America the Beautiful part I, NJ.

Nic and Mads. Maddie, Lloyd and Josiah.

Joel, Tim, Joey and Jordan. Me and Victoria.

Patty, me and Tammy. Many of the kids we ministered to.

Jon Mac and Mike praisin Jesus. Celebrating Katrina's bithday.

We started out on our journey west on Dec. 17th, 2007 we landed in New Jersey where we stayed with the Ducane family who are basically family to us in every way, and ventured around the area seeing friends and visiting our sending church, CCOB. It was so wonderful being with everyone again. We were able to pick up as if we had never left. What a blessing!

It was so good to share with our family here in NJ all that God has been doing in our hearts since leaving America. Its hard to articulate in words the internal changes that He has done, so it was quite the learning experience for us as well. Needless to say, it became an evolving process as the Lord gave us what to share. We pray it blessed those who heard as we were blessed to share and learn all that God is doing in Calvary Chapel there in Old Bridge.

I was able to catch up a bit with a few of the girls I used to minister to in the high school group at CCOB and I am filled with joy as I think upon each one. Most are walking with the Lord and pursuing His will. I love you girls!

I feel like the highlight for me in NJ was just relaxing with my girlfriends over a cup of tea and casually moving in and out of conversations as if life had never changed. It brought tears to my eyes realizing how blessed my life was and is. God places people in our lives for diffent reasons and for different seasons. Some are forever friends and some are just there to help you along on your way through life with the Lord. Either way, all are used to refine and challenge your growth.

I have been blessed with some of the most wonderful friends in the world...of course some might argue, but that's okay. The distance doesn't hinder our growth together, but is used to draw us closer as we pray and seek Him over the phone or over the internet. I am blessed to know that nothing will ever change in the sense of unfamiliar grounds. The familiar will always be there whenever or wherever we are together in His name.

I know that Jesus uses them in my life to show me glimpses of Him and how much He loves me. What a fantastic gift it is. I pray that I am able to bless them in the same way. (just to clarify...this means friends all over);>

Joey was blessed to share at CCOB the Wed. before we took off. The Lord gave him a wonderful word of encouragement for the church and the response was humbling. We thank the Lord for using these vessels to pour out to the church. What an amazing church we are blessed to be supported by.

There were many tears and laughs, tales told and thoughts given, many questions and some answers, but most of all...great fellowship all around.

Stay tuned for part II of our trip...


Kristen, Shannon, Liz and me. Me and Christine Loures.

Me and Michelle. Joel and Joey.

Maddie, Micheala, Chloe. Mike and Chrissy Ducane.

Too Quiet...

Today my brother and his family are leaving on an 11 hour journey that will take them back to California, USA after a wonderful eight days of tears, exhaustion, laughs, dirty diapers, dirty clothes, a run down washing machine, loads of food consumed, loads of dishes to do every minute of the day, partial sleepless nights, adventures in the cold to Canterbury, the park, Cambridge, Ely, and around the neighborhood and lots of hugs and kisses.

I love the open conversations and vulnerability that always seems to come so easily when we are all together. It was nearly impossible to have a complete conversation with all the kids around, but in those rare moments it was great!

The kids had a blast playing together and making memories. They made forts, played pet shop, ran around the house pretending to be horses and then dogs. Naomi, who is only 22 months, tried her best to keep up with the play and Jordan just hung out whenever he was awake. The adults just meshed into the craziness and then laughed at the end of the day.

I was able to observe and enjoy my two nieces. Hope is amazing and brilliant. She is almost 6 and reading wonderfully. She loves to color and draw with perfection. She engages in imaginary play with ease and creativity and enjoys both of her cousins immensely. She is a bundle of energy and is fascinated with life. She was amazed by the large cathedrals that she was privileged to see while here and bore the traveling around quite well.

Naomi who will be 2 in Feb. had moments of sheer exhilaration when she was free to roam wherever her little heart delighted in going and moments of frustration when contained or overtired. She is precious and delightful to watch and engage with. She talks very well and enjoys crafts and movies! I was blessed to have a craft time with here where she opened up the glitter and it went everywhere! I just giggled and cleaned it up as she said, "hearts, stars!" through her pacified mouth. Her favorite thing to do is play outside I believe which is difficult to do here when its so cold, but she survived.

