We left our temporary home in Florida on Sunday afternoon, March 12, and headed on an adventure.
Monday afternoon we arrived at the home of long time friends in Spartanburg, SC. It was such a joy to spend time catching up with the Blantons. We met them for the first time, just a couple months after we arrived in Ecuador, and they have been close family friends ever since!
Tuesday evening found us in Madison, VA, spending the night with our friends, Tim and Lori Duggins. Their daughter, Megan, was on Spring Break, so it was great to get to have a little time with her, too.
Wednesday, we headed up to Lancaster, PA, to spend a few days with the Blevins. Cindy is from the church in New Jersey where I grew up, and is the closest to a sister, I have. :) The exciting thing about traveling to PA, was that they had just had a "nor'easter" just come through and got about 2 feet of snow on Tuesday evening!! We enjoyed some quiet days resting and visiting with them. It was wonderful to get to see their grown children, and meet their new grandson, Ezra!
Another great surprise and highlight of our trip to PA, was that we had a "back-stage" tour of the Sight and Sound theater, which was super interesting, and then we were surprised, with tickets to see the Jonah Show! It was amazing!! What a wonderful gift to our family.
On Monday, March 20, we said, "good-bye" to our friends in PA and headed back to VA. Tuesday, the 21st, our daughter, Carla, had her cardio check-up, at UVA medical center in Charlottesville. What a blessing to hear her doctor say, she is doing great!! We are praising the Lord for all he has done in her life. During our week in Madison, VA, we enjoyed catching up with friends. Visiting a farm, and also seeing Tad Coffin Performance Saddles being made, and learning what all goes into it and why. It was super interesting.
While we were there, I had the opportunity to join the Ladies Bible Study, from Mountain View Chapel. My friend Lori, gave me the study book, to follow along, and I started the most amazing Bible Study, I have done in a long time. The Armor of God Study, by Priscilla Shirer. I have done lots of studies and they have all blessed my life in one way or another, but this one definitely is up there with the best of them. I don't know why I am surprised, when God brings things into my life, at the perfect time, to teach me what I need to learn. Many times, when I didn't even know I needed to learn it! ;)
Now we are back in Florida. The kids just finished their week of spring break, although, I'm sure Teddy and Carla, would argue that point with you, since both of them spent time during their break participating in the standardized achievement testing going on at the Christian School. We are looking forward to Easter and celebrating the resurrection of our Savior!! Time is flying by. We will be making a trip the first of May for 10 days to visit family in Ohio and Missouri. When we get back home around the 10th, we will just have about 2 weeks, before we make our move back to Tennessee for June and July! During these days, I am enjoying every minute with 2 of the grandkids that live nearby!!
Right now our plans are to spend 2 months in Tennessee and head back to Ecuador early in August.
Thank you for your prayers for our family.
Showing posts with label family news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family news. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Going Gluten Free
Over a year ago, I read the book, Grain Brain by David Perlmutter, MD. To be honest it intrigued me and in talking and sharing with my husband, we decided to give it a try. There are many points to the book, supplements, exercise, sleep patterns, and diet. I will be honest, that I really did feel better eating less gluten, BUT, my husband, did not feel that it made much difference with him, and living in a country, where there is not a lot of "pre-made" stuff, including flour mixes, etc. it was just all a bit overwhelming.
Joy
After our friends were here from Knoxville, and we spent a lot of time talking about different things that might be a help to our kids, especially our youngest who has CP and a few other issues. Tony and I decided that we would give the GF diet a try for him. We were told that for some kids it makes a huge difference and for some it doesn't seem to make any difference. We also were told, and I remembered reading this in the book mentioned above, that it was important to give it at least 3 to 6 months, before giving up. (Not saying that it will help his CP, but, maybe learning issues and behavior issues that he deals with along with the CP)
So here again, I am on a quest to figure out how to do this, and get a good group of recipes that will work. I don't mind "experimenting" in the kitchen, BUT, when the temps are in the high 80's low 90's it isn't any fun to spend time in there sweating away, to have your bake goods taste like saw dust, or your bread be gummy in the middle. ;) There are also a lot of flours we can get, but many that we can't... so trying to figure out what works as a good substitute and what doesn't is a big deal.
So here are some things I am learning...
1. Gluten free flours don't weigh the same, (as each other, nor do they weigh the same as wheat flour), so it works better to use recipes that call for weight instead of measuring by the cup. That is hard for me, because in the US, most recipes are written using Cup measurements and not weights. hmmm.... if I want to substitute for some of my recipes, I guess, I'm going to need to measure out a cup of wheat flour and weigh it.
(Thanks to my friend, Kendra, for reminding me about flour weights, today! ;)
(Thanks to my friend, Kendra, for reminding me about flour weights, today! ;)
2. Gluten free flours need to be mixed up... you need to use more than 1 kind you can just replace a cup of wheat flour with say the same weight of rice flour.... The big deal right now then for me, is finding some recipes for some "flour mixes" that will work.
3. Chick Peas, make the most amazing cakes, brownies and muffins!! Who would have thought?! I know if you are reading this and you've never tried anything like this, you are going "yuck! Who wants hummus brownies?!" I have found some of the most amazing recipes that use NO flour, but use blended chick peas, and NO ONE has known the difference. I have pinned a lot of them on my "Gluten Free" board on Pinterest, so if you are interested check them out. (https://www.pinterest.com/manabita/gluten-free-recipes/ )
I am still on my quest to find a good sandwich bread, but it is coming little by little.
