California reunion in Philly

We have had some very special visitors in the past month. 

First, my sister, brother-in-law, and fetal niece showed up. We took them to our local brewery.

Then, we showed them Penn.

Sisterly love.

The next day, some more very special friends arrived. (They are Giants fans)

We finally got to meet this little beauty.

We had a great time showing the Marshes and Monkowskis around Old City.

Josh's contribution to Christ Church.

And this was dinner. 

It was SO hot and humid and they were such troopers. Fortunately, there was a public fountain nearby!

One night we went out to dinner and watched fireworks from my friend's roof.

On Sunday they all came to church with us and got to hear Ben preach for the first time! What great timing. Afterwards we took them out to Valley Forge.

Inside one of the soldiers' cabins

Martha Washington's kitchen

Hey look, George Washington's house.

One of my favorite times was having everyone over for dinner and showing them around our neighborhood. I had never noticed how awesome the sticks are in our neighborhood. We're saving the ones pictured here in our front bushes for their next visit (as promised).

Even Jess King was able to join us! Fun to connect with a fellow Philly friend (sorry my shots are so blurry, I blame the humidity).

Look who found a new friend.

We love you guys so much. Thanks for visiting us and getting a taste of our life in Philly. Means the world to us! 

Group shot 

The visit with Adam and Melanie and little boo goes on but I'm going to bed. To be continued.

Down the Shore

Ben and I finally made our way out to the beach, or as our friends the Philadelphians say, "down the shore". We had never been so we wanted to explore as much as we could so we'd know where to go back. We basically drove directly east, hit Atlantic City and made our way south until Cape May. It was far less crowded and hectic than we had imagined or had been told it would be. Parking wasn't an issue, the beaches were fairly clean, and we were able to dodge beach taggers for the most part. For the Californians, beach tags are things you have to pay for to use the beach. High schoolers walk around the beach asking to see your tags and if you don't have them, you have to buy them. We did not stay on any beach long enough to require them but we were not fans of the idea. Fortunately, our favorite beach, Cape May, did not seem to require them. Here are some pictures from our day.

(you'll have to ignore the annoying smudge in some of the pics...not sure what was wrong with my camera that day)

Atlantic City

It had been so long since his toes had felt the ocean.

Covered in shells!

Down by the boardwalk.

Sea grasses

He loves his Rita's.

Made me miss Jenny! (she worked here for a summer project and used to make us monkey bread in college)

Enjoying some Ocean City frozen custard on the board walk.

Cape May light house

Definitely our favorite beach, will return.

Delicious end to a relaxing day (and Ben's first taste of crab). Yum.

Very impressed by the Jersey Shore although what can I say, we are partial to California. Can't wait to visit Santa Cruz this summer!!

3 Cultures, 1 Kid

At the end of May, Ben had the opportunity to speak at a college retreat for MKs (missionary kids) in central PA. It was his first experience as a retreat speaker and he did an awesome job! All of the kids at the retreat have parents who are missionaries for New Tribes Missions. Many of these kids grew up in the jungle in Papa New Guinea, Venezuela, West Africa, etc. Most of them went barefoot the whole weekend and when at one point it started pouring rain, rather than running inside for cover, many of them took it as an opportunity to create their own slip 'n' slide on the grass. It was fun getting to know them and hearing their stories about growing up in such a wildly different atmosphere than Ben or I come from.

I think Ben was a little nervous going into the weekend that he wouldn't be able to relate to this group very well since he grew up in Germany in a nice, clean house with plenty of food, English speakers, and political stability. But as the weekend progressed, Ben's 3rd "Cultureness" came out. Sometimes I forget that he falls into this category of "3rd Culture Kid" or TCK. It means you grew up in a different culture from where your parents are from and so you try to create this third culture that is a combination of the two. It's challenging for these kids to re-enter their parents' cultures....for example, when Ben moved back to America for college, he looked like an American, spoke like one, and for the most part, seemed like he knew what was going on. He even lived in America for the first seven years of his life and a few in between his Germany years. But there was this whole other world that existed for him that no one around him could access or understand.  For those of us that received him on this side of the pond, the differences didn't seem like that big of a deal. Sometimes he used funny words for things. He didn't understand references to Saved by the Bell or 90210. But for him the differences ran deeper. For most of us, our parents and siblings live on the same continent. Our peers understand the culture where we grew up. We have homes to return to on college breaks and vacations from work. For people who grew up like Ben, these things we take for granted are absent. And throughout the weekend, I saw Ben make connections with these young college students based on the deeper issues that connect TCK's. I was so proud of him and so thankful for the opportunity to spend a weekend with these remarkable individuals.

We were so thankful for the chance to get out of the city and experience a beautiful piece of PA. Thank you New Tribes for spoiling us with your hospitality and for giving us a glimpse into the amazing work of your mission!!

Some Millbrae Love

A few weeks ago we had a very special visitor: our friend Jonathan Tsang from Millbrae. We were so honored that he came out for a visit and had been looking forward to hanging out with him for a long time. It had been a while since we had had a new visitor to Philly so it was fun doing some of the touristy stuff again.

We love our friend.

Center City.

City Hall.

The Bell.

Where it all began.

Carpenter Hall-where the first Continental Congress met, so I guess you could say this is really where it all began.

William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania, was baptized in this baptismal font. It was shipped over from England and now lives in Christ Church. More than 600 years old. Older than two U.S.'s put together.

Going through a tour of this place never gets old.

Where the Liberty Bell used to hang.

Jonathan is a huge baseball fan and the Phils were out of town so he and Ben went to a Camden Riversharks game. That's the Ben Franklin Bridge and Philly's skyline is in the distant left.

We had so much fun catching up and hanging out with you, Jonathan!! Thanks for taking the time to come visit us.

Next up, a summary of our weekend at the missionary kid retreat where Ben was the speaker!