Friends,
It seems that I am not as diligent at updating this on a regular basis as I thought I would be. Please forgive me as the updates are far, few in between and then seem pretty long!
There hasn't been too much going on since our last update. We started school with the boys and this year (the first week) has been going better than last year...thank goodness. It is a lot of work and there are days that I would prefer to not have to get up to do it! I suppose we all feel that at some time or another no matter what we are waking up to for the day? But, we are thankful that we awake every morning and are eager to see what the Lord has in store for us.
For those who may not know, there are five families who have opened up their homes to host "gatherings". This was for us to invite everyone to come and hear about our trip to China, the people we met over there and what the work we will be doing will look like. The dates are listed below and if you are interested in coming to any, just send us an email to let us know which date would fit into your schedule the best. We are excited to have the opportunity to share with everyone in a small setting. We hope you will be able to come!
* Saturday, September 22nd, 4pm, in Graham
* Sunday, September 23rd, 5pm, in Des Moines
* Sunday, September 30th, 3pm, in Federal Way (Marine Hills)
* Monday, October 1st, 7pm, in Auburn (West Hill)
* Sunday, October 7th, 2pm, in Burien
Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as the fall schedules get under way. We don't want to become consumed by our schedules and want to stay focused on the Lord and what lies ahead. We would also appreciate continued prayer for Paul's dad, Dick, and his mom, Jean. The process of preparing oneself for a transplant is both full of anticipation and down right frustration. We all know the Lord is sovereign but they continue to need His physical and emotional strength to walk this path. They are both a great testimony of perseverance in times of trouble and we pray the Lord continues to give them peace and joy amidst it as well.
It is a blessing to be able to hold each other up in prayer and we are so appreciative of the prayer that is being sent up on our behalf. We would also like to be holding up your prayer needs as well. We would be honored if you would send us an email letting us know how we can be praying for you and your families.
Blessings,
P & K
Monday, September 17, 2007
Friday, August 24, 2007
Changes coming our way
It hardly seems like it has been over a month since we arrived back home. The Lord has been working many wonders in our lives since then and we are also getting back into the swing of life and hopefully not letting it bog us down in the process. It is so easy to lose ourselves in our daily lives and forget where our number one focus must be in order to stay on task.
Our house went on the market while we were in QZ and before we left, we sent out this message to many people saying, "we are prepared to wait out the market for the house which is 66+ days but if the Lord wanted to sell our house in two weeks, He will!". Once again, the Lord has shown His power in our obedience to let go and trust Him in this journey we are on. We had a buyer within two weeks. We couldn't have asked for a more smooth transaction with the house closing on Aug. 20th.
Paul and Andrew had left for our Youth Montana Mission Trip the week after we got back. They both had a great time of working for their perspective towns, didn't receive any injuries (yeah) and grew in their faith. What more could you ask for?
Two weekends ago, we received a call from M&J (our field mentors - who we will be working under) to let us know they had found us an apartment and rented it. They will use the space for other visitors who come and go until we get there. It is fully furnished, with the exception of a diningroom table, on the 3rd floor (no elevators), with two bathrooms, oversized bedrooms and it is over a bakery!!! Boy the Lord is good!
Last weekend, we had a garage sale with some help from of our friends and it was a great success. Even the terrential rains waited until we had everything picked up and under cover!
Paul's dad who has been on a stem cell transplant donor list for several months now has received word of a 10 out of 10 match and will most likely start the process of a mini-stem cell transplant in September! Praise God!
As you can tell, the Lord has been awesome in moving us ahead this last month. But along with many blessings comes some hard things as well. We wholeheartedly believe we have been under attack from the enemy from day one, but the last month seems to have been more than usual. So please pray for our family to be faithful in following God's word in standing firm against the enemy (Eph. 6:10-17) and that we don't get discouraged along the way.
The best news of all is, we can leave at any time! So what is holding us back? Well, we do believe the Lord's timing is perfect and when He is ready to send us, the means will be there. But, the Lord is not relying just on us to be faithful to His call to missions. We feel part of our job is to allow people to see God's call on their lives to be part of missions as well. He may be calling you to be a committed prayer warrior for us, He may be calling you to give financially or He may be calling you to be encouragers in sending us. Either way, He is calling all of us to make sacrifices in our daily lives to serve Him and His purpose for us. Please be in prayer as to how you might be involved in missions with us. It is very humbling for us to rely soley on other people to provide funds for the work He has planned for us, but we trust He is speaking to many of you and wants you to be blessed by being part of His global purpose in some way!
Many blessings to all of you who we appreciate so greatly!
K & P
Our house went on the market while we were in QZ and before we left, we sent out this message to many people saying, "we are prepared to wait out the market for the house which is 66+ days but if the Lord wanted to sell our house in two weeks, He will!". Once again, the Lord has shown His power in our obedience to let go and trust Him in this journey we are on. We had a buyer within two weeks. We couldn't have asked for a more smooth transaction with the house closing on Aug. 20th.
Paul and Andrew had left for our Youth Montana Mission Trip the week after we got back. They both had a great time of working for their perspective towns, didn't receive any injuries (yeah) and grew in their faith. What more could you ask for?
Two weekends ago, we received a call from M&J (our field mentors - who we will be working under) to let us know they had found us an apartment and rented it. They will use the space for other visitors who come and go until we get there. It is fully furnished, with the exception of a diningroom table, on the 3rd floor (no elevators), with two bathrooms, oversized bedrooms and it is over a bakery!!! Boy the Lord is good!
