Shifting Gears

 Free of sickness, full of sunshine, and riding high. It has been a blessed few weeks since our last post. Now is the time when we become lazy; when it is easy to slack off and forget the hard lessons we learned under duress. I am convicted of the need to be diligent in my prayers and Bible study; also to ensure Mary and I are doing both together. There is a dynamic present in mutual Bible study and prayer that is absent when we do not regularly do this. I think of the Shemah which embeds the Law in every aspect of daily life. Whether with children, or waking, or sleeping, or walking in the way, or sitting in your house. God tells us to speak of these things in all these situations.

   We took the kids out for a hike at Chain Lakes in the shadow of Mount Baker. The water was mystic and felt either pleasant or bone-chillingly freezing. We all got a bit of sun and enjoyed ourselves immensely. I only wish I had put on a bit of sunscreen; still, I haven't lost any skin and I'm recovering. The kids were lovely little zombies at dinner, barely ate anything and were falling asleep with their heads on the table. It was adorable. I'm still gobsmacked that the two older boys RAN up and down the trail for seven hours. SEVEN. And I thought "I" was in good shape. Humble pie for one?

Moving into next week, I have finished my contract with my employer (May God bless them immensely for the good they did to me) and am out of work for now. I have spammed the greater Whatcom County area looking for work and am checking the online boards each day for new opportunities. Strangely, I am conflicted about how to feel. On the one hand, I am edgy and restless feeling the need for work. On the other hand, I remind myself of the many provisions and blessings God has showered us with. I remember He is the Provider and I name Him such when I pray. Part of me is excited about what He will provide next though I must frequently calm myself and wait for the answer.

Mary will be starting a punishing summer schedule with three classes and three days of the week very full just with classes, not to mention homework. We expected this but after a month of break, its like putting on cold, wet clothes. Two more semesters and we are mission ready. Wow, to say it like that puts our study and training on urgent status. I suppose no amount of practice would "get us ready"; but I can't shake the thought that there is an ocean of prep I need to do before I can be effective in my role as the tribe nutritionist. Mary is unperturbed about all of it; for her this is the end of a very long wait. The first step onto foreign soil will be the start of the real race. For her, she has been getting ready to play in the big game for ten years and only now is the wait over. I am encouraged and humbled. Every day brings her new momentum to pick up the pace, get just one step closer to the goal line.

We are struggling to find enough money to purchase the solar charger for our brother in Papua New Guinea and ask that each of you prayerfully consider whether God would have you contribute to this. Our brother would not need to leave the village every time he wants to recharge his laptop meaning more time for translation and more time for work. We have about 400 to put into it and are in a holding pattern until Ben finds some work. Thank you for your prayer and obedience to His direction.

For all of you who have been with us in prayer and financial support we thank God for you each day. We are humbled by the magnitude of what we are going to do and inspired by the adventure of it all. Someday, we will come back here for a missions trip to bless and disciple and be discipled,  adventuring back home, doing the kingdom work, and reconnecting with the church. The work never ends, but then, it is never NEVER boring.


May the grace of Jesus Christ be with you all,

Ben and Mary Grimm

Goodbye May

We are goobers.

 On this day a year ago (June 1st), we headed north, dragging all our earthly possessions behind us in a small Uhaul trailer. We met the amazing family that has hosted us through the year, and we wondered at all the windmills and the tall Dutch people in this area. It's crazy to think it's been a year, or that May is already over.

Scoping out Mt. Adams

The month of May began with attending a beautiful wedding and climbing Mt. Hood for our own first year anniversary. The rest of the month has been a little nuts. We climbed Mt. Adams the day before mother's day, did not wear sunscreen (definitely a mistake), and showed up at the parents looking like Botox gone really wrong. Aloe Vera is a magical plant. That is all.

Highest summit together.

Exploring waterfalls and lakes with Sarah

Despite being red and swollen, we had a grand time celebrating both our moms and getting to see the rest of the family.

On returning home we had some great times with dear, dear friends, and also a time of renewing fellowship with our generous host family.

