Catch up on our news with our recent newsletter:

Matzke April 2010

This week Tim and I are making a trip to Michigan for a missions conference at my home church.  Since the girls are in school, they are staying here in Dallas and an ‘aunt and uncle’ (friends from the Solomons) are coming to stay with them while they are gone.  We appreciate prayers for our safe travel and the girls as they manage school and life without us here.  It should be an adventure for us all!

It’s spring in Texas and the long awaited bluebonnets cover the roadsides.  All the rain and snow of the past months have given way to a bumper crop this year.

We are starting to feel like the bluebonnets, too.  After months of being tired from the move and struggles of leaving the Solomons, we are starting to feel settled again.  We are thankful for times of enjoying time together as a family and doing fun things like going to the Dallas Arboretum like we did on Sunday.  Thank you Lord for winter and thank you for the change of seasons and the hope that spring brings.

We have a newsletter and new family photo to get in the mail this week.  We’ll leave the news for the newsletter, but wanted to let people know that we are alive and kicking!

For the past couple of weeks, Tim has begun helping to teach a literacy course for Bible translators at our center here in Dallas. He is team-teaching with a colleague who has served in Africa. Tim is enjoying being back in the classroom and sharing his Solomon Islands literacy experiences.

Another plus for Tim being at our center and working with students preparing to go overseas is the opportunity he has to interact with students who are interested in serving in the Pacific Area. This morning he was invited to a meeting with a couple who are considering serving as Bible translators in the Pacific region and looking for a specific assignment.

While we sometimes long to be overseas, we are encouraged that we can help equip new members headed overseas and encourage people to consider service in the Solomon Islands.

Recently Tim and I were invited to be a part of a literacy workshop here in Dallas at our international offices. We met with colleagues working in literacy around the world and heard about amazing projects that are happening. Tim also had the opportunity to share what is happening in the Solomon Islands and the future of literacy there. It was encouraging to have a chance to hear about literacy in the wider context of our organization.

Here’s our latest newsletter. Click on the link to read our latest news:

September_2009.pdf

On Sunday afternoon our (Tim’s and Martha’s) dads arrived on Amtrak from Minnesota and Detroit for a two day visit as part of their 12 day train trip.

Martha’s dad went from Toledo to Chicago to St. Paul where he met up with Tim’s dad. From there they traveled to Portland, down the west coast across the southern border to San Antonio and then up to Dallas. They have been with us for two days and head north this afternoon for Chicago where they then head down to New Orleans before heading back to Chicago. From there they will split up and go back to their homes.

It’s been fun to have them here. Yesterday Sarah and I took them to Fort Worth to see the stockyards. We saw the cattle run. It was actually only about 20 older docile longhorns, but it was still pretty neat.

We visited the Fort Worth Water Gardens, too. It was very cool!

Thank you for those who have been praying for renters for our house in Honiara. At last we have renters. We had to drop the rent price significantly, but we are glad that soon it will be generating income rather than draining it! Whew! Thank you, Lord!

Emily and Sarah have started school this week in the Duncanville School District. Emily is in grade 11 at Duncanville High School which boasts the second largest high school campus in the United States! The large school is a bit intimidating in some ways, but she is really excited about the classes they offer.

Emily applied to and was accepted into the “Ready, Set, Teach” program which is designed for kids who want to become teachers. She has classes for a double block and later in the year will have an opportunity as part of the program to visit local elementary schools, work in classrooms and even get to practice teaching. A graduation requirement is two years of foreign language. Emily is taking American Sign Language which is something she was interested in learning anyway. There are advantages to bigger schools!

On Sarah’s first day, she quickly became friends with a girl who ‘happens’ to share the same class schedule all day. Around lunchtime they realized that they are both Wycliffe MK’s (missionary kids)! What a wonderful way to start a new school.

We are thankful for the girls good start to school. Thanks so much for those of you who have been praying for them.

Our house in Honiara has sat unrented since we left in late May. We have lowered the price and still the right renters have not come along. We just don’t know what to do about the house. The price is appropriate according to local friends, but there just don’t seem to be people looking for a house in that price range at the moment.

We were really counting on some kind of income from that house to help us buy our house here in the USA. Prayers for renters in the Solomons are appreciated!