Happy New Year 2013!

Dear Family and Friends,

It’s been a long, long time since we’ve connected with all of you – too long, and for that we apologize. The last 2+ years have been filled with adventure, hope, love, joy, and more airplane food then we care to admit. Along the way, God has revealed His never-ending extravagant love and the amazing things that take place when you’re right where He wants you to be. Here are some of our milestones along our journey:

2011

Jan - We returned back to Guam to work at the SDA Guam Clinic through March.

 

Feb – We joined Craig’s parents in Thailand for a short mission trip and tour of Hua Hin and the Kwai River.

April - Craig spent a month in Ghana, on behalf of the Himalayan Cataract Project, working at the Komfo Anoyke Teaching Hospital in Kumasi lecturing to residents and teaching cataract surgery.

May - Craig flew back to Guam but alone this time because Michelle's doctor recommended she stay behind in California to closely monitor her high-risk pregnancy.

Aug - Highlight of the year - we welcomed our 3rd child Malachi "Kai" into the world. Despite a few benign medical problems, he is healthy and happy. Micah and Malia are thrilled to be able to dote on their baby brother and have since been asking for more baby siblings. 

Sept - After the green light from Kai's doctors, we flew back to Guam to resume work back at the clinic until March 2012. During this time, we enjoyed our island life with our Guam “family” scuba diving (thank you, Gordon Garner, for the Blue Hole diving pic), snorkeling, hiking, etc. 

Nov – Michelle’s parents came to visit us in Guam and considered commencing their retirement a little early but reluctantly decided against it.  

2012

Feb – We briefly visited Saipan and toured historic WWII sites and Craig got to dive “The Grotto” with Ken Pearson. Thank you to the Pearsons for hosting us!! 

March – We couldn’t resist the chance and journeyed down under for a tour of Australia and New Zealand. Some of our highlights included diving the Great Barrier Reef, touring the Kuranda Railway and Wildlife Park, petting wallabies/kangaroos/koalas at the Australia Zoo, touring Sydney, swimming in the Cairns and Brisbane Esplanades, alpine sliding in Rotorua, seeing the worms glow in the Waitomo Caves, trekking the Routeburn track around Queenstown and Glenorchy, staying dry in Milford sound, admiring Mt. Cook, and walking around Christchurch. We had fun experiencing driving an RV on the “wrong” side of the road and on the “wrong” side of the vehicle. The wipers were frequently turned on instead of the blinkers. 

March-April - We briefly returned to California to change clothes and then headed off on a European Vacation/extended homeschool field trip. Michelle’s parents met up with us in Germany during part of our trip. We went to visit Michelle’s relatives and had the awesome privilege to drag 3 kids, 3 car seats, a double stroller, and a lot of luggage on and off multiple trains (before they closed the doors) in order to see all the sights. Some of our stops along the way included Frankfurt, Bad Vilbel, Munich, Dachau, the North Sea, Leuven, Amsterdam, Brugge, Brussels, Bonn, Cologne, Burg Eltz Castle, Berlin, Potsdam, Wittenberg and Luther's home. We all agreed that we ate more bread, cheese, and chocolate in one month then we had in the last 5-10 years combined. 

May – We attended a friend's wedding in northern California and along the way the kids wanted to see a place where naughty kids are taken to if they are not well-behaved, so we stopped for a tour of Alcatraz. Our kids have been much better behaved since that visit! 

We also celebrated 10 years of marriage this month. It’s been an action packed journey this last decade and we hope to celebrate our 20^th without kids somewhere special. As many of you know, Michelle has a special condition where the kids’ umbilical cords have not fallen off yet and thus she cannot/will not leave them for more than 4 hours at a time.  

Craig managed to squeeze in some mission work in Cap Haitien which reminded him very much of Ghana. 

June – We flew back to Guam for our last trip of the year. We have been so blessed by our friends there, the wonderful people, and of course the amazing waters and sunsets there. 

Aug – Tearfully we (well, one of us was tearful) said goodbye to Guam, toured a bit of Japan on our layover home, and returned back to California to celebrate Kai's first birthday. Oh, where has the time gone?

Sept - We decided it was time to retire our nomadic lifestyle and “settle down.” We feel extremely blessed and privileged to have returned back to Salt Lake City. Craig joined the Moran Eye Center at the University of Utah. He’s excited to have a home base with wonderful and supportive colleagues and still have the opportunity to continue the international work he so loves. 

Micah started first grade and fortunately doesn’t have to travel far and can study in his pajamas since Michelle is homeschooling him. Malia loves to join along with her brother in school and sometimes even competes in answering questions.

Oct - Mom and Dad Ohm were our first guests in our new abode.

Nov - Ski season started early for our family and we are praying for epic storms to continue one of our favorite pastimes until hopefully July 4th!!!

Dec – We celebrated Christmas with all of our family back in SoCal.

As we reflect on our lives and the world around us, we can't but help feel extremely blessed to be alive, healthy, and happy. Thank you to all of you for your love, support, and friendship throughout the years!

No matter what 2013 has in store for us, we know that the God of the universe is in control and we are anxiously awaiting His return. Until that blessed day, we strive to seek His will in all things, to live life more abundantly each day, and to spread God's love to every corner, every situation, every person, and every opportunity we are given. May you all come to a fuller understanding of His will for your life!!

Love, 

The Chaya Family