It's All Grace

a journey with the Thomason family

My First Sick Day and Saying Goodbye to Amy

I would love to be able to write that I’m feeling a lot better or that the family is feeling better, but that’s only half true. The kids seem to be recovering, even though Avery has a lingering cough and Titus still has some congestion. Bethany and I are both just blah. I stayed away from the JV offices today for the first and tried to get some rest. Bethany was feeling about the same as yesterday but tonight she was really struggling. In a way, it feels like a second wave has hit us because I honestly thought Bethany was recovering. But from what I can tell it’s just head colds all around and there’s no infection, which is a blessing, but the coughing, sneezing, and head congestion is just no fun. God has been so gracious to us the past year with very minimal to no sickness. In fact, Bethany and I have talked a lot about we truly believe God was just allowing us to get through the storm of moving overseas without sickness. And now that we are sick, I can truly praise Him in the midst of this little trial.

Even though I wasn’t feeling that great, tonight we mustered up the energy to get the family out to a friend’s house where we saying goodbye to one of our interns who has been with us all summer. Amy Nickerson has been doing a lot (and I mean a lot) of writing for our team and for Josiah Venture this past year. Next week we will all be working at the JV conference and she will leave to go back to the States right after. Upon returning she’ll be finishing up her masters degree and then deciding on what she wants to do next. Amy has been a huge blessing to us and it’s been a joy to get to know her more these past few months. If you haven’t seen the many articles she has written for Josiah Venture’s 20th anniversary, just go to josiahventure.com/blog and almost all of the recent articles are by her. I think our team is praying that we will see her again and that she’ll join our team full-time in the future!

Below is a photo of our team sharing about Amy tonight and thanking her for her service to Josiah Venture and the many people who are connected to our organization. Amy is on the far right edge of the photo, sitting on the couch.

And here’s Avery enjoying a little ice cream.

September 18, 2014
When Missionaries Talk To Each Other

Before leaving the house today I saw a bunch of notifications on my phone, many of which were from Facebook. A lot of our friends had left a comment about our day yesterday. It was such a blessing to read them and even after I got to Josiah Venture, Bethany texted me saying, “Tons of encouragement and prayers on yesterday’s FB post. Our friends are nice.” Encouragement it was and we are so blessed to have many people following our lives online who are able to bring us before the Lord. If you are one them, thank you…really, thank you! We can’t tell you how much it meant to us.

Alongside those little posts of encouragement was another conversation that got me thinking. Just before writing the blog last night I had posted a little update about how we kill a lot mosquitos around here. The comments on that status update were hilarious and with the exception of one, they were all written by missionaries from around the globe. Six missionaries in five different countries were represented and everyone was talking about how they kill mosquitos where they live. This might sound funny, but it was encouraging. Silly? Sure. But seeing my friends and fellow missionaries talk and joke about killing mosquitos as a “nightly ritual” was almost comforting. It’s not really about the mosquitos as much as it is about shared experiences and just getting the time to hear from other missionaries. A bunch of missionaries from around the world were talking to each other. Even my friend, Daniel, texted me this photo today of his mosquito bite! At what point in history have we ever had this kind of connectedness?

Tonight I read the crazy and unreal week that our friends and teammates, the Cramers, had in Albania. You should read it, but the gist of the story is that their water heating system in their house completely exploded. By God’s grace, no one was hurt, but in Cory’s words to me over instant message, “it was a disaster.” After reading it, I don’t think there’s another word for it. And you know what it did? It put my week into perspective. Our family life this week has felt pretty strange and even tonight I do not feel well. But reading about our friends in a harder place, with a harder situation, who have the right perspective of God’s goodness, encouraged my soul and realigned my own perspective. It was like reading a missionary biography, only it didn’t take thirty years to publish. It happened this week and I can learn and grow as I listen to my friends deal with these new or common situation they’re in.

God has given us a wonderful gift in the kind of connectivity we have today. Hopefully it only leads us to pray for each other more and cause us to entreat the God of the universe for His mercy and grace in every day trials. To our missionary friends out there, thanks for talking with us. Thanks for sharing your stories, pains, joys, hurts, and happiness so we can learn and grow from each other. It’s nice to hear from you.

Oh, alright…in the spirit of being connected, here’s a few photos from today (captions below each):

We’re definitely not joking about the mosquitos. Bethany bought this thing today and I am excited!

Avery has figured out how to turn the light switches on and off with the fly swatter. Let’s just hope the mosquitos start landing on the light switches.

It was really sunny today so Bethany and the kids went for a walk and to the park. They stopped on the path to blow some dandelions.

Later in the day it got more overcast, but the sun was still shining through the clouds while Bethany was at the grocery store this evening. I love it when you can see the sun streaks.

September 17, 2014
Not Normal

“Today was hard. I don’t know if it’s just because the kids aren’t feeling well and I’m not feeling well, but it was not normal.” Bethany shared that with me tonight as I was sitting down to write this post. I had just said to her, “I want to write about today and then go to bed.” I think we’re both just barely hanging in there today.

