Mid-Month Meandering

3 posts in one day - WHAT is this world coming to?

Paige - asking why I was taking her picture
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I decided I should do an update on my trip to Germany. I have had some difficulty downloading the pictures - thus the delay in posting about it. I have been home for a week and the kids are finally adjusting to mommy being back in the house.

Jessica and I had a great time in Germany - it took an extra day to get there as our flight was canceled the first time due to mechanical issues, but I am thankful the airline took the precaution to cancel it considering all the recent crashes. Over the course of our 13 days in country, we were able to sort 4 different rooms worth of stuff at the Hospitality House in Kaiserslautern, weed out some toys at the Hospitality House in Baumholder and give some organizing ideas to the youth leaders with Malachi in Baumholder. The Kaiserslautern House is the oldest Cadence Hospitality House in Europe and has been run for 37 years under several different missionary teams. With an overabundance of "donations" and insufficient order, there were definitely areas of the house desperate for an extra hand in organization.


















We also got to do some sight-seeing. Fred & Diane took us {along with 3 military personnel/families} three hours south to France - to see the Cathedral in Strasbourg and then on to a castle in Colmar. This was so much fun. Last summer I got to see a lot of castles throughout Germany and it was so fun to get to see one in France, with snow still on the ground - quite the contrast.














We were able to visit Jessica's aunt and cousins near Cologne - we did a quick tour of Cologne - despite the pouring rain.

Leaving on a jet plane....

Many of you know that I have my own business as a Personal Organizer. A Well Ordered Life has given me the opportunity to use my gift for organization to benefit others. Many have been gracious enough to hire me to work for them and I have been blessed in the process. It has allowed me to grow in my skills & confidence and given me the opportunity to get connected with more people.

Those that know me well know that I am a bit of a social net-worker. I am on Facebook and get teased about my frequent updates and online time. I often get asked questions about where to find things or who would be able to help them in their particular situation. I am frequently given business cards to pass out as I have been given the reputation of having information. I am honored when people asked me for information and I try to give the most accurate possible. I have also been told by people that I "get things done". I try to take this as a compliment and use my gifting with grace, not overstepping boundaries unless appropriate. (I'm sure I'll get lots of comments on that statement!)

We met Fred & Diane Stock on our first Sunday candidating at NKBC - in February 2005. They left for Germany soon after that, so we didn't have much time to interact. We took the opportunity to visit them while we were in Germany helping Brad & Debbie Ellgen last June. This was a great chance to get to know them better and to see what their ministry looks like.

June 2008 - Hohenecken Castle

In the midst of some of my social net-working, I began chatting with Diane and found out that they are desiring some help to sort/clean/purge before a move this summer. To quote Brad Ellgen: "Our mission needs this help so badly to help transition the outgoing and incoming missionary. I was just at a summit in Denver about missionary care and we NEED to do this!"

This seemed like the perfect opportunity to use my skills and so, with Duncan's unfailing support, I began checking flight prices. Having been impressed with Lufthansa last year, I had no qualms about flying with them again. I was a bit discouraged to see the prices for this summer ($1500 per ticket), but was blown away by some deals available in March ($550). After kicking it around some (all within a 48 hour period!) Duncan and I decided that I would do my best to make this 12 day trip work. I plan to purchase my ticket this coming Monday and I am hoping the prices stay the same.

One of my friends, a college student at our church, will be going with me. She has expressed a desire to look into full-time ministry and this is a great opportunity for her to get involved in a ministry with the military. She is currently a student @ Ecola and is on spring break during the time frame of our trip.

I won't have many expenses while I'm there - making this trip very affordable. We are blessed by the church family @ NKBC, but it is an expensive area that we live in and so we keep our finances very trim to fit within our income. I have filled out a 'short term mission' application with the Mission Council @ our church for some assistance, but wouldn't say no if anyone else wanted to help with this trip.

How you can help:

• Monetarily - I am looking into tax-deductible options through our church
• Prayer - That I would support Fred & Diane in a practical way
• Practical - Duncan will be taking care of the kids while still working

Out of Towners

We have been trying for 3 separate weekends to get together with our friends Rich & Pamela Ellgen from Portland, Oregon.

1. December 20-21 - Snowed in & roads unsafe
   
2. January 4-5 - Out of town friends pop in for a last-minute visit at their house
3. January 10-11th - On the calendar, but looking sketchy since the flooding had closed down I-5 between our homes and we had sick kids at our house that week.
   

I-5 finally opened on Friday January 9, our kids kicked their bugs and Rich & Pamela were able to make the 3.5 hour trip to visit us from Portland. This was their first time traveling overnight with Brad Soren and he had a rough transition to sleeping in new surroundings. The benefit of staying with us is that we TOTALLY understand and empathize with the pain of staying up all night with a 17month old that WILL NOT sleep.

