Nate and Christiana

Since September of last year, I have attended a weekly Wednesday meeting, informally known as “Sem Wives”. It’s a support group, of sorts, for the wives of the seminarians at TMS. I was hesitant to attend initially, for various reasons, but eventually decided that it might be beneficial for this new seminarian wife (let alone, a new wife). I am so grateful that the Lord convicted me to join this marvelous group of ladies. It has been such an incredible source of encouragement and wisdom, especially since I was drastically lacking in good female companions upon my move to So Cal. Sem Wives consisted of hundreds of women meeting in a large room at Grace Community Church. After 30 minutes or so with our smaller groups, we all gathered to hear various speakers.  My small group was “Group 6″, and our leader was Betsy Harris, a wonderful lady with a soft-spoken Southern accent. She never ceased to be genuinely interested in our struggles, and sought to be a friend and mentor. There were 11 of us, in addition to Betsy and our “prayer partner”, another wise older woman, ‘B’ Mayhue. Ironically, 4 of us were pregnant at one time, which was fun for me, being a first-time mom. For our last meeting, on March 25th, we had a lovely “Spring Tea” with lots of tasty morsels and sweet delights. Because Nate is graduating, this was the last time that I saw many of these women, and it was quite a sad realization for me.  I hope that we will be able to stay in contact, if only by email, for many years to come.

The extravagant spread

Priscilla, my neighbor, good friend, and fellow Group Sixer

Group 6: (Back row) Betsy (leader), Lydia, Cristina, Sherry, Kate (pregnant) and Irina (had baby a week before)

(Front row) Priscilla, Me (pregnant), Becca (pregnant and assistant to Betsy) and Mary (Missing: Miranda and Ashley)

Betsy and our fun prayer partner, ‘B’

Priscilla, Me and Becca

Vanessa (a non-Group Sixer, but great friend), Priscilla and I

The “normal” pose

Natasha–another non-Group Sixer, but wonderful friend

In March, we joined Nate’s brother and his family at Disneyland. Even though I was feeling a bit sick, and not able to go on any of the “fun” rides (restricted to pregnant ladies), we still had a marvelous time. It was such a pleasure to enjoy the experience with the kids (and Jason and Kimberly too, of course! :). I don’t think I’ve been to Disneyland with kids since I was a kid. We spent two days there, hopping between Disneyland and California Adventure. It was our first time at Disneyland together, so it was particularly special for us. We also enjoyed using our “So Cal Resident” discount…two days for the price of one!  Nice!

We really should have done a corny pose with this one

Nate with Jason, Kimberly and their kids, Aubrey, Allie and Ethan at Toy Story Mania. This was one of our favorite rides.

Baby’s first trip to Disneyland

And just a few more pictures of our magical adventure:

We had the privilege of joining the Chinese Alliance Bible Church in Duarte (about 45 minutes away) for an evening of worship and teaching. Nate also had the opportunity to share about Cambodia, and our upcoming plans regarding our service there. Several of the members had been to Cambodia on short-term missions trips, so it was encouraging to speak to them about their own experiences. Everyone was so kind, and we enjoyed a sweet time of fellowship.

Praying before the service

Nate’s presentation