Besides going gluten free, Little Bud is taking a Fish oil capsule everyday, (wanting 300 to 400mg of DHA) and 1 teaspoon of coconut oil. Both of these things have been shown to help build "new pathways" in the brain, and boost memory, so who knows. I realize we may be grasping at straws here, BUT on the other hand you never know until you try.
Thank you for all the prayers and encouragement you have past our way. We appreciate it so much! If you do have a good GF sandwich bread recipe, I would love to give it a try. Please don't share it though, if it calls for specific flour blends you have to purchase, as those are not available to us here in Ecuador. ;)
Blessings to you and yours!
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
What's Been Happening in our Life?
It’s been a long time since I posted on here. Life has thrown us a lot of curve balls during the last 6 months. I am planning to write a series of posts to catch everyone up on what has been going on in our lives… I hope you will pull up a chair, grab a cup of tea and enjoy the “visit.”
We gathered luggage, got to the cars, decided how everyone would travel, and then headed out of the airport for the trip to Ruckersville. I will admit to being very excited BUT also exhausted, as we had traveled on one of the overnight flights out of Ecuador.
That first week-end is pretty much a blur in my mind. In fact, Tony and I had lost a day, as we were going around on Saturday, thinking it was Friday! Thankfully we realized our confusion before we actually missed Church on Sunday. :)
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Busy Days...
We are keeping busy around here! This coming week the kids and I will be finishing up the basic core work for their school year! No, we aren't starting our summer vacation early, BUT, I wanted to be finished with the work we needed to do, so that WHEN we receive the visas for Carla and Matthew, we will be able to just go to the US, and not have to worry about when and how to do school the first few weeks we are there. :) So, I guess our Summer Vacation will start when we get to the States!
On that note, people keep asking me, WHEN are you coming to the States? or WHEN are you leaving for the States? Hate to tell you, BUT we have NO IDEA!! I can guarantee you that we will be on the first possible flight out, once we receive the kids visas! :) But exactly WHEN that will be is not in our hands. We are thankful that God knows all about it and that it is all in his hands and we are trusting HIM! We know that HIS TIMING is PERFECT!! So we rest in Him for this. Don't think, though, that while we are "resting" in Him, that we are not busy. I have come to learn that "Waiting on the Lord" is an active process. So during this time of waiting, we are working on getting everything prepared for our absence. There are things around our house that need to be packed up and taken care of. There are preparations at the church that need to be made. This week I will be meeting with Ceci in preparation of turning over the responsibilities of the Ladies Sunday School Class. I will also meet with our Leader's wives, to discuss how the Mother's Day breakfast went, and also to help them figure out what events they should work on and organize without. Tony and I will be taking Pastor Darwin and Jessica to the Christian Bookstore to check out new Sunday School material. I would ask you to please be praying for each of these people as they step up and take on responsibilities for the ministry here.
We had a great day at church this morning. Our attendance was 140 in the preaching service. I had 28 in my Sunday School class. The ladies were still talking about the Mother's Day Breakfast. ;) I would ask you to be praying for those visitors last week, that heard the gospel for the first time. The seed has been planted.
Thank you so much for praying for our family and for the ministry here in Manta! God is working and hearts and lives are being changed.
Blessings to you!
Joy
On that note, people keep asking me, WHEN are you coming to the States? or WHEN are you leaving for the States? Hate to tell you, BUT we have NO IDEA!! I can guarantee you that we will be on the first possible flight out, once we receive the kids visas! :) But exactly WHEN that will be is not in our hands. We are thankful that God knows all about it and that it is all in his hands and we are trusting HIM! We know that HIS TIMING is PERFECT!! So we rest in Him for this. Don't think, though, that while we are "resting" in Him, that we are not busy. I have come to learn that "Waiting on the Lord" is an active process. So during this time of waiting, we are working on getting everything prepared for our absence. There are things around our house that need to be packed up and taken care of. There are preparations at the church that need to be made. This week I will be meeting with Ceci in preparation of turning over the responsibilities of the Ladies Sunday School Class. I will also meet with our Leader's wives, to discuss how the Mother's Day breakfast went, and also to help them figure out what events they should work on and organize without. Tony and I will be taking Pastor Darwin and Jessica to the Christian Bookstore to check out new Sunday School material. I would ask you to please be praying for each of these people as they step up and take on responsibilities for the ministry here.
We had a great day at church this morning. Our attendance was 140 in the preaching service. I had 28 in my Sunday School class. The ladies were still talking about the Mother's Day Breakfast. ;) I would ask you to be praying for those visitors last week, that heard the gospel for the first time. The seed has been planted.
Thank you so much for praying for our family and for the ministry here in Manta! God is working and hearts and lives are being changed.
Blessings to you!
Joy
Friday, March 22, 2013
Waiting...waiting...waiting
This is a link to a recent blog post that explains in a little more detail some of what we are facing right now, as we try to secure US visas for our youngest two children. Appreciate your prayers for us in this area.