Last weekend, we had a garage sale with some help from of our friends and it was a great success. Even the terrential rains waited until we had everything picked up and under cover!
Paul's dad who has been on a stem cell transplant donor list for several months now has received word of a 10 out of 10 match and will most likely start the process of a mini-stem cell transplant in September! Praise God!
As you can tell, the Lord has been awesome in moving us ahead this last month. But along with many blessings comes some hard things as well. We wholeheartedly believe we have been under attack from the enemy from day one, but the last month seems to have been more than usual. So please pray for our family to be faithful in following God's word in standing firm against the enemy (Eph. 6:10-17) and that we don't get discouraged along the way.
The best news of all is, we can leave at any time! So what is holding us back? Well, we do believe the Lord's timing is perfect and when He is ready to send us, the means will be there. But, the Lord is not relying just on us to be faithful to His call to missions. We feel part of our job is to allow people to see God's call on their lives to be part of missions as well. He may be calling you to be a committed prayer warrior for us, He may be calling you to give financially or He may be calling you to be encouragers in sending us. Either way, He is calling all of us to make sacrifices in our daily lives to serve Him and His purpose for us. Please be in prayer as to how you might be involved in missions with us. It is very humbling for us to rely soley on other people to provide funds for the work He has planned for us, but we trust He is speaking to many of you and wants you to be blessed by being part of His global purpose in some way!
Many blessings to all of you who we appreciate so greatly!
K & P
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Coming Home...For a Visit
12:55pm Thursday, July 19th, 2007 (QZ time)
To all our friends and family,
You may be wondering about the subject line, but in many ways, that is how we feel about coming home. Neither one of us wants to leave here, at least for very long. We are torn, now, between two places. One has our family and many wonderful friends and the other has many new friends and we have found many new family members (the believers) as well. Enduring the heat, the sweat, communication gaps, and barely surviving rides in the pedicabs and taxis has been more than worth it. I think we can honestly say, we have found our new home! Unfortunately, many of the students we have been getting to know will be off to the universities and colleges and we will be saying goodbye to them knowing we will most likely never see them again. We have been touched by their generous giving of themselves in taking us places, helping us order food and for our "laugh sessions" while we try to pronounce Chinese words. We will forever be touched by the little bit of time we have had with them. Today we will go on our final "outing" with them and I hope the Father has allowed us to have touched them in some way.
We head back home tomorrow excited to be able to share with you our experience here. We have many pictures and several interesting stories to share. But mostly, we hope to share the work that is being done here and the desire to return quickly to participate in this work. There is work to be done everywhere in this world, but we now know more than ever before that this is where the Father wants us to be!
Please be talking to the Father to give us a safe trip home and that we are rested enough to enjoy our eager reunion with our boys. Thank you for your many thoughts for their safety and blessings with the friends they have stayed with. The Father has heard you and answered you in bigger ways than we could've ever imagined! We look forward to seeing many of you soon!
Blessings and our thoughts are always with you,
Paul &Kim
Busy in QZ
July 15th, Sunday, 4:20pm (QZ time)
Greetings!
It has been several days since I have had time to sit down and write you all an update on our trip, but we have been that busy! On Thursday, we visited the market and bought some fruit for our apartment. May not sound that big, but everything is new here. I would like to tell you all the stories about being grossed out by all the things we saw, but really we weren't. I really feel the L has prepared our hearts in many ways and haven't really been shell shocked about anything here. The only thing that may come close is the traffic. The rule is, if you make eye contact while walking, you are responsible for making way for the bike, scooter, pedi cab, motor cycle, car or bus. Otherwise, you just walk and they are responsible to work around you and I mean around you, maybe giving you a couple of inches!! So we have made a practice of crossing busy intersections next to other bikes and people. I don't think I can adequately explain our experiences in taxi's or pedicabs. It is beyond words, I tell ya!
I guess the funny story of the day would be that while we were together with other friends today to talk about the word, Paul flung a huge cockroach off of his chest. That was proceeded by, "don't let it get away...kill it" and people running to try to stomp on it. The stomping was referred to the likes of being back in dance class because the cockroaches are not cooperative in letting us stomp on them!!
Friday, we were taken on a pryr walk to the local temple, mosque and then to the earliest Budha of QZ. It is disheartening to see the people searching so earnestly after the wrong thing. It breaks your heart for the people here who follow their g's mostly out of fear. They so desperately need to know the truth and be free from such oppression. But as we know, they must be exposed to the truth before they can even be aware of something different. The Budha that we visited was on the outskirts of town and we started the climb about 11am. When we reached the top, we were pretty much dripping wet and I really mean dripping. It has been around 100 with the "feels like temp" being around 15 degrees hotter. One day, it only got to 95 degrees in the shade! Our purpose for visiting such sites is to pry for the people who are searching and who come to such sites to worship their gods. I think one reason why the tour we get taken on happens at this time of day, "crazy" as the money taker put it, is so there are not many people there. At a somewhat lower point, we could see the whole city, well sort of. We couldn't see much of it due to it being so hazy.
