Cross-Country bikers visit Kouts

On July 19, we had some unexpected visitors come to the Depot and then camp in our yard. A father and daughter were biking across the country from California to Maine. We enjoyed getting to know them.

Check out day #32 of their blog.

thesummerride.blogspot.com

Elizabeth Profession of faith

Dear family, Elizabeth is making profession of faith on Sunday August 3. If you are interested in coming for lunch, we will eat at the usual time 1:00PM. Please let me know by Friday if you are coming as you know we will be in intense competition on Saturday. Eric and I are meetin Jack Nickholas tomorrow at Glenwoodie for a few last minute golf tips. Do not feel obligated as we will be spending a LOT of time together on Saturday, but if you do we will have enough food. See you Saturday. Cher

Back from Honduras

So I just flew in from Honduras (and boy are my arms tired!). Sorry- couldn't resist.

This was my first ever missions trip, and is likely one of the most important events of my life. The Honduran orphans (I'm a sucker for the adorable little ninos) are the most trusting, helpful, grateful people on planet earth.

Best case scenario, these kids have been abandoned at birth. Worst case scenario, you hear horror stories about abuse, rape, children witnessing family members murder each other... basically a smorgasbord of Total Depravity incarnate. And YET, when our bus pulls into the orphanage for the first time, the two girls in the picture above (Francis and Paola) were waiting to grab me by my hand and show me their humble abode and play with me.

The 180+ orphans look out for each other like nothing I've seen- helping handicapped (not handy-capped, mom!) brothers and sisters with clothes or caring those who can't walk, burping babies that are 2 years younger then they are, etc.

And, despite all their terrible backgrounds, meager third-world surroundings, and lonely lives, these kids are grateful for life and protection, and for even the smallest gestures like hugs, or candy, or just spending some time with them.

The take-home lessons for me are very numerous, but the overwhelming theme that will stick with me is the sense of actually encountering unconditional love in a tangible way. We talk a lot about God's unconditional love for us, but this can quickly become cliche in our minds. Actually witnessing a child that loves you unconditionally despite just meeting you, and likely assuming that they will never see you again after this week hits you like a rock. At the end of the trip, a girl named Linda (who was AWESOME at soccer) said to the guys in our group (we played soccer with them everyday), "The next time that we play soccer will be in heaven." There's about a million one-liners like that from this trip that just smack you upside the soul.

On the "bring the mission trip home with you" front, Steph and I are going to partially sponsor Paola (the girl on the right... her full name (these kids all have like 6 or 7 names) is STEPHANIE Paola... an amazing sign, I thought). A partial sponsorship is $25/month. I mention this not to pressure, but to present an opportunity to the family- if anyone wanted to join us to help fully sponsor her or any of the other orphans from this amazing ministry, it would be a really cool.

A full sponsorship is $100/month. I actually think that this could be a really cool family project- sponsoring a kid or a couple kids as an entire Van Drunen clan. To my knowledge, we've never done anything like that as an ENTIRE family...

Birchwood Happenings

Much thanks to Grandpa and Grandma for letting us stay in the cabin for a recent trip to Birchwood. Myself, my dad, and my Uncle Jeff came up last week Thursday while Mike and Kim were winding down their trip. After showing us how it was done, we began to explore new waters on our own.

The catch of the week was probably my 30 inch Northern, but my dad's trophy dogfish was certainly in the running. Besides fishing, Kim and Mike even gave me a chance to try waterskiing. This being my second time ever, I did not get up, but I did at least become sore for the next five days. Again, much thanks to Grandpa and Grandma - a good time was had by all.

A Day at the Lake

What a great day at Magician Lake!  Thanks so much to the Paarlbergs for having all of us out for the day.  Thanks to Chuck for driving the boats and hauling kids and adults around!  The weather was perfect, the water was warm, and the food was great!  Overall, it was a great day!

Van Drunen Family Open

Attention Golfers - We are making plans for the cookout at our house after the family golf outing on August 2 and looking for volunteers to bring various food items. Items needed include: salads, fruit, desserts, pop (soda), chips etc. If you post what yous would like to bring on the blog, everyone will know and we can avoid duplicate dishes. (Vanderzee golfers include Mark, Kim and Mike.)

Looking forward to some family fun!

Pictured are Scott and Mark practicing at Tagalong last week (between fishing trips).

First 5k!