Blessings to you!
Joy
Well the waiting continues...
Blessings to you!
Joy
Well the waiting continues...
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Family Update... Thanksgiving Day, 2012
I get so behind posting on here...I have great intentions, but then there just doesn't seem to be any time to do it all! :-) This has been a full month, full of blessings and activities.
We took a trip to Quito at the beginning of the month, to see about our visas. Here in Manta, we had been told that we would have to leave the country and return with a tourist visa, and then start the process to get a permanent visa. But, in Quito they accepted our documents requesting a missionary visa. We have spent the rest of the month, waiting to hear if this visa was granted or not. On Monday, we received good news that the documentation was accepted as is, and they took our passports in order to apply the visas, which now have also been paid for. Now we are waiting for the return of the passports with the new visas applied. Oh the joy of dealing with red tape! :-)
Besides, the drama of our visas...we have enjoyed celebrating my birthday on the 10th, and Matthew's birthday, which was today, but we celebrated it on the 21st, so that today, we could focus on Thanksgiving! Why have just one celebration, when you can have two?!
Carla, has been sick this month, but is doing much better, and we think she is on the mend, after a round of antibiotics and breathing treatments last week.
All 3 children are doing well in school. Teddy finished a unit on New Zealand, and his end of unit project was to make a Pavlova for dessert. He also did a short report about its origins. I have to say that the dessert was excellent and not near has hard as I had thought it would be. I can see it being made more often in the future! ;-)
Matthew and Carla have been learning about Egypt in Ancient History. Last week, we read about "King Tut", and they also built pyramids with blocks. There was actually directions in the book about how to make a "chicken mummy", but I decided that was not something we were going to get into! LOL!! They had a great time making the pyramids, and we didn't have to wait 6 weeks or worry about stinking bacteria ridden chickens!
Because we made a trip up to Quito at the beginning of the month, and because Tony flew back up there on the 9th to check on the visa situation, and because Carla has been sick, we decided that it would be better for us to stay put at home this Thanksgiving. We really missed the opportunity to be with our friends there, but we had a wonderful day here celebrating with the kids. Today at dinner, we were talking about how much has changed since the first Thanksgiving Matthew and Carla were with us. It is really quite amazing and remarkable. I will post a couple photos to let you see what I'm talking about....
We took a trip to Quito at the beginning of the month, to see about our visas. Here in Manta, we had been told that we would have to leave the country and return with a tourist visa, and then start the process to get a permanent visa. But, in Quito they accepted our documents requesting a missionary visa. We have spent the rest of the month, waiting to hear if this visa was granted or not. On Monday, we received good news that the documentation was accepted as is, and they took our passports in order to apply the visas, which now have also been paid for. Now we are waiting for the return of the passports with the new visas applied. Oh the joy of dealing with red tape! :-)
Besides, the drama of our visas...we have enjoyed celebrating my birthday on the 10th, and Matthew's birthday, which was today, but we celebrated it on the 21st, so that today, we could focus on Thanksgiving! Why have just one celebration, when you can have two?!
Carla, has been sick this month, but is doing much better, and we think she is on the mend, after a round of antibiotics and breathing treatments last week.
All 3 children are doing well in school. Teddy finished a unit on New Zealand, and his end of unit project was to make a Pavlova for dessert. He also did a short report about its origins. I have to say that the dessert was excellent and not near has hard as I had thought it would be. I can see it being made more often in the future! ;-)
Matthew and Carla have been learning about Egypt in Ancient History. Last week, we read about "King Tut", and they also built pyramids with blocks. There was actually directions in the book about how to make a "chicken mummy", but I decided that was not something we were going to get into! LOL!! They had a great time making the pyramids, and we didn't have to wait 6 weeks or worry about stinking bacteria ridden chickens!
Because we made a trip up to Quito at the beginning of the month, and because Tony flew back up there on the 9th to check on the visa situation, and because Carla has been sick, we decided that it would be better for us to stay put at home this Thanksgiving. We really missed the opportunity to be with our friends there, but we had a wonderful day here celebrating with the kids. Today at dinner, we were talking about how much has changed since the first Thanksgiving Matthew and Carla were with us. It is really quite amazing and remarkable. I will post a couple photos to let you see what I'm talking about....
This was taken Thanksgiving day, 2010. We had a couple kids that just weren't sure about any of it...
This was taken at dinner today!
We are counting our blessings, and naming them one by one. God has been so very good to us!
Thank you for your prayers for our family and for the ministry here in Manta. God is working. The church is growing and lives are being changed!
Blessings to you and yours on this very special day!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Joy
Friday, November 2, 2012
What's been happening...
The last couple weeks of October have been really busy. We enjoyed great services at church. 185 two weeks ago and 162 last Sunday. God is working and moving in hearts.
Our daughter, Carla, celebrated her 9th birthday on Oct. 22. Here is a link to some pictures from that special day.
Carla's Birthday
The Ladies Conference we had planned for the 26th and 27th was wonderful! We had 58 ladies participate that is only short 2 of those who had signed up. I don't think we have ever had that kind of turn out before. The ladies did a great job of helping with the planning and carrying through with their commitments. By taking on the responsibility of so much of the conference it allowed me to focus the bulk of my attention on the lessons. What a blessing!
