A long totally uninteresting post about the past year in YWAM

   As I look over the last year of our being in YWAM, I am amazed that we are still here. Does that surprise you? The last year was an incredible adjustment for me, for Joel, for the kids. The previous nine years was spent in a small town in a big county. Next to a beautiful, humongous puddle.

Joel with 9 mo old Rachel Summer 2007

This community was really the first for Joel and I in our marriage adventure. Sure we moved about every 1, 2 or 3 years to a different house, but it was always in the same community, same sweet town, same church family, same friends. Same wonderful grocery stores, bank and Post office.

So when God swung open the wide door of MISSIONARY and YWAM and FIVE HOURS AWAY FROM EVERYTHING FAMILIAR the adjustment was not a shock, but more like an ache. A dull, panging ache. Don't get me wrong, I love it here...now. The people are great- I love the staff. I love the students. We live out in the country. The kids are making friends. But as I look back on the last year, it's been hard. Lonely, in fact. Wondering "why" God put us here. What is our role here?

It's amazing what answers come in just a year. I don't ask God "why am I here?" quite so often as I used to. I see this time here at YWAM as a time of training. Of preparation for Something Else down the road. God is training us to be leaders. But as every leader should know- it's about servant hood. Joel is serving in the maintenance department. I am serving our children. Both of us help out where needed at the YWAM base, whether it's in the kitchen, in the accounting office or just cleaning.

God is teaching me to be content as a mother. At home. Cleaning. Cooking. Homeschooling. Raising children. This has been a hard lesson for me over the last year. I want to be over at the base Doing something. Anything. Because then, I'm doing something Important. Yes, this has been a hard lesson to learn.

Over the last year, I have experienced some emotional healing through a ministry called Theophostic Prayer Ministry (TPM). I have experienced freedom from different lies I believed about myself and God has brought His Truth into my life to set me free from those lies- permanently. This has been wonderful for me and I know it's another reason why I am here.

There are many other reasons why God has put us here, but those are the two I'm going to share with you tonight.

On a lighter note: I was praying and struggling about learning Spanish. Since ninth grade I have tried to learn this language off and on. But to no avail. I would try and try to learn it and then I would keep hitting a wall, and then I would quit trying. Then six months later I would pick it up again, only to fail again. So finally I asked God, "why? Why is it so hard for me to learn this language?" And do you know what He said to me? You'll never guess. When He told me His answer I didn't believe it. Until He told me again two days later: "I want you to learn German." ??? Why in the world would I want to learn German? Nothing against German, except that it sounds harsh, like Russian. I guess in one way I was relieved He didn't ask me to learn French. Whew.
So there you have it. For 2.5 weeks, I have been learning German, thanks to Duolingo. And you know? It's coming along a lot easier than Spanish ever did. Amazing.

I have a little praise report: Rachel had a severe stomach ache one night. She was doubled over and moaning in bed. I gave her peppermint. But that didn't seem to help like it usually does. I could only think of one thing- Appendix. No, not at the end of this long rambling post. I was thinking of a ruptured appendix. I closed my eyes and tried not to think about rushing off to the ER ten minutes away in the cold and snow and it was 11:30 pm and I would really like to go to sleep..please? I tried to give it over to Jesus. We prayed over Rachel. We tucked her in. Then we went to bed and waited. We prayed. And prayed. Rachel didn't get up. Not once during that night after 11:30. She woke up happy and ready to go to school. She was fine. I could hardly believe it. No surgery. She still had her appendix and I even got some sleep. God is good. Aren't you glad?

Having ECCO students and staff over for dinner and coffee

So a quick update on two things here at YWAM: One is that Joel and I are co-leading (yes) a Bible Class for our current school (English Cross Cultural Orientation aka: ECCO). We teach one hour twice a week. Monday and Thursday mornings. Hudson and Madelynn come with us and they do fabulous. I think it's because the students are so fun. Joel and I are writing and inventing the curriculum for this Bible Class and it has been such a blast. We sing songs, we play games, the students share (in English) what God is teaching them. This morning the students demonstrated their hard work and put on two performances: Original children's songs written, sung and performed (in English) by all the students in Noah's Ark theme. Oh they did such a great job!