It was a quick trip, but we were blessed to spend time with them none-the-less. We have had the honor of being ministry mentors with both Rich & Pamela - quite fun since Rich's dad was Duncan's mentor for quite a few years. They are pressing forward with plans to join Cadence International - possibly even working with Rich's parents Brad & Debbie Ellgen in Germany.

{We both feel very short next to them}

Corn Maze @ Sunrise Hill Farm

We went to Sunrise Hill Farm today to 'scout' out a place for the youth group to do a Corn Maze on the night of October 31st. This is Sunrise Hill Farm's first year hosting a corn-maze and they did a great job. They had a fun kid area with hay-bales turned into a maze and they had a big pile of hay for kids to jump in. They also had a great circle of hay bales with tricycles inside for the kids to ride around in - what a phenomenal idea!

Duncan is planning to do a worship/concert session after the corn maze and so we needed to check out the facilities. If it's nice out, they'll play outside, but they can use the barn if the weather is questionable. It should be a great time!

After going through the maze

Posing by an apple tree

Let's Go Fly a Kite...

Point No Point
Yesterday was lovely and beautiful with a 70% chance of rain in the forecast. We laughed at the thought of rain marring the sunshine and took the kids up to the beach at Point No Point in Hansville WA. We got there and the clouds began looking ominous. We only had coats for the girls, so Graeme, Duncan & I braved the cold. The wind was nice and strong though, so we got out and flew kites for 20-30 minutes. No problem keeping the kites in the air! It looks like Graeme's kite is a flock of birds...

These darkness of these pictures is a bit over-done because they are taken by my cell phone - {from the nearby parking lot in our nice warm car where Paige and I were taking refuge after being in the cold for 20 minutes}

Busy end to a Busy Summer

We got home Sunday night from a 9-day trip with 25 teens, 10 adults and our 3 kids. We went to Westport, WA to help a small church run a VBS and Teen Camp program. This was a big undertaking as our teens would be doing everything... leading all the crews in VBS as well as leading the workshops in the Teen Camps and hosting a dinner for the community every evening.

The teens stayed in rooms at the church and Duncan and I slept nearby in a travel trailer with our kids. There are a lot of reasons I don't like camping: rain and burrs in the grass {ouch} are just a few of them. We had a fabulous time despite the rain and the leaky travel trailer. We are so blessed by the families that are a part of our youth ministry. I am so blown away by the joy others take in spending time with my kids. It blesses my socks off to see people wanting to be with them - what a ministry to our family!

9 kids decided to commit their lives to Jesus during VBS - out of the 25 kids attending - and 4 teens recommitted their lives during the teen camp. It was a powerful time of ministry as our teens really grew in their gifts and abilities while teaching other kids and teens how to do things.

We got to see God's provision many times during the week - from food being donated for specific meals to money found on the ground outside a grocery store. It was a great opportunity for the teens to see how God is moving - if they slow down and look for it!

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We had planned to take a day of rest on Saturday to go to the beach and were wondering if that would happen due to the rain during the week. Friday ended up being beautiful and Saturday's forecast was much of the same, so the teens spent the day jumping in the waves and playing beach volleyball. I got in on a few games of Volleyball and had a blast falling in the sand on almost every hit. Coordination is obviously not my gifting. It was a great time of rest and rejuvenation after such a busy week of going from 7am -11pm.

Rick Ray was our main chef for the week and he served us some amazing food. Here is a picture of he and his wife Jill picking up smooth stones at the beach. Cute! Jim & Lisa Hanson also did a bunch of the food - providing/planning all the snacks for VBS and helping Rick in the kitchen. What a ministry of service to our teens!

My sister and brother-in-law brought their little guy up to visit for a couple days and they blended right into the mix of teens and craziness. Our teens sang a nice off-key rendition of the Happy Birthday song to Gary and he was obviously amazed by our skilled voices. So much so that he didn't want us to ruin it by singing it twice.

We got back Sunday night and Duncan got sick. His fever hit 101 and the chills were pretty strong. Lots of sleep and rest needed to recover from such a long and busy week. He never sleeps well at other places and this was no exception.

Monday night my brother and his family stopped in for a one-night/day visit on their way to another sister's house. Our kids had a blast playing with their cousins and it was a joy to see them playing together. Ava is the same age as Blaire Rose and Lily is the same age as Paige. All 4 blondies were pretty cute together. Graeme was a bit bored, but he managed ok while playing princesses and knights. Uncle Chet played legos with him, so he was happy.

Blaire Rose & Ava Marie

Lily Rebecca & Paige Elizabeth

Fanciful Flight

We enjoy making use of our membership at the Museum of Flight in Seattle throughout the year. Today we went while en route to dropping a friend off at the airport. Graeme could spend hours there, but Paige and Blaire begin to get bored after 90 minutes, so having the membership is a fantastic use of the admission fees - being able to go back every few months to check out different wings and see different exhibits is just one of the perks.






