Just a super quick post...pretty tired after lots of good-byes. The greatest thing is that people come over to pray with you when you leave the country! That is so awesome.
We have a cleared out house! We have quite a boat-load of things we took to thrift store and clothes we just had to have are now in storage. We are more materialistic than I thought.
I got a phone call from my sister to say good-bye, but she also told me of my father being diagnosed with lung cancer. Hard to hear at this point. I went from numb to sad and back to auto-pilot to just get things done that need to get done.
I can't wait to get on the airplane tomorrow and sit! Just sit for 12 hours! No packing, no decisions except what I want to drink. Sounds good already.
The kids are partying on the phone with friends...talking and texting...I love their friends! Super kids.
Next time I write...it just might be in German...Auf Wiedersehen! Schlaf gut!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Wed. July 29th--2 days left
So you may be wondering, "What is it that a family of five does two days before you leave home and country?
--you lose things and spend time looking for them :)
--you have a "last supper" with the dearest of friends
--you get your computer unhooked and then dragged off to be wiped clean of demon-virsuses!
--you say "good-bye" to family in person, via letter, Facebook, e-mail, and phone messages if necessary
--you comfort yourself with the knowledge that Skype & Vonage really do exist to make talking to same family and friends easy
--you clean the strangest of places
--you defrost freezers
--you give away food
--you see all the places you should repaint, but decide that would be OCD to do it so you leave it. Anyone want to paint?
--you go to Caribou Coffee one more time
--you enjoy popcorn and a movie with your kids!
See you! Movie is starting!
--you lose things and spend time looking for them :)
--you have a "last supper" with the dearest of friends
--you get your computer unhooked and then dragged off to be wiped clean of demon-virsuses!
--you say "good-bye" to family in person, via letter, Facebook, e-mail, and phone messages if necessary
--you comfort yourself with the knowledge that Skype & Vonage really do exist to make talking to same family and friends easy
--you clean the strangest of places
--you defrost freezers
--you give away food
--you see all the places you should repaint, but decide that would be OCD to do it so you leave it. Anyone want to paint?
--you go to Caribou Coffee one more time
--you enjoy popcorn and a movie with your kids!
See you! Movie is starting!
Monday, July 27, 2009
July 27th--four days left!
What is more sweet than gathering to pray and be prayed for? My dear friend Carol, along with Dawn, Cande, Linda, Marge, Cheryl, Bonita, Joan, and Mary got together to pray blessing on our family. Our children were prayed for with true love and sincerity. I was truly blessed to be with these women for the last 9 years! I know that no matter where we live they are faithful friends and prayer partners with us.
I have posted pictures on Facebook for those who want to see some of the kids going away party. That was a wonderful time, but of course hard for the kids to say good-bye to their dear friends. I think our children are courageous and brave and way more up for adventure than I ever was at their age.
I am signing off to go sort through important papers. Tomorrow I clean bathrooms and finish up laundry---isn't missions glamorous? :)
Our kids are sleeping over at friends houses one last time....soooo Tom and I are going out for some Thai food for our 23rd Anniversary. Our anniversary is
August 2nd and I don't think we will be up for much celebrating after just arriving August 1st. (Thanks Linda for the dinner out on you!)
I have posted pictures on Facebook for those who want to see some of the kids going away party. That was a wonderful time, but of course hard for the kids to say good-bye to their dear friends. I think our children are courageous and brave and way more up for adventure than I ever was at their age.
I am signing off to go sort through important papers. Tomorrow I clean bathrooms and finish up laundry---isn't missions glamorous? :)
Our kids are sleeping over at friends houses one last time....soooo Tom and I are going out for some Thai food for our 23rd Anniversary. Our anniversary is
August 2nd and I don't think we will be up for much celebrating after just arriving August 1st. (Thanks Linda for the dinner out on you!)
Friday, July 24, 2009
Friday, July 24th
Tonight is the kids going away party for their friends from church and school. They are excited for some games and a bonfire and just hanging out with friends. Already there have been tears as the reality of leaving has sunk in. Tonite will be great but hard as this may the last time for a year they see their friends. A year is a long time when you are young.
Spent some great time this past week with Laura when things did not work out with friends to get together. She ended up being the only child home and It was a sweet time in the midst of lots of busy work. She got breakfast in bed one day thanks to dad, Mocha from me, a movie late night, good long talks, better connection---good stuff.
We got the kitchen cleaned and organized with some of my "good" dishes put away. It is easier to do it with a hard working friend so big thanks to Dawn!
With the weather changes we have had lately has come a 3 day migraine for me. I can't stop and nurse it so am trying to break its hold on my head. I ended sleeping about 12 hours to alleviate the pain, but still have the dullness of it in my neck and head. Every noise feels magnified...and I have a party tonite with about 20-30 kids. The grace of God for even this, right!