ECCO Bible Class

And the second thing is that once a week in the afternoon we take four ECCO students and volunteer at the local thrift store. This has been fun getting to know these specific students a little better. Last week they came over for supper afterwards and we had a great time together.

At the Thrift Store

Joshua and Rachel are both in Scouts this year. This has been a good decision so far as it is helping them to form friendships and do something fun outside of school and YWAM. Joshua made his first Pinewood Derby car and Rachel will soon be selling Girl Scout cookies.

The L.S. Rock-It!

Two things you can be praying for us about:

1. We are still looking for a church. We were going to one since June 2014 but it has gotten very difficult with the timing (it's an evening service) and being a school night and all....The worship is great, the teaching is solid, the people are nice, and it's not a very big church. We've really enjoyed going there. But being on staff at YWAM, early mornings at public school, and trying to eat healthy have become large obstacles. So the hunt continues...

2. Please continue to pray for Joshua and the disease that haunts his body- Type 1 Diabetes. He is currently on a liver cleanse diet and it has been helping him. We continue to seek God and His Righteousness and we know that all things will be added to us as well-whether it's healing or just an improvement in blood sugar numbers.

3. (Ok there's actually three, not two) We are praying about taking a family missions trip this summer. Right now we are seeking God on a specific ministry that we have been made aware of in a large Asian country. We would like to travel there this summer and stay for a month and see how it goes. How we could fit in, how the kids do, how I do (with elephants, heat, snakes and oh yeah, spiders-really really big ones).


Going back to life at YWAM....
The kids are doing really well. This is home now. Though they talk about Grand Marais and want to go and visit. And oh yes, Madelynn wants to move back there, not just visit.

Rachel turns EIGHT on Saturday (can you believe it??), so our house will be pink for a few days.

Sledding Birthday Party!
Here's the train...watch out!
Love Rachel's face in this one.
(She's the one with a light green jacket, her mouth wide open-yelling of course.)

Joshua is doing a unit on Engineering in Science class so he's been constructing roller coasters and really enjoying himself.

Hudson is four now and is just as cute as ever. He's the baby of the family, so he probably gets cuddled way too much by Rachel and I. But he's becoming a handsome little man and knows how to count to 13 (skipping the 12) and recognizes the letters of the alphabet.

Hudson's Fourth!

Homeschooling Madelynn is easy peasy and I'm really enjoying this break from the usual chaos at home.

And that's about it! That wasn't too bad was it? At least there weren't any footnotes or a dozen appendices like the Lord of the Rings books. Hope you enjoy the rest of your day in the Presence of the One who is worth Everything.

At Minnehaha Falls visiting a friend in Minneapolis

Random Recent Family Pictures

Ceylon Lagoon, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin 6:30am

We spent 4 days at YWAM Conference in Lake Geneva, interspersed with visiting a lot of Renee's family. 

We didn't see much of Rachel and Joshua during the conference because spent so much of their time with new friends.  

It's a family tradition to take pictures at the pink elephant in DeForest, WI, but it was too windy and cold at the front end,  so this is what you get.  

A Sunday Science Outing

or, An Outing Whereby We Unknowingly Collect Ticks.  

Joshua the Experimenter building a boat.

Rachel the Artist illustrating our outing.

Madelynn the Inquisitive

Hudson the Handsome (that's not a booger, it's rug burn)

Bros.  

Mommy's been having us all drink activated charcoal in cherry juice.  

Charydyn and Rachel and the Children's Shelter of Cebu banquet.  Charydyn was one of the kids in the Philippines our church sponsored before she got adopted by a family in the Minneapolis area.  

]

Hey a "Pike" cabin at YMCA Camp Ihduhapi where we had a 2-day planning retreat for Missions Adventures this summer!  

He'll grow into it.  

Our first nature hike of the season.  

Oliver!  Best buddies since birth.  Practically.  And still. 

Oliver and Joshua made breakfast of their own initiative with no adult supervision while wearing footies.  

Daddy grills for his birthday in a snowstorm.  I think that's getting to be a tradition too.  

Thanks for checking in on us.  Tomorrow morning Renee and are off to stay here: 

Which is here:

For our ten year anniversary.

Tootaloo.  

