He is Risen!

Happy Easter!

River City Snow

The dry season can be tough here. Heat that sucks the energy out of you, and if it doesn't rain at all for several weeks, many locals begin to burn their fields. This leads to a constant shower of "River City Snow" as they call it: ash. Every morning you have a layer of ash on your car and anything else you left outside. The air is smokey and many don't even like to be outside during this time. But when the tropical showers come, all is washed away and everything blooms like it's Spring time. Everything becomes beautiful. The millions of people that live on our island often experience oppression, poverty, disease, and corruption. Smoke clouds their vision and a spirit of heaviness rests on them. Please pray that they would encounter new life in Jesus and experience the blessing God wants to give them: beauty for ashes.

Isa 61:3
To all who mourn in Israel (to all God's people), he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the LORD has planted for his own glory.

Short Update

We're back in SE Asia. No snow here! Just rain and lots of sunshine/sweat. :) We had an amazing few months in the States. The highlights being the birth of our sweet daughter, Olivia Grace Lillian Bates, and spending the holidays with family and friends.

Emma loved discovering parks, slides, the children's museum, making some new friends, and time with family she hadn't seen since she was 3 months old. She also discovered jackets, long sleeves, grass, and dogs...all things she wasn't used to experiencing in SE Asia.

Now that we've been back a few months, we're easing into the rhythm of life here. A typical day for Katie and the girls is mostly at the house playing, cooking, and getting creative with activities for Emma and helping her adjust to being around the local people and speaking the language. For Todd, it's meeting with local partners to go out and share the Good News, pray with them, support and encourage them in a variety of different ways, as well as do a few clean water related things. God is opening the hearts of the Kali people. Please keep praying!

Again, thanks to those who hung out with us while on furlough, prayed for us, blessed us with a meal, gave a baby gift, etc. We feel very filled up and ready for the next term.

Family Christmas Celebration

South Padre Fam Vacation

Our Pumpkin Venture

The Bates clan decided to go buy some pumpkins but were a little late in the game. Still on Asian time I guess. Most of the pumpkin patches were too far away and places that were selling them were almost out of pumpkins! But a little place around the corner of our house still had some left. So we enjoyed a family outing and Emma picked out Mommy and Olivia's pumpkins as well as her own. It was a sweet time getting to experience an American tradition together as a family. Ok, except when Emma plopped Olivia's pumpkin right on her lap, not realizing it was heavy, unlike her stuffed caterpillar that she always gives her!! Don't worry, Olivia is fine and didn't even get upset. Thankfully she had a rather think blanket over her legs to soften the pumpkin plop!

The Nomadic Life

(from K) Well, we are off in just a few weeks to spend 4 1/2 months in the States. We've are already experiencing the mixed emotions that come with parting from friends and then greeting friends and family we haven't seen in a long time. It doesn't get easier. It really is joy and sorrow mixed all together. Sometimes I'll be on a high of happiness because I am so excited to see loved ones and then minutes later, I will feel this ache in my gut thinking about how long it will be until I see the friends I'm leaving.

Since Todd and I have been married we've lived in 9 different homes, 2 States, and 4 islands in SE Asia. In her 21 months of life, Emma has lived in 2 homes, 3 other places for longer than 1 month, been to 5 countries, and taken around 20 flights. I truly never thought that I signed up for this type of life when God called us to this ministry. Wow. What is "normal" in our life is simply, change. For someone who does not like change and grew up in the same place as her father, mother, grandparents, and great-grandparents, it has been quite a whirlwind.

Although the pains of being away from friends and family is real and will probably never go away, in the end, the truth is that God is our home, and wherever He wants us is the place we will be most content and satisfied. As Christians, we truly are nomads, waiting for our true home in heaven. It's easy to long for heaven when you no longer feel that any place is "home" anymore and you don't fit in in any one culture. We are so thankful for this challenge as it has really helped us to be more dependent on God and less on things that don't last or matter in the end. Our identity doesn't rest in where we are from, what material things we have, or what we do for a living, but rather in the One who has made us a new creation and extended His unconditional love to us. Thankfully HE will never change.

Trip to Singapore

The World Cup is Here!

We had a fun small World Cup opening party and all bought soccer shirts/jerseys, including Emma. I (K) had to get a bigger size to cover the growing belly. ;)

Vacation with Mimi and Nana

It has been over a year since Emma has seen her grandmas and they came to see us! It was a wonderful memorable time. Thanks for coming half way around the world to see us Mimi and Nana!

Beach time

We spent a few days relaxing on a beach 3 hours away. It was a much needed time to be in nature as life in a city can feel a little cramped and too industrial. It was the first time Emma really understood what the ocean was. She loved it!

Trip to Singapore

Family Vacation in KL

We had a blast on our family vacation we took just after the holidays to Kuala Lumpur. It's a fun city with lots of great activities for kids. I guess one thing about becoming parents is that your vacation activities change! I was most looking forward to the butterfly and bird park just to see the reaction of little one year old Emma. :) It was worth it!

We ate great western food that we missed, saw exotic and rare birds, visited an aquarium, shopped, slept, watched Numbers episodes, and spent time in parks and in nature...many of which we are not usually able to do. Emma enjoyed some new things she has never experienced too...see more on her recent blog entry.

more Christmas photos for fun

Merry Christmas!

Joy to the World! The Lord has Come!
We have really enjoyed celebrating Christ's birth this year, although we are away from family and cool weather (I wore a scarf just for the fun of it at our Christmas dinner out. It was probably in the 90s!). We're opening gifts together as a family Christmas morning. It will be the first Christmas where Emma actually can interact and open her gifts! I baked my Mom's recipe of Christmas sugar cookies and some chocolate chip cookies for when our Muslim and Christian neighbors come to visit. I hope they enjoy the little tastes of America. We're praying you and your family are truly enjoying this season. We are so blessed to be able to receive the ultimate gift of love from God: Jesus. Happy Holidays! Love, the Bs.

Our 6th Anniversary!

Todd and I had a great time reminiscing on our 6th anniversary about how we've celebrated our past anniversaries. We realized that we have now spent more of our married life in SE Asia than in the States. It was a crazy thought for us!

We have felt incredibly blessed in our marriage relationship and felt like this past year was particularly all about learning to be parents together. Having Emma has brought us closer together and has given us experience in having to make important decisions for her well-being like how to get her to sleep and eat. :) Learning how to raise Emma together has been a true joy, though it's had its challenges. We know it's only the beginning.

We spent an evening out and went to dinner at a hotel in the city. We also watched our wedding video. Normally we write in a journal (a letter to each other about the previous year) every year. We're a little late in the game so we'll be doing that this week. As a person who loves traditions, it was a great day. Simple yet memorable. We praise God for giving us the gift of each other. It's truly Him that has kept us thriving together.

Katie's 28th!

T arranged a fun outing with friends for my 28th birthday, dinner on a riverboat. We ate some delicious local fish as we cruised in the traditional wooden boat at around sunset. It was beautiful. Photos are a little fuzzy since we were losing light when we took them. But you can get the general picture of what it was like. Emma wasn't quite sure of the boat when it started moving. She had to be in Mommy or Daddy's arms most of the time. After we got off the boat, she immediately said, "wwwwwwwalk!!" :) For anyone who wants to come and visit us, this would be a "must do." ;)

Our latest fun activity find in town

 

 

Pier at the River

 

 

 

Local Parade 3