) and a trailer and thank God for our good fortune!

Maneuvering the truck into our parking lot took finesse and the slight collision with a tree trunk...oops.

We make it back home at 3:45 and begin hurling things in boxes. The kitchen goes unpacked. Our friends arrive and begin carrying our life in boxes out to the truck where Derek packs them in like Tetras pieces.

Two-and-a-half hours later, the truck is loaded down, so we have some time to show Dad around Midland. We visited the homestead of George W. Bush and took a drive through "Money Lane" where they grown million dollar mansions like we grow corn.

Thursday night we packed the kitchen and tried to get some sleep. Ezra wasn't into the sleep idea so he decided to learn how to sit up on his own and play while mommy and daddy slept. Friday morning arrives with bleary eyed parents. The last of our Midland lives is loaded into the truck with the help of our Langhoff family and we are off. Derek and Dad began the three day drive to Washington and I began the 3 minute drive to the Langhoffs with Ezra.

The guys spent the first night of their journey in Farmington, New Mexico, while I spent the day shopping with Nanny Nancy. (Who had it better?) The guys drove through Salt Lake City on day two to spend the night in Twin Falls, Idaho, while I enjoyed one last day in Midland. Sunday, Ezra and I flew our on our first plane trip together. E slept during take-off, played on the window for the flight and slept during landing on our first flight. We walked around the Vegas airport until E was sleepy. He then slept the ENTIRE flight to Seattle. After arriving Cam picked us up for some yummy Korean food before handing us over to Oma (Derek's mom) for a short drive to the Island. A few hours later, Derek and dad arrived in the truck.

...and so the adventure begins in our new season of life...

We unloaded the truck on Monday, went sight-seeing on Tuesday and Wednesday and are taking a day off to rest today. Tomorrow is Derek's big interview so we are praying that we have good news tomorrow afternoon.

I will try to update this more often beginning now!

Post Audition Update

So - just wanted to send out an update on the weekend with the new guy. Short story: no decision has been made to hire "newbie" or not.  Long story - newbie and his fiance came into town on Thursday. It was a weird week. We weren't included in anything. I guess we've always felt "inside" of the elders group, but we were definitely "outside" of the weekend festivities. We were a bit anxious knowing that all of O.U.R. elders were bumping elbows with our replacement. We love these people so it is hard to think we might not have these close relationships much longer. So anyway, newbie came and led rehearsal Thursday evening. I have no idea what else he did because for the FIRST time since we moved here, for the FIRST time since Ezra was born, DEREK WENT TO CHURCH WITH US!!! That means that my husband and the father of the most beautiful babe woke up WITH US on Sunday morning. We had breakfast. I made a delicious dessert for potluck. I had HELP carrying said potluck and Ezra with all of his belongings to the car and we drove to church together. A normal Sunday morning involves a lot of timing finesse and stress on my part. Showering with a deadline is near impossible with a six-month-old! Anyway, I digress....for the first time our little family worshipped together. I - MOM - was able to raise my hands in worship instead of holding my sweet boy because DADDY WAS BESIDE ME! If anything comes from this experience, worshipping next to my husband and son was soooo worth it!

Newbie did a good job, but he made D and I feel our age. 22 seems a vast span on time away from our rounding the bases to 30! 22 seems eager and on-top-of-the-world! The Elders have decided they want to fly in another candidate to audition before making their decision so we are back to our waiting game. We are waiting, waiting, waiting on decisions to be made, doors to open and close and a moving date to be set! Anxiously waiting/dreading/hoping that this past weekend would deliver this much anticipated date had us packing a box "just in case." But, back to waiting. Dr. Seuss calls this the waiting place...as I remember he is not very fond of this place and strongly encourages us to move on, get up and go to "oh all the places you will go."

