Jenn and Gracia

Photo by Marilyn Gorenflo

We've been reconnecting with MAF friends while here in Nampa, some of whom we have served with in Congo! Just look at that group of MK girls! Both kids have enjoyed making new friends and seeing old ones.

Another blessing for us that we weren't planning on but thoroughly enjoyed was getting to attend the MAF Family Conference. Family Conference means a lot of different things in MAF but one of those things is a chance to be a Mary instead of a Martha for a few days.

photo by Marilyn Gorenflo

Jenn Helvering led the worship music and spoke for one of the sessions. For those of you who do not already know, Jenn is the daughter of singer Sandi Patty. I remember Sandi Patty songs from my high school and college days and now her daughter is leading worship at our conference? Oh, I am old!


Jenn is uber-talented and a delightful person. I appreciated the time she took to talk with Emily and the other teen girls at the conference.

photo by Marilyn Gorenflo

Our other speaker was Gracia Burnham! I read her book In The Presence of My Enemies several years ago. Gracia made us laugh with her, and cry with her. She encouraged us and exhorted us. I had the pleasure of meeting her for just a couple minutes and will treasure the memory. Her story, not just the story of her time in captivity in the jungle but her story of God's work since her rescue, is astounding.

Several things Gracia said during the conference really resounded in my own heart and either convicted me, reminded me I was not so different from everyone else, or both. She shared that the hardest thing about her captivity was seeing her own heart not as she thought it was but as it really was. During our first term in overseas missions I learned that it does not take much hardship to bring out the ugly in me and that my heart needed a lot more work than I realized. None of us like to see that in ourselves but it is a good thing if it humbles us and helps us see how much we really need God, not just for our salvation but also for our freedom and transformation.

We wrapped it up with a picnic at a local park. For us that was a double treat because we had not seen a city park in years. The abundance of green, flowers, even trash cans and bathrooms, and the lack of concrete was refreshing. 

The songs and words chosen by Jenn and Gracia for the conference, along with the fellowship with our Nampa team, was something I really needed. Many times in those last six months or so before our furlough I told God, "Lord, I'm TIRED." We all were. When I think now about the fact that while I was telling Him I was tired, He had already planned this for me, it just amazes me.

Here are some extra photos from the conference.

photo by Marilyn Gorenflo

Gracia demonstrating the method she used to safeguard her privacy in the jungle.

A dodge ball game using giant marshmallows!

photo by Linda Whiting

ladder ball at the park. I love the look of intense concentration.

photo by Marilyn Gorenflo

The Gene Jordan photo bomb!

Sometimes Going With the Flow Feels Like Rapid Water Rafting on a Swimming Pool Floatie

Last night we attended a concert at TASOK, Emily's school. The concert was a benefit to collect funds and food for the orphanage in Kimbondo. It was a double blessing for me, getting a chance to help the orphanage and getting to see Emily perform. This year she sang in the high school choir AND played in the band. 

We recently visited another orphanage with a new friend, Jennifer McCullough. The man in this photo was introduced to us as the doctor at the orphanage but I heard him tell someone else he is a nurse. Jennifer is on the left, and on the far right is my friend and fellow MAFer, Sandy Francis. 

We passed out treats and had a belated Easter celebration with the kids.











Jennifer also had donations of toothpaste and brushes for the orphanage. A good follow-up to all those sweets we gave them!










Daniel with his new friend. Kids with red or blonde hair are conspicuous in Africa and get stared at. A lot. 

Unlike all of the other orphanages we have been to, this one had no fences or walls. This photo gives you a good idea of what housing is like in DRC. The "door" is a curtain. The building is  often concrete, with a tin roof and no windows. and no electricity. It's like living in an oven. A dark one.

When we arrived, kids and parents from the neighborhood showed up in droves. After we began passing out the treats, we quickly realized there were way more kids in line (I use the term line very loosely here) for goodies than there are in the orphanage. Moms from the neighborhood were overheard telling kids to go through the line and get something for them. I saw big teens stealing treats from the little kids and tried to help but couldn't stop them all. I caught at least one kid going through the line twice. They were crowding around and pressing in on us. It was mayhem. We ended up having to have the staff go through a list of names of their kids so that we could make sure the orphans got treats. Many times here in Congo I have had mixed feelings about all the walls, but that day my slightly OC mind was telling me "This place needs walls!"  Sort of a Congo version of the old saying "good fences make good neighbors." I am glad I went and got to be part of it but my American self felt conflicted, trying to just relax and go with the crazy haphazard flow instead of being overwhelmed by the lack of structure and order. 





