Malibu

I had the thought the other day that around this time last year was when we found out we were pregnant. I decided to look at some pictures to find the exact date we found out and it was on the 15th...how quickly a year goes by! Anyway, while looking at the pictures I was reminded of the wonderful month we had last August and I thought I would post some pictures. For those of you that don't know last summer Tyson and I had the opportunity to go up to Canada and serve at Young Life's camp Malibu. It was an amazing time that God totally put together for us. We were asked to be Work Crew bosses for high schoolers that would go up for a month and serve the campers. After some prayer we realized we could not pass up such an amazing opportunity. Although we knew this was a time that Tyson could be getting calls for job interviews we decided to step out in faith and commit to going. A week and a half before we were set to leave we had a strange turn of events when Tyson broke his shoulder in a softball game. Things got even crazier when they told us he had to have surgery for it. Again we prayed and decided we needed to go to Malibu anyway. Tyson had surgery on a Tuesday and that Friday we headed up to Seattle to meet up with our team. It was a rough few days for Tyson heading up to the camp (consisting of sleep on the floor of a church and long bus rides, followed by a three hour boat ride to the camp), but he stuck it out and God ended up using Tyson's broken arm for His good. A few days after arriving we realized what we were in for. Long days, hard work, homesick kids, and very few moments together. But by then we also realized we had a month in one of the most beautiful places I'd ever seen, a month to build relationships with kids on a deeper level than I had imagined, and a month to serve our kids and teach them what it means to serve the Lord and others. That month was filled with God's Amazing Grace. We have story after story of how God reached down and gave us exactly what we needed when we needed it and we were able to watch him work in the lives of kids in a way I had never before witnessed. It was an AMAZING month. Of course as we look back now it was amazing because we also found out about our baby there. Being so busy every day Tyson and I saw each other for a few minutes each night and maybe during meals. It took a few days for me to realize I was late and I kept Tyson updated but we were both so busy I don't think we thought too much of it. After a few more days I knew we had to take a test...but we were in Malibu, three hours from any town and that was by boat. I checked with the camp doctor but they didn't have a test so in the end we asked one of the property staff if they could keep a secret and get us one next time when went into town. By the time we finally got the test I pretty much knew but needed to know for sure. I took the test and met Tyson up on the big rock. We were excited and scared and happy and shocked all at the same time. Somewhere in the craziness of our month with broken arms, surgeries, long trips and hard work God had decided now was the time. God was faithful through out that month, I didn't get sick or tired until the day I got home. He gave me the energy I needed to continue working alongside the kids, kept me safe while I was up in the tree tops doing the rope course every week and on a flight on a float plane. And he was faithful in his timing. I could not have asked for a better time to find out we were pregnant. A time when we were not thinking of ourselves but serving others and Him...which is how we want to raise our son. Thanks for letting me go on about this but I have been meaning to write this story down for Kai so I thought now was a good time. Here are some pictures of our time in Malibu.

Beautiful Malibu is tucked away in a beautiful inlet, surrounded by water.

I thought I would also mention that Tyson's parents met in Malibu...lots of good memories from this place:)

This is the rock where I told Tyson we were pregnant!

Nootka 1 1/2 was our little home for the month...tiny, dark, wet and moldy....but it will always hold a special place in our hearts:)

Above are my Linen Nook Girls, we did laundry, cleaned cabins and bathrooms, swept boardwalks and cleaned bird poo...a very glamorous job...but fun too:)

Below are the kids in the Dining Hall that Tyson worked with. They served the campers at every meal and cleaned off tables and reset tables. They worked hard but had lots of laughs too!