As the early morning quiet gives way to the start of a new day, Susan and I sit on the porch of our former home of many years. In the background children's songs play as the babies are brought outside to enjoy the morning coolness. The chatter of the yaya's (caretakers) is preceded by the cacophony of pedicabs (motorcycle-taxis) and thousands of roosters in the pre-dawn darkness.
We are blessed with living in two beautiful places on opposite sides of the world. In northeast FL, we live by the beach and are surrounded by beautiful wetlands for miles. We also enjoy having our four grown children and their families (including 2 grandchildren!) living close to us. At Rainbow, we have an extended family reaching around the world, and friendships of 20+ years.
In Dumaguete, life is much simpler, although it has changed much in the past decade. Twenty years ago, there were few choices available for food and phones—now there's a plethora of possibilities. Everyday life at Rainbow has gotten much simpler and quiet. Three long-term missionaries have just returned to the US (see previous post), and there is half the number of children from times past. King Solomon said, "For everything there is a season..." (Eccl 3:1).
We are enjoying a quieter season for now, though still busy with many daily concerns. We've learned before that quiet seasons are usually short-lived. Looking back over the past twenty years we've seen many lives changed from despair into hope. We've also seen many changes—some very difficult and challenging—all are part of the fabric of Rainbow's story.
For now, Susan and I are going to enjoy this quiet season while it lasts. We are looking forward to what the Lord's direction will be for the next year. One of the things often considered is the idea of writing the story of Rainbow. The thing is, it's not just one story, but hundreds of stories—the stories of all the children and girls, and those who have served at Rainbow over the years, not to mention all the adoptive families.
If you've got a story to share, please send it to us— directors@rainbowvm.org — we'd like to start compiling some stories and even post some on our FaceBook page [http://goo.gl/AtoDr]. Also, keep checking for our relaunch of Rainbow's website...hopefully it will happen this week.