We have mostly been observing different level of english classes given here at the center. Today, Paul and I each had a topic class to teach and will teach the same classes again tomorrow night. What we don't want to miss out on sharing is our experience attending the government church. It was a little hard because we didn't know what they were saying, but a friend from the center that went with us is a member of the worship team and she tried hard to translate things throughout the evening. Again, it is hard to put this experience into words, but imagine being in a room of about 1500 chinese friends singing Amazing Grace in their native tongue. There are no words that can explain the overwhelming emotions of hearing friends from half way around the world sing to the same Father and it didn't matter if we knew there words but our hearts were the same.
I don't want to make this too long, but Paul and I seem to be doing quite fine with the food, water, getting around (somewhat). This city is big with many people and though I have never been there before, I assume it has to be similar to New York. I wish we were able to share pictures along the way to give you a better perspective and maybe we will have that chance before we leave but maybe not. Please just continue to keep us in your thoughts as we consider where we could possibly live when we return here. Also, be thinking that the work here ontinues in great ways!
Greetings!
It has been several days since I have had time to sit down and write you all an update on our trip, but we have been that busy! On Thursday, we visited the market and bought some fruit for our apartment. May not sound that big, but everything is new here. I would like to tell you all the stories about being grossed out by all the things we saw, but really we weren't. I really feel the L has prepared our hearts in many ways and haven't really been shell shocked about anything here. The only thing that may come close is the traffic. The rule is, if you make eye contact while walking, you are responsible for making way for the bike, scooter, pedi cab, motor cycle, car or bus. Otherwise, you just walk and they are responsible to work around you and I mean around you, maybe giving you a couple of inches!! So we have made a practice of crossing busy intersections next to other bikes and people. I don't think I can adequately explain our experiences in taxi's or pedicabs. It is beyond words, I tell ya!
I guess the funny story of the day would be that while we were together with other friends today to talk about the word, Paul flung a huge cockroach off of his chest. That was proceeded by, "don't let it get away...kill it" and people running to try to stomp on it. The stomping was referred to the likes of being back in dance class because the cockroaches are not cooperative in letting us stomp on them!!
Friday, we were taken on a pryr walk to the local temple, mosque and then to the earliest Budha of QZ. It is disheartening to see the people searching so earnestly after the wrong thing. It breaks your heart for the people here who follow their g's mostly out of fear. They so desperately need to know the truth and be free from such oppression. But as we know, they must be exposed to the truth before they can even be aware of something different. The Budha that we visited was on the outskirts of town and we started the climb about 11am. When we reached the top, we were pretty much dripping wet and I really mean dripping. It has been around 100 with the "feels like temp" being around 15 degrees hotter. One day, it only got to 95 degrees in the shade! Our purpose for visiting such sites is to pry for the people who are searching and who come to such sites to worship their gods. I think one reason why the tour we get taken on happens at this time of day, "crazy" as the money taker put it, is so there are not many people there. At a somewhat lower point, we could see the whole city, well sort of. We couldn't see much of it due to it being so hazy.
We have mostly been observing different level of english classes given here at the center. Today, Paul and I each had a topic class to teach and will teach the same classes again tomorrow night. What we don't want to miss out on sharing is our experience attending the government church. It was a little hard because we didn't know what they were saying, but a friend from the center that went with us is a member of the worship team and she tried hard to translate things throughout the evening. Again, it is hard to put this experience into words, but imagine being in a room of about 1500 chinese friends singing Amazing Grace in their native tongue. There are no words that can explain the overwhelming emotions of hearing friends from half way around the world sing to the same Father and it didn't matter if we knew there words but our hearts were the same.
I don't want to make this too long, but Paul and I seem to be doing quite fine with the food, water, getting around (somewhat). This city is big with many people and though I have never been there before, I assume it has to be similar to New York. I wish we were able to share pictures along the way to give you a better perspective and maybe we will have that chance before we leave but maybe not. Please just continue to keep us in your thoughts as we consider where we could possibly live when we return here. Also, be thinking that the work here ontinues in great ways!
Getting Oriented
Hello to everyone from QZ,
Paul and I made it through another two airplane rides without any problems. Then we endured a hour and a half car ride that we weren't quite sure how we survived. I don't think we will ever try to conquer the skill, or the lack thereof, of driving here in this country. Once we arrived, we were taken to our apartment that we are sharing with a young man from Louisiana. He is here for the whole summer teaching english at the center. We will try to send some pictures at a later time since we cannot figure out how to make the broadband in the apartment work for our computer. So our email is limited to the center right now.
After resting for a little bit and taking a much needed cold shower, we were escorted to dinner with 20 other people. The food was good and I only had to chase off one cockroach from the table! Once we had some time touring the center and orientation, we were beat and ready for bed. Nothing, not the hard bed, the constant traffic and honking noises, nor the persistant sweating, could keep us from getting a somewhat decent night of sleep. This morning, we had the opportunity to be part of a "Topic Lesson" class which is geared towards giving students practice of using what they already know. It was alot of fun participating with the students and trying ourselves to interact with them. The staff and students here are absolutely wonderful in greeting us and being happy to see us. After Paul and I had another time of orientation, we went to lunch with our room mate. We were perfectly content with our meal that only cost us about $1.70 US, and that is paying for the three of us.
We will be going to our apartment for a rest (since we have been awake since 5am) and coming back to the center to observe/participate in another topic lesson, then to dinner and then another class before we head off to bed for the night. Maybe Paul will leave the airconditioning on ALL night this time instead of thinking we need to get use to the heat the first night!! Thanks for all the notes and thoughts coming our way.