It was a blessed week in all respects except a nasty fever that hung with me for eight days before manifesting as what we all hoped it wasn't - the dreaded Chicken Pox. 

You know how they say that it's much worse getting CP as an adult? 'They' are absolutely right.

I think I had 500 blisters.

photographic proof

The lovely Megan was a bright spot in an otherwise dismal weekend of spotty, coughing misery.
She came up to visit over labor day weekend, and we had a wonderful time being sickies in Canada and watching Pixar films. By the way, you know how they say you can't get them again if you've had CP once? Lies. Ben got a very mild flare up of the virus (even though he had it as a kid), probably because of high exposure to a certain other person. hghm.

Thank you Megs for keeping us sickies company!

Now the evil Pox have nearly run their course, and we are almost well again.
This month has gone by so quickly, I have hardly hat time to reflect, but there are a few things I want to mention.

Our host family has practiced unswerving patience and graciousness towards us. It has been such an incredible blessing, truly beyond words, to receive their generosity and to learn about what obedience, intentionality, and godly love look like. Through ups and numerous downs, they have continued to hope and pray for us during this season of our lives. We are so, so thankful to them, and to the God that rules all of our lives for placing us in such an unimaginable position with such incredible people.
So in your prayers for us, please also pray for our host family. We continually pray that God will rest His Spirit in their home and that He will bless them generously for the many blessings they have poured out to us.

Another thing: THANK YOU, to all of you beautiful people who have come up or stopped by to visit us up here in northern Washington. We have been so blessed to fellowship with dear friends and family. It is really great to come down and visit, and we really, really enjoyed our time in the Portland area and in Grants Pass this past month; but it is something else all together to have friends visit us up here. So, Thank you. :)

And two more prayer things:
We are currently in touch with a national born Pastor in PNG who is working on a Bible Translation for a nearby language group. We asked him what his needs are and he said that he has needed a solar panel for a long time. The language group he is working with has no electricity and so he must leave them and go out to a larger village every time his computer battery runs down. I can't imagine what a hassle that would be or how discouraging at times to only be able to work for short time periods due to technology failing. So Ben and I have been praying about getting him a solar kit. We are wondering if any of you would be willing to partner with us in this. The one we are looking at cost about $600. Here's the web address below. Also, if you have ideas or suggestions about an alternative solution, we'd love to hear them!
http://www.goalzero.com/p/211/sherpa-100-solar-kit

Finally, this past month we had the privilege of meeting a young man from Egypt named Samuel. He shared his testimony with our Church and we got to meet with him at a home group and hear more about what God is doing in his life and in the lives of other Egyptian believers. He is part of an incredible house church movement throughout the Middle East including over 11,000 house churches in Egypt alone! These home churches are a solution to the many Muslims coming to Christ who are legally not allowed to enter an official Christian Church building. It was so exciting and inspiring to hear about what God is doing in the Middle East. It is also sobering to learn of the intense persecution that many of these new believers are experiencing. We were convicted to be more intentional about sharing in the joy and suffering of the larger CHURCH, the body of Christ that is working His will in every nation of the earth. Please join us in prayer for our brothers and sisters, and if you are interested in learning more about what is happening in the Middle East, check out ICR - International Christian Response. http://christianresponse.org/
They have been partnering with the house church movement for over 13 years now!

Okay. Thanks for your patience in reading all the way to the end. Thank you for your love and support. God has supplied for our every need and we look forward to seeing how He will provide for this next semester. This has been and is and will be a grand adventure! Thanks for being a part of it.

Love and blessings,
The Grimms. :D

Mt. Hood - Spring Adventures Part 3

Mt. Hood - Oregon
Summit - 11,239ft. 

This is Mary's happy climbing mountain face. :D

We camped near the lodge Friday evening, with our alarm set for 12:30. Our climb officially began at 1:17am on Saturday, May 4th. The moon was bright and everything was still and very beautiful. No headlights needed.

First time doing a night climb.

We both found a really good rhythm, and found ourselves passing one climber after the next.

We summitted earlier than we anticipated.

