In Need of My Village

The questions are frequent, legitimate, somewhat stress-inducing (only because I don’t feel like we are doing it well) and my answer is always the same. I don’t do it alone. I am not as capable as you all might think for, behind every single thing that we do (and we recognize that we are extremely busy extroverts so there are a lot of things), is a village of people – family and friends – supporting us at every turn.

And, as the asks get bigger, as the tasks mount up and the date of our departure fast approaches, the village needs to expand. For, right now, we are maxed out on capacity. We are exhausted, nervous and feel like we are trying to work three jobs, support raise, pack and organize, get in as much quality time with the amazing people we know and love, spend intentional time in prayer and bible study, complete the online courses and training requirements for our upcoming volunteer work, pay attention to our kids as they process this move, take them to the few activities we have allowed them to have, attend special events for friends so they know they are valued, spend time with family and, if we have time, connect with each other, build into our marriage and, finally, if any moment is left, find time to process this move for ourselves before crawling into bed each night. 

Those around us – those closest to us are supporting us in so many ways and we are thankful. Our family and close friends are pulling through, stepping up and stepping in when we need them and when we ask but we still feel like we’re drowning in ‘to do’s’ and desperate for a day, week, month or year just to think, pray and reflect. 

We are tired. We are stressed and we are tapped out of energy. We know that we have a larger village. We know that there are people who want to help but we also know that they may not know how. We haven’t even known how. We haven’t had the time to think about how we could be further supported, beyond the obvious looming financial needs of our fast-approaching trip, and we haven’t had the moments we’ve needed to formulate a way to ask for help. 

We may look like we’re holding it together, we’re handling it and we’re coping but we need to publicly ask for more help. We need to find a way to let more of the amazing people in our lives ‘bear our burdens’ (Galatians 6:2-3) and you can consider this our formal request.

We know that we are part of a larger body (Romans 12:4-5), we know that our dear friends are connected and invested in us (1 Corinthians 12:26) and we trust that so many of you would be willing to step in if you knew what we needed. 

So, we’re asking. We’re asking that you would take a look at the calendar below and see if you could help. To see if you could hang out with one or two of our kids for a few hours during one of these time’s/dates. To see if you’d be willing to pick Jacob or Ben up from school or preschool one day and hang out with them. To see if you could help us have some time together as a couple that is not spent running to a meeting or preparing a presentation. To see if you could attend one of our presentations and bring activities for our kids so we don’t have to worry about them during a service. To ultimately see if you would be willing to share a few hours out of your day to help us give our parents and close close family and friends a break from carrying our burden so that they can have time just to spend with us between now and July. 

We want to ‘leave well,’ to spend the upcoming 2 1/2 months connecting as a family, sharing time with friends and continuing to build into the lives of the amazing youth we have met but we can’t do it alone. Or at the very least, we can’t do it well. Would you consider helping? Would you consider joining with us? Would you consider sharing our burden and, in doing so, encouraging our hearts in a way that will have a deep, deep impact for us, our kids, our family and the work we have felt called to do. We can’t do it without you and we are truly thankful that God has given us a village to ask.

With love, gratitude and a humbling lack of self-reliance,

Anita

• Any Tuesday or Thursday at 2pm if someone wanted to come over to our house and hang with Lucy so I can go and pick up Benjamin from school or, alternatively, anyone that possibly wanted to pick Ben up from school for me on those days and bring him home.
• Any Monday/Wed/Friday if someone wanted to pick Jacob up from preschool at 3pm at North Langley Wind and Tide and/or pick Ben up from school at James Kennedy in Walnut Grove for 2:47pm and bring him home.
• Any Monday/Wed/Friday where someone might want to drive Jacob to preschool at North Langley Wind and Tide for 12:30pm start time
• Any mornings where someone might want to drive Ben to James Kennedy Elementary for school at 8:47am
• Any daytimes on Tuesday/Thursday where someone might want to come and hang out with Lucy so I could run errands that need to be done for PNG
• Any days where someone might want to come and take our boys to the park or out for a walk between 4pm and dinner time.
• Any Sundays or Saturdays where someone might want to take one or two of the kids for some quality time.