Blaire Rose has never been shy about trying out the Blue Angels flight simulator and Graeme has become more adventurous while watching Blaire try new things, but this was the first time Paige got to climb inside and use the controls herself. All 3 kids listened very well to the operator as he gave them tips on how to maneuver the aircraft. Graeme was the only one that was tall enough to reach the peddles, but the girls did just fine without.

We also maintain a membership at the Seattle Aquarium as it's within walking distance of the ferry and we can go there for an inexpensive outing. Duncan's mom renews our memberships each year and we have really enjoyed having them.

What memberships do you have or would like to have? How do you decide between different available options?

Rhode Island Vacation

We got to spend a week in Rhode Island with Duncan's family and had a great time at the beach. The kids had fun meeting their cousins and we all had a good time relaxing and hanging out.


The kids had a great time on the boogie boards with Duncan assisting.

We got to see our friends Alex & Julie as well - they came down from Boston to spend the weekend with us. We have a very special relationship with them because we got to do their premarital counseling and Duncan got to perform their wedding ceremony in August 2006. They are moving to Texas soon and expecting their first child in September - so they enjoyed the beach break and we had a lot of fun catching up.Stonington, CT.

We got back to Washington very early Wednesday morning and we are still catching up on sleep. The kids are having fun with all their toys after being gone 5 weeks and Duncan jumped right back into the thick of things with meetings Wednesday evening.

Visiting another Hospitality House in Germany

We took 4 soldiers, our Cadence Intern and a gal with her 2 kids to go visit Fred & Diane Stocks in Kaiserslautern, Germany where they are directors of a Hospitality House. We toured around their local castle ruins and had a great time just hanging out. It's extra fun because Fred & Diane are actually from our home church in Poulsbo.

The girls are attached to Mac - they seem to think the sun rises & sets with him! He has promised to visit us when we get back to WA and he gets out of the Army - should be sometime this fall - so, we'll see if they still remember him by then!

Marksburg Castle

Thanks to it's formidable defenses, medieval invaders decided to give Marksburg a miss. Marksburg Castle is the only hill castle on the Rhine that has never been destroyed. It has been lived in for over 700 years and thus represents an ever changing and developing building complex that has been growing into it's present shape over the centuries. It's littered with bits of it's medieval past, like the big stone ball that was swung on a rope to be used as a battering ram.The Central Keep is situated in one of the smallest courtyards in Germany. Of ancient but unknown age, it towers about 120 feet over it's base. It's present shape is 14th century, but certain parts belong to the oldest elements of the castle. The keep was the defenders' last refuge during a siege. Its only entrance was 30 feet above the ground, inaccessible with a ladder. The lower section contains the dungeon, measuring only 7ftx7ft.

Romanesque Palace - Such a beautiful building! The white outline indicates where the original window was - it was made smaller to be easier to defend.

These are from the noble families who have owned the castle since 1283.

Barefoot Park

During the last few years, some dozen barefoot parks have been founded in Germany and Austria. They are open to the public and offer the opportunity to walk some distance (up to three miles) on natural ground and to feel a variety of materials with the bare soles.

Moreover, visitors can enjoy balancing or climbing exercises and walk through rivers. Some barefoot parks include playground sections designed for barefoot use. This healthy combination of barefoot hiking and playing has become a real touristic attraction.

We had a great opportunity to spend time with friends at our local Barefoot Park - a very German idea. We got to experience all sorts of textures as we walked around the 1.5 mile course. There were some weirded out expressions as we entered a mud-path and had to walk in ooey-gooey mud ... not my favorite part. The kids had a blast and the weather was fabulous. 3 families joined us and everyone had fun chatting and encouraging each other to press on when tired or hesitant to try a new texture.

GPS - aka Jane

We have had the use of a GPS system while here in Germany. We call her Jane. She is quite helpful for our many trips with the soldiers, even if she is very forceful with her directions "In 200 meters, turn left...." "TURN LEFT NOW!"

Today we embarked on our trip to see the Burg Eltz Castle - an amazing castle that is still lived in and owned by the Eltz family - going back 33 generations. It is still furnished as it was 500 years ago - and the 45 minute tour goes through 2 parts of the castle. The family lives in a 3rd section and maintain control of the property.

We had checked the directions online before heading out and it said it was about 1.5 hours. We loaded up the car, set up "Jane" and stopped at a gas station to get fuel. The gas station was not on Jane's preferred route, so she kept "Recalculating" our course. In retrospect, I believe she is set up for the straightest route - speed of travel taking no place in her calculations.