A New Chapter

Below is our newsletter that we sent out to family and friends this past month. Please read as it contains some important news as to the direction of our family. :)

Hello! As you can tell from the picture, the P___ family is looking ahead to something new on the horizon. Since Joel returned from a short-term missions trip to Thailand last May we've sensed it was time for a new direction for us. In Bangkok, Joel served at Santisuk English School, teaching conversational English, encouraging younger Christians and interacting with his students outside of class. The expanse of this visit was one month, but many adventures, opportunities to share the Gospel, and new experiences were had. When Joel came home, we knew God was opening the door for something new.

We began looking for ways to get more ministry training and to take a step toward long term missions. It took awhile to figure out what God was showing us, but after prayer, waiting, and more prayer, we now know He is leading us to a town called R_______.   R_____ is a town of about 4,000 people and 45 minutes west of M__________. It is also home to a Youth With A Mission (YWAM) base where we (Joel and I) have been invited to join their staff!

If you are not familiar with YWAM I can expound a little: Youth With A Mission is a Christian missions organization who trains and sends out people of all ages on short term trips, but also has 18,000 long-term missionaries at 1100 locations in 180 countries. Each YWAM base offers basic discipleship training as well as many other schools of missions, ministry, or bible training. 

What drew us to the base in R______ was that for one, it's still in __. It's (still) close(r) to family compared to, let's say, Nepal. We would still receive the health care which covers Joshua's daily medicine. But also, we noticed other things that drew us to this base, such as an outdoors focus in their Discipleship Training school. They have a Biblical Studies school similar to what Joel and I did with YWAM ten years ago in Alberta. This base is also involved in the Kids Against Hunger program offering weekly opportunities for youth groups to pack food which will be sent to kids in malnourished countries.

After meeting and speaking with the directors of the R_____ YWAM base, Joel and I sensed a spiritual maturity and a humility that impressed us both. There is a genuine friendliness in the staff atmosphere and a handful of staff families with children in a variety of ages. They were also excited for us to come! Not only does this base reach out globally, but it also has a number of different local outreaches, some in the inner city, as well as partnership with the local churches.

As far as our part and how we are going to be involved is still to be determined. I (Renee) would like to be part of the hospitality team or help out in some of the base's mercy ministries. At least in the beginning Joel is going to be involved in the facilities management and doing special building projects. Honestly, we just want to be used where we are needed and be a part of the team that fulfills the Great Commission.

So that is our news! There are big changes about to take place. In the next little while, our house needs to sell, we will need to raise enough financial support to live on, and we need to find a home close to the base.

The kids are excited. They know we are moving. They know they will have to say goodbye to their friends, say goodbye to Papa and Nina (Renee's parents), and of course goodbye to the familiarity of home and town and church. For all of us it is bittersweet, but underneath is peace knowing we are following Jesus and going where He is leading.

Please contact us if you are interested in being a part of our 'sending' team. We hope you found this update encouraging and helpful. May God bless you and your family.

With Christ's love,

Joel, Renee, Joshua, Rachel, Madelynn and Hudson

Meet...

our pet hedgehog! 

She is very pleased to meet you.

Penelope

Rachel's Tomato plant:

Tom-alina and Rachel

And our new pet bunnies! (for real)

Four week old Mini Rexes (both female!):

Madelynn holding Buttercup

Buttercup and the girls

Hudson learning to pet Bluebell

Joshua holding Bluebell

Lots of pets around here! Very exciting! 

I won't bother introducing you to all the kale, pepper and other tomato plants that the kids have named...!!

Go A to Z

This is what happens when Mommy and one other kid leaves the house for a couple hours: Daddy gets to play! 

Behold the ABC's masterfully created out of Legos by Joshua, Madelynn and Daddy!:

Boys Helping Daddy

Spring Tea Party

Happy First Day of Spring!

For the L family, H family, D family, C family, Ms K, and E.

Uppy-datey

I haven't given an update on the kids in awhile. I know some of you enjoy that, and I enjoy remembering what new things they are up to. So I'll begin...

Dressed for summer.

Hudson with a green bean up his nose.
Don't worry, it's organic.

