Showers of Blessings: A Sigh of Relief

It seems like the Lord is bringing things together in His perfect timing.  We've experienced the "Calm After the Storm", and now we're receiving the "Showers of Blessing" which allow us to breath "A Sigh of Relief".  

Please let me take a moment to list off these blessing one by one.  There are only a few, but they are HUGE 

 requests that have been heavy on our hearts.

1.  WE HAVE RENTERS!!  We have a family of NINE who has recently moved into our house. 

2.  Our insurance company covered the cost of replacing our roof!  It should be finished soon. 

3.  What we had anticipated to be a $3,500 repair on our truck turned out to be $15.00 cap that needed replaced!!  Praise the Lord!

4.  WE HAVE CHOSEN A MISSION BOARD!  

After much prayer, research, discussions, exhausting traveling, prayer, prayer, and prayer we believe God desires us to join the mission family at IBM Global.  We will hopefully be finishing up our applications soon so we can continue raising the necessary support to get us to the field.  

And as a result of choosing a mission board...

5.  We are able to set a departure date based on our current support raised and projected support increases.

We can not thank you enough for all your prayers and encouragement as we have weathered the storm and are now enjoying these showers of blessings.  Our biggest prayer was that God would reveal Himself to us more fully through this time and that He would be glorified in our lives.  We certainly know and trust Him better!  We have confidence in His perfect timing and trust Him to lead us in the way we should go.  

At the beginning when EBM first closed our prayer was Psalm 143:7,8

"Answer me quickly, O Lord!

My spirit fails!

Hide not your face from me...

... Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,

for in you I trust. 

Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul."

God has answered abundantly.  We feel like we can take a huge "Sigh of Relief", and we are excited to see what He has next in our future.  We are confident that whether it is a shower of blessing or a storm of circumstances He will help us through, teach us, guide us, and glorify Himself through it.

And we can't close without wishing you all a very

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Enjoy this season of blessings and joy celebrating our wonderful Savior's birth.

An Opportunity for Owen

Dear friends,
We can not thank you enough for all your faithful prayers for our family.  God has worked through you in our lives in tremendous ways.  I'm now desperately asking for prayers for some dear family friends.

I'll let you read most of the story on their website, but I'll summarize for you a bit.

Tim and Elaine Dulaney are dear friends of ours.  They attend out church and work in the youth group with us.  They are a wonderful family, and we're so thankful for them.  They have three boys.  The oldest is Benjamin.  When Ben was around 3 years old they found out that he has a degenerative, fatal genetic disorder called Sanfillipo Syndrome, or MPS IIIA.  It has been difficult to see the disorder's effects on Benjamin as he grows, but we all love him dearly and are so thankful for God putting him in our lives.  Their second son is Noah.  He is the same age as Jorja and was blessed to not have the disorder himself.  He is the typical four year old boy.  And now comes Owen.

Owen is 4 months old and through an amnio during pregnancy Elaine found out Owen also has Sanfillipo.  The specialist they were seeing offered them the hope of a stem cell treatment to delay the onset of the symptoms of the disorder and give them more time with him before the disorder took over, but there was no proof that it would work, and would possibly kill him.  At the time the decided against it.  Recently the specialist brought up a similar treatment that is still experimental, but a much better option.  After much prayer Tim and Elaine decided to allow Owen to undergo this procedure.  The procedure will take about six months to complete.  The details of what the procedure requires are on their website, but in short, it will take 8 days of chemotherapy, a bone marrow transplant, and isolation as they evaluate how his body is receiving the transplant and he recovers.

Please pray for Owen, Tim and Elaine, and their family as they help with Ben and Noah.  Please go to their blog to read all that is happening.  Owen started chemo yesterday, December 11.

This family could desperately use your prayers, and if you feel led, your finances to help pay for this procedure and all the additional costs incurred through it.  Check their blog for updates and information on how to help them financially.

Thank you so much!  I trust you will pray diligently for this sweet sweet baby and his family.  I can't wait to see how God works mightily through this entire situation.

Please visit their blog and let them know you're praying for them.

just click on An Opportunity for Owen

if that doesn't work go to:

www.anoportunity4owen.moonfruit.com

The Calm After the Storm

Things have sure seemed stormy.  In life and in the weather!  For the past couple of months it doesn't seem to stop raining here in West Virginia!!  We're starting to wonder if God is preparing us for rainy season in Zambia.  We're definitely taking our rain boots with us when we go.  That's for sure.  We're growing a bit weary of the wet and muck, but showers of blessing are also pouring on our lives after the storms of discouragement we've been going through.