We took off from getting fuel and proceeded through every little town and development you can imagine, religiously following Jane's directions because we hadn't printed any other course. After a very sensory-filled 2-hour trip (cow fields, bumpy roads, etc) we arrived in Berg Eltz - with Graeme and Laura complaining of car-sickness due to the twisty, curvy roads.
We picnicked near the parking area and hiked into the castle entrance. We had a great time touring the castle and had fun checking out all the surrounding country-side as we prepared to head back home. We headed in the direction of the nearest main road - causing Jane to "Recalculate" over and over again. We made it home in 2 hours, with many detours due to road construction. Thankfully no car-sickness on the way home.

Final Preparations

As we gear up for our international flight on Tuesday, June 3rd, we are making some final preparations. The bags are out and getting loaded, the final house-sitting arrangements are being made and the kids are getting excited as we talk about the airplane ride. We are so blessed to be able to do this trip. We have been blown away by everyones generosity and support of us pursuing this act of service for Brad & Debbie Ellgen.

Praises:

• Final funds have come in to cover the food and gas budget at the Festaburg
  
• No layovers on our trip
• House and lawn are being taken care of while we're gone
• Opportunity to stop and visit Duncan's family in R.I. on our way home
  

Prayer needs:

• Duncan's leg to heal (see below)
• Travel mercies as we have a 10-hour flight
  
• Sanity as we parent our children during all these changes
  

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Last week Duncan scheduled a doctor appointment to do a check up and after making the appointment, he went to youth group and afterward came home saying that he had pulled a muscle in his leg while running around with the teens. We put some heat on it and he rested it as much as he could before spending 2 days walking around at our church rummage sale Friday & Saturday. On Saturday afternoon one of the teens asked me if I'd noticed the bruise on Duncan's leg - I went to check it out and was shocked at the enormity of it. Considering Duncan already had an appointment for this week, we didn't rush in to have it checked out (he still had good blood flow, etc). Turns out that he tore his hamstring and it is going to take a while to heal. Which means no more running around with the teens. Thankfully he can walk on it - despite the tenderness of it.

Breaking and Entering

One of the great stories in the Bible about community involves a paralyzed man and the friends who brought him to Jesus (Mark 2:1-8).

Imagine what life was like for a paralytic in the ancient world. This man's whole life is lived on a mat three-feet wide and six-feet long. Someone has to feed him, carry him, clothe him, move him to keep him from being covered with bedsores, clean him when he soils himself. He will never know the sense of independence we prize so fiercely.

Nothing can be done medically—no surgeries, no rehab programs, no treatment centers. Anyone in this man's condition has to go through life as a beggar—be laid by the side of the road, be dependent on people dropping coins beside him to live another day. He has no money, no job, no influence, no family, and seemingly not much of a future.

What's he got going for him? He has friends. He has amazing friends.

He is in one of the killer small groups of all time.

In one sense, this whole story takes place because of his friends. Without his friends he never makes it to Jesus, never gets healed, never gets forgiven." (By John Ortberg)

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Without our friends and supporters, we would not be able to pursue our trip to Germany. We have been blessed and blown away by all the prayer and financial support that has been pouring in. It is so amazing to see how God is working in your lives to reach out to the soldiers and their families in Baumholder, Germany by supporting us so we can go over there.

We are coming down to the wire - with only 4 weeks left until our departure. We are securing leaders to cover for Duncan while we're gone and getting our house ready to be taken care of by other people. We have raised enough support to cover our tickets and passports - now any extra money can go to the ministry at the Festaburg - and to providing care for the families there. With gas at $9/gallon, we are sure it will cost more than we planned, but we are trusting that God will provide the rest of what is needed.

Pray with us for our Germany trip...

We are coming face-to-face with needing to make a decision on ticket purchases. We are 1/2 way there - we have already raised a bit over $3500 towards our trip, but need $6500-$7000 just for our tickets, not to mention other travel expenses.

Pray for wisdom as to when we should purchase our tickets. The quandary: should we buy them {in faith} now and trust that the money will come in soon to pay them off or should we wait till the full amount comes in so we can pay cash; taking the chance that the price won't go up in the meantime. So much to think and pray about.

We are confident that God has led us down this path despite the fact that we don't have any extra in our budget to pay for the balance. Please pray with us that we would continue to seek God's guidance and that we would know when the right time is.

Last but not least...

Never one to be outdone and always preferring a grand entrance; Paige's passport arrived today - amidst the rain and unseasonal snow mix that is falling.

We The People

Of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessing of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America

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4 out of 5 passports arrived today - just 15 days after we submitted our application. Fingers crossed that Paige's doesn't have any holdup other than not making it in our mailbox today.

Seattle Aquarium

We had a good morning at the Seattle Aquarium with Nadine, Katie & Jack Green. The kids were all a bit crazy, but they had fun. Only a few minor meltdowns as we hurried to the ferry and a craft blew away in the wind... but overall, a great time.