Now it is quiet. Josiah is playing with his trains uninterrupted, Jordan is able to sit in the middle of the room without disturbance and I am able to sit and write for a few minutes. I am melancholy at the moment. Not horribly sad, just melancholy. I miss having family in close proximity. Family is such a wonderful thing to have around that when they are here it feels as though we were never apart and that they have always been in my daily life.

I have to say though that God has always provided family type figures in our lives as we've moved from place to place. The body of Christ is wonderful like that. There is such rich fellowship to be had by all those who live for the Kingdom of God that we seem to forget to partake at times. So I praise the Lord today in the midst of my sorrow for the blood family and the family in Christ that He has so richly blessed me with wherever I go. I could go to the farthest reaches of the world, meet a fellow beliver and there would be and instant connection due to the One Father that we all have in common. WONDERFUL!

I believe that is what I am most thankful for on a day like today when there are so many things that I could probably spend the day moping about, but instead I will glory in the fact that my name is written in the Lambs book of Life just like countless others around the world that I get to call brother's and sister's in Christ.
Speaking about brother's...today a brother in our little fellowship here is getting baptized! We are all (about 17 of us) going over to a baptist church where friends there have prepared the baptismal for our use. Mark will be baptized and then we will celebrate here at my house afterwards. We are so blessed and looking forward to this moment. Mark and Julie were our first "family" here when we started our journey back in Feb. So it is a significant moment for all of us.

So another moment has come and gone in my life. The month we geared up for has passed quicker than I would have liked, which was expected, so I will perk up and prepare for the next couple of weeks while we look forward to holidays with friends and family in America. The Lord always gives us something else to look forward to, but most of all the day that we will be united with Him and He with all His children.
I look forward to that day for it will mean no more goodbyes and it will never again be TOO QUIET!

-Please pray that the Lord would continue to touch Mark and fill him with wisdom and integrity as he pursues the Lord and moves his family to Spain due to work.
-Please pray that we adjust to "normal" life after a month of visitors before we zip off to America on Dec. 17th. To manage our schedule there with wisdom while there.
-Please pray for more opportunities to minister here in the city for Joey and I.
To stay focused on our purpose here and listen and wait for the Lord's leading.
-For me to get my house in order. And for school, that I would get on track after some time off.

God Bless!

A window into my world.

I suppose I should have a thousand and one exuses for not blogging. I really don't have any except that I have been in rebellion. There is so much on the internet that I found myself consumed by reading blogs and looking up info. So I decided that I would just stop for a while and not write anything. It has worked well for this season. With homeschool, the ministry in my home on Friday nights, serving my family and taking care of a baby, I thought it right to pause and take a breath away from the blog thing.

However, I know that it does help to let others know how I am doing and the rest of the crew since most of the newsletters are written by Joey's hand. So in a nutshell before I go to bed...I have been going through many days of asking God why I have to homeschool, why I can't find enough time in the day to do all that I want to do( which I know most people feel that way), and why can't I follow through and be more organized? Well His answer to that is...My grace is sufficient for you. So I will go back to that place of contentment again and surrender knowing that He will never give me more than I can handle.

I am blessed to be where I am. I feel the stretching and growth down to the bone. In every fiber of my makeup He is causing amazing growth to occur and it hurts. I love the fact that I will never be the same as I travel this journey called the Christian walk. And I love being led by the Spirit even if it leads me to places I don't really want to be. I will walk this road with Him leading the way, walking beside me holding my hand and walking behind me holding me up. Thank You Lord!

Maddie is doing well. She struggles with doing school work just like every kid. Dreads the idea of being sent to a traditional school where she would have to be away all day from home. So I know she loves being home, but is just getting the fact that all kids have to go to school whether its at home or away. She is doing very well when she puts her heart into it.
She is washing dishes for me and making her bed and straightening up when asked.
She looooves Jordan to bits! She picks him up and walks him around the room when he's fussy (which is not often). She plays with him all the time. She is a joy to watch as she grows into a young lady who is curious and full of the joy of the Lord.

