This Saturday was very special. We had our regular Spring Big Howdy Party. ISI’s Ron, BSM’s Gary, Breakthrough’s Christian, Cornerstone’s Steve (and many others) did a tremendous job this year with quite a few innovations that I thought really worked. Over 350 people, mostly international students came to the Bluebonnett Ball room in the UTA University Center. There was plenty of food. We got the contact information from most of the students. I really believe that these welcome parties are very important in making Christ’s name sweeter. It was truly incredible with people talking afterward till late. You can often judge the relationships built at an event by how many pictures of groups are taken at the end, and at this one there were many! You can see the pictures here and the video below…
Anyway, the best moment for me came with my daughter C-5. One of the things we have done at the Big Howdy over the years is allow the students to dance with music from their countries. Often it eventually becomes a turns to a medly of Ballywood music because Indians constitute our largest group. Anyway, as behind us 100′s of Indian students were dancing in classic Punjabi form to the driving modern indian music beat, I had the special pleasure of dancing with my daughter. I was reminded of Stephen Curtis Chapman’s song, Cinderella (check out the video on Youtube). Time seemed to stop as we spun and swing danced… (or a facsimille of such) It was really special and fun watching her laugh, getting led and falling down… I don’t think I will forget that special time especially some day when she will be dancing with someone else.
(pictures) 4500 miles… 18 days… many old and new friends… connection with family too… a better appreciation for each of our immediate family members… Watching the kids grow in front of us… five whole classic audio books… four times watching “Cars…” four National Parks, three Jr. Ranger swearing ins, the kids experiencing skiing for the first time. The Yabuki family went on an epic roadtrip this Christmas holiday to California and no doubt it will be one we will never forget. It was truly a trip for the ages. Praise the Lord for his blessing in all of this. Read all the details. stories & impressions from this trip in our trip blog. Here are a few highlights…
We stayed in the Wigwam Motel on route 66, the model for the cone motels in the Pixar Movie Cars
We stopped at and experience Manzanar Japanese Relocation Camp from World War 2 where my mom lived during the war
The kids experienced skiing (Roy’s favorite sport) for the first time
We enjoyed several day’s with Lisa’s sister family and mom including Christmas in Lake Tahoe and Napa (where they live).
We visited four national parks including Yosemite(Roy’s favorite), Grand Canyon (J-12′s favorite), Painted Desert/Petrified Forest National Park (T-8 & C-5′s favorite) and Carlsbad Caverns National Park (Lisa’s favorite). T-8 & C-5 earned earned the distinction of Jr. Ranger at three of these on three consecutive days. We also saw a famed observatory and the hospital Lisa and J-12 were born in.
We were able to share about our ministry at the church Roy grew up at and were able to re-connect with many dear and cherished friends.
We spent several days with Roy’s parents in Los Angeles, having important time with his sister’s family, and many other friends, ministry partners (who are also friends), and family some of whom we have not seen in many years. Roy & Lisa even went out on a date with Roy’s old High School friends while the kids got to enjoy their grandparents’ passion for crafts and wood working.
We were blessed to stay in the home of some gracious students who we got to know in Albuquerque.
What a blessed trip! I just wish we could have visited more of our friends along the way. Thanks all for your prayers and thanks all who we saw, who hosted us, who thought of us, who ate with us, Ken who watched our house, etc. I feel we are well rested and ready to go after such a special time.
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Who are the Yabukis
When Lisa and Roy were married, they shared a common commitment to serving God crossculturally through their family. They currently both serve international students through ISI and live in Arlington, Texas with their three children.
This Saturday was very special. We had our regular Spring Big Howdy Party. ISI’s Ron, BSM’s Gary, Breakthrough’s Christian, Cornerstone’s Steve (and many others) did a tremendous job this year with quite a few innovations that I thought really worked. Over 350 people, mostly international students came to the Bluebonnett Ball room in the UTA University Center. There was plenty of food. We got the contact information from most of the students. I really believe that these welcome parties are very important in making Christ’s name sweeter. It was truly incredible with people talking afterward till late. You can often judge the relationships built at an event by how many pictures of groups are taken at the end, and at this one there were many! You can see the pictures here and the video below…
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We stayed in the Wigwam Motel on route 66, the model for the cone motels in the Pixar Movie Cars
We were able to share about our ministry at the church Roy grew up at and were able to re-connect with many dear and cherished friends.
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