We got stuck in the sand on our way out. You never have to worry about getting stuck in the sand in Congo as long as you have a little cash on you. Before we even had time to ask for help, people ran to push the van in exchange for a few francs.

Picture This 2

My friend and co-laborer in Christ, Nancy Smith has returned to Congo for a time. In addition to attending to their ministries here, teaching in the women's literacy center and the Bible school, seeing to repairs of their radio tower, evangelism, etc, Nancy found time to spend an afternoon with me. It is always a blessing to get time with a friend whom you don't see often. I am extra blessed this time because she and I have a little project we are working on now. I have a bunch of baby soft yarn for knitting and crocheting baby blankets. I never could figure out how to knit or crochet on my own (instructions are always right handed, ugh) and couldn't find anyone with time to teach me. The women in Nkara at the women's literacy center are trained to do both so that they can make things to help support their families. Nancy is going to leave Tuesday for Nkara - in an MAF plane that my amazing husband does maintenance on! She will take my yarn with her and have the ladies in the school make baby blankets for me to donate to the orphanage when Nancy brings them back with her. I will pay them a fair price for their labor and they will have contributed to an important ministry here in Kinshasa. I am very excited to finally see this desire coming to fruition. They should have the blankets in time for the cooler dry season. Don't look too closely at that photo. We both had been in my hot car with no a/c for a while and were both pretty tired.

We had a stressful January, lots going on back home and here, and I thought a light-hearted post of some random photos would do us all good. Here are some of our most recent odd photos.

In the "Things we eat in Congo" category:

Plop - These are actually cookies and aren't too bad if you like store bought cookies.

We also occasionally eat Smoked Russians. Wonder if the Russians eat Smoked Americans?

In the "Oxymoron" category: This made me laugh. It's a bug spray called SafeTox. Seems to me it is either safe, or it is toxic. I am not sure how it can be both.

In the "What is that and why did they put it here?" category:

Gripe Water. Shelved between the yeast and the pudding mixes in the baking section. If you don't have enough to gripe about, try some gripe water.

In the "TIA: This is Africa" category:

If you go shopping in Nairobi, Kenya, be sure to drop your toddlers and preschoolers off at the Kids Corner so they can play with all the nice breakables and power cords while you shop.

Lastly, in the "Things A Mom Just Doesn't Want to Know" category, along with why I found a straw in the litter box: What makes a child want to take a photo of himself doing this?

Three and a half weeks

For three and a half wonderful weeks, Josh was here with us. Yesterday was his last day with us and each of us spent the day trying unsuccessfully to think about anything else besides the fact that he was leaving. We didn't do anything spectacular during those weeks. We just enjoyed being five again, catching up, talking, laughing, Christmas, etc. As you can see by the photos, Josh adds a certain charm and personality to any group he is part of. 

Part of preparing to leave Kinshasa is pre-checking your bags. Pre-checking bags here is not the same process at pre-checking bags for a U.S. airline. It is not done over the internet. There is no curbside kiosk for tagging and dropping luggage. Oh, no. In Kinshasa one would to, ever leave their luggage with stranger in front of the airport. Pre-checking luggage means you take your suitcases downtown to the office of whatever airline you are going to fly with (not all airlines offer this service either.) You present your tickets and passport and they weigh your bags and check them and print your boarding passes for you. You can also pay your exit tax in advance and get a receipt so you don't have to do it at the airport. We go through this process because it is waaaay easier than checking bags at the actual airport. We have had "security" find things in our bags they liked a lot and try to take them, right in front of us. Sometimes they ask for them. Sometimes they don't. Sometimes they ask for money in exchange for letting you keep your own possessions. Pre-checking your bags with the airline means your luggage bypasses the airport staff and is handled only by the airline.

Yesterday we learned that another reason you might want to pre-check your bags is if you have a weight issue. The customer in front of us in line to weigh luggage was trying to get a bin of dried eels through. We know they were eels because the bin was open. It was also overweight. The ensuing discussion/debate was causing a delay and the line was backing up. The official pointed to Josh's luggage and told David to pick it up. When he picked it up easily, she declared it all 50 lbs and sent it through. So if you have  slightly overweight bags and strong arms, you might want to try getting in line behind the eel guy.

