....to Far East that is. Supposedly, this is the last year that Faith Academy will be participating in the Far East DOD's basketball tournament. Every year it's been in Okinawa. For months I thanked the Lord for knowing all our desires and needs....and supplying for them accordingly. The money came and now Dylan is in Okinawa having the time of his life playing some challenging basketball with kids from all over South East Asia. While I envy him for an experience I never had the opportunity to work hard for at his age, I couldn't be any happier for him. I only ache to be there, to witness it all and take every photo snapping opportunity possible for future memory's sake.
I do miss that boy. He worked so hard to get ahead in all his classes a week ahead of time, get all necessary errands done for it, raise funds for it with the free throw shooting contest and shop with me for all necessary extra packing items which ended up not being that much. He stayed up so late exhausting himself through Saturday's annual Faith Academy Community Festival. He went to Japan on barely any sleep or energy. I remain hopeful that he's caught up on sleep so that he can enjoy b-balling the courts for four more days. That's not why I miss him. I miss him because ....welp, I love him. Why not, right?
What a crazy world it seems we live in....as missionaries. Here we are under the overseas missionary description in a city that requires anything but a missionary budget/lifestyle. (I suppose we all have differing opinions of what that missionary budget living should be). One kid is taking his second trip away from home, since our move to these islands, and we went off to one of the most expensive business/shopping districts in Manila to find some cheap colloidal silver and a birthday gift for our second prize, Tyler. After just barely finding the silver as the market was closing I roamed the high end classy Greenbelt malls with our second prize looking for what he was hoping to find: shoes. Low and behold there's a VANS store, the brand he has an affinity to. And they have something below his budget to boot. The fact that I was getting a once-in-a-blue-moon one-on-one time with this boy was what made it so incredible. I couldn't stop squeezin' him. The desire to meet his every materialistic desire was great. It couldn't possibly hurt to dote on him for a little bit. Then again, maybe it could....which is why it's a good thing we had a strict budge. We then treated him to a Starbucks and a lavished meal where I managed to leave my glasses on the table when we left.
I'll admit, it was nice to forget the ache of missing Dylan just long enough to dote on Tyler on a Sunday night days after his birthday. Fortunately, the boys' Varsity team won their first game today. Now to pray and anticipate game news tomorrow.
I have continued to ask the Lord to give the kids a memorable MK childhood (what's left of it) and it's happening. I just have to let go of all intense desires to be there at every moment with a camera.....as I had to when the girls were off to summer camp and then Outdoor Ed which was to Taal Volcano two weeks ago. Cheesy sounding but delightfully true: blessed and grateful because the great I AM makes these kind of great moments happen.
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