Our Thank You Video

What does it feel like, right before moving to Peru?

I’ve been saying that I need to sit down and write for the last few days.  Our big move is getting so close, and I’ve been lying awake at night trying to process what is coming, but nothing helps me do that like putting pen to paper (well, fingers to the keyboard, that is).  And I really want to help all of our prayer supporters to walk this journey with us, so writing about what we’re going through is a win win!

For most of September we were in a weird sort of limbo where we knew we were so close to meeting our financial need, but not quite close enough yet to purchase tickets down there.  That changed a couple weeks ago and we got the go ahead to set a travel date.  Within about a week the remainder of our support came in, and since then our lives have been a progression from one item to the next on our To Do Before We Move list. 

One of the top items on that list has been to spend time with people.  So Derek and I have been trading off with Finn quite a bit to spend one on one time with friends here, and we’ve also enjoyed spending time as a family with some of you in the evenings as well.  These times with friends have been so refreshing because we’ve been able to just invest in our relationships and talk about exciting things ahead without any support raising agenda or notions there of.  Actually, come to think of it, I don’t think we’ve felt this sort of freedom in our interactions with our friends in years.  I’ll explain:

Derek and I both loved serving on staff at a church with the sweetest body of believers ever, but between the two of us, we were responsible for recruiting the vast majority of the volunteers needed for church to happen, and so it was often hard to have truly platonic, agenda-free interactions with people.  Right after moving to Birmingham Derek joined the congregation as a staff member, and I went on staff not too long thereafter, so we didn’t really have friends here before taking on those roles.  Now, for the first time, we can go to church without wondering if people cringe inside when they see us approaching them.

Anyway… freedom from that has been beautiful.  For the record, I would totally go back to church work - especially somewhere like Cross Creek, if God led that way.  Every job has its ups and downs, but Cross Creek Church is truly a special congregation, and we are so thankful for the time we had growing, living, and serving alongside our brothers and sisters in Christ there!

OK, back to our move.  We really are excited about it, but some of the logistics and the initial culture shock part of it are definitely sobering.  And travel with Finn has never been fun, but travel with Finn and 7 checked bags is going to be truly challenging.  Our initial leg of the trip will get us to Lima at close to midnight on Friday night, and then we’ll go through customs with all of those bags and an overtired toddler.  Then we will attempt to move ourselves and all of those bags to the adjacent hotel for the night for a few hours of sleep (hopefully).  Then we’ll wake up, return to the airport (thankfully the hotel and airport are connected by a flyover walking bridge) with all of the bags, check them in again, and take another short flight to Arequipa, our destination.  Then we will find our contact from the language school who is supposed to pick us up and transport us and our stuff to our apartment.  (I sure hope his vehicle can handle all of the bags!)  Then we will have 9 days to adjust to life in Peru before becoming full time students.

Please pray for us on Friday, November 6th, and Saturday, November 7th, friends!  Those 2 days are what keep me up at nights right now.  I have no doubt that God will carry us through, but I guess my faith isn’t strong enough to keep me from running a play by play in my mind of how we will survive those days whenever I have a moment of pause.

As far as language school goes, I’m really pretty pumped.  I love learning and I usually really enjoy classroom settings.  Derek’s probably a little more apprehensive about that than I am, as school was never a huge love of his.  Our language school program will include both class time and conversational practice time with a tutor, however, and I bet he’ll do better than me at that second part.  I will really have to work at overcoming my introverted tendencies.

So that’s most of what I’ve been thinking about lately.  We’ve been doing a lot of packing and repacking, repeatedly trying to weed out additional belongings that we can do without for the next 2 and a half years.  That process really hasn’t been too bad, though.  Finn has never held too closely to any of his belongings, and Derek and I have both moved enough times that this process is old hat.  At least it feels that way now.  Maybe we’ll feel differently after getting to Peru with only a fraction of the things that have defined home for us.