While we wait we will watch Ezra play, explore and grow. This week has proven that our little guy will not stay little for long. He is sitting up and playing with toys for longer time spans, content to just be in his own little world. When he is ready to snuggle he will lift his hands up in the air and whine like a little puppy. In our little Ezra world, waiting is turning out to not be so bad!  More updates to come...thank you so much for covering us in prayer. And thanks to my amazing grandparents for their ever present encouragement via email and calls. The puppy (baby) is now whining and waving his arms :)

Just little update

Hi friends and family,

Well, today is a big day...it marks the beginning of "the new guy" auditioning for Derek's job and the possibility of a new season on the way for the Fekkes Family. In a few short days we will know whether or not Derek has a job still or... well, I don't actually know what "or" could be. Because we use this blog to update our loved ones on our lives, I'm not going to succumb to the pressure to censor how we are feeling. IT SUCKS! This waiting, anxious feeling of looming unemployment combined with a "God is surely in control - who are we to TELL him how to work in our lives" mindset - SUCKS. A part of me just wants to scream, "LET THIS BE OVER!" But I know that this is a teachable moment, a moment of great growth as a family and great faith as a believer in Christ. As I type I look over at smiling Ezra and know how blessed we truly are. So, if you want some prayer points for us, here goes:

Faith, wisdom and discernment

Employment!! 

Contentment

Financial provision   

We'll keep you posted on how things go this week! ON the upside, Derek actually gets to worship with his wife and son this Sunday! First time EVER!

Five months of CUTENESS!

December 14, 2012

January 11, 2013

February 11, 2013

March 11, 2013

April 11, 2013

May 11, 2013

The words do not really need detailed captions. They are priceless to E's daddy and I. This little guy is such a beautiful reminder of God's power, majesty and beauty. EVEN when your child goes through a growth spurt where they forget what it means to sleep! (RIGHT NOW!) Ezra has grown and changed so much over the past few months. But, looking back at those first few days, D and I can see the personality in his face. Our kid is one fun ball of laughs. He's also one sigh away from pulling their hair out of our heads! (YESTERDAY - when he refused to take a nap!) But, we've managed to form a routine around here to deal with the rough patches and savor the sweet ones. I have so many pictures I want to share, but our computer is on the outs and has a hard time uploading. More to come soonish.

Life Update

Isaiah 55:8-9

English Standard Version (ESV)

⁸ For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.

This verse is fitting for where we, as a family, are at right now. We are adjusting to a major shift in calling. I italicize this word because it is hard to define, hard to understand and hard to accept.  Being called -

There is a difference between a called individual and someone who fills a hole," says Pastor Chris.  (Click quote for more info)

Jesus called the 12 disciples. They were purposed for very finite reasons to come alongside Christ, be trained by him and then sent out.

Derek and I know without doubt that we were called to this church, this ministry, this city, to come alongside, be in community, be trained and now, we believe, to be sent out.

Over the past year, Derek has felt a change in his heart, brought about by God. This change has renovated his passions in ministry. Where he once felt on fire to serve in worship and youth, that fire has dimmed. We firmly believe that Derek's giftedness in music has been from God and meant to serve his church and his people. That type of gift should always be used to bring glory to God and will not end. God has over the past year built in Derek a desire to teach and preach. Part of his calling to ministry here at our church, I believe, was to train Derek up, expose him to the pulpit, and give him opportunity to learn about leadership in a church. After being giving many opportunities by our Pastor to teach Sunday school and preach Sunday mornings, Derek has felt this stirring in his heart became a thundering beat that can't be tuned out.

For months we have prayed about whether or not we should even entertain this change going on inside of Derek. We asked questions - is this something YOU want or GOD wants, has our calling changed, what does this M.E.A.N? The answers haven't always been very clear so we took time away completely from thinking about this. AND we had a baby - great distraction.

Derek returned to his hometown back in January for a week for a RE:train class. While there he was able to articulate better this calling in his heart.

Derek feels called to minister, teach and preach

to his hometown community of Stanwood, Washington

by way of planting a church.

