Disneyland or bust!

So once again, we tried to go to DisneyLand and once again we were denied! Some of you may recall that we tried to go to Disney on New Year's Eve to celebrate. They do a big fireworks show and parades and all of the over the top things you'd expect from Disney. By the time we decided to go, the park was sold out. So we hung around the "Downtown Disney" area for a while before heading home to watch the ball drop on tv. So this past week I was given 3 tickets to DisneyLand for free. Mason and I decided to take our neighbors who have an 11 month little boy. They had never been so we thought it'd be fun to experience Disney with the kids for the first time. So after we spent the evening preparing the diaper bags, snack, lunches and waking early to hit the road, we finally made it to Disney about 20 minutes after they opened. We got parked in the massive (and expensive) parking garage, took the tram to the park, went trough security and finally made it to the gate. This was it! We were going to finally see the pure joy in our children's face walking through those gates into the happiest place on earth. The moment to hand over our tickets only to hear the ticket collector say, "Oh, this ticket is expired. You'll have to go back to the ticketing counter." What?! Expired? It said valid until 4/26 and it was 4/26. We proceeded to the ticket counter where we were informed that the ticket had indeed expired because the first trip of the "2fer" ticket had been used more than 30 days prior, voiding the ticket. Once again, our plans had been thwarted and we were so disappointed! Buying a new ticket was our only option but that was $63 per person and my neighbors didn't have the money, nor did we. So once again, we visited Downtown Disney. The kids still had fun looking at the fountains, stores and people walking around. We went inside the Rainforest Cafe to see the fish tanks and hear the storms. Needless to say, it was exciting for the boys and that is all that really matters. But, we are not giving up on DisneyLand. One day, we will make it in!

Can you believe it?

All I have to say is YEAH, SANJAYA IS GONE!!!

A Late Addition

Just in case any of you are curious about what we are learning at Fuller, we wanted to give you some information. We have gotten questions from family members about our program and Fuller's theology. So we will give a few brief summaries and then refer you to the website.

Regarding our program, it is a Master's in Cross-cultural Studies and is designed for people who have less than 3 years of service in the mission filed. It requires 96 units including a practicum project. The practicum is a trip, domestic or international, in the field of interest/study that ties together and puts into practice all of the theories and applications learned from classes. It is usually about a 4-week intensive trip, 2000 pages of reading and a paper anywhere from 2500 words upward. The point of the practicum is to give the student a practical experience in mission, whatever the nature of the trip may be. Dave completed his project when we lead a team to Spain in the summer of 2005. He concentrated on team dynamics and leadership. Amanda still has to complete her practicum. Lastly, you can elect to have a concentration area if you so desire. Doing so allows you to learn more about one particular dimension of cross-cultural study and missiology. If you choose not to have a concentration, you are on a general track meaning that you have several elective courses. Dave choose to do the general track because there were several areas he was interested in and did not want to be confined to one particular area of study. He took several classes in church growth/emerging church as well as anthropology. Amanda chose the Islamic Studies program because she desired to know more about Muslim theology and culture.

Regarding Fuller and their theology, there is no single theology that all the staff adhere to outside of the basic doctrines stated in Fuller's Statement of Faith. These include ten central affirmations which we "hold to be essential" to our ministry: 1) the existence, perfection and triune nature of God; 2) the revelation of God in creation, history and in Jesus Christ; 3) the inspiration and authority of the Scriptures; 4) God's creation of the world and humankind, with humanity's rebellion and subsequent depravity; 5) the person and work of Jesus Christ, including his deity, virgin birth, true humanity, substitutionary death, bodily resurrection, and ascension to heaven; 6) the Holy Spirit's work in regeneration and justification; 7) growth in the knowledge of God and Christian obedience; 8) the church as the creation of the Holy Spirit; 9) the worship, mission and service of the church; 10) the return of Christ to raise the dead and to judge the world.