If you would like to see photos from that event, please visit the link below:
Manzanas de Oro
It is also that time of year, when we need to re-new our visas. Tony started working early in the month, to get together all the necessary paperwork. It has always been a fairly simple, straight forward thing, (well as simple and straight forward as you can get when the government is involved! ;-) Anyway, the first time he went they told him he was going to need some extra papers this year. They also told him the name that he was to address all the letters to, (the coordinator of visas for this area). Well, when he went back about 5 days later to turn in all the paperwork...he was told that the coordinator had changed and that the letters now needed to be addressed to a different person. Also was told that one of our papers we had received from the National Mission here was out dated. It needed to be less than 2 years old. So we again, talked to the Mission leaders in Quito, and they re-wrote the letters, (these have to be written, signed by the president of the Mission and notarized, all of which takes time). They also found a more current document on file and had it copied and notarized. All was done and sent to us, within a couple days, (which was really amazing in itself)! When Tony, went last Friday, to again turn in our folder of documents, he was told that they were unacceptable, because the paper, that we had been told needed to be less than 2 years old, now, had to be dated this year! We found out all of this on Friday morning, and I was preparing for the Ladies Conference starting that evening! Can you see Satan at work?! Well, despite all of that we had Wonderful conference and God blessed! On Monday we headed up to Quito. We were going to try applying for our visa there, and if that didn't work we would head across the border on Wednesday, to return to Ecuador with a 90 day tourist visa. Well, we found grace in the eyes of the officials there. Our documents were accepted, entered in to the computer and our photos taken. We have an appointment to return on Nov. 9. At this point it looks like everything is on track. Appreciate your prayers that we would be granted our visa with no more problems.
Today is DÃa de los Difuntos. It is traditional to eat Guaguas de pan, (bread babies) and drink Colada Morada, it is a thick drink made from blueberries, blackberries, lots of spices with chopped up fruit in it.
if you would like a recipe for it, you will find a great one here . We enjoyed the traditional treats and spent some time talking to the children about the history and meaning behind it. Here are some pics from our own family celebration.
Day of the Dead, celebration
Thank you for your prayers for our family and the ministry here in Manta!
Blessings to you!
Joy
Our daughter, Carla, celebrated her 9th birthday on Oct. 22. Here is a link to some pictures from that special day.
Carla's Birthday
The Ladies Conference we had planned for the 26th and 27th was wonderful! We had 58 ladies participate that is only short 2 of those who had signed up. I don't think we have ever had that kind of turn out before. The ladies did a great job of helping with the planning and carrying through with their commitments. By taking on the responsibility of so much of the conference it allowed me to focus the bulk of my attention on the lessons. What a blessing!
If you would like to see photos from that event, please visit the link below:
Manzanas de Oro
It is also that time of year, when we need to re-new our visas. Tony started working early in the month, to get together all the necessary paperwork. It has always been a fairly simple, straight forward thing, (well as simple and straight forward as you can get when the government is involved! ;-) Anyway, the first time he went they told him he was going to need some extra papers this year. They also told him the name that he was to address all the letters to, (the coordinator of visas for this area). Well, when he went back about 5 days later to turn in all the paperwork...he was told that the coordinator had changed and that the letters now needed to be addressed to a different person. Also was told that one of our papers we had received from the National Mission here was out dated. It needed to be less than 2 years old. So we again, talked to the Mission leaders in Quito, and they re-wrote the letters, (these have to be written, signed by the president of the Mission and notarized, all of which takes time). They also found a more current document on file and had it copied and notarized. All was done and sent to us, within a couple days, (which was really amazing in itself)! When Tony, went last Friday, to again turn in our folder of documents, he was told that they were unacceptable, because the paper, that we had been told needed to be less than 2 years old, now, had to be dated this year! We found out all of this on Friday morning, and I was preparing for the Ladies Conference starting that evening! Can you see Satan at work?! Well, despite all of that we had Wonderful conference and God blessed! On Monday we headed up to Quito. We were going to try applying for our visa there, and if that didn't work we would head across the border on Wednesday, to return to Ecuador with a 90 day tourist visa. Well, we found grace in the eyes of the officials there. Our documents were accepted, entered in to the computer and our photos taken. We have an appointment to return on Nov. 9. At this point it looks like everything is on track. Appreciate your prayers that we would be granted our visa with no more problems.
Today is DÃa de los Difuntos. It is traditional to eat Guaguas de pan, (bread babies) and drink Colada Morada, it is a thick drink made from blueberries, blackberries, lots of spices with chopped up fruit in it.
if you would like a recipe for it, you will find a great one here . We enjoyed the traditional treats and spent some time talking to the children about the history and meaning behind it. Here are some pics from our own family celebration.
Day of the Dead, celebration
Thank you for your prayers for our family and the ministry here in Manta!
Blessings to you!
Joy
Monday, September 10, 2012
What's happening, now?
Good Morning!
This is a special day around our house. It is our "Welcome to the Family" day for Carla and Matthew. I have posted a little about my feelings on this special day at my Wordpress blog, The Journey of Waiting, if you are interested in reading more about it. :-)
At home, my time is pretty much consumed in caring for and teaching the children. We are getting ready to start week 4 of our school year. So far things are going well, and it has been a joy to see how much the kid are growing and learning. Teddy informed us last week, that he needed to learn Arabic, because God might want him to be a missionary someplace that as Americans we weren't able to go, but that he would be able to go because he was also Ecuadorian! (sometimes, I really do have to remind myself that he's only 10!)
