Memories from 2010

Dear family and friends,
Happy Easter to all of you! We would normally be wishing you a Merry Christmas, but as you can see, we did not get our blog updated quite in time for Christmas this past year!
2010 was a memorable year for us. Our life isn’t what you would call conventional, but we feel truly blessed to be doing what we are doing. It has been an amazing and fun-filled journey. Here is a quick snapshot of 2010. Thank you for letting us share some of the our memories with you. We also enjoyed hearing about many of your 2010 journeys.

Jan – Micah started learning how to snow ski in Utah and Malia tagged along in the Baby Bjorn with Michelle. We lost Craig's sweet cousin Kaitlin to leukemia after a year-long battle.

Feb – Micah turned 4 yrs old.

Mar – Michelle’s sisters and their families came for a visit to Salt Lake City. Our friends Dana and Greg came to visit us, too.

Apr – Malia turned 2 yrs old. Michelle's parents came for a visit.

May – Craig traveled to Ghana, Africa along with members from the University of Utah/Moran Eye Center to provide eye care and teach local doctors at the Komfo Anoyke Teaching Hospital. Michelle and the kids went to visit the family in CA.

June thru July --

Craig graduated from Glaucoma Fellowship

We moved our belongings back to Loma Linda, CA

Embarked on a month-long tour of the Pacific Northwest with stops at Zion National Park, Bear Lake (UT), Teton Nat. Park, Yellowstone Nat. Park, Glacier Nat. Park, Spokane, Olympic Nat. Park, San Juan Islands, Victoria Island, Vancouver, B.C., Whistler, Crater Lake, Redwood Nat. Park, and Sequoia Nat. Park. We enjoyed camping together throughout the trip and witnessing the beauty of God’s creation. We finished the trip with a camping vacation with family and friends in Kernville, CA. Thanks also to the many friends and relatives that hosted us along the way: the Wade's, the Schmidt’s, the Matthews’, the Hurtado’s, the Hill’s, the Oregon Ohm’s, the Roda's, the Webb’s, and the Ho's. It was wonderful to see you all!

August thru October – Michelle and Craig started working at the Guam SDA Clinic. We enjoyed our time in Guam making new friends and exploring the island. Micah and Malia took to the beaches and loved snorkeling and swimming.

Nov – Craig finished and passed his oral Ophthalmology board exam in San Francisco.

We traveled to Nepal for 6 weeks for Craig to receive training in small incision cataract surgery (SICS) which is an important technique used in the developing world to deliver high quality, cost-effective cataract surgery.

Dec – Michelle gave lectures on public health issues such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes to allied health professionals at Scheer Memorial Hospital in Nepal.

Spent Christmas back at home with all the family in Loma Linda, CA.

2011 is shaping up to be another year of adventure with more travels as well as a baby boy on the way. We hope to see some of you along our journeys. We pray that we all will better understand God’s infinite love and His purpose for our lives.

Love,

The Chaya’s