Josh's flight was in the evening. David took him to the airport and the kids and I stayed home and boohooed together. Then we all got busy trying to distract ourselves from our sadness. By the time David got home I had done a load of laundry, worked ahead in my Bible study book, baked brownies, baked cookie bars, made two batches of oatmeal muffins, and washed dishes, and lost all my holiday season weight (just kidding, it's still there). I would call it comfort food but we aren't stress eaters so none of it even got touched until breakfast today. A friend pointed out to me that saying goodbye hurts so intensely because we have been so blessed to have a close-knit family. I am very grateful for that! 

The Potty Plant

Last week Emily started with basic white and mixed her own custom paint color for her bedroom. Here’s her new color. The photo doesn’t do it justice. In real life, the walls are darker. Much darker. But she loves it.

She doesn’t have as many choices and freedoms as her peers in the states and this was one area where we could let her have her way. Now she has a space that is truly hers, and she made it that way herself. All that’s left is for her to finish unpacking and decorating. Cool beans!

Emily's room on moving day

Yes, she is indeed stirring the paint with a broken broom handle. When you buy paint here, they do not give you a paint stirring stick thingy. At least at the stores I have been to, they don't sell them either. You use what you've got.

That white door off to the left is a ¾ bath. What teenage girl wouldn’t like to have her own private bathroom that her brothers do not have access to? Moreover, what boy would not be happy if he no longer had to wait for his sister to get out

Emily's room after paint job

of the bathroom? What mom would not be happy to have a little less mess to clean up? Now that she has her own bathroom, she gets to clean it herself. Good practice for college. Her future roommate will thank me one day.

For my introvert daughter, having her own space is a big deal and something she wanted for a long time. She’s had her own room before, so it’s not about privacy. It’s more about “fit.” She needed her room to be an expression of herself, a reflection of her taste and personality - and not just a place to set her suitcase. I totally get that.

We’ve made changes to the rest of the house too. Once Lily recovered from her near death experience of getting spayed in Kinshasa, we took away the litter box and now both cats go outside to do their business. Very nice. No more odor. No more emptying the box.

We’ve added our first house plant. It’s called “snake plant.” If you come visit me, you’ll notice that our snake plant, as well as all future house plants have sharp rocks on the top of their soil. That’s because Lily, still young and new at the whole go-outside-to-do-your-business thing, thinks "potted plant" means “potty plant.” The rocks have been an easy and effective deterrent.

From Ocean Front to Battle Front

photo credit: Amber Derocher

Our week at the MAF family conference was amazing! Here are some of the highlights.

photo credit: Chris Steiger

Sessions/studies about: the dangers of ego, God speaks our love language, forgiveness, unity, spiritual warfare, and more

praise, prayer, and worship

Meeting fellow MAF missionaries who serve in Congo with us but whom we never see, and seeing friends we'd not seen in a year or more

Date night: the Rose Drive team entertained all the young children so all the couples could have dinner dates

Pampering: ice cream with real American toppings like Heath Bar bits and Hershey's syrup, real chocolate, door prizes of things we can't get here like Ranch dressing mix and Starburst candies, s'mores! (no graham crackers, big marshmallows or Hershey bars in Congo), shower gels and lotions for the ladies, and hand-written notes from the team leader (hand-written notes are a lost art and a real blessing anywhere!)

Fun activities: pool, beach, volleyball, snorkeling, kayaking

Electricity and water: in abundance!

Cooking and cleaning: none!

Now about Snorkeling.  Forty of us signed up for a snorkeling excursion out to the coral reef.  I have had a fear of deep water since childhood that even after learning to swim did not go away. I like to swim only if I can stand up and still breathe. But I figured I would probably never get another chance to snorkel in the Indian Ocean for only a few dollars per person.  It was a learning experience.  The first thing I learned was not to assume things.  I had assumed that the snorkeling adventure was one of the many activities offered through the resort and would therefore be handled by professionals and come complete with a lesson on how to actually snorkel. Um, no. It was two dudes with boats for hire. Here's a photo of our boat. It was called the Millenium, I think because that's how old the boat was.

photo credit: Sandy Francis

(That's me in the brown striped swimsuit coverup and David is the cool looking guy in the grey shirt and sunglasses. Daniel is up on top. Emily was in the other boat with her teen friends.)








