our appreciation party - with videos

Yesterday, Saturday March 31, 2012, was Evie's fourth birthday, our moving garage sale and a appreciation party for us. It was a big day but so good.

I don't know if you know that our church is wonderful. The support we've known while here is overwhelming. Anything Terry has done with the youth is encouraged and everyone is on board. So we knew we were in for a good night when we arrived for the party at the youth building.

Here's the sign the girls spent all afternoon on. We are not allowed to throw it away. Ever. They want us to post it in our house or Terry's new office. They also signed it for us. Terry is known as "Teryl" by Danielle and to everyone else now and also "Papa" started while on the 2 week mission trip to Mexico summer 2011 since he took care of them all.

The place was packed out. When guests arrived, Brenda (my friend who organized this party) had them write a note to be inserted in the recipe book I was given (I requested recipes to take home with me).

Evie was serenaded with the birthday song and given a few gifts to add to what she had already gotten at home. What a special birthday for her! She was not shy at all. We were also given more gifts and cards on top of the recipe book and well wishes.

I didn't have to watch the little boy punk at all so that was nice. Have you noticed how nice and Harry Potter-ish his hair is these days?

It was my idea to have Terry and these three students - Kenzi, Danielle and Mason - sing the song Terry made up for them on the mission trip about how they were "Stuck in the Ocean." Knowing Terry, it was hilarious and clever. Everyone enjoyed it and asked for an encore. So I had him sing his "Black Diamond Ahead" song based on The Fray's "Over My Head" which was also good though he wouldn't agree with me.

We had to take this photo with all the students after we watched the 10 minute video they made for us. Talk about a tear jerker! It was a fantastic video - all about how much they're going to miss us, what they love about us and what they'll always remember. Terry pretty much broke down and I was just trying to hold it together. The students even made a private little facebook group to coordinate their efforts towards this video and some other secret to be revealed. We were also given matching t-shirts that the students designed and voted on - which we wore to church today.

Terry and I were talking about how the evening was similar to being alive at your own funeral. I told him how I'd never felt so knit to any group like this before and how this must have been how he felt like when he visited China four times with result that he wanted to be a missionary. I told him how I could more easily understand that now, after having loved so much and been loved so much. Then Terry wisely remarked that now he understood how Paul could say in Philippians 4:1 "Therefore my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown..." These students are our joy and crown and we love them so much.

"It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel." Philippians 1:7

Please check out the video that inspires such thoughts from us:

And here is the four of them performing their song!