I have been growing out my hair....was liking the length until last week...was trying to convince myself to leave it alone. But last night I gave in..... I cut it! I like shorter hair I guess, or maybe I am addicted to scissors.
We have had good news from Vienna Christian School this week. The power brokers on all ends have come to a resolution in regards to the Visa situation staff were facing. All faculty and staff will receive residency visa and work permits for family members. VCS can remain in ministry as long as the Lord will now. So we are praising Him for His work in this matter.
Prayer requests continue to be our remaining portion of support. We need to be fully supported by Christmas otherwise we may have to leave. Staff have been sent home to raise support in the past. So we would ask for prayer that if anyone is interested in supporting us they would contact us. God has orchestrated all details well so far. But we leave nothing to presumption but instead prayer. We praise Him for his initiating grace as well as the finishing grace we will receive.
Spent some great time this past week with Laura when things did not work out with friends to get together. She ended up being the only child home and It was a sweet time in the midst of lots of busy work. She got breakfast in bed one day thanks to dad, Mocha from me, a movie late night, good long talks, better connection---good stuff.
We got the kitchen cleaned and organized with some of my "good" dishes put away. It is easier to do it with a hard working friend so big thanks to Dawn!
With the weather changes we have had lately has come a 3 day migraine for me. I can't stop and nurse it so am trying to break its hold on my head. I ended sleeping about 12 hours to alleviate the pain, but still have the dullness of it in my neck and head. Every noise feels magnified...and I have a party tonite with about 20-30 kids. The grace of God for even this, right!
I have been growing out my hair....was liking the length until last week...was trying to convince myself to leave it alone. But last night I gave in..... I cut it! I like shorter hair I guess, or maybe I am addicted to scissors.
We have had good news from Vienna Christian School this week. The power brokers on all ends have come to a resolution in regards to the Visa situation staff were facing. All faculty and staff will receive residency visa and work permits for family members. VCS can remain in ministry as long as the Lord will now. So we are praising Him for His work in this matter.
Prayer requests continue to be our remaining portion of support. We need to be fully supported by Christmas otherwise we may have to leave. Staff have been sent home to raise support in the past. So we would ask for prayer that if anyone is interested in supporting us they would contact us. God has orchestrated all details well so far. But we leave nothing to presumption but instead prayer. We praise Him for his initiating grace as well as the finishing grace we will receive.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
T minus 10 days!
10 days left!!!!
Visa situation has been completely resolved at VCS! God did it! The staff did it! The lawyers did it! We who prayed did it! God gets the glory though for He worked all things out according to His good pleasure!
Tear have begun to flow as we have been saying good-bye. Yes it is only a year, but when you love people it is hard to not see them and live life with them. So we have tears of love and sadness.
Tying up loose ends---needing 2 more renters to make things easier on the mortgage payment.....needing 8% support.....
needing to send some thank you cards out.....needing to process and pack....cancel DirecTV....suspend TMobile....switch utilities....oh,yeah, the small part for the fridge.....and the buttons for Tom's suit coat....clean the fridge....do the laundry....
Actually one thing is needful: sitting at the Lord's feet everyday to listen to Him and to hear the Spirit of Truth dispel the lies that come our way everyday. God's mercy is new every moment of every day---which is about how much I need HIM!
God bless you. Please keep praying for us!
Visa situation has been completely resolved at VCS! God did it! The staff did it! The lawyers did it! We who prayed did it! God gets the glory though for He worked all things out according to His good pleasure!
Tear have begun to flow as we have been saying good-bye. Yes it is only a year, but when you love people it is hard to not see them and live life with them. So we have tears of love and sadness.
Tying up loose ends---needing 2 more renters to make things easier on the mortgage payment.....needing 8% support.....
needing to send some thank you cards out.....needing to process and pack....cancel DirecTV....suspend TMobile....switch utilities....oh,yeah, the small part for the fridge.....and the buttons for Tom's suit coat....clean the fridge....do the laundry....
Actually one thing is needful: sitting at the Lord's feet everyday to listen to Him and to hear the Spirit of Truth dispel the lies that come our way everyday. God's mercy is new every moment of every day---which is about how much I need HIM!
God bless you. Please keep praying for us!
Saturday, July 18, 2009
July 18
I have been busy painting Sarah's and Laura's bedrooms the last two days. Some dear friends came to help. Who knew how much stuff was still in these rooms!!!! It was good to get everything out, clean and put just a bit back in! It will help with packing to take it from the living room to storage. I know it was hard on the girls to pick out colors for the guys who will be in their rooms rather than the colors they had in mind for their walls had they stayed. But we did a good job and have a nice slate blue and a nice light sage green. Now I see that the walls in the hallway and living room could be touched up. Hmmm...work begets work :)
The girls and I are going to Hinckley EFC tomorrow. We went there back in April and they want to take an offering for our family so we will go and give a bit of an update and just be there to talk with people and answer questions.