It seemed like when our mission board went under at the beginning of September everything else in life decided to fall apart too.  For a while we were confused about the present, and uncertain about the future.  Everything seemed to be going wrong and we were helpless to fix any of it.  I kept thinking that when things seem the most impossible is when God likes to prove Himself by doing something truly amazing.  And the more I thought that the more impossible things seemed to become.  God is proving Himself over and over, and our storms of discouragement have turned into showers of blessing.

As situations would come up we would call the kids together with us and pray for one specific thing at a time.  The kids prayed for the situation and Jamie and I prayed that God would make  Himself real to our kids through the circumstances.  One day we came together as a family to pray for God to rebuild the funds that we lost when EBM went under, and that God would continue to increase our support level.  While we were praying Jamie's phone rang, but we ignored it.  After we were finished praying Jamie checked his voicemail.  It was the pastor of one of the churches in our area.  The church had voted to give us their annual faith giving offering to help us rebuild the funds we had lost, and they had also voted to start our support in November for 5% of our total support instead of in January like originally planned.  What fun it was to call the kids back together and get to show them how in the very moment that they prayed for our needs God was providing.  Thank you so very much, Tri-City Baptist Church.  You are an answer to prayer in so many ways!

We have narrowed down our mission board search and will be deciding by the first week of December.  We're pretty sure we know where God wants us we're just waiting to speak to our team members, the Chambers, in Zambia to get input from them before we make a final decision.

The roof of our house started leaking this "rainy season".  We had it appraised to see how much it would cost to replace it.  Wow!!!  Expensive!!!  But the appraiser said that it was hail and wind damage and to submit it to our insurance company to see if they would cover it.  We got some estimates, submitted it to our insurance company and, praise God, they're going to cover it!!  What a blessing!

As of Saturday, November 19, our house is officially on the market to rent.  Please pray that God provides a renter for our house very soon.  We almost have it empty...  we just have to find the time to finish before someone comes to look at it.

As I type we are having the truck looked at to see what caused our radiator to blow.  Please pray that it's not too horribly expensive, and a relatively easy fix.  If it's what we think it is, it'll be a big fix with a big price tag.  But God is providing, and we're confident He'll provide for this too.

So, as the storms of discouragement end and the showers of blessings fall a bit more freely we have our rain coats and boots on and we're stomping in the puddles enjoying every last drop.  May you feel the showers of blessing as you celebrate this Thanksgiving season and share them with friends and family.  Thank you for rejoicing with us in ours, and your continued prayers and support.

A Plea for Prayer

We see over and over in scripture the power of prayer.  God even says that the effectual, fervent prayers of a righteous man accomplish much.  We're looking for as many righteous men (and women) as we can find.   It seems that ever since EBM closed we've been feeling a little bit like Job.

Everything in life seems to be going wrong right now.  We're still prayerfully researching mission boards, we found out we can't sell our house without taking a loss so we're going to have to rent it, the roof on the house started leaking like a sinking ship, Warrick started with croup early this year and the other two kids are sick,  Jamie is having trouble with his school schedule, and the list could go on and on.  Needless to say, we're exhausted.

Speaking of the mission board situation.  Our trip visiting mission boards was wonderful.  It answered a lot of questions and we feel we got a really good idea of who these boards are.  Now we just have to figure out which one God has for us.  It was quick, and exhausting (our 13 hour drive to New Hampshire turned into 16 thanks to traffic), but we had a wonderful time together without the kids.  The kids had a great time with family in Cincinnati.  Please continue to pray for our wisdom and discernment in this big decision.

Okay, back to the prayer topic.  We've been calling the family together to have consentrated prayer together.  Last week we sat down in our "living room" and had the kids pray for our support to continue to come in and for our start up costs for the field.  While we were praying Jamie's phone rang, but of course we ignored it.  When we were finished praying he checked his messages.  There is a church in the Parkersburg area who has a faith giving offering once a year.  This year their church decided to give it to our family to rebuild the start up costs we had saved for.  What a blessing!!  The church had also voted to start supporting us on a monthly basis in January, but they felt that giving such a large offering to a missionary they didn't support didn't make much sence.  So they voted to start supporting us in November for 5% of our support level!  Jamie and I have been praying that God would show to our kids, and remind us of, the power of prayer.  While we were praying He was answering!!  It was so exciting to be able to gather the kids just a few minutes after they prayed and tell them how God was answering while they were expressing their needs to Him.  What a faithful God we serve!!