Things in our ministry are going forward. We had a good attendance yesterday, of 156 in the Worship Service. Tony continued his message series on 1 Peter. Last night, we had a business meeting, and it was a blessing as we added 12 new members and there was just a great spirit of unity.
Our outreach in Jaramijo went very well. We had over 120 people out to listen and hear the gospel. Many people asked about having a Bible Studies in their homes. We are excited to see what God is going to do in this community. Please make this a matter of prayer.
You know when things are going well. When people are getting saved and lives are being changed, Satan doesn't like it. He will do everything he can to discourage us. I would ask your prayers especially for a baby Christian, Joanna. She is part of a large family, and several of them have come to know Christ, but it is our experience that every time, one of the family starts to climb out of the "pit" they have been living in, the rest of the family does everything they can to pull them back in!
I have had the opportunity to start discipleship classes with another baby christian, Carol. Please pray for her as she grows in her faith. Carol has attended church off and on for many years with her husband. She always had the right answers. We have been praying along with her husband, Carlos, for a long time, that she would get saved, if she wasn't. What a blessing it was to sit across from her at her kitchen table last week, and hear her testimony of how God worked in her heart, and how much had changed in her life in just a week since she had surrendered and accepted Christ as her Savior!
You know God, really is in the business of saving and changing lives! When we accept Him, we become "new creatures" and there is a change in the way we think, the way we respond.
Current Prayer Requests:
Pray that we would be able to get Carla and Matthew's visas to travel to the US in a timely manner.
Pray for the Women's Conference, Oct. 26 & 27
Pray for the baby Christians in our church to continue to grow
Pray for our economic situation and for God to add to our support team
Pray for the people in our church to step up to the plate in giving and serving
Blessings,
Joy
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
What's been happening?
We thoroughly enjoyed our last week-end! It was a such a blessing to have Stacey and Andy Meyers visiting us. They are in Ecuador for their honeymoon.
The kids really enjoyed all the extra attention. We had fun showing them around and just visiting and playing games.
Sunday we had a great attendance again. With 151 in the church service. In the Ladies Sunday School class we had 37!! We had a special "fellowship time" with rolls and coffee, starting class about 15 minutes earlier than normal. This was just idea I had, to see how it worked. They ladies had a wonderful time, and we are going to be doing this once a month. :-)
2 people talked to Tony after services to let him know that they were interested in getting baptized this next month.
We are getting ready to start a contest in the Ladies class. There are so many ladies that come to church but don't make it to Sunday School. So my idea, is to try to get them involved. I am thinking to start this Sunday, and anyone who isn't present in Sunday School, will be considered a "visitor" the next week. The ladies are going to get 5 points for each first time visitor and 10 points for each time that "visitor" returns...so the idea will be to try and get some new people in the "habit" of attending Sunday School!
The kids have done really well in school this week. We just have one more week left and then we will be on our "Summer Vacation". Our school year is running a little longer than normal this year, because we took some extra time off for different things throughout the year. We are all looking forward to our "vacation"... not sure who is more excited though, the kids or the teacher! ;-)
We have some more exciting news in our family. Our oldest daughter and her husband announced this week that they were expecting, in February. That will be 2 new grand babies for us this coming year!! Also our middle daughter and her husband will be moving this week, to work in a church in Ohio! We are very excited for all of these blessings.
Thank you so much for your prayers for our family and for the ministry here in Ecuador!
Blessings,
Joy
The kids really enjoyed all the extra attention. We had fun showing them around and just visiting and playing games.
Sunday we had a great attendance again. With 151 in the church service. In the Ladies Sunday School class we had 37!! We had a special "fellowship time" with rolls and coffee, starting class about 15 minutes earlier than normal. This was just idea I had, to see how it worked. They ladies had a wonderful time, and we are going to be doing this once a month. :-)
2 people talked to Tony after services to let him know that they were interested in getting baptized this next month.
We are getting ready to start a contest in the Ladies class. There are so many ladies that come to church but don't make it to Sunday School. So my idea, is to try to get them involved. I am thinking to start this Sunday, and anyone who isn't present in Sunday School, will be considered a "visitor" the next week. The ladies are going to get 5 points for each first time visitor and 10 points for each time that "visitor" returns...so the idea will be to try and get some new people in the "habit" of attending Sunday School!
The kids have done really well in school this week. We just have one more week left and then we will be on our "Summer Vacation". Our school year is running a little longer than normal this year, because we took some extra time off for different things throughout the year. We are all looking forward to our "vacation"... not sure who is more excited though, the kids or the teacher! ;-)
We have some more exciting news in our family. Our oldest daughter and her husband announced this week that they were expecting, in February. That will be 2 new grand babies for us this coming year!! Also our middle daughter and her husband will be moving this week, to work in a church in Ohio! We are very excited for all of these blessings.
Thank you so much for your prayers for our family and for the ministry here in Ecuador!
Blessings,
Joy
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Happy Father's Day!!