Tom had his last official time of preaching at Kost for the time-being. He is there tomorrow to introduce the man who will speaking...John Cedar. His great grandfather used to pastor the church many years ago.
We are inching are way to the financial goal set for us. Some little by little, some by very generous one time gifts....we are thankful for everyone who gives and shares and prays and encourages and visits and e-mails!
The girls and I are going to Hinckley EFC tomorrow. We went there back in April and they want to take an offering for our family so we will go and give a bit of an update and just be there to talk with people and answer questions.
Tom had his last official time of preaching at Kost for the time-being. He is there tomorrow to introduce the man who will speaking...John Cedar. His great grandfather used to pastor the church many years ago.
We are inching are way to the financial goal set for us. Some little by little, some by very generous one time gifts....we are thankful for everyone who gives and shares and prays and encourages and visits and e-mails!
Monday, July 13, 2009
July 13th
Less than three weeks to go!
Whoa! Wow! Whew!
We had our going away party at Kost Church yesterday. We love these people dearly and God has used them in our lives in so many ways to teach us and to bless us and to care for us. It was hard to face them and acknowledge that yes we are leaving. But we are not leaving so much as God is calling us out. We have seen His hand and know His leading in this. We have believed Him when it seemed impossible and we have enjoyed the wonderful blessing of His pleasure that we trusted Him to work things out for good no matter what they looked like to us. The lesson has always been to believe. We live and learn that God is just beyond every opportunity of impossibility. We can choose to believe or not believe. God leaves that choice to us. Sometimes, often, He works in spite of our unbelief. When we don't believe and yet He works, we are left feeling empty and bereft of our gift of being blessed, of having lost the chance to partner with God. When we do believe, the inner sense of being a part of something that GOD DID is amazing!!! That is what we have desired for us and for our children. So, we are not amazing, but God has been truly amazing! We give HIM credit for this whole experience and we feel we have been able to know God in a new way as we had not known HIM yet.
We have daily many opportunities for continued trust. Yes, we are still trusting God for a renter or two. Yes, we are still trusting God for about 25% of support yet to come in less than three weeks. The greater the impossibility of the task for us to carry out, the greater opportunity for our Father in Heaven to do what He said He would do!
Please believe God with us!!!!
Whoa! Wow! Whew!
We had our going away party at Kost Church yesterday. We love these people dearly and God has used them in our lives in so many ways to teach us and to bless us and to care for us. It was hard to face them and acknowledge that yes we are leaving. But we are not leaving so much as God is calling us out. We have seen His hand and know His leading in this. We have believed Him when it seemed impossible and we have enjoyed the wonderful blessing of His pleasure that we trusted Him to work things out for good no matter what they looked like to us. The lesson has always been to believe. We live and learn that God is just beyond every opportunity of impossibility. We can choose to believe or not believe. God leaves that choice to us. Sometimes, often, He works in spite of our unbelief. When we don't believe and yet He works, we are left feeling empty and bereft of our gift of being blessed, of having lost the chance to partner with God. When we do believe, the inner sense of being a part of something that GOD DID is amazing!!! That is what we have desired for us and for our children. So, we are not amazing, but God has been truly amazing! We give HIM credit for this whole experience and we feel we have been able to know God in a new way as we had not known HIM yet.
We have daily many opportunities for continued trust. Yes, we are still trusting God for a renter or two. Yes, we are still trusting God for about 25% of support yet to come in less than three weeks. The greater the impossibility of the task for us to carry out, the greater opportunity for our Father in Heaven to do what He said He would do!
Please believe God with us!!!!
Saturday, July 11, 2009
July 11th
Just thought I would do a support raising update. We have been truly blessed by so many to get where we are today. We have about $1,200.00/month left to raise. I could say "only" but it is a lot yet. We know the Lord can do it, yet we must be faithful with writing and talking to people to share about the work. So we try to have peace in the midst of boldness!
We had the guys over who are renting our home this morning. Really nice Christian guys who we feel totally comfortable about being in our home while we are gone. We are charging them a cut-rate price based on 4 guys being here. They can't afford to split it between the two of them so if no one else comes in, they pay their rent and we have to make up the difference. We look at it like this: they will keep the place up and will allow us to keep our things in the home. We did not want to put everything in storage for a year. And we actually know them. Tom spent a few years with one young man in a discipleship relationship and they are pretty close still. We are talking with two other guys soon and so hopefully they will be able to sign on the dotted line, too. We are keeping this as a matter of prayer!