We have amped up the prayer time we spend as a family, and we see and know that God is working.  We are asking for you to please do the same.  Would you be willing to spend just five minutes a day praying for our family.  We need rest, energy, renewal, wisdom, discernment, good health, and just for things to start working out.  We have absolutely no doubts that our God is faithful and powerful and soverign and good.  We trust Him completely to work out His will in our lives.  We just need for Him to show us the next step so we can continue to follow Him on this journey.  Please pray with us as we wait patiently on the Lord.

The Great Search Has Begun

Who knew there were so many mission boards??!!  Just when we think we have it narrowed down someone has a suggestion for a new one to check out.  Thank you so much for all your encouragement and support!

Our tentative plan for the next few months is for our sending church, Bethel Baptist Church in Parkersburg, West Virginia, will be receiving our support.  They've re-activated an account they opened for us last year when we took our survey trip to Zambia.  (Has it already been that long?!)  Please make out your check to Bethel Baptist and put Jamie and Mandy Missions in the note.  Our church has been so willing to help in whatever ways they are able to.  We've been so blessed by Bethel Baptist!

Last Wednesday, September 14, Jamie and I were able to talk with our team mates in Zambia. We had a wonderful time reconnecting and encouraging each other.  Another couple planning to join our team is in Zambia right now on a survey trip.  Please pray for Mac and Leeza McCuley as they discern God's plans for them.  Mac and Leeza had just started the application process with EBM when everything happened.  Now they have to start over with another board.  Pray that our team would have wisdom in which board(s) to go with and which direction God is taking our ministry. 

A huge praise from our conversation with the Chambers is that in Nambaaza a monogamous couple just received Christ.  They have ten children!! but so far have remained pure in their marriage.  Please pray that God would give them strength to follow His plan for marriage and they would grow in their faith and understanding of God and His word.  

Jamie and I are going on a trip!!!  Without the kids!!!  No, it's not a vacation, but a trip to visit the home offices of some of the mission boards we're looking into.  We'll be traveling to Nashua, New Hampshire on October 3 then on to Pennsylvania October 5-8.  We'll be able to interview with three different boards and have a better understanding of how they work and how our family would fit within their ministry paradigm. 

Please pray that we would have wisdom and discernment.  Please pray that God would be glorified through this trip.  Please pray for Mandy's parents as they have our kids for the week!  Please pray that questions would be answered and direction would be given.  We're excited to learn about these boards and how God is using them around the world.  

Back to the Begining

We want to thank everyone for your faithful prayers and encouragement even though we couldn't completely explain what you were praying for.  We are finally at liberty to share with you all that has been going on in our lives.  And as we share I'm sure you'll agree more prayers are desperately needed.

For those of you who receive or prayer letters you found out in this last letter that we were near 70% of our needed support and had prayerfully set our departure date for March 31, 2012.  Little did we know how our plans were about to change.  The book of Proverbs says that in a heart a man plans his course, but the Lord directs His steps.  I don't believe we've ever experienced, or depended on this more than this last week.

So, we sent out our prayer letter on Aug 16th excited about the future in Zambia that we could almost taste!  Two days later we received information that our mission board was in a huge financial crisis and that problems were on the way.  Like all non-profit organizations EBM has had fiancial stress in the receint economy, and we were aware of that, but not the extent of the situation.  This was no temporary crisis.  We prayed about the information we had been given and worked out a game plan with our sending church pastor based on that information.  That Friday we received an email from our board stating that some difficult decisions had been made, some information leaked, and asking that we would be patient until they could form a report to send to us before Sept 1.  We received that email this past Wednesday, August 24.  In the letter they explained that because of financial difficulties our board (Evangelical Baptist Missions) would be dissolving and officially closing their doors on Sept 2.  They have worked things out with four different mission agencies who would be willing to absorb us into their agency, or we could  have all our finances routed through our sending church if none of the willing agencies would work for us.  But we had to decide by Sept 2.  WOAH!!!!  Hold on a second!!!  This isn't part of the plan!!