Wow! We have had an incredible week-end!
28 men signed up to attend a one-day retreat at a local camp. 24 actually attended! Tony was thrilled at the turnout. The theme of the retreat was "Courageous", based on the recent movie.
While Tony was away yesterday, the kids and I worked on some special Father's Day treats. We made a batch of Ginger snaps, which they had to give to him as soon as he got home, in hopes that he would share with them! Which of course he did. :-) They also made cards and letters. Teddy made his Dad a desktop organizer, from paper tubes and duct tape. ;-)
This morning the kids and I made breakfast for Tony, and gave him our presents. Then we all got ready and headed to church.
We had 146 in the Worship service this morning. 25 Father's stood up to receive their gift. 13 of the men who attended the retreat, went up to the platform to receive a copy of the "Resolution" and to read it aloud with Tony. After service they brought their families forward to sign the resolution and pray a prayer of dedication.
That was all really incredible, BUT even more exciting than that, was that 3 precious souls came to know Christ as their Savior this morning. One of the young men who attended the retreat yesterday, brought his wife up and said, to me, "She wants to accept Christ as her Savior!" Then one of the men who had gone to the retreat, after signing the resolution, told Tony that he needed to take the first step and accept Christ. Then after he had accepted Christ, he brought his teen age daughter over and she told Tony, she wanted to accept Christ!!
This afternoon, we enjoyed a great Father's Day lunch, together. Tried a new recipe and EVERYONE loved it! Tony and the kids have been playing a "new" game outside. I love hearing their laughter through the window.
We are truly blessed!
Joy
Monday, June 4, 2012
Happy Monday Morning! We've turned the calendar to a new month. Can you really believe that it is already June? It seems like just last month we were celebrating New Years!!!
We have had so many blessings already this year. It just amazes me that God would choose to work through me and my family.
Last week we had 186 in services. There were 32 ladies that attended our Sunday School class. After services Tony baptized 3 precious new believers.
This week we celebrated "Children's Day" here in Ecuador, Friday, June 1. We had a team from the church take our puppets to a local school, at the request of the director for a presentation, Friday morning. It was very well received. One lady asked, them, "What does the church charge to do this?" ;-) She seemed pretty amazed that the response was nothing, that we are willing to go wherever there is an opportunity or an open door.
Yesterday, we had 150 in services. People responded to the invitation for prayer, and there was a great spirit in the church. We are thankful for the work that God is doing in hearts and lives here in Manta.
This is a big "celebration" month for our family. June 1, was Teddy's "Welcome to our Family" day. We had a great time celebrating him and enjoyed "Children's Day" with all 3 kids.
Yesterday our oldest daughter, Mandie and her husband Mike celebrated their 6th anniversary. This Wednesday our daughter, Lexi, will celebrate her birthday, and on the 27th, our daughter Ashley and her husband Shane, will celebrate their 4th anniversary, (I think, I have the "years" right! ;-)
We are praising the Lord for his blessings upon our lives and the lives of our children.
I pray that each of you have a week full of blessings from the Lord and open doors of ministry for the glory of God.
Blessings,
Joy
We have had so many blessings already this year. It just amazes me that God would choose to work through me and my family.
Last week we had 186 in services. There were 32 ladies that attended our Sunday School class. After services Tony baptized 3 precious new believers.
This week we celebrated "Children's Day" here in Ecuador, Friday, June 1. We had a team from the church take our puppets to a local school, at the request of the director for a presentation, Friday morning. It was very well received. One lady asked, them, "What does the church charge to do this?" ;-) She seemed pretty amazed that the response was nothing, that we are willing to go wherever there is an opportunity or an open door.
Yesterday, we had 150 in services. People responded to the invitation for prayer, and there was a great spirit in the church. We are thankful for the work that God is doing in hearts and lives here in Manta.
This is a big "celebration" month for our family. June 1, was Teddy's "Welcome to our Family" day. We had a great time celebrating him and enjoyed "Children's Day" with all 3 kids.
Yesterday our oldest daughter, Mandie and her husband Mike celebrated their 6th anniversary. This Wednesday our daughter, Lexi, will celebrate her birthday, and on the 27th, our daughter Ashley and her husband Shane, will celebrate their 4th anniversary, (I think, I have the "years" right! ;-)
We are praising the Lord for his blessings upon our lives and the lives of our children.
I pray that each of you have a week full of blessings from the Lord and open doors of ministry for the glory of God.
Blessings,
Joy
Saturday, March 17, 2012
What's Happening Now?
Happy St. Patrick's Day! No, I'm not going to wear green, and I didn't get any special cookies baked for the kids...they don't even know it's St. Patrick's Day. ;-) The only thing I really remember about St. Patrick's Day growing up, was that if you didn't wear something green to school that day, the kids would pinch you! LOL!!! I remember one year, our teacher had made green shamrocks for everyone out of construction paper and gave them to us as we walked in the door, so that there would be no pinching in our class for the day. :-)
We are keeping busy here in Manta! Just finished up our fourth, 6 week term in school, so the kids and I have 12 more weeks to go for this school year! YAY!!! Teddy has started to learn about WWI in History and Light and Color in Science. He also started working with Decimals this week in Math! (I'm pretty sure I wasn't learning about decimals or WW I in 4th grade!! Carla is reading and started having spelling test a couple weeks ago, and has done really well! She has also just finished up a Math unit on graphs, and had no problems understanding and applying what she was learning. Matthew, is starting to get the concept of reading, and has been working extra hard on his writing. He also started a new unit in Math this week on numbers to 20 and is being introduced the idea of Place Value.
