Home has been hard to find on the weekends of late. Two weekends ago my family was at Sky Ranch for the MK fall kick off the year get away, and this last weekend we were in Austin visiting supporters and introducing my Thailand recruits to the leaders of the Thailand trip.
But first things first... let's talk about Sky Ranch.
This year I got to ride down with a former youth group member, now leader, in the group named Nadia. It was great getting to talk to her on the way there and back, I love getting to know the people who I work with better, and it so happened that she was a big part in the weekend to come.
It was a privilege getting to have my family join me at Sky this year for the first time. I was a little worried that they would be distracting, but it turned out to be a wonderful experience having them there! Diane really got into the spirit of the weekend and the MKs loved having her there, and my kids loved being there, we had a girl, Claire, take care of them during the sessions and games but we had lots of fun free time with them in the pool and at meal times. They fit right in and the MKs were so loving toward them! My two favorite memories of time with my family were in the pool playing with Creed, Asher and a bunch of MKs and on this giant land pillow/blob watching Liam run across it and then face plant. Good times.
One of the things I look forward to at Sky Ranch is getting to be in the Skits we do before the message and worship time!
The games are also a highlight for me, unfortunately because of my back injury I couldn't play, but Diane did a great job in the games, especially capture the flag!
Creed and Asher really like playing mini golf, Creed even brought his own clubs... sadly he forgot to bring them up before we played... oh well he still had a lot of fun!
This is the group in all their glory!
So that was Sky, a wonderful time. My messages on the Matthew 5-7 went very well as did the worship and all the rest of it. The newcomers got to meet and spend time with the veteran MKs and I believe that God heard your prayers and gave us our best Sky yet. There were no problems with the kids and things ran quite smoothly the whole time. Monday while we were leaving it rained quite a bit on us giving us the perfect MK send off.
Now back to Nadia and our conversation in the van. In passing I asked her if she could pop over and check on our kids while we were in Austin the following weekend, well she not only popped over but spent most of the weekend over there watching and caring for our kids. Now we trust that Mark and Joel could have handled it but it gave us a great sense of peace knowing that Nadia was there to fill in the gaps! It made the whole weekend in Austin better for us knowing that our kids had so many fun people to care for them while we were gone. A big huge gigantic thank you to Nadia and Mark and Joel for making it possible for us to get away.
Austin
We went to Austin with our good Friends Michael and Michal who are going to help me in Thailand this next year. I'm really looking forward to having them on the trip and was very thankful that I could introduce them to David and Kathy Siek who are veterans of the Thailand trip. In the picture bellow it goes David, Michal, Michael, Caleb, Kathy.
When we got to Austin one of the things that we wanted to do was explore the city so Kathy, the tour guide extraordinaire, got out her laptop and found many amazing things for us to do. First thing we did was go to the train station and ride down town. I love trains and that was a great experience for me. We then walked to this restaurant called Bangers, and I enjoyed a nice meal of Bangers and Mash! After that we walked around 6th Street and soaked in the culture, one of the fun things was getting to eat at a famous food trailer that has some incredible donuts.
We were exhausted when we finally got back home that night and enjoyed sleeping in the next morning without having to get up to our precious Liam at 6:30am saying "eat, eat mommy eat!"
We gradually collected ourselves and headed out to a car show where Diane found a car with her namesake. It was fun walking around and seeing the cool cars from past to present. Mostly Mustangs, but there were some other Fords there as well. Then the boys went home to enjoy College Football while the girls explored the Hill Country with Kathy. They had a great time and came back with some goodies they found at a fun shopping place off the highway.
The next day we enjoyed a great time at church and then headed back downtown for a guided tour of the city on a Duck boat. This thing drove us all around the city telling us the history of this and that and then drove into the lake and puttered around and then drove back out and off again. They gave us duck whistles? or something like that which my kids are now enjoying much to their delight and our well... their delight.
After the tour I was happy to head back home and enjoy the first NFL Sunday. The evening was beautifully capped off with a Cowboys win and I slept very well that night. Monday came and before we left we enjoyed one more adventure visiting some local caves. Another fun tour guide showed us around some very interesting caves and then we headed back to pack up and with mixed emotions we headed home. It's always great fun visiting the Sieks and it's always hard to leave and get back to reality, but I really was missing my boys and it was good to get home and see them.
This week has been great fun so far. My back is getting better every day and I'm feeling close to normal again. I'm enjoying preparing my lessons for MK youth group and small group. The Lord is really pouring out his blessing on us and you are such a huge part of that! Thank you for your support, your prayers and your love! It is so special to have you all in my life.
Tomorrow my parents get back and in about a week my wife will celebrate her birthday. I'm looking forward to all of the above!
Pray!
For me that I will seek God first in all things and look to Him for inspiration in loving and leading the Dallas MK youth group.
For Diane that she would have another fantastic year!
For Mark as school gets busier all the time.
For Joel as he looks for a job and place to stay.
Praise!
For you of course, everyday I praise God for you!
That Joel got a car!
That my back is getting better.
For my amazing wife! Happy birthday Diane, I know it's early but I'm so glad you are here and a part of my life!
Blessings to you all, may you enjoy the rest of the summer heat and may fall come quickly bringing its cooler temperatures.
Caleb
If you want to support what I do a little or a lot, on a one time basis or a recurring basis, click on the tab "Supporting the Work" at the top of the page and search for Caleb and Diane Robbins. Diane is my beautiful wife and the mother of my three precious children Creed 6, Asher 4, and Liam 1.