Needless to say we felt kind of sucker punched, not by EBM, but by the circumstances.  All the wind of the week before knocked right out of us.  Aren't you thankful that God is NEVER taken by surprise?  We sure are.  And we praise Him for that.

We have much to pray over and consider in the coming months ahead.  We have decided, with the cooperation of our sending church, to have all our finances routed through our church (Bethel Baptist Church in Parkersburg, West Virginia) until we are able to find what mission board God would have us to be with.  We believe it is a decision that can't be made in a week, so we are going to take the next few months to pray over, visit, meet with, and research some different mission boards.  Please be in prayer with us as we seek God's direction in this huge decision.

As far as our funds already at EBM... that is up to the lawyers to decide as EBM needs to comply with all IRS regulations.  EBM will do it's absolute best to make sure we receive back as much of our finances as they are able to, but ultimately it is all in our Father's hands.  He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and I'm pretty sure there's more than one cow on each hill.  All the universe is His and in His control.

So, our adventure has another curve in the road!  It seems that God always waits for the impossible to prove Himself in hugely miraculous ways.  The shock of this situation has worn off for us, now the numbness has set in.  We have absolutely no idea what the future holds for us.  We are going to continue to follow the path God has laid out for us for now, because we believe He still has a plan for us in global missions.  And as we wait, research, seek His face, and humble ourselves before Him we are excited to see what big thing He is going to do through this situation.  When we are weak, He is strong.  He does the impossible through the impossible to prove Who He is.

If you have any questions please feel free to email or call us.  We will answer to the best of our ability, but much is still unknown to us.  We are waiting for a more detailed report from the board.  We can praise the Lord that based on very good information there were no sin issues or improprieties that caused this problem, just overwhelming circumstances and the will of God.  Please pray for all the other missionaries and home staff of EBM as they look for other boards and discern what God's next step is for them too.  The extent and timing of this situation was a shock to even the home office staff (many of which have been laid off), but so far God has poured out His grace and there has been mutual encouragement and support within the board.  Our God is truly magnificent!

A Lot Can Happen

We so appreciate all of your love, encouragement and support for our family as we have endeavored to faithfully follow God's leading in our life.  We have had a very busy summer and a lot has happened over that time.

A lot can happen in a long time and A LOT can happen in a very short time.  But regardless of how it sends our heads spinning we have a God who is in control with a perfect purpose and a perfect plan.  On Him we can rely, and we do!

We have recently received news that requires a TON of prayer, searching the scriptures, godly council and wisdom.  We ask you to please pray for us as we desire follow no less than God's absolute will in these monumental decisions that need to be made.  As we are able and have more understanding of the situation at hand we will update you all with the details, but at this time we are unable to do more than desperately ask for your prayers and patience.

We have an amazing God who call us to follow Him on this adventurous journey called life.  We are excited to follow Him wherever He leads us and to experience all He has for us along the way.  We've encountered a new phase of this journey and we can't wait to see what God has in store for us.

Thank you again for all the support you have shown our family.  We couldn't have gotten this far in the adventure with out all of you.  We love you and pray for you regularly.  We appreciate you more than

we can express.

Catching Up

So sorry for the delay.  Life has been more busy than usual.

Kid's first day of class at CIT

The first week of June we started our classes at the Center for Intercultural Training.  Both Jamie and I and the kids were in class for seven hours a day learning about ourselves, our mission field, and how to communicate and minister the gospel cross-culturally.  God really opened our eyes to see ourselves for who we are and Him for Who He is.  He taught us a lot about the diverse cultures He created and how we catch a broader glimpse of His character and personality through them.  We learned a lot of do's and dont's and now have a lot to think about and consider.  We still have much to learn!  We are praying for the opportunity to return to CIT in October to attend their Dynamic Teams classes.


We're thankful for the relationships we were able to build with other missionaries from around the world.  We learned so much from them and cherish the five weeks we had to become a part of each other's families and share what God is doing in our lives.  God changed us through our relationships with you.

Our future "home sweet home"

God provided the truck and trailer for us to live in once the house sells.  What a blessing.  The paper work has been a bear, but He's working it all out.

The day we finished with CIT Jamie headed up to West Virginia with the truck and trailer.  He had to pick up the teens from our church and take them to camp in Florida.  My sister came up to N.C. to pick me and the kids up and take us to her house in Jacksonville, Fla.  Then she drove the kids and me to the camp to meet Jamie and the teens and spend a few special days with us there at camp.