Fuller faculty, just like the student body, comes from various denominations and cultures. This allows for a variety of perspectives and Biblical interpretations to be presented. Fuller is unique in that it does not present one uniform theology that all students must subscribe to but rather teaches the various Biblical interpretations, debates and theories currently taking place. By doing so, the staff encourage students to think for themselves, encouraging them to wrestle with the issues through prayer, Biblical study and scholarly research. This approach appealed to us and is a major reason why we chose to study at Fuller. Over the last three years we have come to appreciate this position and have truly been challenged and encouraged in our faith.

If you have more questions, or concerns, about Fuller, our degree, theology, we will refer you to the Fuller website. It is www.fuller.edu. Here you can find their Statement of Faith, mission statement, etc. If you have any questions for us, feel free to post a comment, shoot us an email or give us a call.

So what does one do with a degree like this?

Dave and I have been fielding many questions recently about our program and the degree that we will be receiving, most likely prompted by Dave's pending graduation. Most questions go something like this..."So, what exactly is your degree in? Intercultural studies, uh. What do you do with a degree like that?" Well, the short answer is mission work. But to limit it to just "mission work" would not be fair. In fact, Fuller's School of Intercultural Studies is quite well known throughout the world and is one of the best of its' kind in the States and around the globe. There are people from all over world representing over 100 denominations. Such diversity creates a rich environment for learning. Over the last 3 years, Dave and I have learned so much not only from our classes and professors, who are amazing, but from our classmates. The experiences and wisdom that comes from the Fuller student body has been pleasantly surprising. We have made some good friends and seen many of them come and go by now. So where are these graduates going? Many go into the "mission field" with traditional mission agencies. Some have gone home and began working with or for their church's mission department. One friend is going to work at a Christian college training students going to serve or learn overseas. Others go to work for agencies like World Vision in stateside offices. And some teach. Needless to say, there are many options for someone graduating with a degree like ours. So now the questions becomes, "Well, what are you two planning to do?" This is the question of the hour, one that we have been thinking and praying over for a long time. The answer is not short but I'll try to summarize our tentative plan.

First, we will be here in California until at least next summer until Amanda finishes her degree and we complete our job with Fuller. Then, more than likely we will return to Michigan to work for a while and pay off some loans. At the same time we hope to be reconnecting with Mars Hill and raising support to return to Spain. At this point, that is the plan but we are not ruling out the possibility of staying in California for a while or moving to another part of the world. As mentioned earlier, this plan is tentative. So, that was a long answer to a short question and that was the condensed version! I hope it helps clarify things a bit.

Welcome Spring

So for many people that will read this, Spring is a welcome season. It means the snow is melted, the temperatures are rising and maybe you can wear shorts! But for us Californians, it just means we lose an hour at daylight's savings. Now you may say, poor you, nice weather all year round. But to be honest, we miss seasons! The changing colors of the trees, the crackle of fallen leaves under your feet, the smells of blossoming new plants and flowers. Although, can't say we miss the snow! Yet, this spring brings some changes for the family. This is the last quarter of school for Dave. He will be graduating in June with a Master's degree in Cross-Cultural Studies. He will walk in the graduation ceremony June 9, 2007 if anyone is interested in attending. Second, we may be moving into a bigger place this summer. This would be good for all of us as Mason is accumulating more stuff and getting bigger by the day. So more room for him to run around would be helpful. As he moves into toddlerhood, he is really exhibiting his unique personality. This is our last noteworthy change. Mason is almost 16 months old now and changing rapidly. He talks constantly, mostly jibber jabber but he says a few words like ball, bye, and thank you. He tries to repeat everything that we say, so we really have to watch what we say! He runs around all over the place now and has gotten his fair share of bumps and bruises to show for it. He likes to play with the kids in the building and watch the big kids at the park. He waves hi to everyone and is not shy at all with anyone! He is growing up so fast and becoming his own person- stubborn, fun, loving and outgoing! We can't wait to see how he continues to develop and see all the new things he will do. Well, this is what spring has brought us thus far and we look forward a season of growth!