Josiah and Maddie were able to see a fireworks show here on Nov. 5 for
something they celebrate here called Guy Fawke day. '
A plan to blow up parliment was foiled on this day in the
1500's so that's what this day was about.

Josiah is a very emotional little guy. He is still learning how to verbalize his feelings so I am working with him in that area. He is very bright for his age, but still very immature and strange at times. He does not handle being out and about for too long and gets lost in his world of trains most of the time. We are praying that he will balance out soon and learn to love the things of God.
He squirms whenever we talk about things of the Lord. He can sit still for any train book, but can't sit still for a Bible story or worship. I am praying its just a stage, and yet we are not taking it lightly. Please pray for his heart.
He is still so fun and silly. He still blows me away with some of the things he understands. It is fun to engage in converstion with him when he's ready to talk.

Jordan is great! He is joyful all the time, very easy going and is sleeping well. He is beginning to sit up and crawl! We started feeding him solids, but he's not completely sure of it yet. He eats it, but isn't overly excited like Josiah was. I gave him an apple to suck on the other day and he thought that was delicious! His eyes were as big as saucers! So funny.

So life is full and busy. I am doing what I can to minister to the women God has placed in my life. He has given me some great friends out here which I knew He would. I am also planning weekly what Bible lesson to teach the kids on Friday nights while Joey is teaching. It is stretching me because by Fri. I am exhausted.
But I am always blessed!!
We have a month of guests coming that I have been preparing for. I am looking forward to having some friends from New Jersey and then my brother and his family. It will be fun.
Well I must be off to bed now.

thanks for reading and praying.

From Him all blessings flow

What a wonderful gift we have in Christ that even when life serves us the
bum lot we have a hope beyond our circumstances.

Last week was an exhausting week physically and spiritually.
We experienced spiritual warfare consistently.
There was hardly any let up for 7 days solid and we were sleepless and worn out.
We had moments when our spirits were weary and down, but we kept hoping in our Lord. When Joey was discouraged I was okay, and visa versa.
I love how God does that. One of us needs to be okay in order to make it through times like that.

We knew that we would make it through, but it was so difficult to see the light at times.
Our kids were a bit wacky as well. I truly believe that they could sense the battle even though they couldn't explain it. As we pulled through the week, Joey and I prayed as we dealt with the oppression and disillusionment. He ministered to us through our circumstances and showed us that He is our hope and would come to aid us in times of distress.

Is. 50:7 states,
"For the Lord God will help Me; therefore I will not be disgraced;
Therefore I have set My face like a flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed."

Is. 50:10 also states,
"Who among you fears the Lord?
Who obeys the voice of His Servant?(Jesus)
Who walks in darkness
And has no light?
Let him trust in the name of the Lord
And rely upon his God."

As always, we came out of this week with a wealth of understanding and wisdom concerning spiritual warfare and how to recognize the enemy so much quicker than before.

The Friday night study that we hold here at the house was wonderful. We questioned for a moment whether or not to have it due to exhaustion and just having come out of the illnesses, but we trudged on knowing that the Lord would be the strength we both needed to get through the night.
We had a new family come and 3 college students who were so blessed to be here. We have been praying for an opportunity to minister to the college students here in the city and the Lord has birthed something. These 3 said they knew of others who are looking for meaty studies in the Word and most likey would want to come! We will see and just be available.
Oh God You are faithful to honor those who just will do your will. To just be flexable even when our flesh is crying out for a break. Thank You!

So we have gained alot through this week. Just wanted to share what an awesome and faithful God we serve.
Blessings to you all and we'll chat soon.

How's the baby?

Jordan is now 4 months old. He is a delight and so easy going.

He meshes into our family very well.

He is intrigued by most things around him and is

loving being able to move a bit.

When he is on his tummy he lifts his head very

well and inches forward like a caterpillar.

This last bit makes me a bit nervous for I am in no

hurry to see him mobile.

I find him twisted around in his crib most of the time

and

often find him turned over on his back when

I have placed him on his tummy.

He delights in his siblings especially Maddie. When she enters into a room and

happens to spot her he grins large enough to brighten any ones day.

He is drooling like a mad man and sucks on his hands like hes trying to get something out of them. He is grabbing onto things and not letting go due to having no idea how. And he is beginning to notice our food when we are at the table together for meals.

