The Prince and the Pauper

Awhile ago we noticed a striking resemblance between Kai and a certain person of royalty.  The blonde hair, the cheeks, the combover...  It was remarkable how much our son looked like a prince.  Kai is looking less like a doppelganger as he's growing into his own features and losing the generic baby look, but still, we think our kid looks a little like the prince of England.

I present to you HRH Prince George of Cambridge, and Hezekiah Horn of Duluth:

 If Prince George ever wants to experience life as a missionary in Africa, he can switch places with Kai who'd probably be happy to see what life in a palace is like.  The Prince and the Pauper!  Or more accurately, the Prince and the Missionary.  That could make a great story!

Training at Mission Headquarters

We boarded a plane last weekend and I realized it was our seventh trip this year with the kids.  That means we've averaged one trip per month, and our kids are quite used to plane rides.  They're not always gems to travel with.  In fact, we never look forward to flying with our kids.  But we've got a workable routine for getting in/out of the airport smoothly, car seats and all, and we keep a steady supply of fruit snacks and M&Ms available at all times to pacify the cranky toddler and disagreeable preschooler when necessary.  So we've flown a lot and traveled a lot this year.  It's been exhausting and rewarding, but all in all we're thankful this current trip is our last until Baby Horn #3 arrives in a couple months.

So where are we now?  We're in Marion, IN, for a week of training at our mission headquarters.

World Gospel Mission is based here and we're attending a required training called Orientation Camp.  We've been covering a variety of topics such as team dynamics, cultural adaptation, maintaining a healthy marriage on the mission field, soul care, trends in missions, and security while serving on the mission field.  We've been learning a lot and enjoying the fellowship of other missionaries, both those who have yet to go (like us) and those who've been serving a long time already.  We even had the chance to visit a few retired missionaries this afternoon and it was incredibly encouraging to hear from those who've gone before and who served decades on the mission field and are still as passionate and joyous about Jesus and missions as they were back then.  It's been an enriching week for us!

Our kids have done exceedingly well despite being off their normal routine and not getting enough sleep.  (None of us get enough sleep when we travel.)  WGM provides childcare for these training events and we could not be more grateful.  The Abbott Center, where we stay and do the training on site, has a play room full of toys and books and movies that have kept our kids entertained every day.  There's also a playground outside they've enjoyed.  It's been such a blessing!

So we've had a busy but fulfilling week.  We have a half-day of training tomorrow, then the week will be done and we'll be one step closer to Africa!

Trip to Georgia

We traveled south this past week to spend time with Eli's grandma, aunt and uncle, and cousins in Georgia.  We hadn't been there in a few years and it was wonderful to visit again and let our kids get acquainted with that side of the family.  Our kids slept poorly, ate more poorly, and had constipation issues to top it off - all a consequence of traveling, which we've seen over and over again - but we were reminded why we travel so much in spite of these issues: because it's worth it to see and invest in family and friends!

In addition to seeing family, we had the pleasure of spending time with my college roommate who lives in the same area.  She and her husband were missionaries in the Dominican Republic for about nine years before moving to the States last summer.  It was fun and encouraging to see them again and to talk about missions!

As you might imagine, it's hot in Georgia this time of year.  Hot and humid.  But an afternoon on the lake kept us cool for awhile.  It was relaxing and refreshing.  Kai had a particularly enjoyable time.  He's a sociable little guy these days and explored everything while bouncing between everyone on the boat.  Caleb was content to hang out with Grandma Horn and hang onto a rubber worm he found :)

I'm 28 weeks pregnant in this photo.  Baby Horn is carrying straight out front, like our other two did.  Baby Horn has also been keeping me extra warm lately.  I was glad for a sundress to keep me cooler in the Georgia heat.

There were six little kids running around and, as always, they entertained us and kept us busy.  We tried to get a photo of Gram with all the kids.  Five of the six made it into the photo and this was the best we could get.  

It was a bit easier to get a picture of the cousins in our generation :)  Eli's cousins are fabulous people and we loved spending time with them!

One day we took the kids to the turtle pond down the road.  We saw nary a turtle but the boys loved it just the same.  We threw bread to the fish and nearly had two kids fall off the dock, but we managed to leave dry and happy :)

On our last day we ventured to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta.  It's quite the place!  Caleb loved the dolphin show and they both loved the tank with whale sharks and giant rays.  Caleb, our animal lover, was particularly enthralled.  He was like a normal kid in a candy shop :)  

So despite the poor sleeping and eating and pooping habits of our kids, we were so glad we made the trip to see family.  We probably won't see most of them until we're home from Africa in a couple years so we're particularly thankful for the chance to head there this year.