While I have worked running races for 14 years, I have never participated, until this morning. I finished my first 5k at a little neighborhood run/walk near where I am for school. Pictured along with me is Danielle, who works for Bethel and helps us all get through the program, Brent a Lutheran pastor from Des Moines who is in my co-hort.

Great feeling to finish and not be sore. The time is not really important.

Honduras Mission Project (and prayer requests)

Beginning at 3:30 AM on Saturday, I'll be in Honduras with about 200 orphans. The Elmhurst CRC Youth Group is heading down for a week of projects, and spending time with these kids.

I believe that some of you know about this place- Al Heerema is the head leader...

Anyway, please pray for a safe and successful trip.

For those of you who like to stay on top of things, here is a website that will keep you up to date on the trip: click here

For those of you who might be interested in the story of this orphanage and/or sponsoring a child, here's a link: click here

This will be the first ever mission trip/project that I go on- I'm really excited. Steph was originally going to go, but as a pregnant mother, she decided to visit her grandma in Florida instead.

Happy B-day, Emily!

A day late is better than never- Happy Birthday, Emily!

Hats for Paris

This goes along with the request for knitted hats for the third graders in Colorado... They are also accepting any hats as donations, as long as they are in good condition and acceptable for third graders. They do not have to be knitted. If you're willing to donate a hat (a winter hat), you can bring it to the Van Drunen family golf outing on August 2, and I'll make sure they get out to Colorado. Thanks so much for your help!

Calling All Bug Catchers!!!

We just got home from camping at Turkey Run State Park...a weekend full of fun things like kayaking, hiking, campfires, star gazing, swimming...and BUG CATCHING!!! Mark has to do a bug collection for Honors Biology...so if you see any cool bugs be sure to catch them, put them in a bag or container, and freeze them. (We could especially use some cool butterflies!!!) If you catch any, you can bring them to the Van Drunen Open on August 2!

Trinity

Blueprints (or "footprints" as some aunts called it) was a blast. Friday night I met a lot of new people. I went to praise and worship, played ultimate frisbee, and went to the bonfire. Anna and I also dominated Catch Phrase. I met my roommate, Kinny Midori. He went to Timothy and lives in Oakbrook, IL. My suitemates are from California and Michigan. As far as academics go, I am majoring in accounting.

Also, August 1 I am participating in a new program at Trinity called Chicago Trinity Adventure (CTA). I will live downtown in a studio apartment for three weeks before school starts. Currently, I will have the apartment to myself as there are no other guys signed up for this program. We will be responsible for our own meals. I think we're going to go to a comedy club, Second City, one night. The apartments are only a few blocks from North Avenue Beach. I cannot wait for this program to start.

Calling all knitters...

This may seem like a random post, but if you can knit, we need you. My cousin, Jordan, is a teacher in a low-income school in Denver, Colorado. She teaches third grade and has more than a few students who can't even pay for lunches. Last year, she noticed that many of the kids couldn't afford hats, so this year, she's on a mission. She's running a "Knit for Paris" campaign, asking all knitters she knows to contribute a kid's hat, if they can knit one in their spare time. Her goal is to be able to provide every kid in her class with a hand-knit hat. I know some of you knit, so I thought I'd post this to see if we can't get even more hats out to Colorado. If you're interested and willing to knit a hat or two, let me know. If you'd like to see her post, you can visit her blog at http://www.lucysknits.blogspot.com. These hats don't need to be made out of fancy yarn or patterns. They simply need to keep a third grader warm. Oh, and if anyone would like lessons in knitting, let me know. It could be fun to spend a day all knitting together for a great cause! And spread the word. Wouldn't it be great to outfit all of the third grade classes?

Blueprints Weekend

Blueprints was last weekend (basically orientation and registration for freshman at Trinity) and I had an awesome time. I met some great people, especially a few on my soccer team. We had a schrimmage from 2-4 on Friday afternoon that kicked my butt! But luckily, everyone there was pretty tired out after 2 hours. Karley, as usual, succeeded in dominating a pickup game of volleyball in the gym, and Scott and I had some great Catch Phrase telepathic cousin connections that wowed everyone at the table. I don't think our room got to sleep before 3:30 in the morning, so the night was jam packed. I'm pretty sure Scott and Karley had a great time too, so all in all, a really good weekend. Sorry for the lack of pictures...

And for all you Trinity Alumni, I get to have Professor Rice for Western Civ first semester, which is pretty awesome.