The living room of our villa at camp

Camp was crazy.  There were goof ups with the housing so instead of staying in a tiny camper we were able to stay in a villa for the same price.  Score!  The schedules were not synchronized so we were always missing the teens and late picking up the kids.  It was a mess.  But through it all one of the teens accepted Jesus Christ as her personal Savior.  The rest of the kids grew spiritually and made life changing decisions.  Please pray for all of them that they would continue to grow and live out the decisions they made at camp.

Lorelei's new big girl bike!

Now we are finally home again after six weeks of travels.  A lot has changed in the last six weeks.  We have a new perspective on missions and ministry.  We've grown greatly in our view of God.  We have a new vehicle and a new future "home".  Lorelei learned how to ride her bike without training wheels, swim on top of and under the water.  Jorja and Warrick learned how to go under water and like it.  God provided a second form of transportation.  We've gained life changing relationships.  The list could go on and on, but those are the biggies.

Please continue to pray that our house sells.  We've had many people interested in either land contracts or renting, but not many wanting to buy.  Pray that God would bring the prefect man in to fill Jamie's position at Bethel.  The church is now starting the procedures of a search.  Please pray that I will be able to keep this house clean and "showable" with three small children living inside.  Pray also that Jamie would be able to continue to get his school work done on time and keep his GPA up.

We so appreciate all the love, support, and prayers offered on our behalf.  We don't take any of it for granted.

African Food and Jars of Prayer

Things have been going so smoothly around here.  We were unable to schedule any churches to present our ministry in for the month of May, so it's been nice to have some time at home.  We've been working hard painting, and fixing, and getting everything ready to put our house on the market.  We're almost ready!  We listed it Tuesday, May12.  Please pray that it sells quickly.

nshima and ndiwo

It's been a while since we ate Zambian food, so the other night we had Zambian night.  I (successfully, one again) cooked nshima and ndiwo!!  It was really good!  Lorelei is a pro at eating nshima and likes it.  Warrick enjoyed playing with it, although he still refuses to eat it.  And Jorja has proclaimed that nshima is African food and she will only eat it in Africa.

Lorelei demonstrating her love for nshima

Warrick playing with nshima

For a while I've wanted to expand our prayer time at family devotions.  I saw this idea for journal prompts and thought it would be fun for prayer requests.  Each child got to write out four prayer requests on paper to put in the jar.  I wrote out the names of family and friends to add to it too.  Every night each child gets to choose two prayer requests from the jar to pray for.  It's been a lot of fun so far.  

our prayer jar

Please pray that our house sells before we head to CIT.  Also, please pray that God would provide a camper and truck for us to live in when we need it.  Jamie is finishing up a class for his master's degree right now, but he will have to stay diligent if he is going to finish before we leave for Zambia.  Pray that he is able to take the classes he needs when he's able to take them.  

Thanks so much for all your prayers and support.  We wouldn't be able to be obedient to what God has called us to if it weren't for your prayers and support.  You are a huge blessing to us.

Caught in a Whirlwind

Wow!!!
Have things ever been crazy around here.  I can't believe it's been so long since I updated everything.  So sorry!  Lets see...

Probably five weeks ago now we went to Florida to present our ministry in a couple of different churches.  While we were there we were able to visit with my sister and her husband and some of my extended family we haven't seen in years.  It was such a blessing!  We were able to stop by the beach a couple of days.  It was cold, but the kids enjoyed playing in the sun and running in the surf.   


While we were stuck in traffic a sky writer was leaving messages in the sky.  It was fun to get to watch what he wrote.  Everyone was trying to guess.  He wrote, "Trust Jesus.  Love God."  When Lorelei saw what he wrote she responded with, "I bet the Muslims are going to be terrified when they read that!"  We had a good laugh over her creative mind. 


Three weeks ago Jorja fell (off the potty) and broke her elbow.  We took her to the emergency room in Parkersburg, but they didn't have a surgeon so they transported ($$$$$) her to Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.  She had two pins inserted into the corrected bone.  We are on week three of the cast, and she is doing wonderful with it.  Hopefully only one week longer and they will take the cast off, the pins out, and send her home in a sling.  Then the job will be to get her used to using that arm again.  Please pray that she continues to heal quickly and that she regains full strength and mobility in her right arm.  Thank goodness she's a lefty!!

