Our new Duluth Family...

I'm back again. Still working thru the stuff from the summer, and I realized I titled my last entry about the RV and the Knuths and then didn't mention anything about either. So here's what's happening...

It's been great being "home" so far; we've parked Mom and Dad McGrail's recreational vehicle in the backyard of one of our favorite Duluthian families, the Knuths. Kim and Mike (mom and dad Knuth) are a great couple, perfect combination of laid-back and fun, and so hospitable and welcoming. Mike is a fellow scientist, so my Mike and he are two peas in a pod. And Kim is great, a little mom-ish, which is greatly appreciated being so far from my own Mom, always making sure I have something to eat, that we're included in anything that we want to be involved in, and always invited to dinner or their fridge. But more than that, she's just a great friend; I enjoy our evenings in the living room when it rains or on the back porch when it doesn't.

Then there's Sarah and Steve (brother and sister Knuth). I've told you about Sarah a little earlier; she, Kristin, and Kayla are "my girls" from the youth group. We occassionally have small group/bible study, and more often just enjoy each other, laughing, watching movies, grabbing cheap apps during happy hour at Applebee's. I love Sarah; she's a bit of everything that I wanted or wished I had been in high school. She's involved, but not over-committed...usually. She's steeped in her faith, one of the most committed Christians at her age, or maybe any age, of most I've encountered. She laughs, works hard, plays hard, values her friends and family, dabbles in a few sports, and is generally stable most of the time, making her an excellent friend or partner in crime. She knows who she is and stands firm and comfortably there.

Steve is about to start high school. And he's the little brother or guy friend that every girl should have. He's funny and a little awkward, cool without knowing it, and really genuinely cares about the people around him. Though he wouldn't admit it, he respects his parents, looks up to his big sister (and big brother, Thomas, away at school), and unlike many adolecent males I've encountered, generally has a very good head on his shoulders. Plus, I think he's going to be really fun to watch on the football field.

I don't like everything about us Christians; I've seen a lot of great and not-so-great qualities over the years, in secular venues, in Mike and I's conservative alma mater, in ministry, and now internationally. But the one thing I truly value, that at its best is one of the most amazing parts of being a Christian, is being part of the family. I've loved to see how even across boarders, we as brothers and sisters in Christ have a bond strong enough to cause us to reach out to complete strangers, to take in and take care of the other people in our family. That when we recognize, or think we recognize that softness of spirit, that non-blood relationship, we take them as blood relatives. And I guess we are, just not the blood of our parents, but rather of our Savior. I've been cared for by the Jansons, the Knuths, Hilda and Hesse in Crooked Tree, Cecelio and Desol in Santa Elena, Brenda in La Democracia, Suzan and Roy in Belmopan, Pastor Lloyd and Nancy in Belize City, Pastor Elvis, Geraldine, Diana, Marta, and Reuben in Village Community, Pastor Caleb, Barbara, Lorraine, and Emmogene in Dangriga, not to mention the countless team members from CO, CA, WI, MN, TX, NC, OH, and WA.

I love that this family cares for me and that I have the opportunity to care for them. Kim Knuth, after letting me know that it was okay for us to park in their backyard way back in May, said that more people should take advantage of help when it's offered. And my friend Amy always says "ask for what you need and give what you can." So simple, yet why are we so prideful to think that we need to do everything on our own? I am eternally grateful for all of you, and look forward for future situations when I can serve you, serve with you, or be served by you. Thank you!