Sounds crazy, right? That's what I thought, too. But after much prayer - and frankly - questioning both God and my husband, I'm on board. I believe this is what God is calling us to. Is it comfortable? N.O. Is it certain -  not nearly. So, what is it? It IS a huge step in faith to go, to leave our comfortable, loving, community-rich, God-loving church here in Texas, to become members of a church we hope to plant someday. Will God bring about his good and perfect will this way - unknown. Do we believe God wants us to be in Washington? Yes. Is this a hard decision for us? Yes. Why? The reasons are many and I'm sure will be a part of a blog post at some point. We know that for one side of our family, there will be joy and smiles and for another there will be sadness and tears at the growing distance. For some friends, we are moving closer, for some we are moving a country a part. For friends here that have become family, we are leaving unsure how often we will see each other again. The many faces that have been familiar to our son will no longer be seen. But as God promised Moses, He has already gone before us and made a way.

I'm sure a lot of this is confusing for those of you reading it. This is a blog for family and friends to stay connected to what's going on in our life. So, feel free to call us and ask questions.  Here is a final bit of information that might explain where we are a bit better. 

Derek has received the blessing by our Pastor and Elders to seek out opportunities to live out this calling in Standwood. That means they have given Derek permission to look for employment opportunities or ministry openings that would enable us to start the process of assessing whether or not we will plant a church. It also means that Derek is now the interim worship leader at our church and his job has been posted online. In less than a week, more than 10 applicants have applied and one is scheduled to come out and "audition" for Derek's job. This is moving WAY.TOO.FAST for my comfort, but it is moving. We have no idea about the timing of this transition. We ask that you guys pray for us, for discernment, wisdom, unity, peace, provision and thankful hearts!  Also, please pray for our church here, that the new worship leader will be the perfect fit for the congregation and God's desire for their worship. 

Where we've landed

Okay, so...we made it to America!

I know I haven't blogged in a while, but we have seen most of you guys in the meantime. Where to start...well...we surprised the Georgia clan by arriving a couple of days early. The picture above is our first picture with sweet baby Caleb who greeted us as soon as we walked in the door. He is a handsome, cute, sometimes smelly little addition to our family and he is dearly, preciously, fiercely loved by his uncle and aunt.

Just to update you, we:

• spent three amazing weeks with our family in Georgia
• flew to Texas, interviewed and built relationships with the church there
• spent a lovely weekend with the newlywed group up at the lake
• accepted the job in Texas!!
• packed up all of Anlee's belongings
• road-tripped to Spring Lake, NC to visit the Griffin family  :)
• drove 14 hours to Chicago to visit the Grant family (and picked up Bronchitis) 
• drove 11 hours to Fargo to visit the world's greatest roommate - Natters!
• drove 12 hours to Mt. Rushmore and Rapid City to visit a friend from Korea
• drove 13 hours to Bozeman, MT to stay at the most lovely B&B in the world! Last date with the sweet hubby before...
• driving 13 hours to CAMANO ISLAND, WA to spend three sweet weeks with the Washington Family! 

So, the big announcement is: We are moving to TEXAS!

We will be new residents of Midland, Texas on October 29, 2011! And new members of Our Savior's Lutheran Church!!! God has/is really blessing us in sending us to Midland.  

more pictures to come!

July

Hello July,

We are so excited that you are here! With you coming we only have you and August to get through before we are home. That means 8 1/2 weeks, 60 days in Korea, 30 teaching days (for Anlee) 15 teaching days for Derek, 24 vacation days for Anlee, one anniversary weekend, one birthday celebration (D), one Korean road trip, one last camp, one last trip to the airport and then HOME SWEET HOME!

One suitcase is already packed! One newlywed couple is counting down the days...

Sweet July, we have plans for you...they go something like this (for our family and friends sake.)

July 1st - Dallas Willard is speaking in Seoul and we are going! (He will be here for 2 weeks and we are going to try to make as many speaking engagements as we can.)

