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.