We have a new nephew/cousin.  He has entered the lives of Lori's youngest sister and her husband in the far, far away land of Florida.

Ethan David Barnes

7 lbs 7 ounces and 20 inches

Born at 8:41 am on 1 February 08

The name Ethan is especially nice, we think.  There is a precious little Ethan in our church family here in New Zealand. 

Are you like us and associate names with people you already know?  Certain names bring up bad images, for instance, nightmares of elementary school playground bullies. (Don't worry...no one in our list of friends or family carries any of the "bad" names on our list.  Those names just didn't make it onto our list of possible baby names when we were searching for those).  Ethan is a great name for us to remember.

We are quite confident this little Ethan will develop his own bank of memories in our lives with a personality that means "Ethan" to us.  In the meantime, we'll enjoying cuddling the Ethan we can get close to and tell him all about our new little friend in Florida.

Two men in our godly heritage recently left this earth within a few short days of each other.  We aren't able to attend the funerals.  This inevitable event comes with the job description for overseas missionary work.  We wish we could be part of the family gatherings to commemorate their lives and the contributions these men made to our lives.  We loved them.  We will miss them.  We will see them again in heaven.  We have many wonderful memories.  This blog entry is therapeutic and helps to bridge the thousands of miles between us and our relatives.

Edward H. Dunworth
7 September 1920 - 5 October 2007
Lori's great uncle on her mother's side (he married grandpa's sister)

In my immediate family we called him "daddy long-legs."  On one occasion when Uncle Ed and Aunt Bea visited us, my sister, Joy, who was five at the time, thought Ed was tall...very tall...with quite long legs...rather like a daddy-long legs spider, she thought.  There were lots of those in Virginia where we lived.  The nickname stuck.  We said it fondly, and always with a giggle.

He had a sense of humour.  We girls arrived home from school one day to discover a strange white car sitting in the driveway.  Our first inclination was to check the license plate, but it was covered with a towel!  We couldn't figure out who it could be.  Uncle Ed knew the Arizona plate would give away a lot of information, so he covered the plate to keep their identity secret until we got into the house and saw them.

The miles between Virginia and Arizona meant we didn't see each other often.  But when we did spend time together, everyone felt at home.  His grandsons were dynamite cousins.  We had SO much fun. 

Uncle Ed loved and spoke often of his church and faithfully served as a deacon for over 25 years.  He often emailed and assured us of his prayers for our ministry here in New Zealand.  This photo was taken in 2004 when we stopped for an Arizona visit on our way back into the USA for furlough.

James L. Histand, Sr.
4 January 1921 - 11 October 2007
Lori's grandfather on her father's side

This parting photo was taken in June 1998, just before Scott and I came to New Zealand the first time.  I found it hard to say goodbye that time.  We went to see my Grandpa and his wife, knowing full well it might be the last earthly visit.  Although still in decent health, Grandpa was in his upper 70s.  God gave us nine more years, and we were able to visit again several more times.  We made sure to get there each time we were in the States. 

A letter I recently wrote him is still on its way to the US.  He loved letters from his grandchildren.  I once saw a photograph of all our letters to him.  He had stacked them next to a yardstick and measured how many inches high the stack of letters sat.

He liked to give us our birthday money in $2 bills.  We could hardly bear to spend it because the money was so unique.  His generosity spilled over for many years, and our own home is testimony to both his financial wisdom and selfless stewardship.

He, too, loved the Lord and was so proud that four of his granddaughters married a man in Christian ministry.

My dad had two sisters and no brothers.  I have three sisters and no brothers (but several fine brothers-in-law!).  The Histand name has been cut off in our branch of the family.  Grandpa's middle name was Landis, his mother's maiden name.  My dad is JLH, Jr. Our son Daniel, born within hours of Grandpa's birthday, has two middle names.  One of them is Landis...to help carry on some of our family history.  The photo of the two of them together was taken the last time we saw Grandpa, just before returning to New Zealand in 2006.