July 4-15: Finishing up the semester before Summer Camp.

July 16: Saying goodbye to our co-teachers dinner at our place!

July 18-22: Camp! Intensive English Camp Program.

July 22: DEREK'S LAST DAY!!! WOOTWOOT!

July 23: Derek's birthday weekend in Seoul! We booked another hotel room and are treating ourselves to one more weekend wonderful in Seoul. This is when we are doing any and all souvenir shopping.

July 23-31: Anlee is on vacation! We are having dental work done, surgery on my eye and packing! Derek will be playing the piano for 3-4 hours daily! We are also hoping to have a job and begin planning for what is next.

July, we literally "heart" you! We don't mind that your forecast says rain for the next 20 days! We don't mind your humidity or heat...we are just thankful you are here! 

Love,
D&A

Another week ends...

Melidy, Adam, D and A @ Coffee

 It's that time of year again...teachers are finishing their contracts and preparing to go back to wherever they came from. This is sad for us because that means Adam and Melidy are leaving us. (Adam is actually already gone, but I'm late posting this blog.) 

Melidy and I have decided that we are going to have a "Sisterhood of the traveling Photo Album" as a way of staying in touch with each other. This is our first photo for the book...one of our last nights together doing what we do best, eating and talking and shopping for hair accessories. 

Melidy is getting married in a couple of weeks so we couldn't send her off without first having a bachelorette party. Just remember that we live in Korea, without party city, so we had to be creative. First, we began the day with a ladies brunch at our sweet and hugely pregnant friend Amy's house. Tea, coffee, whipped cream (13.00$ for one can!!), stuffed banana french toast (via me), cucumber dip, quiche, fruit salad and much more. After giving Melidy marriage advice and sharing our wedding memories with her, we went to the bus stop for our ride into Seoul. Only problem, we took the wrong bus. Somewhere in the chaos of having 6 women get on a bus, we took the one to Suwon (farther south) instead of the one to Gangnam (farther north). We didn't realize this until the last stop on the bus route. To make up for it, we had to take the subway, which we were originally avoiding, into Seoul. We were a couple of hours behind schedule, but we had a lot of fun and great girl time. 

Melidy, me and Cathleen on the bus in the wrong direction!

AP

The Bride - Melidy

Trish and Nicki

Like I said, there isn't a party city here and hen parties are not common, so we had to be creative. I was in charge of making decorations for Melidy to wear that distinguished her as the bride. So, I went to our favorite second-hand store, The Beautiful Store, and found a ajuma (grandmother), pink-laced mosquite net that my mind instantly saw possibilities for. I could make a veil out of it, right? YES! Check out Melidy's recycled, mosquito net, pink-laced veil! (Sewn onto a barrette.)

The Veil!

Can you count the passengers?

 Being a holiday weekend, everyone was out and about Seoul. These are the hundreds of people that crammed onto the train with us. No Stranger Danger to be found. We six girls surrounded each other blocking off our personal space with humongous purses!

They didn't eat my feet - They ate my legs...hum...

 The reason for going into Seoul was to visit Dr. Fish foot spa. Dr. Fish are special breeds of fish that love to eat the dead skin off of your tired feet! YEP! I did this in Cambodia so I thought I would be prepared again for the feeling. NOPE! Still squealed. When you go to Dr. Fish you order coffee, bread or gelato and pay 2,000won ($1.75) for 15 minutes with the little fishes.

The ladies with the fishes!

 After Dr. Fish we boarded the right bus back to Ansan for a co-ed Mexican Fiesta for the bride and groom. (SIDE-NOTE: While the ladies were off playing, the guys were "playing" manly sports. So manly in fact that Derek was tackled by another guy in the ribcage and heard a snap. He called and said he was sore, but taking it easy.) Because we were so late in our lady time, the guys had to prepare the meal cooking for 30 of the couples close friends. 