The kids had their last sleepover with their friends. As much as we love our kids friends, we are not going to do that anymore until we are settled in in Austria. They can go to someone elses, but we are having to call it off for kids here. (I feel kinda mean, but also relieved).
We had the guys over who are renting our home this morning. Really nice Christian guys who we feel totally comfortable about being in our home while we are gone. We are charging them a cut-rate price based on 4 guys being here. They can't afford to split it between the two of them so if no one else comes in, they pay their rent and we have to make up the difference. We look at it like this: they will keep the place up and will allow us to keep our things in the home. We did not want to put everything in storage for a year. And we actually know them. Tom spent a few years with one young man in a discipleship relationship and they are pretty close still. We are talking with two other guys soon and so hopefully they will be able to sign on the dotted line, too. We are keeping this as a matter of prayer!
The kids had their last sleepover with their friends. As much as we love our kids friends, we are not going to do that anymore until we are settled in in Austria. They can go to someone elses, but we are having to call it off for kids here. (I feel kinda mean, but also relieved).
Thursday, July 9, 2009
July 9th - Stand by Me
We were down in Iowa Falls on July 3-4th. It was great to see lots of friends and we appreciate them coming to meet with us.
This last night we were able to reconnect locally with long-time friends, Clint and Ann. We each have stories to tell of life and hard times and God's faithfulness. Real church is done in the lives of those around us as God is glorified in our time together.
I have a song I want to put here. Heard it on Facebook. Kinda says what we need and what we are finding as we head to Vienna. Check for the link at the side!
Tomorrow we are able to host another dear friend, Mary Beth Oyebade. We met in Iowa Falls, too! She went to Nigeria to teach in a school and she ended up marrying Bayo and having three children. She is here with two of them. I will post her link to her wonderful blogspot as well. She has great pictures and lots of short updates--fun to read. Maybe I will learn how to blog better by following her example.
This last night we were able to reconnect locally with long-time friends, Clint and Ann. We each have stories to tell of life and hard times and God's faithfulness. Real church is done in the lives of those around us as God is glorified in our time together.
I have a song I want to put here. Heard it on Facebook. Kinda says what we need and what we are finding as we head to Vienna. Check for the link at the side!
Tomorrow we are able to host another dear friend, Mary Beth Oyebade. We met in Iowa Falls, too! She went to Nigeria to teach in a school and she ended up marrying Bayo and having three children. She is here with two of them. I will post her link to her wonderful blogspot as well. She has great pictures and lots of short updates--fun to read. Maybe I will learn how to blog better by following her example.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
July 7th
So our living room was filled with 44 boxes last week and then we took them to Chicago to get loaded on the container. We are still packing the personal things that our renters won't want around. And then of course there is the final packing of things into suitcases! What doesn't make that cut ends up in a cardbox for a year!
We just returned from a quick trip to Iowa Falls where we had lived for about 5 years. It was so wonderful to see the people who have been friends for years. It is so special to have friends for so many years. We have been blessed by their prayers and fellowship and support in this latest mission trip.
We are busy with last minute preparations and good-byes. That is not easy, but it is only a year and we will be home for a season. We don't know how long that will be, at this time. We know our times are in God's hands and we are comfortable with that.
It is hard to see the end when all that we need to do is "right now!" It is easy to forget that what we are doing all this for is the ministry ahead of us! We are looking forward to reaching out to the high school students and families of Vienna Christian School. That remains a great privilege in terms of internatinal ministry.
We have friends in Vienna we are looking forward to reconneting with as well as making new friends. We have sensed the family aspect of VCS and the welcoming spirit of the staff towards us newcomers.
This is a rambling blog today...no real major life issues going on for which I am thankful1
We just returned from a quick trip to Iowa Falls where we had lived for about 5 years. It was so wonderful to see the people who have been friends for years. It is so special to have friends for so many years. We have been blessed by their prayers and fellowship and support in this latest mission trip.
We are busy with last minute preparations and good-byes. That is not easy, but it is only a year and we will be home for a season. We don't know how long that will be, at this time. We know our times are in God's hands and we are comfortable with that.
It is hard to see the end when all that we need to do is "right now!" It is easy to forget that what we are doing all this for is the ministry ahead of us! We are looking forward to reaching out to the high school students and families of Vienna Christian School. That remains a great privilege in terms of internatinal ministry.
We have friends in Vienna we are looking forward to reconneting with as well as making new friends. We have sensed the family aspect of VCS and the welcoming spirit of the staff towards us newcomers.
This is a rambling blog today...no real major life issues going on for which I am thankful1
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