We were a little under dressed for the high winds and the freezing temperatures at the top. After huddling under the poncho for a few minutes, we decided the sun would have to rise without our encouragement.

A view of Mt. Jefferson from 2 miles in the air.

We summitted at 5:20. Just in time to watch the dawn.

Hot death - literally!

"I am now guilty of taking a selfie. I am eternally shamed."

We survived and did not break rule one.

Happy Anniversary to us!

Tubal Cain - Spring Adventures Part 2

Mt. Buckhorn and Tubal Cain Mine - Olympic Peninsula, WA

Waiting for the Ferry to Port Townsend

My good friend Haley came up for a visit the weekend after my finals. Naturally, we headed into the mountains.  This was my first time exploring the Olympic Peninsula. This place is a seriously awesome playground for backpackers! 

Our first adventure was camping overnight in a parking lot because we missed the last Ferry on Friday. In the morning we made crappy camp coffee and ate grapefruits and waited.
I really like ferries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We found a mine!

Next adventure was finding our trail. We may have gotten lost on some dirt roads going in the wrong direction before we made a route correction and got to the Tubal Cain trail head.

The name is from an abandoned copper mine. Yes, we looked for a shaft. And yes, we found it! Too bad neither of us packed headlamps.

In too deep. We decided to come back with headlights.

We agreed to explore it the next morning. We went as far as Haley's dying phone battery and a desire to keep our feet dry would safely allow.


Haley did a little research and found that the mine had been abandoned due to its remote location and the diminishing hope of finding gold somewhere in its dark recesses. It goes back about 450 meters into the mountain, and there is a bunch of old equipment lying around in the surrounding area.

Also, if you're ever exploring here, there is the wreck of a B17 further up in the canyon. We didn't get to that this time around.

The trail to the pass and a view of Mt. Buckhorn

Back on the trail we headed for the mountain pass. Since we had gotten a late start we weren't feeling too ambitious.

However, I've found that many grand adventures begin with, "Let's just see how far we can go."
In this case, the answer was, 'all the way to the top.'


Look at that lovely mountain. Don't you just want to stand on top of it? 

Sure. Why not?

We took our time, hiked at our leisure and still had daylight to spare. The weather was beautiful. The trails were fantastic, and this first look at the mountains on the peninsula left its mark.

Up and Up!

 Kudos to Haley. She hates snow traverses and is afraid of heights but she muscles through it because she loves mountains.
She wrestles with her fears and inhibitions, and she comes out victorious and stronger than ever.
Haley inspires and encourages me, and I am so glad to have her as an adventure buddy and friend.

View from the top!

Mt. Buckhorn is 6,988 ft tall. The climb is easy and very rewarding.
Look at all those mountains to climb!
By the time we got back to the mine shaft, we'd completed 17 miles. Not bad for a late start and unambitious beginnings.

This is definitely an area I would come back to. What a great hike! I am thankful for a God who delights to delight us, and for friends to go adventuring with.

Prepare for Snow - Spring Adventures Part 1

Golden Ears - BC, Canada

Early in the spring semester, Ben and I hiked up Golden Ears, our goal was to see how far we could get.

This lovely little 5,600 ft. peak stares me in the face every day as I drive to school. How could I resist the invitation?

Cascades from the side of Golden Ears

I'm not sure why some humans are born with the desire to stand on top of things and some are not.

We set out early in the morning, prepared for Canadian style trails and snow (Just FYI Canadians do not believe in switchbacks. I may have mentioned that already).



It was a beautiful day, overcast but relatively warm. The hike is 15.5 miles round trip, a long approach through forests along a beautiful river. We had a lot of fun and did indeed find snow! :)

A view of the summit.

Ultimately we turned back from the summit, due to the icy conditions. We learn!

In all reality, I think we are both more cautious on the others behalf than we are for ourselves. Fortunately, when we hike together this has the effect of keeping both of us from doing stupid things... ish.


  

Not today.

 We'll be back for this one in the summer.

Overall, a great little hike. Long enough to stretch your legs, cover some country, and feel good and tired at the end of the day.