After eating, Derek touched his ribs and became immediately dizzy so we left the party early for a visit to the ER. There we walked into the waiting room, of which we never left, to the sight of a boy who was missing his big toe and his foot hanging over a trash can, a 3-and-under boy with chickenpox, a kid having his arm re-located and put in a cast and many other not-looking-so-good illnesses. Derek had his X-ray, which came out negative for a broken bone, and I contracted every disease in the waiting area. A week later, two sick days off from school and enough medicine to open a pharmacy and I'm still sick. 

Sick food for me is Alfredo by D! Yummm!

  
After Saturday's events, we relaxed with a bike ride down by the ocean water, a movie (X-men) and choco covered strawberries! YUMMMMM! 

  
Monday was another holiday, I've already forgotten which one. Even though we were sick and injured, we had planned a hike so we went! We left early Monday morning and rode the bikes to McDonald's for breakfast. We took the bikes (carried them up the stairs) to the train station and rode 6 stops to Sanbon (where I lived last year). We rode the bikes to the base of Surisan and locked them up. After hydrating on the 100% humidity day, we hiked up to my favorite spot, a group of rocky ledges that overlook Gunpo and Suwon cities. The towering buildings look so small from the ledge...

  
Today is our Sabbath! And oh have we rested! First, Nyquil helped me sleep through the night. Then, we woke up without the alarm! Blueberry pancakes and a sermon by Francis Chan later we were feeling pretty good. Derek wanted to get some flowers so we went for a walk into town. He picked out the beautiful lilies. The best part is he has learned the Korean word for lily because they are his favorite flower to get for me. (He knows how much I love them.) I picked out the beautiful purple flowers to compliment them. Now, the are making me smile each time I look up. D is reading his bible and I'm blogging. Sabbath day is goooooood! 

Week - END update

Dear Family and Friends, here are some interesting things that happened in our week:

• On Wednesday we celebrated the day that Derek asked me to be his wife. One year ago we were given a chance to take our relationship and ministry to the next level - and we did! I remember like it was yesterday...so, to surprise D, I left him a note on our couch that he would find when he arrived home after work. It said, "Come to the place where you asked me the most important question of my life. I'll meet you there." I on the other hand was busy preparing a picnic dinner in the park where he asked me to marry him. I had a blanket, candles, wine, yummy dinner and the journal that I've been writing to my "husband" since I was a little girl. The day Derek asked me to marry him was the first day I wrote a name in the journal. We had dinner, read the journal (I write in it each month to remember our life together) and Derek acted out his proposal one more time. Pure Sweetness!
• Wednesday was also my school's sports day. This is an event that the students look forward to all year! Each class competes against other classes in their grade in various competitions. I'm planning on making a video to post later to give you a better idea but some of them are: jump-rope, running-across-students-backs, dance competitions to classy Kpop, 5-man-race, running contest and the craziest obstacle course ever! Mostly, the students were on a sugar rush from ice-cream from generous parents, hamburgers, sodas, candy and whatever else they could fit in their tummies.
• Tuesday Derek called and said he was surprising me with a night in Seoul. Seoul is an hour+ subway ride there and back so Derek booked us a night at the 4**** Ramada Inn in Gangnam, the business district in Seoul. It has a bathtub!!! He's planning for us to ride bicycles around the river in the morning, discover Gangnam in the afternoon and venture to a new burger joint for dinner. THEN BATHTUB! I'm planning on sleeping in it! I'm excited. When I asked Derek why he was being so generous, he said, "we need a romantic date AWAY!"   

 

• Friday is Choji's Festival Day. This is an all-day performance heavy extravaganza for my students. They have been rehearsing dances, rap songs (not cool), music productions, ballet, and much more! I can't wait to share some of the videos! HOWEVER, some are completely inappropriate and will not be included. WHO LET'S high school students dance to uncensored LIL JOHN music??? My jaw fell to the floor when I heard the rapper screaming out the Fbomb in front of my school and fellow teachers. They had no idea why I was getting upset, but I've since informed them that the students do not need a translation for lyrics like those! 
• Lastly, our pick for the American Idol champ, Lauran Alaina, didn't happen. But, we did have Hailey, Scotty and Lauren in our top three. Neither of us like country music, but I would buy an Alaina record! 
• 3 months and counting....down.........