Paul and I made it through another two airplane rides without any problems. Then we endured a hour and a half car ride that we weren't quite sure how we survived. I don't think we will ever try to conquer the skill, or the lack thereof, of driving here in this country. Once we arrived, we were taken to our apartment that we are sharing with a young man from Louisiana. He is here for the whole summer teaching english at the center. We will try to send some pictures at a later time since we cannot figure out how to make the broadband in the apartment work for our computer. So our email is limited to the center right now.
After resting for a little bit and taking a much needed cold shower, we were escorted to dinner with 20 other people. The food was good and I only had to chase off one cockroach from the table! Once we had some time touring the center and orientation, we were beat and ready for bed. Nothing, not the hard bed, the constant traffic and honking noises, nor the persistant sweating, could keep us from getting a somewhat decent night of sleep. This morning, we had the opportunity to be part of a "Topic Lesson" class which is geared towards giving students practice of using what they already know. It was alot of fun participating with the students and trying ourselves to interact with them. The staff and students here are absolutely wonderful in greeting us and being happy to see us. After Paul and I had another time of orientation, we went to lunch with our room mate. We were perfectly content with our meal that only cost us about $1.70 US, and that is paying for the three of us.
We will be going to our apartment for a rest (since we have been awake since 5am) and coming back to the center to observe/participate in another topic lesson, then to dinner and then another class before we head off to bed for the night. Maybe Paul will leave the airconditioning on ALL night this time instead of thinking we need to get use to the heat the first night!! Thanks for all the notes and thoughts coming our way.
In Transit - Taipei
It is currently Tuesday, July 10th, 5:30am (Mon. July 9th, 2:37pm PST) in Taipei, Taiwan and it is already 77 degrees. We are now sitting at our next gate waiting for our flight to Hong Kong, set to depart at 8:20am. For those who like this sort of thing or don't have anything better to do...our flight number is EVA Air, BR 851 (flightview.com)
Our flight went really well. It was on time on both ends and it was a smooth ride. We were packed into the 747 like sardines and it took us 3 movies for us to figure out how to listen to them in English! We are anxious to get to Hong Kong, our second of four destinations, before we can say we have officially landed.
We met another group of m's from the Seattle area. They are on a trip very similar to ours. It was encouraging to meet other friends that have the same purpose we do.
Please continue to keep us all in your thoughts and pryrs while we are gone. The boys went to their temporary homes Sunday without any hitches and we know they will have a great time where they are.
We would love to receive notes from you while we are here but please remember to not use trigger words in corresponding back to us. We will try to give updates as often as possible. Remember to check out our blogsite as well.
Our flight went really well. It was on time on both ends and it was a smooth ride. We were packed into the 747 like sardines and it took us 3 movies for us to figure out how to listen to them in English! We are anxious to get to Hong Kong, our second of four destinations, before we can say we have officially landed.
We met another group of m's from the Seattle area. They are on a trip very similar to ours. It was encouraging to meet other friends that have the same purpose we do.
Please continue to keep us all in your thoughts and pryrs while we are gone. The boys went to their temporary homes Sunday without any hitches and we know they will have a great time where they are.
We would love to receive notes from you while we are here but please remember to not use trigger words in corresponding back to us. We will try to give updates as often as possible. Remember to check out our blogsite as well.
Friday, July 6, 2007
Only 3 Days!
There are only 3 days between now and when we leave and we are excited to leave! The stress level has been high trying to work on the house, put out a newsletter and prepare a family of 5 to go to 4 different places for 2 weeks! But, Lord willing, we will get all the things that need to be done, done. And, we are so thankful for the good people God has placed in our lives to help us during this time!
We will most likely be on the plane or close to it before everyone gets it, but our newsletter will be in the mail today. I can't wait to get on that plane and go and be with Paul. I am looking forward to being able to talk to him about other things other than what needs to be done, hello and goodbye! I am not looking forward to the weather there, but that is a minor thing. I am a little nervous about teaching a class, but again, it is in the Lord's hands as to what comes out of my mouth. The boys are excited about going to their families, which is always a good thing to have. We will pass off Joshua and Matthew after church on Sunday. Paul and Andrew will be in a Youth Mission Trip Training on Sunday from 2 pm until 9 pm and we will head to the airport about 11, 11:30 pm. Our flight leaves at 2:10 am!!
I am hoping to be able to update this while we are gone, but there are some sites, like this one, that are not available (banned) where we are going. If so, we will try to communicate in other ways or give big updates when we return! Thank you for your prayers for our family! We are thankful for each and every one of you!
We will most likely be on the plane or close to it before everyone gets it, but our newsletter will be in the mail today. I can't wait to get on that plane and go and be with Paul. I am looking forward to being able to talk to him about other things other than what needs to be done, hello and goodbye! I am not looking forward to the weather there, but that is a minor thing. I am a little nervous about teaching a class, but again, it is in the Lord's hands as to what comes out of my mouth. The boys are excited about going to their families, which is always a good thing to have. We will pass off Joshua and Matthew after church on Sunday. Paul and Andrew will be in a Youth Mission Trip Training on Sunday from 2 pm until 9 pm and we will head to the airport about 11, 11:30 pm. Our flight leaves at 2:10 am!!