Also, we have decided that ice axes would be a good investment.

Life Update

We are well. Mary just finished her third semester at CanIL (two more to go). We are debt free, thanks to Benjamin's hard work, the immense hospitality of the Mock family, and the gifts and prayers of so many dear friends. In short: God is taking good care of us.
We are coming up on our first Anniversary (May 4th)! It has been a painful and grace-filled year. Please pray for our relationships with people here in Lynden, WA, especially with our generous hosts.
Mary will be in school through the summer. Ben will continue to work for POSX until his contract runs out at the end of May, and then we'll see if they want to keep him or not.
Please pray for the good people at Sunrise Baptist Church and Auburn Household of Faith who have embraced us in prayer and community.
We believe that God is directing us to go to Papua New Guinea. So far, we don't know what the process or structure of getting there is going to look like. We don't have sending organization yet, but both of us have a lot of peace right now, knowing that God will direct us in His own time.
God is good and we are filled and poured out, broken and remade according to His good purpose.
Thank you for your love and prayers.

Ben and Mary Grimm

Hope

You know that feeling when you get woken up out of a deep, deep sleep? It's as if you are being pulled bodily out of a very dark, very comfortable place. It is unpleasant, uncomfortable, and you can't help being a little irritated even before you actually surface. This happened to me recently, and the raw discomfort of that sensation has been lingering with me.

Last night a friend was talking with me about hope.
She said, "Hope is suffering."
My mind immediately went to that waking sensation.

Hope is not the same thing as optimism.
Hope is like that uncomfortable transition rising up out of a deep sleep.
"The evidence of things not seen."
The evidence of a woken world. Something far more tangible, vibrant, and breathtaking than the soft dream world I cling to.

People often say that our lives are only a moment, a breath before the span of eternity. If this is true, than the analogy is even more potent. That transition, truly only takes a moment.

This year has been one of suffering. Hope.
Painful changing, painful communicating, painful working towards better things that we hope for but do not yet experience. Hope is what keeps a soul, a relationship, a marriage, a world alive. Or rather, it is the evidence that soon we will truly be AWAKE!

Ben and I have been so blessed in this first year of our marriage (anniversary coming up May 4th!).
We are learning to hope. We are learning how painful that can be.
It feels like this invisible barrier that keeps me from throwing up my hands and saying, "Enough!" It compels me to work through things when I would rather sulk or stew. It gives him the patience to weather my 'righteous anger'. God promised us, and we promised God, to love, to cherish, to hope. Now we are in the thick of it and finding that easy answers are few and far between.

This life is breathtaking.
As in, you just fell off the swing and got the wind knocked out of you, breath taking.
Or you hiked to the top of a rise and discovered Middle Earth spread out in glory before you, breath taking.
This God. He's a little nuts by all the standards in the book. He loves asymmetry, complex math, and these human creatures that seem to have a knack for screwing up just about anything. He laughs a lot, and He also cries a lot. He is deeply passionate about everything. And He is GOOD, like we've never even seen. His woken world... I can't begin to imagine. I just know that coming awake from sleep is uncomfortable. Hope is uncomfortable.

It's okay to be skeptical. Anyone who would willingly choose to be in a constant state of change and discomfort is a weirdo. I confess to this wholeheartedly.
Serving God isn't a side hobby, and the payoff in this world is sketchy at best. One minute we've got every good thing, the next we're wandering in the wilderness babbling about faith and water.
But, that's also true to how the rest of creation lives. I mean, any religion that promises eternal spring or perfect equilibrium, must not have been paying attention anytime during the last 12 months. It's a nice thought, but it sure isn't real.

Anyway. All this to say, life is uncomfortable. God is too. Pain happens. So does Joy. Ultimately, although none of us want to go through extreme discomfort, I'm pretty sure no mother would wish her baby to simply remain in the womb forever, and most sleepers do not wish to remain comatose.
So may God speak over your Life.
May He speak words that pull us out of deep slumber into waking.

May He speak words that make us hope.



MaryG