Sorry (again) for our lack of posting any blogs lately. Our July and early August have flow by (literally) as we made our way back to the States and Canada and back to Zambia again in 39 days. God was so gracious to us and to our boys with all the travel! We were really worried how the boys would do and how we, as parents, would do. It seemed pretty crazy to take a three year old and a 9 month old on a 24,676 mile (just flight miles, not including driving miles!), 39 day trip to North America and back again. But they did so well on the flights, minus one incident on the way back to Zambia that we’ll share about in a later blog, and they really enjoyed seeing all the friends and family that we got to spend some time with.
Our primary reason for heading back to North America for the month of July and early August was for me (Derek) to attend the International Council Meetings for Action International Ministries that I need to attend since becoming the ACTION Zambia Country Director this past February. Those meetings went really well, and I enjoyed the fellowship with the other country directors and some of the members of their country boards.
Right after the IC meetings concluded, the ACTION 40th Jubilee Celebrations kicked off. We really enjoyed the rest of the Jubilee celebration time as well. The worship times, fellowship, and conference speakers and subjects were a blessing to us. I think the biggest highlight for us, as far as the Jubilee, was just spending time with other ACTION folks and hearing their stories and experiences and what God is doing in their part of the world.
We are very thankful to God for ACTION and to be a part of it. We are typically not an organization that gets together that often (like, never) worldwide, so it was a real blessing to celebrate God’s faithfulness these past 40 years to ACTION with almost 200 other ACTION missionaries from around the world!
After our 11 days in Canada, we headed back to the USA and took a few weeks to see family and friends. This time was crazy busy, but we really enjoyed spending time and connecting with everyone.
Below are some pictures of our time. Thanks so much for praying for us and for all your love and support!
Derek and Kristin Dearth 