I am hoping to be able to update this while we are gone, but there are some sites, like this one, that are not available (banned) where we are going. If so, we will try to communicate in other ways or give big updates when we return! Thank you for your prayers for our family! We are thankful for each and every one of you!
Monday, May 21, 2007
Vision Trip: On our way...
The tickets are purchased!! We will be departing our nice, cool Seattle area at 2:10am on July 9th. We will then travel for 12 hours to point B and then have a 3 hr 10 min layover. It will take 1 hr 40 to get from point B to point C and will wait another 2 hrs 20 min for the next flight to point D. The flight from point C to point D will only take 1 hr where we will be picked up for the 2 hr car ride to our final destination. Our final arrival time will be approximately 12:20am, July 10th (our time) and will be 5:20pm, July 10th there time. This totals up to 22 hrs of travel time provided everything goes as planned! Yikes!
Now I know many of you have traveled overseas and know what it is like to endure such things but this is all new to us. I will be interesting to see how I manage my air sickness for that long and not be passed out due to the side effects of Dramamine the whole time!! =D We have been given lots of good advice and we will be sure to try every single one of them!
July is the hottest part of the year for the location we will be traveling to. It’s going to be HOT and HUMID there. By that I mean 90+ C and 90% humidity. We might even experience a typhoon while we are there since July is the typhoon season. Ugh...I am a red-headed, freckled, lily white, Pacific Northwest lady! What in the world am I going to do with that kind of weather??? Paul spent his younger years in Cincinnati, so he has some idea of what it can be like so pray we can withstand the weather well and be productive while we are there. Our return is scheduled for the evening of July 20th.
We are extremely thankful for the 3 families our boys will be spending the two weeks with while we are away. We know they will not only enjoy where they are staying but we are hoping they will be a blessing to the families as well.
Prayer Requests:
Now I know many of you have traveled overseas and know what it is like to endure such things but this is all new to us. I will be interesting to see how I manage my air sickness for that long and not be passed out due to the side effects of Dramamine the whole time!! =D We have been given lots of good advice and we will be sure to try every single one of them!
July is the hottest part of the year for the location we will be traveling to. It’s going to be HOT and HUMID there. By that I mean 90+ C and 90% humidity. We might even experience a typhoon while we are there since July is the typhoon season. Ugh...I am a red-headed, freckled, lily white, Pacific Northwest lady! What in the world am I going to do with that kind of weather??? Paul spent his younger years in Cincinnati, so he has some idea of what it can be like so pray we can withstand the weather well and be productive while we are there. Our return is scheduled for the evening of July 20th.
We are extremely thankful for the 3 families our boys will be spending the two weeks with while we are away. We know they will not only enjoy where they are staying but we are hoping they will be a blessing to the families as well.
Prayer Requests:
- Financial - for the Lord to provide for our needs with both the home front costs as well as the costs of the trip. If you would like to financially contribute to this particular trip, please go to online donation link to the left or go to www.mup.org/OnlineGivingMain.htm. Please make a note that it is specifically for our trip in July.
- Preparations - there are many details to tend to when traveling overseas (documents, medical, etc) and settling our kids down with other families. We need to not be fretting over unnecessary things but be diligent to the things that are truly important.
- Travel - pray for safe travel with the ability to rest on the flights so we can arrive with the least amount of effects. Pray for timely flight schedules.
- Trip - Pray for the Lord to prepare the location in which we will be staying. Pray we will get a clear picture of what the Lord wants us to be doing with our time and for us to start the groundwork of beginning new relationships with the hosts and people.
- Kids - we ask for safety so the hosting families don't have to deal with an emergency situation while we are gone. =)
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Perspectives & A Vision Trip
Paul and I are celebrating this week because we have turned in our last piece of class work to complete our Perspectives class. This class work kicked us around quite a bit but it also challenged our thinking in many ways as well. So, 3 hour lectures once a week for 15 weeks with a quiz each week, 5 response papers and an (at least) 6 page Integrative Report paper are done! Yeah!
What are we going to do now that we are done? Well, we aren't going to Disneyland, but, we are making our plans to go overseas for a two week trip. Many have been praying for Paul to be able to get all the time off of work in order for us to take this trip, be home for a few days and then have Paul leave again for the Idaho/Montana Youth Mission trip with our oldest son Andrew for a week. The Lord has answered that prayer and even made it so we really only need to cover 6 days off of work out of the month he is taking off...we are praising God for that. Isn't He awesome??
We are hoping to purchase tickets this weekend for a trip leaving around the 8th of July. It seems like there should be many things to take care of, but honestly, the Lord has been so faithful in putting into place what has needed to be put into place, that we don't worry about any of it. We will keep you up to date on what happens.
Being a parent, your mind begins to think of all the "things" on the list that need to be done before we go and it can be somewhat overwhelming. So, please be in prayer that we continue to be looking to God for direction and not get caught up in the "to do's" forgeting that He is the one in control.
Thank you!
What are we going to do now that we are done? Well, we aren't going to Disneyland, but, we are making our plans to go overseas for a two week trip. Many have been praying for Paul to be able to get all the time off of work in order for us to take this trip, be home for a few days and then have Paul leave again for the Idaho/Montana Youth Mission trip with our oldest son Andrew for a week. The Lord has answered that prayer and even made it so we really only need to cover 6 days off of work out of the month he is taking off...we are praising God for that. Isn't He awesome??