We’re planning an official thank you video that should be posted on here in the next week or so, so stay tuned for that.  We truly are so thankful for everyone who has walked the support raising journey with us and encouraged and prayed for us so faithfully.  More on that soon!

- Laura

My heart is more full now.

Today I was helping Finn put stickers on a piece of construction paper, and he did this thing--several times--that I am still marveling at.

A week or so ago we discovered that while Finn doesn't have much of an attention span for coloring yet, he really enjoys stickers.  So we bought a book of stickers and for the past few days, we've been peeling stickers out of that book and handing them to him (he can't get them off himself) so that he can stick them onto a piece of paper.

Today, while doing this with Finn, it occurred to me to let Finn choose which sticker he'd like next.  It took a minute for him to catch on to the idea, but then he discovered that he loved it.  And then he started doing this thing.  Every time he had successfully placed a sticker on the paper, he turned back to the sticker book and broke into this intense grin, making two tight fists with his hands in front of him, and shaking in glee for just a moment, before choosing a sticker.  It was sheer delight that I saw on his face every time he realized that he could once again choose any sticker he wanted, and I would give it to him.

After a while he realized that he could turn the pages of the sticker book, and find a different page that suited him better.  Our sticker activity transformed into a leisurely stroll through the pages of the sticker book.

So I was thinking tonight, about the joy Finn felt in that moment over the freedom to choose and receive.  I so often have that myself.  But so often I move past the moment without stopping to grin, make fists, and shake in delight.  So here's to savoring the moments.  And here are a few of the delightful moments I've shared with Finn lately!

Finn's first time hiking with us (not in a carrier).

He's REALLY  been enjoying his "YeYe Bible" that reads aloud Bible stories to him in his Ye Ye's voice.

Choosing a sticker!

Chocolate pudding dessert.  Yum!

Finn has LOVED this car the past few days since Aunt Dora brought it by for our yard sale.  We'll all be sad to see it go.  It'll be one of the first thing Finn gives up on his missionary kid journey.  

Making a call on his phone (an old flip phone of mine) in his favorite chair.

Playing guitar on his stage.  Just like Daddy.

You know, all of these moments and more have been a part of my life recently, but until I stop and think back on them, and see them like this in pictures, I didn't really appreciate them.  My heart is more full now, than when I began typing this blog post.

- Laura

What I Might have in Common with the Damsels of Medieval History.

Last night I watched the new release, Far From the Madding Crowd on DVD, and this morning as I went for a brisk walk around the neighborhood with Finn in the jogger, I kept thinking about it.  I really, really liked it, and I asked myself why.  It’s a definite chick flick (full disclosure there), and a appreciated that there were no premarital or extramarital affairs (a rare find in chick flicks these days), but it wasn’t a straight up fairy tale either.  In fact the heroine makes some pretty lousy decisions along the way.  She’s not all bad.  She does strive to be a good steward that which God brings her way in life (though God is not mentioned in the film), but when it comes to romance, she tends to defer too much to her emotions and passion.  This tendency is all too realistic today and is a common side effect in our society of the exaltation of romance and passion to the exclusion of wisdom.  

So I asked myself this morning, “why am I so taken with this film?”  I’m usually one of those people who prefers movies in which the hero or heroine is primarily virtuous, and so I can root for them, so to speak, in every respect (fanciful, I know).  But this movie was not like that.  The answer I came to, was twofold.  The first part being that which many will think is obvious—that the movie reflects the fallenness that exists in real life.  But the second part is that while the heroine is flawed, her enduring suitor is not - and this too reflects real life.  Real life in Christ, that is.  

OK, at this point if you think you might want to see the movie, you might not want to read further.  I won’t give away a lot of details, but if you’re one of those people that hates to know much of anything about how a film turns out before you see it, then you better stop reading now.

I warned you.  Now here’s what I REALLY loved about this movie. 

