What a wonderful two months it has been since our last newsletter! We have been in Michigan for a majority of the time and have loved spending time with friends, going to different parks, and walking on the path across the street from our house after most dinners. As Caleb and I were reviewing what has happened the past two months, we realized that we are terrible at remembering to take photos with people, but we're great at snapping photos of the kiddos with our friends' kids! Thank God for children!
We are so grateful for the opportunity to stay in "The Green House" while we are here in Michigan. There is a wonderful organization that provides housing for little to no cost to missionaries and we are so thankful they have allowed us this time. We have been enjoying being so close to Frederik Meijer Gardens, one of our favorite places to go to early on in our marriage. It has been a joy taking the kids on the boardwalk, and to watch Paul play and explore in the children's garden. Having this time with our friends from college has been restoring to the soul. It's a reminder that, even though we live on the other side of the world, these friendships can withstand the time and distance. We are incredibly blessed by the people God has placed in our lives, in every season.
We also had the opportunity to see JC who recently was adopted by a family here in Ada, Michigan. I met JC back in 2021 when I started volunteering at Destiny's Promise and was thrilled when I found out her new family lives just 15 minutes away from where we are staying. The kids at Destiny's Promise will always have a place in my heart and to connect with JC while being in the States.. well, that was just the best gift ever.
Paul and Ruth are growing more and more every day! It's funny how quickly Paul's preferences changed; when we first arrived in the States, Paul was all about Bluey and Cars. I don't even know the last time he requested to watch either of those shows.. now, we have Thomas the Tank Engine! Caleb loved trains and Thomas growing up, so it's only fitting that Paul would be the same. We have made it an adventure and mission to find all of the 'All Engines Go!' trains that we know -- we're only missing Diesel and Sandy! Paul's imagination and creativity seem to grow with each new day; he tells us stories, sings songs, reads books, and has endless fun with his trains on the tracks.
Ruth is also changing so fast! It's crazy how quickly things happen; for instance, last Sunday I told the nursery volunteers that she was just testing out sitting up a bit and now she wants to sit all the time and is a pro! She's really close to crawling, too. I'm not sure if we're ready for that yet.. Ruth is smiley and talkative, much like her big bro (& mom, tbh). We are looking forward to our last two weeks here in Michigan and will be soaking up all the time we get to have with our friends here as well as our time serving in KidZone at Impact Church.
We would be remiss not to mention how our support raising is going.. we are at 91% of our monthly support goal, needing just over $400 more a month, and 81% for our one-time support. We would love to return to the Philippines being at 100%!! Please send our info to your friends, church, or anyone you think may be interested in joining our team. We would love to talk more with you about our ministries and our heart for what God is doing and is going to do! https://firstloveinternational.org/team-member/caleb-rachel-mackay/
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