We are hoping to purchase tickets this weekend for a trip leaving around the 8th of July. It seems like there should be many things to take care of, but honestly, the Lord has been so faithful in putting into place what has needed to be put into place, that we don't worry about any of it. We will keep you up to date on what happens.
Being a parent, your mind begins to think of all the "things" on the list that need to be done before we go and it can be somewhat overwhelming. So, please be in prayer that we continue to be looking to God for direction and not get caught up in the "to do's" forgeting that He is the one in control.
Thank you!
Monday, April 23, 2007
Pets have new homes
We are singing praise to our Father in heaven as He proves himself, yet again, to be faithful in all aspects of our lives. Because of our move to an apartment, we had to find homes for 2 of our 4 pets. We rescued our cat, Tyanna, from the pound 11.5 years ago and rescued our dog, Mandi, off the freeway 8 years ago. Needless to say, we have been pretty attached to our pets. They have been a huge part of our family as our boys have grown up. But like I told a young man going through some hard changes, "just because we are doing the right thing, doesn't mean it is easy!".
Yesterday, our cat went to the best home we could ever imagine for her to go. The gal who took her is a very dear, family friend and will provide a great "retirememt home" for our kitty. Today, I will be taking our sweet dog to a couple in West Seattle. They have always had dogs in their home and they have recently lost theirs. Mandi spent the weekend with them last weekend and did very well.
We are sad about saying good-bye to our pets, but we know the Lord is sovereign and has shown us that he cares about everything in our lives, even finding homes for our pets. For this, we are thankful!
Yesterday, our cat went to the best home we could ever imagine for her to go. The gal who took her is a very dear, family friend and will provide a great "retirememt home" for our kitty. Today, I will be taking our sweet dog to a couple in West Seattle. They have always had dogs in their home and they have recently lost theirs. Mandi spent the weekend with them last weekend and did very well.
We are sad about saying good-bye to our pets, but we know the Lord is sovereign and has shown us that he cares about everything in our lives, even finding homes for our pets. For this, we are thankful!
Monday, April 16, 2007
Our new site!
Hello family and friends!!
We are thankful you are here to check out our new website and catch up on all the excitement going on in our lives as we prepare to go overseas.
This first blog is just to inform you a little about the site. You should be able to check in here as often as you wish to see any updates on our progress. Newsletters take a lot of time and by the time I get them in the mail to you, they are already obsolete. That doesn't mean they aren't helpful, especially to those who do not use the internet very much, but things have been changing so much, so fast for us, we thought this would be much better to keep you all updated.
We want you to be aware of the lack of some information on this site. For security reasons, we will not be mentioning our sending organization, our landing organization nor any names of people involved in either one. We even decided to keep out the name of the country, though it is big enough to not be much of a worry, to help keep our site out of certain web search engines. This will also allow us to be free in our speech in regards to our service to the Lord.
Please email us with any questions you have or even if you just want to send us a note. We look forward to hearing from you and hope this will make keeping up on us a little easier.
Blessings!
We are thankful you are here to check out our new website and catch up on all the excitement going on in our lives as we prepare to go overseas.
This first blog is just to inform you a little about the site. You should be able to check in here as often as you wish to see any updates on our progress. Newsletters take a lot of time and by the time I get them in the mail to you, they are already obsolete. That doesn't mean they aren't helpful, especially to those who do not use the internet very much, but things have been changing so much, so fast for us, we thought this would be much better to keep you all updated.
We want you to be aware of the lack of some information on this site. For security reasons, we will not be mentioning our sending organization, our landing organization nor any names of people involved in either one. We even decided to keep out the name of the country, though it is big enough to not be much of a worry, to help keep our site out of certain web search engines. This will also allow us to be free in our speech in regards to our service to the Lord.
Please email us with any questions you have or even if you just want to send us a note. We look forward to hearing from you and hope this will make keeping up on us a little easier.
Blessings!
Friday, April 13, 2007
Big Updates - April 2007
This is rather lengthy, but since it is the first update in a long time, there is much to share. So please, if you have the time to sit and read, do! We so appreciate all of you who hold us up in prayer, give encouragement and support us in so many ways.
I am sure many of you are wondering if we have decided to drop off the face of the earth but we want to assure you that we have not. We are still here in the good ol' US of A, busily trying to settle into everything the Lord is providing us.
Since our last newsletter, there have been many changes that have come our way. Let me just start by saying, "yes, we are still planning on going overseas to do mission work". The Lord has been so faithful the last two years since we started this journey. He has been faithful in growing us closer to Him by stretching us beyond our comfort zones. We know more now then ever before what it means to wait upon the Lord and to trust Him in everything. We felt like we weren't moving and weren't sure what the Lord had in store for us but we continued to trust Him in His plan. Now, as one person put it, we are hanging on for the ride. That may not sound very spiritual but the reality is He opened a door and His will has taken over our lives. Let me try to back up and explain things a little better.
In January, while Paul was listening to a broadcast on Focus on the Family, the Lord took hold of his heart and broke it for a people group in the country we were preparing to serve in. It was for the children who seem to be easily thrown away in this particular country. After much conviction, prayer and guidance, we approached the people heading up the organization with whom the story was about. This door was quickly, but graciously, closed. At first it seemed to be somewhat disappointing. I mean, why would God want us to change our mission focus from what we have been preparing for, to this, if it wasn't in His will? But our Lord is sovereign and we trust His sovereignty.