Titus was mostly just freaking out about everything which was definitely not normal. Clearly he’s not feeling well when he freaks out about Bethany throwing his Buzz Lightyear on the bed. I realize he’s a boy and he’s four, and yes there are times when he gets upset about petty things, but tonight he was just losing it over everything. Avery was also just off. Bethany said she was really emotional today and crying about everything without much self control. Again, not normal. Avery is two and she’s a girl, but Bethany said she just wanted to be held. I think we’re all just barely hanging in there today.

I was thankful this morning during our Tuesday morning team meeting because Dave Patty did a short devotional from I Thessalonians 2. Verse 8 is probably one of my favorites in the Bible. It reads, “So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.” Our entire team is pushing hard to get ready for conference next week and Dave was just trying to remind us of why we give our selves for others. The point was that the gospel has to be the focus. Christ gave his life and we give ours for each other as an act of worship back to the Savior. It was a great reminder for me as I was struggling just to make it to the meeting! We spent some time in prayer this morning and my prayer was simply that the gospel would drive me forward this week and that I wouldn’t complain and lean back on the fact that I’m not feeling well. I trust the Lord will answer that prayer in His grace and mercy.

September 16, 2014
Late Summer Cold and Christmas Music

Well that didn’t take long. Last night I wrote that the family had all gotten sick, except for me. But today I was sneezing and sniffling the latter half of the day and I can feel my throat getting a little sore. When I told someone at the Josiah Venture office today that I was worried I may be getting sick, he said, “Well, it’s perfect weather for it.” He’s right. The weather hasn’t been much of a help as it’s been warm and cold, and often rainy. Today it was mostly foggy (photo above) and we saw the sun shine for just a bit around 3pm. It rained on and off throughout the day, but I guess it’s the kind of weather I would expect when we’re not feeling good.

Now don’t judge us, but we had McDonald’s for dinner. The Golden Arches are about twenty minutes from our place and I pass them every day when I go to Josiah Venture. Bethany texted me late in the day and said, “I have no energy…can we have McDonald’s?” She felt worse today than she did yesterday and so of course I said, “Sure.” I brought all the food back and we actually ate outside because I think we all just needed some fresh air and it wasn’t raining so we enjoyed that. Hey, sometimes a little American fast food can make you feel better!

For a week or so I’ve had on my calendar to pre-order a Christmas album that I’m really excited about it. It’s from Sovereign Grace Music (SGM) and it’s called “Prepare Him Room: Celebrating the Birth of Jesus in Song.” It reales on September 29 and it’s only $5 if you pre-order it today or tomorrow (9/15 – 9/16). SGM puts out wonderful music for the church and I’m sure this Christmas album won’t disappoint. Music has always been something Bethany and I have enjoyed together and our kids love music too. So skip the Starbucks today and get some Christmas music that will exalt the Savior and bless your own soul. You can listen to a preview song below and click here to pre-order the album.

<a href="http://sovereigngracemusic.bandcamp.com/album/prepare-him-room-celebrating-the-birth-of-jesus-in-song">Prepare Him Room: Celebrating the Birth of Jesus in Song by Sovereign Grace Music</a>

September 15, 2014
Sunday is For Sickness

It finally happened. The first round of colds have hit the Thomason family and so far it has claimed three victims. Bethany, Titus, and Avery have had coughs, sneezes, and some sore throats the past two days with today being the worst. I was going to go to church by myself this morning but Bethany wasn’t awake and I didn’t have the heart to wake her to watch the kids while they’re all not feeling great. So I stayed home, started some dishes, and hung out with Titus and Avery. Unfortunately, I missed a special morning at our church here in Czech where they meet at a different location. Friends here texted us a hand drawn map so we would know where to go, but of course I wasn’t able to use it. I’m still a little confused as to why they change locations sometimes, but I guess I’ll find out next time.

This evening I ended up seeing a movie with my friend, Zach, who had invited me earlier in the day. I had debated all afternoon whether I should go with the family under the weather, but Bethany said she would be okay for a few hours so I joined Zach and a few Czech guys at the theater. Mainly I was there for the fellowship and the popcorn. Movie popcorn just sounded really good and I basically skipped dinner to be there so I guess that was a meal. But while in the theater my friend in the States was texting me about some of the goings on at our home church in California. Apparently they are going through some changes and my friend was kind enough to point me to this morning’s sermon which I was able to listen to the end of tonight at home (isn’t technology amazing?). It sounds like the changes will be good for the church but we’ll be sure to keep praying for them during the next few months.

Below is a photo I got at the mall where the movie theater is. The ceiling changes colors like this and goes up for what feels like a mile.

We got a big week ahead as we prepare for the JV Fall Conference the following week. There’s still a lot to do and the entire Josiah Venture office is busy with preparations for the 300+ attendees. Please pray for all the work that will go into that and for our little family to feel better!

September 14, 2014