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| Francis' in Taiwan, Argentina, England, Ireland and Bend Oregon |
Francis’
Go Foreign - 2014
Have
you heard? Americans could be living on Mars in 2016. Haven’t ventured
that far from the planet yet, but we have broadened our view of this beautiful
world and covered some foreign ground. Like bitty grains of sand at the beach,
“Those Francis’, they’re everywhere.”
While the kids have wandered far, Brett and I are
manning the home front in Bend Oregon. This week, picture us on the icy planet
Hoth from Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back. Blanketed by ice and evermoving snow
drifts, we secure the Echo base shield generator each night once everyone is
accounted for… Yep, it’s cold up here, and not even taun tauns can survive
outdoors. Remember last week when Brett woke up with his feet frozen to the
ceiling of that wampa’s ice cave? #closecall #jedipowerforever
Lauren and Dal (26) set up the first foreign family
outpost in Bracknell England before the new year began. On weekends they
canvassed the British Isles & continental Europe. They’re home in Provo
now preparing for their next adventure, MBA school.
Tanner (24) reconnected with his Irish roots working in Dublin
last summer. He climbed the cliffs of Moher (aka. The Cliffs of Insanity) ate
his fill at the Greedy Goose, tuned in to rugby, hurling (an ancient Celtic
field game in which 30 spirited Irishman enthusiastically run around a field
hurling a hard leather ball at eachother at roughly 100 mph) and other “Class”
pursuits. He came home using Irish phrases like “banjaxed,” “bunk off” and
“What’s the craik?” He’s in the final stretch of undergrad work in Business
Management Finance at BYU.
Megan (21) returned in August from Argentina, with a testimony
of Jesus Christ burning in her heart and a mug of Yerba Mate warming her hand.
You don’t wanna miss homemade empanada night with Meg. !Que rico! She’s
applying to both Accounting & Finance at BYU, with a lil’ harp on the side.
Nate (19) finally arrived in Taipei Taiwan in October to
immerse in Chinese culture as he’s longed for since…well since birth. Always
one for the bizarre but delectable, he’s sampled several kinds of dragonfruit,
milkfish dumplings, Tsong Tse (Chinese Tamales) and most recently, pigs blood
soup -a gelatinous blood mass in oil with boiled onions for garnish (molto no
bueno, he says). It’s Chinese food and
fellowship to exceed his fondest dreams.
Lynley (16) stretched her wings and flew…to London with Mom and
Nate, for a fabulous 10 days exploring the unknown. After 3 days she was no
stranger to the streets and began directing lost tourists to their desired
destinations. (Say what?) She loves hostessing at a fine Thai restaurant
downtown.
Isaac (14) is dabbling in foreign studies at school: Spanish,
AP Geography and teenage girls. Talk about foreign experience, check this. Isaac was interviewed for a yearbook segment on “Guys with Style”. I know, right?
Thanks to Lynnie’s mentoring, he is looking strangely dapper these days.
Joslyn (12) has entered the alien world of middle school.
Unrattled by the locker thing, changing classes, clipping through homework or
running her way through Fall she’s praying for just a few more snow days…’cause
you can never catch too much air on those sledding jumps she & the bros
make.
Alex (9) may have been responsible for ‘foreign’ objects
appearing at the bottom of our breakfast cereal bowls. Airsoft BB’s look and
feel a lot like dried currents, only a little less digestible. Next to airsoft
strategy, he’s a closet detective and deep thinker. When Meg returned from
South America he mused that “now that she’s home, we get to unlock the mystery
of what ACTUALLY happened to her while she was gone.” Indeed.
Ethan (7) – Ethan's no stranger to the power of affirmation. He
and Tanner were pillow fighting against everyone else one night. And in the
heat of battle, Ethan screamed out this encouragement to Tanner. “You can do
it! You’re a missionary!” Fulltime missionaries, whether current or returned
have phenomenal cosmic power. This we know. They know for whom they stand, and
with whom they’re allied. And that their mission cannot fail.
Wherever you are this Christmas season, you’re no
stranger or foreigner to Him whose birth we honor. May your road be long, only when traveled with good company. And
may you have the Holy Spirit, the most favorable company of all, as your travel
companion, always.
Merry Christmas,
The Francis
Family