The Sunday after Jorja broke her arm we were resting between church services when we heard a great bang that shook the whole house.  We ran upstairs to find Warrick's dresser knocked over.  He was crying and we were concerned that he had hurt himself and we were going to be taking another trip to the emergency room.  Thankfully Warrick was uninjured (although I'm pretty sure there was a squished guardian angel under there).  It sure gave us a scare, though.  He was pretty proud to pose with his accomplishment when we took the picture of it.

The next day Jorja celebrated her fourth birthday.  It was a Tinker Bell party and we had a great time.  Mandy's parent's came out to celebrate and then took Lorelei and Warrick with them for the week so that we could start getting our house ready to sell.  


We used the next week to unclutter and deep clean the house.  Goodwill has been well supplied.  Now we're painting and repairing the interior of the house.  Our church had a work evening and we had six wonderful friends come out to help.  They painted, cleaned carpets, scrubbed, took out a poison oak covered bush (pray Sam doesn't get poison oak now), fixed plumbing, and watched the kids so that Jamie and I could work.  We got so much accomplished!!  What a blessing.  Later on one of a couple of the guys came back to start scraping the garage so we can get it painted.  They have another work day scheduled for the Saturday before Easter.  Please pray for good weather so we can get the needed landscaping and painting done outside.


The next week we left for Kansas City, MO.  On our way we stopped to interview with a church mission staff in Indiana, and spent the night with Jamie's sister and her family.  The last time we were with her family Lorelei and Jamie got a stomach virus and were very sick.  This time it was Jorja's time with the stomach virus and we were up all night with her.  Lorelei got to experience a first for her.  When she was two she knocked out her top five front teeth.  since then she has been wearing an appliance with false teeth.  She's always wanted to eat corn on the cob, but couldn't because of her appliance.  Her adult teeth are coming in and the appliance has been taken out.  She greatly enjoyed her corn on the cob as much as she can with three teeth in front.  
Then she willingly helped Jorja enjoy her corn on the cob since she has her cast and can't hold her own.  It was so cute and sweet!


We continued on our journey and now we are in Kansas City.  It is warm and beautiful and we are enjoying our time ministering to and being ministered to by the wonderful church here.  Please pray for our safety as we travel back Monday and Tuesday and for these churches as they pray about partnering with us in our ministry.

It seems like things have been happening so fast we can't keep up!  I suppose I would rather have it this way than to lead a boring life.   Life is always an adventure when we're obediently following God's direction.  So, in the next couple of months hopefully the house and van will sell and we'll have a new (used) truck and camper to live in.  There is even more going on that I'm not free to mention just yet, but if all goes accordingly life will be more busy, but more blessed!  Someone recently warned me that we shouldn't be pushing God to work on our timing.  All I have to say is that we're not pushing anything.  We're having trouble keeping up with all God's doing in our lives.  Thank you so  much for all the prayers and encouragement.  You have all been such a blessing to us.  We love you dearly and are extremely grateful to you.

Just Butter 'em up!

Life has been crazy, but so so good!

A couple of weeks ago we were at a mission conference in Cincinnati at our home church.  We had so much fun being reunited with old friends and spending time with family.  The church was wonderfully encouraging and generous.  The speaker was refreshing.  What a blessing!!


When we got home we jumped right back into the swing of things here at home.  Finally we had time to try making our butter.  My goal was to make it without using electrical appliances...  but...  easier said than done.  I finally decided that it was better to make it right and not waste the cream than it was to keep shaking the bag of cream FOREVER!!!  So, we resorted to the blender.

The process is so much fun once I figured it out.  And it taste like butter!!  Imagine that!  Quite honestly, the best butter I've ever eaten!  And Jamie agrees whole heartedly!


Since then friends have tipped me off to some Pampered Chef and Tupperware items that will make the peanut butter and butter possible without making ourselves crazy!!  I'm starting my Bush Kitchen Shopping List.  The Amish have a lot to contribute to my kitchen too.  A dear friend even offered me her mothers old hand crank food grinder.  It's beautiful how the Lord provides.

A little while back a friend asked me if I would guest write for her blog.  She told me I could write about whatever I wanted to.  God has been teaching me so much lately!  I love learning and growing.  So I just wrote a bit of what God has been revealing to me.  Feel free to check out her blog and what God's been showing me at www.gracebyfaith28.blogspot.com.