A Weekend with the Fekkes' {picture heavy}

 We have had a very nice spring respite here in Korea. Thanks to the national holiday "children's day" and Buddha's birthday, we are enjoying a 6 day weekend (for Derek) and a 4 day weekend (for Anlee).

We started the festivities with Children's day. It's like mother's day or father's day in America, but for the kids. Trust me, they deserve this. They need one day off of school...except when you are a high school kid you have to spend your "fun day" studying for your midterms! Kids day is a BIG DEAL! Everyone in Korea has the day off...or most people do. There are festivals held in every city, air shows, international food and many other treats. It was also a very beautiful spring day...shorts worthy...

We spent the morning at a coffee shop. Or Anlee did. Derek was responding to emails and later joined me. I (Anlee) am reading an amazing book right now called The Reason for God by Tim Keller. More coming about that later. We rode our bikes out to the festival grounds, which happened to take place all over the city. We met up with Adam and Melidy, Cathleen and Jeremy, Mia and other friends, too. Here are some pictures with commentary:

I know you have seen this game before...but have you ever seen it with hard liquor? 

 Game for the adults maybe??

Oh, there is the kid version...hey wait, why is the alcohol bigger than the kids stuffed animals?

Festival food...corn delish...larva...I'm going to leave you guessing...

Can't say I tried this...

Can say I would never NEVER try this!

 These guys did a music routine on the side of a building...not for me, but cool.

 Just to give you an idea...our city is about 1 million people. I would guess that about half of them were out in mass for childrens day. The "homeplus" in the background is our grocery store! This park is in the middle of the road. It takes up a city block inbetween two major roads.

Ansan is known for it's Tulips

Birdseye view of the park. The buildings in the way back mark the end of it.

Liken' D's hat! Gift from wifey. We are sporting our bags from Thailand!

Friends and fellow newlyweds - Cathleen and Jeremy

READ THE PRINT! And then believe that we ate here!

A picnic in the middle of the street - D's idea! We became the spectacle to see.

Do you see anyone else eating in the street? Only the funny foreigners...

Check out the "bobble heads" or Men in Black dudes?!?

This dude stole my drink and gave it to an old lady who was wearing pj's at the festival!

Now, we have started a bike train and are riding through the lake park to the air show!

 Need more rain!

This is how excited I am to be outside without a jacket!

Translation: 2011 Gyeonggi Kook jei hang gong juhn...air show

Found a new mexican place....ummmmmmm

Seoul Grand Park Zoo

 This is how excited I get when I see animals. (Side note: I don't really like zoos because it's always limited space for the animals, but I'm so thankful we have them because without we couldn't teach children to respect their habitats and beauty...off the soap box now.)  The mommy ostrich is nesting.

Is a caption really needed?

Someday I will give my camera to a person who will not crop out the main focus of the photo! THE BUNNY!

THE MAIN EVENT - Red Panda's

This is my favorite animal in the world! More than dogs!

Screaming - RED PANDA's, RED PANDA's!

awww...

Dinner with my prayer group...more to come later

Jayleen's performance of Mozart's Requiem. AMAZING!

Even more fun was being a part of our friend's engagement shoot! Yay for Melidy and Adam getting married...AND...I sang with Derek on the worship team for the first time this morning. Fun times here on our side of the world.

What's next...hopefully an easy week of school and nice weather. Special shout out to our lovely Mom's! Happy Mother's Day Lori, Annette and Pam! Grandma (Gma), Aunt Jo! Memaw, Granny and all the amazing aunts that we have! Much love from US!