
Our story really begins with these two: Oley & Lulu Wanaselja, my grandparents. In April of 2010, they sold Ryan & Tiffany their house in New Hampshire. The Robinsons moved in with their two children Matthew and Annalise and Tiffany's grandmother Betty Trask.
Up until then we had been "house-sitting" for my grandparents. The timing worked out well, however, since we were about to leave on our first trip to Spain. We packed up all our belongings and moved in temporarily with Charis' parents.
Fast forward over two years to the present and we find ourselves again preparing to leave for Spain - and we find our lives again intersecting with that of the Robinson family!
This time we have Ati as the latest addition to our family, and the Robinsons have Lorelei...
What was life like in our home with six children (ages 7, 5, 5, 3, 3, & 1)?
Chaotic? You bet! But in the midst of the chaos we all discovered community. And it was like finding treasure buried under a mass of rocks and dirt. It's something we all crave but rarely experience because of our fragmented, busy lives.
In a very real sense, the Robinsons' presence kept us sane. At a time in our lives when our focus was very inward - Spain, paperwork, raising support, packing - we were forced to look outward.
We found ways to help each other. Charis and Tiffany took turns cooking and shopping. We watched their kids so they could work at their home; they watched ours so we could go on a date.
But it is in sharing those two precious commodities that we have the opportunity to experience a life that I believe is a lot closer to what God intended it to be.
The Apostle Paul wrote these words to the Ephesian church:
The Robinsons are moving out today... just as we begin packing up our home for our imminent trip back to Spain. We thank God for Ryan and Tiffany and their kids. We thank God that two years ago my grandparents sold their house to them. We thank God for a faulty bathroom pipe that brought this family into our lives in a big way.We have enjoyed sharing life together these past six weeks, and I think we'll all feel like something's missing when they leave.