In February, shortly after this door had been closed, our organization contacted us about wanting us to meet a couple that was in the states for a very short time and thought we really needed to meet them. They had been in their host country (same as the country we are preparing for) for around 12 years and would be a good connection for us. We agreed to meet them even though we had no idea what they were doing and why they were here. After a 3 hour meeting, I, who is not easily excitable, was on the edge of my chair wanting to ask, "how soon can we come?". It seemed, to me, they were affirming everything I had ever thought but not expressed to those around me.
With our previous location we were looking at Paul being gone days at a time leaving the boys and I to figure out our own ministry outreach as well as figure out how to live in a new culture. There was also the thought of the hosting organization "not needing us but would take us in" and we might offer some stability for them since we weren't planning to be "short timers". We were feeling discouraged and felt like we weren't making any progress but continued to trust in God to place us where ever He wanted and when He wanted, according to His will.
This new location would allow our whole family to work together teaching English as well as offer many different ministry opportunities. Exposure to the different ministries will allow us to learn how to use our gifts and seek what God wants us to be doing. We would have easy access to language learning, cultural adaptation and relationship building. This would also give the boys an opportunity to have some cross-cultural training in a somewhat comfortable setting. (Training is something that is not readily available to kids going overseas and is somewhat disheartening.)
Once both sides shared their stories, the meeting ended with the comment, "I don't want to scare you, but we have been praying for a family to come and work with us". What? Us? Immediate goosebumps! And to find out during their sharing, they have only established there "new" ministry in January 2007! More goosebumps!!
Again, if we ever wondered why we were still here in the states waiting upon the Lord, this would be a huge revelation among the many we have been given over our two year journey. We serve an awesome God who plans everything to every little detail. We don't always know what that is, where, when it is, how or why, we just know to step out in faith where He leads.
After much prayer and guidance, we received an invitation and accepted it. Since then, the Lord has taken a stronger hold of our lives and put it on fast forward. At the end of March, we moved out of our house in order to do some construction and then we will put it on the market to sell. In the meantime, we moved into an apartment not too far from where we lived. The move has gone smoothly and everyone seems to like it here. The hardest part, as many of you know, is we had to find homes for two of our four pets since the apartment only allows a maximum of two. We would've had to find them homes eventually anyway and will still need to find homes for our two remaining cats. The Lord was faithful in opening up two good homes and we are thankful for that.
So what's next?
We are still working on some things in the house like cleaning up the yard, getting a few random things out of the garage and then having a big garage sale soon. We are praying that the house construction goes smoothly and that we can put the house on the market and that it will sell quickly.
A vision trip is in the planning stage for the end of June or July. Paul and I plan on going over for 10-14 days to experience the culture, gain perspective on the what, where, when and how's of the work we will be doing there. We are very excited but need prayer for provisions, the Lord's timing and care for our boys while we are gone.
More studies!! We are about finished with our Perspectives class - yeah! If you have ever had an interest in missions; God's purpose, the history and stradegies of, this is a great class. It is hard work for us but we are praying to finish strong and then we will be digging more into our MUP study list to try to finish that. Unfortunately, our lives are busy with work, kids and everything else life has which makes it hard to study in length. So we need to just work at it diligently a little at a time.
In the meantime...
Budget! We are working on getting a new, current budget so that we can let you know exactly where we are financially. The new location will be somewhat cheaper to live so some "needed" numbers will be changing.
Pray for peaceful and joyful hearts as we try to stay up on our daily lives as well as try to accomplish the things needing to be done for the mission field.
For Paul to have some relief from his long days of work. He is currently leaving for work at 3:30am and not getting home until 4-ish pm.
For me to get back on track with schooling the boys. I haven't done a good job of keeping on schedule with all the moving around.
We can't say for a fact, yet, when we are leaving the country into our ministry, but we feel we are still expected to plan and make goals. Right now, our apartment lease is up at the end of September. We feel it is possible to have all our finances together by the end of our lease and then will be available to leave. The last couple of years has been proof that though we make our own plans, we need to be trusting God to put His own plan into play.
The Lord has been providing for us with many praises along the way. We are so thankful for so many things, even the tough times. Sometimes, when we find ourselves in the depths of a trench, it is just where God wants us to be. But He is faithful! If we continue to trust in Him, he will provide straight paths. (Prov. 3:5-6)
I know this has been extremely long, but I hope it catches you up on all the many changes going on in our lives as we move forward to our destination overseas. If you have any questions or want more details, email us and we will do our best to answer your questions. Check in often to get the latest. I will try to keep this as current as possible. Thank you for many prayers. Your loving support has greatly sustained us and we appreciate each and every one of you!
Blessings!
I am sure many of you are wondering if we have decided to drop off the face of the earth but we want to assure you that we have not. We are still here in the good ol' US of A, busily trying to settle into everything the Lord is providing us.
Since our last newsletter, there have been many changes that have come our way. Let me just start by saying, "yes, we are still planning on going overseas to do mission work". The Lord has been so faithful the last two years since we started this journey. He has been faithful in growing us closer to Him by stretching us beyond our comfort zones. We know more now then ever before what it means to wait upon the Lord and to trust Him in everything. We felt like we weren't moving and weren't sure what the Lord had in store for us but we continued to trust Him in His plan. Now, as one person put it, we are hanging on for the ride. That may not sound very spiritual but the reality is He opened a door and His will has taken over our lives. Let me try to back up and explain things a little better.