He giggles when you fly him through the air and enjoys a good tickle.

He goes to sleep like a champ and wakes up happy unless he has gas or a burp

waiting to come out.

He is so precious and I am so blessed that God gave us Jordan.

I love you sunshine.

.

Josiah's special day.

Josiah blowing out his candle.

from grammies and poppa.

What a wonderful day we had on September 12th!

Joey and I decided against a home birthday party and called the Brown's(other missionaries out here) to come join us at an amusement park by the coast.

As you can see in the picture that we allowed Josiah to enjoy a cupcake for breakfast.

It was fun to do this. He wanted his bowl of cereal afterwards though so that made me feel better about the sugar intake that early in the day. :)

The weather was expected to be nice (at least it said so, but that doesn't mean much here) so we packed lunches and headed out for the day.

Of course all the way there we heard from Jo Jo, "Are we there yet?" non-stop until we drove through the entrance. School was in session so there was nobody there which was wonderful!

We walked on every ride and enjoyed the fellowship. The sun was shining and the breeze was beautiful. The Lord really blessed the day.

At lunch time we all sat around the lunch tables and ate our lunches and then feasted on somemore yummy chocolate cupcakes.

There was much to do, but Josiah really wanted to go on the choo-choo train which took you around the park. So the Rozek's and the Brown's hopped on and took a ride.

If you don't know the Brown's they have five kids of their own so we took up the entire kiddie train. It was great.

After we left the park around 5ish we headed for Pizza Hut and indulged in some good times.

Over all the day was a success and we left tired, but blessed.

Thank you Lord for such a good day!

A little bit of sweat

I needed to clear my head this afternoon so I took the opportunity to get out of the house.

I took a good fast walk down to the river Cam which runs through our town on into the city center of Cambridge and nodded at a few passersby as I wiped the sweat from my brow.

As I journeyed to my destination I began to cry a bit. Nothing to draw attention to myself, but enough to look a bit distraught.

I am blessed to be in the place I am, but I am also struggling with a million emotions.

My son is going through a stage I am not too sure how to handle. He can be just as emotional if not worse than a girl at times. He is soooooooo whiny. I can handle just about anything except whining! I know drama was bound to be found in my kids, but not so much in my son.
I really struggle with enjoying this season with him. I am exhausted from midnight feedings and looong days with my Josiah. I am praying that preschool will help straighten him out as well as my prayers.
Maddie is trying to balance being a 61/2 year old with no real girlfriends nearby and having a brother who is very dependant on her companionship. She is at the stage where she gets bored with the same movie or toy. Trying to teach contentment in a "gimme"world is hard to say the least.
My husband and I are daily laying our concerns before the Lord of why we are here. We fall on the promises He gave us from the beginning and look back on 7 months of our lives and know that we will never be the same. He has done an amazing work in our hearts since coming to this apathetic country. The longer we are here and the more churches we attend, the more we see the need for intercessors and for the love of Christ to be discovered again. It is dark at times. Depressing as well.
However, we know that His hand is guiding us and knows our needs.
I lack nothing when I measure my griefs next to His will for me. I have the opportunity to live in the fullness of life right now. Eternity is now, not just when I see Him face to face. When I walk in the Spirit I experience Christ in me as He dwells in my life.
So my tears today were out of frustration of why I can't figure out how I feel most of the time, because I know I'm suppose to be here and keep allowing Him to refine me. Refining lasts forever here on earth. And then it will be done. Thank you Lord!!!!!

There are 60 churches in the 6 mile diameter that make up the city of Cambridge. That doesn't include the numerous villages that make up Cambridgeshire as a whole. We so yearn to be a part of their communities and lives that we don't know where to begin at times.

I know that my feelings are genuine and credible, but they are felt deeply in light of this revelation. I have such deep hopes and desires for our lives here. I know that we are gonna be used in a great way for some purpose if only to encourage the broken church here to turn back to Jesus and His words of life.

An hour and a little bit of sweat later, I had obviously regained my composure and resolve to "be all that I can be" as He shines through me.
I do need prayer so desperately these days and know I will have it. Thank you saints :).