Dads and boys and a goat in traction

While dads (Mark and Jeff ) and boys (Daniel, Noah and Kadin) had a weekend away in Jinja, the Bartels girls were at home in Mukono. On Sunday, the mission week began at Uganda Christian University, and while we used to call my mom the "mission junkie", I decided that I wasn't sure that I alone could handle the ambiguous timing of 2+hours of Sunday school (a topic for another day) that would occur as the main church combined two services for the opening of Mission week. This did mean that I missed out on "thanksgiving" a part of the main church service, where my dad was able to thank the UCU community for their weeks of faithful prayer for my mom. Because I had taken a cake and shared in a smaller women's fellowship (who had fasted and prayed every Wednesday for two months), I felt that I had been part of the family thanksgiving. Yet, I also am aware that having young children prevents me from some of the cross-cultural engagement that I would otherwise enjoy.

Meanwhile, my girls and I went out to my good friend, Christine's (wife of Jeff, mother of Noah and Kadin) house which is about an hour + drive.   I arrived at her house and thought, this is why I like Christine. She has a goat in traction on her front porch.  Later in the day, back in Mukono,  I was talking to Jeff when he dropped Mark and Daniel off.  I commented on the goat on his porch. He said, "oh, the goat that has been in our garage and bedroom all this week?" And I thought, this is why I like Jeff.

In a book I've been reading called The Family: A Christian Perspective on the Contemporary Home; the authors make compelling case for rethinking/re-understanding family roles and expectations.
One of the main gists is that the end goal is empowerment for each family member (and animal member?)

I appreciate the challenge of figuring that out with my family; and watching other families figure out what that looks like in the midst of life's responsibilities and in the midsts of different contexts.