Early in the movie, Bathsheba (yes, a name you Bible scholars have heard before) receives her first proposal of marriage from the kind, hard working farmer next door, Gabriel, and while she doesn’t flat out refuse him at the start, she doesn’t feel for him what she wants to feel from a suitor.  She’s not weak in the knees over this man, and so though she has great respect and fondness for him, she determines that she has no need of a husband at the moment and will hold out for a more compelling offer.

Gabriel accepts this response with great dignity, but finds himself inclined to stick around and look out for her, so to speak.  He doesn’t pester her or make any further attempts at winning her over, but he quietly uses his skill in farming to help her succeed in life.  Over the course of time he watches her fall in “love” with a dashing young heart breaker, and still he sticks around.  

Throughout the movie there are various highs and lows for Bathsheba, and ironically she finds herself coming back to Gabriel for advice over and over again not only for farming matters but matters of the heart as well.  She slowly finds herself becoming more and more dependent on his help and moral support, and at last (no big surprise, really), comes to realize what a fool she has been all along to take him for granted and mask indifference to him.

According to early British literature’s rules on the art of courtly love,  The value of love is commensurate with its difficulty of attainment.  

What if Bathsheba had accepted Gabriel’s original offer of marriage?  Would she have come to value his love as greatly as she eventually did when he persisted despite her continual rejection and unworthiness?  What if Adam and Eve hadn’t eaten the fruit in the garden?  Would we value the great love of our Father as much without seeing the lengths to which it would take Him?  

Or perhaps like the damsels of medieval history, and like Bathsheba, we have to be persuaded.  

Perhaps only a long, bumpy ride of a story is the best way for us experience love at its finest. 


- Laura

Concert and Auction Tonight!

Music for Missions is Tonight!  Can't wait to see everyone there.  Come early to find parking as it'll be a little bit tight.  The online auction will be ending at 8:15 tonight too.  Anyone can participate in the auction as long as you can come pick up your winnings from us at some point (we won't be shipping).

- Laura Dougherty

Online Auction Begins Tonight!

Our Online Online Silent Auction begins tonight (@7PM) at www.32auctions.com/dougherty

We've had 30+ items completely donated so that all proceeds will go to help us get to Peru!  The auction has gift certificates, vacation stays, artwork, gift baskets, photo sessions, and even a home cooked meal!

Visit our auction site now to participate!

View our recent update letter to see more details on how the auction works.

- Derek and Laura Dougherty

God Sightings Today

I had several God-sightings today.  I didn’t recognize any of them as such when they occurred, but now, sitting down the reflect on my day at the close of it, I realize that He was right there with me, offering regular assistance as I went through the day - kind of like a parent would for their young beloved child.

1.  Finn came down with what seems to be a fever virus early this afternoon.  He woke up early from his nap screaming.  I got him up and saw that he had spit up a tiny bit on himself, and he was really really hot, so I started a lukewarm bath for him.  As soon as I put him in the bath he lost his lunch.  Thank you God for letting that happen AFTER he was in the bath!  What a sweet mercy that was!

2.  It just so happened that we had the exact amount of children’s tylenol that we needed when his fever spiked tonight.  We gave him what he needed, and Derek could pick up some more when he was out and about this evening.  Thank you God!

3.  Several days ago I noticed that lifeway.com had a REALLY good deal on their Read and Share Bible Story DVDs, and so I decided to order a couple of them for Finn.  This morning, just a few hours before the fever struck, they were delivered to our doorstep.  It turned out to be the perfect thing to help him rest and divert his attention from feeling uncomfortable.  Thank you God!

4.  Tonight I was talking with Derek about whether it would be a good evening to watch one of our Spanish subtitled movies from the library, and it occurred to me that I should probably check to see how many days we had before we need to return them.  I knew we had at least another day or two.  So I went on my library account online and low and behold, a couple of books that I COMPLETELY forgot we had checked out were due TODAY!  Thank you God for sending me to my account today!  Thank you God for the ability to renew library books online so that I don’t have to leave my sick baby to return them tonight!

Who knows how many other little things God did for me today while I took them granted.  What a tender loving Father I have!

What did God do for you today?