In January, while Paul was listening to a broadcast on Focus on the Family, the Lord took hold of his heart and broke it for a people group in the country we were preparing to serve in. It was for the children who seem to be easily thrown away in this particular country. After much conviction, prayer and guidance, we approached the people heading up the organization with whom the story was about. This door was quickly, but graciously, closed. At first it seemed to be somewhat disappointing. I mean, why would God want us to change our mission focus from what we have been preparing for, to this, if it wasn't in His will? But our Lord is sovereign and we trust His sovereignty.
In February, shortly after this door had been closed, our organization contacted us about wanting us to meet a couple that was in the states for a very short time and thought we really needed to meet them. They had been in their host country (same as the country we are preparing for) for around 12 years and would be a good connection for us. We agreed to meet them even though we had no idea what they were doing and why they were here. After a 3 hour meeting, I, who is not easily excitable, was on the edge of my chair wanting to ask, "how soon can we come?". It seemed, to me, they were affirming everything I had ever thought but not expressed to those around me.
With our previous location we were looking at Paul being gone days at a time leaving the boys and I to figure out our own ministry outreach as well as figure out how to live in a new culture. There was also the thought of the hosting organization "not needing us but would take us in" and we might offer some stability for them since we weren't planning to be "short timers". We were feeling discouraged and felt like we weren't making any progress but continued to trust in God to place us where ever He wanted and when He wanted, according to His will.
This new location would allow our whole family to work together teaching English as well as offer many different ministry opportunities. Exposure to the different ministries will allow us to learn how to use our gifts and seek what God wants us to be doing. We would have easy access to language learning, cultural adaptation and relationship building. This would also give the boys an opportunity to have some cross-cultural training in a somewhat comfortable setting. (Training is something that is not readily available to kids going overseas and is somewhat disheartening.)
Once both sides shared their stories, the meeting ended with the comment, "I don't want to scare you, but we have been praying for a family to come and work with us". What? Us? Immediate goosebumps! And to find out during their sharing, they have only established there "new" ministry in January 2007! More goosebumps!!
Again, if we ever wondered why we were still here in the states waiting upon the Lord, this would be a huge revelation among the many we have been given over our two year journey. We serve an awesome God who plans everything to every little detail. We don't always know what that is, where, when it is, how or why, we just know to step out in faith where He leads.
After much prayer and guidance, we received an invitation and accepted it. Since then, the Lord has taken a stronger hold of our lives and put it on fast forward. At the end of March, we moved out of our house in order to do some construction and then we will put it on the market to sell. In the meantime, we moved into an apartment not too far from where we lived. The move has gone smoothly and everyone seems to like it here. The hardest part, as many of you know, is we had to find homes for two of our four pets since the apartment only allows a maximum of two. We would've had to find them homes eventually anyway and will still need to find homes for our two remaining cats. The Lord was faithful in opening up two good homes and we are thankful for that.
So what's next?
We are still working on some things in the house like cleaning up the yard, getting a few random things out of the garage and then having a big garage sale soon. We are praying that the house construction goes smoothly and that we can put the house on the market and that it will sell quickly.
A vision trip is in the planning stage for the end of June or July. Paul and I plan on going over for 10-14 days to experience the culture, gain perspective on the what, where, when and how's of the work we will be doing there. We are very excited but need prayer for provisions, the Lord's timing and care for our boys while we are gone.
More studies!! We are about finished with our Perspectives class - yeah! If you have ever had an interest in missions; God's purpose, the history and stradegies of, this is a great class. It is hard work for us but we are praying to finish strong and then we will be digging more into our MUP study list to try to finish that. Unfortunately, our lives are busy with work, kids and everything else life has which makes it hard to study in length. So we need to just work at it diligently a little at a time.
In the meantime...
Budget! We are working on getting a new, current budget so that we can let you know exactly where we are financially. The new location will be somewhat cheaper to live so some "needed" numbers will be changing.
Pray for peaceful and joyful hearts as we try to stay up on our daily lives as well as try to accomplish the things needing to be done for the mission field.
For Paul to have some relief from his long days of work. He is currently leaving for work at 3:30am and not getting home until 4-ish pm.
For me to get back on track with schooling the boys. I haven't done a good job of keeping on schedule with all the moving around.
We can't say for a fact, yet, when we are leaving the country into our ministry, but we feel we are still expected to plan and make goals. Right now, our apartment lease is up at the end of September. We feel it is possible to have all our finances together by the end of our lease and then will be available to leave. The last couple of years has been proof that though we make our own plans, we need to be trusting God to put His own plan into play.
The Lord has been providing for us with many praises along the way. We are so thankful for so many things, even the tough times. Sometimes, when we find ourselves in the depths of a trench, it is just where God wants us to be. But He is faithful! If we continue to trust in Him, he will provide straight paths. (Prov. 3:5-6)
I know this has been extremely long, but I hope it catches you up on all the many changes going on in our lives as we move forward to our destination overseas. If you have any questions or want more details, email us and we will do our best to answer your questions. Check in often to get the latest. I will try to keep this as current as possible. Thank you for many prayers. Your loving support has greatly sustained us and we appreciate each and every one of you!
Blessings!
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