A wonderful friend surprised the girls by taking them to see Disney Princesses On Ice, and while they were in princess wonderland Jamie, Warrick and I went to check out campers.  We were pleasantly surprised by all the options, had lots of questions answered, and now know what we will be looking for when the time comes.  We also compiled our "To Do List" for getting the house ready for sale.  Whew!!!  What a list.  Three small kids can be pretty hard on a house.

Following God is never boring and always an adventure.  Our journey has just begun, but we know God has every step planned for us.

Little House

So... How many of you are Little House on the Prairie fans?  I am.  I remember as a kid loving watching the show and wishing I could experience life like they did.  Raise our own crops and livestock, getting water from the well, having one of those cool wood ovens in my HOT kitchen...  A romantic vision of primitive living.  Actually, I still wish I could experience life like the Engals did.

For those of you who haven't heard much about the ministry that God is calling us to in Zambia, we will be living like the Engals - Africa style!!  Our family was in Zambia for the month of May, 2010 and we got a foretaste of what life is going to be like.  So, with that little taste of the future we are trying to prepare our kids (and ourselves) as much as possible.  I've been researching how to make the basics from scratch; butter, sour cream, cheese, peanut butter...

This week our project was the home made peanut butter.

The kids helped me shell the peanuts.  Warrick ate more than he contributed.  The girls did an awesome job shelling.  They didn't forget the skills they learned on our short trip to the bush.  They helped me separate the shells from the peanuts (that's how they do it in Zambia... too much to explain), and Warrick figured out it is fun to flick the shells all over the kitchen.  And then we blended the peanuts up.  What we ended up with is the best peanut butter we've ever eaten!!  Sweet Success on the first try.  The kids are really excited to be making our own peanut butter now.  Unless we have a hand grinder or something like that it'll certainly be difficult to make it in Zambia.  No wonder Zambian's don't eat peanut butter.  They grow fields and fields of peanuts, but it's too much work to grind it by hand into peanut butter.

Tomorrow's adventure will be making butter.  I'll have to let you know how it goes.

As we continue on this adventure of preparing for life in the bush we'll keep try to keep everyone updated on what's going on.

Please pray for us this next week while we are at a mission conference in Cincinnati.  We're looking forward to connecting with old friends and sharing with them all God's been doing in our life and ministry.  May He be glorified and lifted up.

Happy Valentine's Day: Celebrating God's Love for Us

We can not thank you enough for all the prayers lifted to our Father for this amazing ministry He's called us to.  We are certainly seeing Him working in wonderful ways!  Seeing Him at work in my life reinforces His love to me.  He takes the time to be involved in and also plan a purpose for my seemingly insignificant life.  His love is always amazing to me!  And here's one reason why...

As of our last calculation we are at...


Are you ready!?...


51%


of our total needed support!!!!!

That's after only eight months of pre-field ministry!  What a blessing and confirmation to us that we are in God's will doing things His way.  We are so blessed and so thankful and so loved!



Throughout our adventures there have also been many sacrifices.  One of those has been the consistent relationships in our home church.  Lorelei has been feeling the disconnectedness more than the rest of us.  I was really burdened for her, so I started praying that God would help give me opportunities for Lorelei to have more social interaction with the friends she has and also opportunities for her to make new friends.  I'm so thankful that God loves us enough to listen and answers us when we pray!


On Thursday Lorelei had her first practice with Victory Twirling here in Parkersburg.  Victory Twirling is a ministry of one of the churchs in the area and a dear friend of mine has her girls involved in it.  They learn to twirl (a baton), have a little bible time, and Lorelei LOVED it!!!  It was so much fun to see her enjoying herself and making new friends.  I really think this is going to be good for her.  It was difficult to find an activity that had social interaction, wasn't on weekends, and wasn't stringent on manditory practices.  God lined Victory Twirling up just for us, I think!  Just because He loves us.


Then, on Saturday we had a Valentine's cookie decorating party for her Sunday school friends.  We had five girls total, counting Lorelei and Jorja, and they had so much fun... and sugar!  The girls got to decorate the cookies, eat the cookies, make candies, play, play, play, eat cake, and just for good measure I sent them home with some fun dip!  Sugar! Sugar! Sugar!  What a blessing it was that the girl's mothers made the time to bring their daughters, and that the girls had fun.  It was a wonderful answer to prayer and it made Lorelei feel the love of her friends.


