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Meet the Kapengas

Before arriving in Philadelphia in August, we had the privilege of taking a long, winding, 3-week road trip to visit friends around the Midwest. One of our stops was near Detroit Lakes, Minnesota (home of Young Life's Castaway Club where Amy and I met!)

We spent time with Kapengas, who work at Castaway, and who now have a very large, beautiful, interesting family. Five years ago, when we first met Aaron and Liz, they had two sweet kids: Noah and Aubrey. Back then, we heard about their desire to one day adopt a child from somewhere in Africa.

Dreams became realities, and about three years ago the couple made the trip to Liberia to adopt twin boys: Mark and Jack. Sometime during that process, they found out that Liz was pregnant. So, not long after Jack and Mark entered the Kapenga family, baby Grace also joined the crew.

During our stay in Minnesota, we spent an evening at the family's house -- a newly renovated property on a few acres of land about a mile from camp. What a lively night! We read stories, toured the garden (supplying plenty of green beans this year), ate some zucchini bread, sang songs, and, in general, ran around. In the midst of the revelrous night, Amy and I felt honored to know this family and to watch them interact: deciding who was driving their van the next day; hiding laughter as Grace -- the rebel of the family -- wouldn't stay in bed; listening to all the kids clamor for Amy to tuck them in.

Just describing their family seems overwhelming, but Aaron and Liz parent with a great amount of joy.

It reminds me of one account of how Jesus talks about the Kingdom of God. He said, "A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how." (Mark 4:26-27)

This great big family, in a house full of love, just grows together. It just happens.