There was no lesson.  No safety lecture. Not enough snorkeling equipment to go around, requiring us to take turns. AND: no life jackets, giant noodles, styrofoam dishes, or other flotation equipment was offered or available. Each boat had one life preserver that was tied to the boat and floated in the ocean. The thing about irrational fears is that those of us who have them know they are irrational and yet there they are. And they are powerful. I prayed. I talked to myself. It took some time, but I finally got up enough nerve to get out of the boat. The water was choppy and the snorkel tube did not have anything to prevent water coming in so I quickly got a big mouth full of seawater. Panic and dread ensued and I immediately got back in the boat. I was angry with myself and decided to try again, only to repeat the first experience. I was so disappointed in myself.

photo credit: Sandy Francis

(Daniel having fun and me either getting in the water or climbing out - I did lots of both.)





Then another girl who was a weak swimmer told me that she had swum out to the life preserver and snorkeled while holding on to the preserver with one hand.  I thought, "I can do that!" So, I tried a third time. I swam out to the life preserver, grabbed hold, and snorkeled away. It was incredible! I was having so much fun! David swam out to where I was just to say he was happy for me that I had found a way to snorkel in spite of my fear.

Next, I learned about currents. At some point I lifted my head up and saw that I was quite a bit farther from the boat than when I began. I told David he had pulled me out too far and he said he hadn't done it. No problem. We just grabbed the rope to pull ourselves back in. Except that the rope had come untied from the boat. Naturally. We started swimming but were really not making any progress against the current for our efforts and it wasn't long before I was tired enough that I knew if I didn't have that life preserver I would have been in trouble. We could see the boat but couldn't get to it. Eventually, one of our friends saw us fighting the current and swam out, got the rope, and pulled it in. Enough water for me for one day, thanks.

I am very glad I went. I had a great time and saw cool stuff! And I was only a little embarrassed over my ridiculous fear because everyone was kind about it.

After we came back to Kinshasa, we took a couple of nights to go camping and have some time alone as a family, away from videos, internet, phones, etc. We cooked over fires, played in the river, hiked, played games, saw cool bugs

and crossed this bridge.

On our way home, Saturday, we were about five minutes into Kinshasa, stuck in a traffic jam, when someone hit our car from behind. The police held us there and let the person go who had hit us. Then they tried to fine us $100 for "being in the way" of the other driver.  This is actually a common occurrence, especially if you are fair skinned. If you don't pay, they put a lock on your wheel until you do. We talked them down to $20, drove about fifty feet, and got pulled over again, and once again it was because of our skin color. David told them we had just paid the police behind us and they let us go.  No kidding, fifty feet later we were stopped for a third time.  This time we had to talk a while before they let us go. 

Our welcome back to Kinshasa was further "enhanced" on Sunday by a 14 hour power outage and the news that our landlady is finally planning to repair the plumbing issues in the house and the wall that is about to fall into the road. She also plans to raise the rent, so we have to move. She wants us out by end of September.

A friend recently said to us "any battle front is not an easy place to live and work." There is sometimes the temptation to feel a bit disillusioned, especially after a mountain top experience like the conference and then coming back to Kinshasa. But this place really is a battle front. A person can't enlist in an army and go off to war expecting it to be a bed of roses. My snorkeling experience reminded me that my God is big, bigger than the ocean I was so afraid of, the ocean He created.  He was with me there and He is with me here.

The Announcements Song

photo: public domain (www.reusableart.com)

I probably couldn't list all of the benefits I received from being involved in the Baptist Student Union during my college years at Truman State (formerly NMSU): Christian friends, discipleship, accountability, fellowship and encouragement would be at the top of the list. But there were other, less obvious benefits as well. Joining the BSU gave me lots of new potential victims for my practical jokes, and I took full advantage of it. It gave me a chance to learn leadership skills and disciple others. Many of the precious friendships I made during those four years still survive today, over twenty years later, in spite of the different directions we all ended up going.

AND! The BSU is where I learned the announcement song:

Announcements! Announcements! Announcements!
A terrible death to die!
A terrible death to die!
A terrible death to be talked to death!
A terrible death to die!

The announcement song is sort of like "It's a Small World" and the Barney love song.  They are nonsensical and irritating, yet they somehow permanently etch themselves into one's memory. I think they would be better combined into one song.