Tony has been having a Discipleship Seminar on Thursday evenings, at our normal Bible Institute time. He has been very pleased with the participation usually having over 20 each evening. They will have one more week. Then March 29-April 1 is our VBS. Appreciate your prayers as we get ready for this special time. Then it will be Easter! WOW!!
Tomorrow afternoon, the ladies in the church will be having a Wedding Shower for one of the young ladies. Looking forward to a great time of fun and fellowship.
Thank you for your prayers for our family and the ministry here in Manta!
Blessings,
Joy
We are keeping busy here in Manta! Just finished up our fourth, 6 week term in school, so the kids and I have 12 more weeks to go for this school year! YAY!!! Teddy has started to learn about WWI in History and Light and Color in Science. He also started working with Decimals this week in Math! (I'm pretty sure I wasn't learning about decimals or WW I in 4th grade!! Carla is reading and started having spelling test a couple weeks ago, and has done really well! She has also just finished up a Math unit on graphs, and had no problems understanding and applying what she was learning. Matthew, is starting to get the concept of reading, and has been working extra hard on his writing. He also started a new unit in Math this week on numbers to 20 and is being introduced the idea of Place Value.
Tony has been having a Discipleship Seminar on Thursday evenings, at our normal Bible Institute time. He has been very pleased with the participation usually having over 20 each evening. They will have one more week. Then March 29-April 1 is our VBS. Appreciate your prayers as we get ready for this special time. Then it will be Easter! WOW!!
Tomorrow afternoon, the ladies in the church will be having a Wedding Shower for one of the young ladies. Looking forward to a great time of fun and fellowship.
Thank you for your prayers for our family and the ministry here in Manta!
Blessings,
Joy
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Family news...
Sometimes I just add this in with the weekly updates, but then it makes the post rather long, so I decided to just make a separate post this week.
What we are hearing from Korea...
Mandie and Mike are doing well. Mike enjoyed having last week off for vacation, and they were able to visit some of the tourist sites around. From what we hear the biggest "find" was an "Uno's" restaurant. If you aren't familiar with "Uno's" it is a pizza/Italian food restaurant. Although they say it was a little pricey, it seems to be worth it for a special treat. Also right up there was a bookstore with a large selection of English books! If you know my daughter at all, you know that was a huge deal. Actually it was a big deal to both of them! In service for the teachers at their school starts Aug. 9. Mike is also working on getting everything in order for this years audit. I know that he would really appreciate your prayers. Everything seems to be going well for Mandie and the baby at this point. Thank you so much for your prayers for them!
News from Springfield...
Ashley is doing well. Keeping very busy working full time at the nursing home. She and Shane are teaching the 3 year old Sunday School class at their church and loving it! Ashley is checking into taking some nursing classes at a community college in the area along with her courses at BBC this fall. She is also starting to plan a wedding! Looks like we are looking at June. Not sure I am ready for another one of these, but with 3 girls, what can we expect, right?! She has had some problems with the van, so we are praying at this time, that she will be able to nurse it along for a little longer. Please keep her in your prayers.
News from Kansas...
Lexi is getting settled in with Tony's sister and her family. She has applied at just about every place there is to apply for a job. We know that God has the perfect job for her. Please pray with us that she will find something soon. She will start classes the end of August. This move is a big adjustment for Lex. I know that she would really appreciate your prayers for her as she settles into a new place... new church, new college, new job... Pray with us that God would not only supply a good job for her, but also bring some good friends into her life during the next weeks. Pray too, that she would be a great influence on her little cousins, as I know this is important to her too.
Teddy Boy...
Teddy is our non-stop bundle of energy and joy. He goes from the time his eyes open in the morning until he falls asleep, (usually talking! :-) at night. We are into our 4th week of school and he is doing pretty well. Of course anytime you ask an "on the go" boy to sit still it is not easy, but he is adjusting to it and learning more everyday. He is very close to reading and I know that as soon as we start in a couple weeks, he is going to catch on and run with it. This week I asked him what his favorite foods were, his answer, "French Fries, Broccoli, hot dogs, apples, and grapes..." How many 5 year olds do you know that Broccoli would make it 2nd on their lists of favorite foods? Don't worry he loves candy and cookies too!
We are looking forward to my parents visiting us in a couple weeks. This is the first time Mom and Dad have made it to Ecuador since Mandie was a junior. Of course we have been back to the US many times during this last years. We are excited that they are going to get to come and see what it is like here in Manta.
Thank you so much for your prayers for our family and our ministry here. We really do appreciate you!
God Bless!
Joy
What we are hearing from Korea...