Never underestimate the power of God's love for us.  Since the begining of time He had the perfect plan to redeem us back to Himself and into a perfect love relationship.  I'm so thankful that His love is completely unconditional.  It is not based on my behavior or emotions, and it's not based on God's emotions either.  He chooses to love me.  I do not deserve it, but I'm thankful for it. I rest in it.  I trust in it.  I depend on it.  God's love makes me who I am.  God's love gives me confidence and hope for the future.  God's love planned my salvation.  And it is God's desire that I be a living example of His love to everyone He brings into my life.  As God loves me He uses me to love others with His perfect love.  Let's turn our world upside down for Christ as we love our world to Him.


1 Corinthians 13:1-8a


¹ If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
 ⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
 ⁸ Love never fails.

Speaking in Tongues

This last Sunday Lorelei and Jorja were in Sunday School together at a church we were visiting.  The teacher asked Lorelei if she knew any words in Chitonga...

Now, Lorelei is my oldest child, and her personality is evidence of her placement.  She is, of all my children, a very by the book kind of girl.  Life is black and white.  Things are to be done properly.  (I'm so thankful.  Every family needs at least one.)

...So, Lorelei took a moment to think then told her teacher what words she could remember at the time.  The teacher seemed impressed at what Lorelei could say, so Jorja decided that she would take a turn...

Jorja is my middle child.  A typical middle child who lives in a world of her own.  A kaleidoscope of technicolor, neon laser lights.  Proper is... subjective, and the book is yet to be written.  (A load of fun, but, whew!)

Jorja proceeded to expound quite fluently in gibberish.  The teacher was very impressed that Jorja could become so fluent in one short trip!  Jorja sat there smug and quite proud of herself, until Lorelei just couldn't handle it and had to tell the teacher that Jorja was making it all up.  


How often do we try to fake it in ministry?  Jorja can no more speak Chitonga apart from the Spirit imparting a miraculous gift than we can accomplish the tasks God has set before us apart from him doing them through us.  May we never become proud in our own ablities, but walk humbly by the Spirit. 

It just keeps getting better!!

We have so much to praise God for!  We have received news every day for the last six days that churches have decided to partner with us in our ministry!  That is sixnew churches in six days.  It is so much fun to get to see God at work!  I can't wait to see what else He's going to do.  We are still on track to have the needed support to leave in January of 2012.


We got an email from our co-workers in Zambia.  God has been doing wonderful things there as people are continuing to be saved through their ministry!  They are proving themselves to the Zambians and are being accepted into the bush culture.  Soon it will be our turn!

I've been doing my own preparation for the bush.  I've been putting together binders.  One for recipes and cooking tips in a primitive setting and the other for instructions and tips on growing a garden in sub-saharan Africa.  I am so excited about what I'm learning.  I'm going to start trying some of the recipes and basics, like making butter and cheese.  I'll let you know how it goes!  If any of you have any knowledge about such things and would like to help me out I'll take all the help I can get.  A biggie will be learning how to can produce.  I've never done it, and I need to learn.  Everyone says it's easy, but unless you've done it...

Continue to pray for us as we seek God's guidance for our house.  We have been praying about selling our house and van and buying a suburban and camper to live in for the rest of our time here in the states.  We will have a little work that needs done on the house and garages to get it ready for sale this spring.  We will also have to be looking for the right camper and truck to haul our family around.  If you have any ideas or suggestions please post them!  We would love to get all the input we can.

An Exciting New Year Ahead!

So far our new year has been full.  Full of blessings, fun, and watching God at work.  We started out on January 2nd at Bible Baptist Church here in Parkersburg.  What a good time we had, and what a blessing to share all God has been doing.  We scheduled a few more churches to visit, and found out a few more churches have voted to partner with us in our ministry by supporting us monthly.

The next week Jamie and I were able to get away to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary.  We had such a wonderful time just being together.  I'm so thankful I married my best friend.

This past Sunday night we were at Evergreen Bible Church for a "Celebration Service".  They wanted to celebrate partnering with us and Krystal Buegel.  I was sick with a virus (that Jamie eventually got) so Jamie took the kids with him to the service.  The all enjoyed the fellowship... and the cake!

This next week we will be in Cleveland at Bazetta Baptist, and we'll be able to spend some wonderful family time with my cousin Ryan and his family.  Then that Thursday we will be at First Baptist Church of Milford, and have more time with family in Cincinnati.