"with a great big hug and a kiss and a kiss from me to you - a terrible death to die! a terrible death to die!- but it's a small world after all!"

Okay, maybe not.

I promise not to talk or write you to death, but I do have some announcements!

1. I have made some changes to the blog and now I am shamelessly drawing attention to them.  As you can see above, just under the title banner, I've added page links for our newsletters and for media.  For now only our four most recent newsletters are up because MAF only keeps that many up on our web site and I haven't yet learned how and where to store files out there in cyberspace to link to. The media page contains links to articles, blog posts, and videos about MAF, especially in relation to where we serve here in the Congo. You should definitely go check out the new video if you haven't yet. We got to have the guys who created it over for dinner and then I took one of them with us to the orphanage.  They are neat guys, a father and son team, and they did a top-notch job.

2. We are going to Kenya! MAF missionaries live in challenging conditions 24/7 and MAF takes member care seriously. We can't be effective in ministry if we are "running on empty" spiritually or physically. Each year we have a family conference, sort of a concentrated sabbath rest.  We spend time in worship, discipleship, fellowship, building team unity, and de-stressing. Normally each team holds their own conference where they are located. MAF has missionaries in three different locations in DRC: Kinshasa, Lubumbashi, and Bunia.  Because of the nature of our ministry, serving people in remote places, the folks from these three bases haven't even all met each other.  This year we will get to meet our fellow workers in DRC because the three groups are pooling resources and combining for this year's family conference and meeting in Kenya next week.  A team from the U.S. is coming in to lead the conference. We are looking forward to meeting our fellow MAF missionaries, having a few days of steady electricity, getting some rest, having a little fun, worship time and Bible study.

3. I don't know how much free time I will have or what kind of internet I will have, so I might not be posting on the blog before we get back.

4. Please pray for the missionaries attending not just our conference but all of the MAF family conferences this year. The conferences really do make a difference and give us sort of a "recharge." They provide times for healing, encouragement, and affirmation. Pray for the volunteers who give up so much to come and minister to missionaries. And pray for the MK's, the missionary kids. They need rejuvenation and encouragement too and the conference will include programs for the kids and teens.

Back in Kinshasa

I'm back! The boys and I had a bit of an adventure getting from Kinshasa to the U.S., with delayed flights, missed connections, getting put on standby flights and booted off several times, lost luggage and stolen/damaged items. We finally arrived in St. Louis twelve hours late and totally exhausted after 41 hours of travel. My sister picked us up and took us home to hot showers and clean beds. My surgery went well. He removed bone spurs from both feet and bursas from the left foot. I still have the bunionette "deformity" but that is purely cosmetic and not painful now that the spurs are gone. I would however, not recommend surgery on both feet at once for anyone who has time to space it out and do one at a time. We got Josh settled in his dorm and he is enjoying college life. Knowing that Josh has lots of nearby relatives who are there for him is a great comfort to David and me. My mom and my friends took amazing care of me after my surgery! I am very grateful for all the prayers that were spoken for our travels, my surgery, Josh's adjustment, and for David and Emily while they were left behind here. Emily has started eleventh grade at The American School of Kinshasa this year. This is the first year she has not been home schooled! She and I both were ready for her to branch out and become more independent and have someone else for a teacher. She loves it and is doing well. Daniel is still home schooling and enjoying the fact that I have more time for him. It's been twelve years or more since I have home schooled only one child! It feels strange. It is good to be home again!

Birthdays, Babies and Bubbles

This week has been busy. A few days ago a friend invited us to spend the day with her. We went to the "thieves market", to the old downtown cemetery, and to a place called "tin tin" by the riverfront. I hope to get some photos later of our outing. Yesterday was Joshua's 18th birthday. I will be taking Josh back to the U.S. for college soon. We are leaving early so that I can also take care of my feet. I've had bunionettes, or tailors bunions, on the pinky sides of my feet for over 15 years. In fact I can't really remember NOT having them. They never bothered me until we moved to the Congo. Here I am on my feet a lot. The floors are all cement or ceramic tile. There are few sidewalks so we walk on rocky, uneven dirt roads. My feet started hurting a few months after we got here, and have gotten steadily worse. I'm not sure why someone decided to name them "bunionettes". That name sounds way too cute, and having painful swollen feet is not cute. Daniel will have his birthday while we are gone, so he and Josh decided they wanted to have a joint birthday party while the whole family was still together. Yesterday was also our three year anniversary with Mission Aviation Fellowship. MAF has their own blog and they just honored me by posting something that I wrote. If you haven't checked out the MAF blog, you really should. You can see my post here. We also went to the orphanage again today. I bought some bubbles from a departing missionary and we took them with us today. The little kids loved it. We will have to make some more for the next trip. I finally remembered how to link to other sites, so here are links to our photos from the orphanage and a short video, about a minute, of the kids with the bubbles.