Mandie and Mike are doing well. Mike enjoyed having last week off for vacation, and they were able to visit some of the tourist sites around. From what we hear the biggest "find" was an "Uno's" restaurant. If you aren't familiar with "Uno's" it is a pizza/Italian food restaurant. Although they say it was a little pricey, it seems to be worth it for a special treat. Also right up there was a bookstore with a large selection of English books! If you know my daughter at all, you know that was a huge deal. Actually it was a big deal to both of them! In service for the teachers at their school starts Aug. 9. Mike is also working on getting everything in order for this years audit. I know that he would really appreciate your prayers. Everything seems to be going well for Mandie and the baby at this point. Thank you so much for your prayers for them!
News from Springfield...
Ashley is doing well. Keeping very busy working full time at the nursing home. She and Shane are teaching the 3 year old Sunday School class at their church and loving it! Ashley is checking into taking some nursing classes at a community college in the area along with her courses at BBC this fall. She is also starting to plan a wedding! Looks like we are looking at June. Not sure I am ready for another one of these, but with 3 girls, what can we expect, right?! She has had some problems with the van, so we are praying at this time, that she will be able to nurse it along for a little longer. Please keep her in your prayers.
News from Kansas...
Lexi is getting settled in with Tony's sister and her family. She has applied at just about every place there is to apply for a job. We know that God has the perfect job for her. Please pray with us that she will find something soon. She will start classes the end of August. This move is a big adjustment for Lex. I know that she would really appreciate your prayers for her as she settles into a new place... new church, new college, new job... Pray with us that God would not only supply a good job for her, but also bring some good friends into her life during the next weeks. Pray too, that she would be a great influence on her little cousins, as I know this is important to her too.
Teddy Boy...
Teddy is our non-stop bundle of energy and joy. He goes from the time his eyes open in the morning until he falls asleep, (usually talking! :-) at night. We are into our 4th week of school and he is doing pretty well. Of course anytime you ask an "on the go" boy to sit still it is not easy, but he is adjusting to it and learning more everyday. He is very close to reading and I know that as soon as we start in a couple weeks, he is going to catch on and run with it. This week I asked him what his favorite foods were, his answer, "French Fries, Broccoli, hot dogs, apples, and grapes..." How many 5 year olds do you know that Broccoli would make it 2nd on their lists of favorite foods? Don't worry he loves candy and cookies too!
We are looking forward to my parents visiting us in a couple weeks. This is the first time Mom and Dad have made it to Ecuador since Mandie was a junior. Of course we have been back to the US many times during this last years. We are excited that they are going to get to come and see what it is like here in Manta.
Thank you so much for your prayers for our family and our ministry here. We really do appreciate you!
God Bless!
Joy
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Family news
We have had some major events happen in our family over the last week... Last Thursday, Teddy turned 5 years old! He had a big day, complete with a "Superman cake" and decorations. His favorite present was a box of "superhero stuff"! He also received a new bike.
Thursday afternoon and evening we had visitors fly in to see us. Cliff McGhee, missionary in Quito, came down and spent a couple nights with us. Tony was able to take him around to see property possibilities and get some more counsel on property and building options for our church. Also two very dear friends of mine came down and spent the whole Easter week-end with us. It was such a blessing to be able to visit and fellowship with everyone.
Sunday after church we had a big gathering for Easter Dinner here at our house. We invited Chris and Lois Tignor and their family to join us from Portoviejo. We had a great time of fellowship and great food too! The highlight for the children of course was the Easter Egg hunt after dinner! I don't think the adults could decide if the chocolate peanut butter eggs were the best, or the lemon cheesecake! :-)
Well, I have saved the biggest news for last... On Friday morning, our daughter Mandie and her husband Mike called us from Korea. They had just returned from their Mission trip to the Philippines. They had some very exciting news for us... Tony and I are going to be GRANDPARENTS! The baby is due early in December. We appreciate you prayers for them, for Mandie's health and for the baby. Also please be praying with us that the Lord would open the doors and provide a way for us to be able to go and be with them when the baby is born. Sometimes things seem impossible from a human standpoint, but we know that our God is the creator of the universe and there is NOTHING impossible for Him!
I pray God blesses you richly as you serve him this week!
Love, Joy
Thursday afternoon and evening we had visitors fly in to see us. Cliff McGhee, missionary in Quito, came down and spent a couple nights with us. Tony was able to take him around to see property possibilities and get some more counsel on property and building options for our church. Also two very dear friends of mine came down and spent the whole Easter week-end with us. It was such a blessing to be able to visit and fellowship with everyone.
Sunday after church we had a big gathering for Easter Dinner here at our house. We invited Chris and Lois Tignor and their family to join us from Portoviejo. We had a great time of fellowship and great food too! The highlight for the children of course was the Easter Egg hunt after dinner! I don't think the adults could decide if the chocolate peanut butter eggs were the best, or the lemon cheesecake! :-)
Well, I have saved the biggest news for last... On Friday morning, our daughter Mandie and her husband Mike called us from Korea. They had just returned from their Mission trip to the Philippines. They had some very exciting news for us... Tony and I are going to be GRANDPARENTS! The baby is due early in December. We appreciate you prayers for them, for Mandie's health and for the baby. Also please be praying with us that the Lord would open the doors and provide a way for us to be able to go and be with them when the baby is born. Sometimes things seem impossible from a human standpoint, but we know that our God is the creator of the universe and there is NOTHING impossible for Him!
I pray God blesses you richly as you serve him this week!
Love, Joy
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