I'll start with Hudson (2 yrs), or our little "pie" as Rachel calls him. She has all sorts of pet names for him. He and Madelynn weigh the same, their heads are the same size, but he is still shorter than her. He enjoys tackling his siblings by running and then pushing them over with his arms wrapped around their waist. It is quite funny to watch as he barrels them over. He's a sturdy kid, for our family anyway. He's laid back, mostly happy, even when he wears his serious face. Hudson is also our parrot. He will mimic whatever you say, usually the last one-two words of your sentence. Which makes communication difficult, but he is getting better. He calls Mommy "cute" and proclaims Mommy is also "cutest". Hudson admits that Josh, Rachel, Meh-meh and Daddy are also "cute". He loves the Piano Guys and plays the "cello" rocking out in the middle of the living room floor. It's just the toy ukulele we have and it's usually upside down. This morning the first thing Hudson said to me was, "Cello Wars!" Hmm-mm. Yes, I think we have a little groupie.

Meh-meh (as Hudson calls her) with some
of her stuffed animals stuffed in her
nightgown.

Madelynn (3.5 yrs) is our little blue-eyed joy. Full of smiles, hugs, cuddles, jumps and wiggles. She is learning a mile a minute along side her older brother and sister. She hates baths (yes, still), shares a double bed with her sister, loves being read to, and loves pancakes. Right now she is in the transition from taking one nap a day to taking zero naps a day. Sometimes it's a hard balance to figure out what she needs. She can rattle off numbers 1-10 in Thai faster than in English. She also is working on her emotional stability and the ability to use her words rather than her emotions. That said, she is like my (Renee) little shadow if she's not running around with Hudson. Unless of course, Nina (Renee's mom) is in the house, then it's Nina's turn to have a shadow!

Stuffed animals and dolls dressed in doll clothes.
These doll clothes my mom made for
my Patty Pumpkin doll when I was a child.
Now they have been given to R and M
and R has had a great time dressing up her "friends".

Rachel (6 yrs) is our growing artist. She loves to draw, decorate, organize, create and tape. Did I say tape? We go through alot of tape. She enjoys keeping a piece of tape on her chin, just in case. Rachel loves to give gifts (another reason for the use of tape) and often gives Joel and/or I something new. She is full of love and hugs and notes full of hearts and stars. She is also learning to read. Rachel is a wonderful big sister to Madelynn, taking care of her when Mommy can't and taking her by the hand in "shy" situations. Madelynn soaks it in and loves being cared for, most of the time.
Rachel is also, no longer gluten free. 

Rachel lifting Hudson up

Yes, you read that correctly. For the last month and a half or more, Rachel has been eating like the rest of the family: wheat toast, cross-contaminated oats, whole wheat noodles, Red River cereal, etc. We haven't gotten her tested again for Celiac Disease, but she is experiencing no symptoms of this disease any longer.
Four years ago Rachel was diagnosed with Celiac and put on a strict gluten free diet. A year ago I came across this article and decided to give it a try after praying about it. What they said in the article made sense and it was how we wanted to eat anyway-more healthy, more whole grains, less processed foods.
Well, all I can say is, I am amazed. It was frightening at first letting Rachel eat a whole slice of wheat bread. But after awhile, I got used to it. And after seeing no ill side effects, it seems natural now for Rachel to eat like us. She loves it by the way. Rachel had her first cinnamon bun and loved unrolling it as she ate it. She also had her first malted milk ball.
Maybe someday down the road we'll get her tested, but right now we are just rejoicing in God's goodness and mercy to us.

Joshua (8 yrs) has really been into building and creating and then taking pictures of what he has created. Whether it's Legos, blocks from wood kindling, Duplos, train and road systems, he enjoys building. (At the moment of this typing he is with his grandpa playing with an old Erector Set) His favorite right now is to create a city and of course add the cars and trucks to his building creations. Here are a few of the photos Joshua took himself:

A recent highlight for Josh was when a long time buddy and his family came to visit. Oliver and Josh have been good pals for their whole lives. This last time they had fun making a way cool robot out of Legos:

Joshua and Oliver with a Robot

After seeing the Piano Guys play music that he likes to listen to, Joshua has expressed interest in learning to play the cello! We were happy to hear that, but in our family, learning piano comes first as it's such a foundational learning instrument. So now Josh is learning piano, and so far, he is motivated to play.

And I will end with a family photo.

Thanks for checking in and reading this far!

May God bless you with His wonderful Presence.

A "hey! everyone's smiling and looking at the camera
and not blinking!" family photo