Emily's birthday

Tuesday was Emily's 16th birthday! She and her friend Lydia realized some time ago that since they both have summer birthdays,nearly all of their friends would be on furlough or vacation, so they had a joint birthday party two months ago! It is pretty quiet here with nearly all of the MAF families with teenagers on furlough. We had a calm, but special evening with just the family and Sam, a friend of both Josh and Emily. Emily requested "lasagna with no tomato chunks or onions" for her birthday dinner, which to me is not lasagna at all, but it was her dinner so she got what she wanted. I can hardly wait to enjoy one of her gifts with her - Fiddler on the Roof in dvd. The guys don't like it, so we'll have to plan a girl's night.

Prom night

Saturday was prom night for the American School of Kinshasa here. Last year Josh experienced his first prom (two proms actually). This year Emily was asked to prom, so even though she is still home schooling until next fall, she got to attend. Emily told her dad that she wanted her very first dance to be with her daddy, so she got ready early and they shared a dance before she left for the evening. I was glad to be on the other side of the camera because I started crying, watching my daughter dance with David. Josh is a senior this year, so this prom was special for him also. I don't have any photos of them with their dates because my camera batteries died and I had to stop taking photos. But here are some I managed to capture. I had very mixed feelings that night. They were so grown-up and good-looking, inside and out, so I was proud. But I was also sad. This came all too quickly for me.
As for the rest of our week: we've now gone two weeks without electricity, long enough to make it a real drag and not just a nuisance. The electric company still has not even begun repairs. The burnt transformer is still in place. Up the hill from us, they ALWAYS have power, and we've been told that it's because the president's mother or some-such person lives there. The electric company claims there are no new transformers to be found, but if you drive by their headquarters, you can see a bunch of them through the gates, just sitting there. That's the aggravating part - knowing that something could have been done, but wasn't because of politics and money. If we were willing to pay bribes, we could have power. On the upside, I've really enjoyed getting acquainted with our newest MAF family - the Abbotts. Jennifer is a lot of fun and I admire the way she and Luke jumped in "with both feet". They have teens, so Emily is very happy to have a few friends who aren't going on furlough this summer, since almost all of our other friends are. One of my friends is leaving today. The real exodus begins after the last day of school.

Fish Tales

Two months ago, a friend and I went shopping and out to lunch to celebrate my birthday and I found this fabric at a really good price. I needed a new shower curtain and thought this would be a fun design, so I bought several yards. With our power issues being what they are (we've had zero electricity now for eight days, it took me all this time to finish when it would have been a one-day project in the U.S. But! I did finally finish it! I would have finished a little bit sooner, but I made a mistake and had to correct it. I was staying up late to sew because for a while we were only getting power from midnight to 6 or 7am. I thought I was nearly finished with my shower curtain when I took a closer look at it and realized something was not right. My fabric was 42 inches wide, so I had sewn a second panel to the bottom of the first panel in order to make the curtain long enough. I must have been a little too tired when I sewed them together, because I had sewn the bottom panel on upside down. All the fish were "belly-up." So, today while the generator was on, I stole some time for sewing and finished my curtain.

Last week Joshua travelled to Morocco with his school swim team for a meet. He came back with a medal, some new friends, souvenirs and photos, and nearly $60 in Moroccan currency. Not sure if we'll ever find a place to exchange that. He had a marvelous time and we are very grateful that he was able to go. It was a real answer to prayer because the cost was way out of our budget. The team had several fundraisers and worked very hard together. I have to brag on them because Josh was the new kid and from the very beginning the entire team has been behind him, helping him improve his swimming skills and encouraging him. They truly function as a team and I am proud of all of them. Here's a photo of them. Josh is "front row, center." Check out the TASOK pants! They were a real hit at the meet.