Hausman Howdies / Lovin Life! This is something Laura started over 3 years ago. She started by just writing to family, then a few close friends, and on and on it goes. More and more heard about it and wanted to receive it but we have problems with our internet server. Most of the time we try to upload pics to the blog, send out something to an extensive list of people, we get disconnected and it has caused much frustration. However, we can post text on the blog pretty well so we are going to do it this way until we find a better solution.

Just a note of warning, when Laura started doing this, it never was intended to be some list of things we've done, or some grand "spritual journey", but just normal daily living. It's the good, the bad and the ugly. The content in the Hausman Howdies is not necessarily the views of the "chief-bottle-washer" and he can't be held liable or accountable for the content. :) Enjoy it for what it is and learn to love life, which sometimes takes more of the will than at others.

Dearest Family and friends,
Hello from this crazy Haus! It’s been a while since you’ve heard from me and the excuses are many, but I’ll spare you of those! :)

We are more than excited about a team coming from Hobe Sound, FL to work here for the next 3 weeks. This is a short term mission’s trip for 8 people. We would appreciate your prayers for their safety in their flights as well as the work that we hope to accomplish with them here. They are bringing helpers for the building of the interior walls of the Youth Center in Talpos! This part DARYL will need LOTS of prayer. He knows his stuff, but it can all be so different in a foreign culture and “stuff” can get a little “scary” at times. At times like that we need your prayers for a better sense of humor!! :) Laughing is a great part of missionary life... for if you don’t laugh, you’ll go crazy(er)! :)

SCHOOL IS FINISHED as of Monday June 11th! Natasha and Brittany both only have a couple of exams to wrap up and Boy oh Boy, does it EVER FEEL GOOD!!! J Summer is just as much for ME as it is for them, I think! :) Our list of fun “to-do’s” this summer is LONG already... we’ll be working hard to get those finished by schools beginning next year... like scrapbooking, baking etc...

Darla finished last week and has thoroughly enjoyed having these days off... but has wondered in and asked for another paper to do or some one to please give her a spelling test! :) She’s cute!

Bryan is VERY GLAD to have his “favorite” sister out of school. For she is his playmate, punching bag, doggy if needed, you name it and they do it together! Its so much fun to watch them and hear their giggles. But it’s even better when I remember to wear my ear plugs! :) Just kidding! I’m so thankful for the awesome privilege that God has given us to “get to be” parents! How we enjoy and PRAY that we are doing HIS WILL with these precious souls!

Aren’t you glad for the different personalities that God created? Life would be pretty boring if everyone just had ONE. Our Darla has such a bubbly one and the other evening during family alter it was her turn to pray. She started out as normal thanking Jesus for all that He has given her, the nice day, our dog (Daryl said that never has one dog been prayed for any more than our Rita! He’s right!!) and whatever else was her normal thoughts for that day. Then she got all jumping up and down excited as she told God how excited that she was to be finished with school. I “peeked” and she was wiggling like crazy and giggling while talking to God. It was precious. How wonderful that our Heavenly Father cares about each and every wonderful detail of our lives and How pleased He must be when we come to Him... Just as we are!

Bryan may be more of one of those diamonds in the rough... at this stage anyway. Pray for him (and us) as we steer him GOD”S way. The other day he came in the house and breathed a huge sigh and said, “Whew, Moma, I’m tired from workin’!” He loves to go with Daryl to the “work site” as he calls it. He is always so interested in how things go and what makes them work like that etc. However he can get a bit snappy at times. One of those times happened this week when one of his sisters asked if he knew where he put something of theirs that he had “borrowed”... he was “busy” playing and didn’t want to be bothered with going to look for it and so told them. “I don’t know where it is...” then as he was walking back to his play place, I heard him say under his breath... “So... you’ll just have to ‘deal’ with it!” Only problem with that comment was Mommy heard it! I did have to hide a smile...for he sounded so grown up... but that smart talk we won’t tolerate... so he had to apologize!

Last weekend you didn’t hear from us for we were invited up into Ukraine to visit and minister. This was a last minute thing really... and we felt that we really didn’t have “time”... but also felt that that was a trick of the enemy of our souls trying to have us miss another blessing. As I was trying to get everything ready to leave staying up late at night and packing things etc... our washer decided to pick that time to get fussy. Thankfully it does still work, but sure is kinda touchy. In the midst of all of this Bryan had an accident in his bed. When he saw my face thinking...why now, I’ve got so much to do and now will have to try to wash his sheets too... Grrrr... Those were only my thoughts for I just said, ‘Oh Bryan”... he was oh so concerned and trying to help his stressed out Moma said, “Oh, Mommy it’s okay they will dry!” Gauge!!! But it did work... for I at least had a good laugh out of it while I washed and hung out his sheets! :)
The Lord gave us a good time visiting in Ukraine. They asked Daryl to have a message in the a.m. and some music from us. We chose to only play instruments, except for one Russian praise chorus that we had learned in Russian. Though they speak Ukrainian, they understand and can speak Russian too. We were so pleased with how the Lord came and helped our efforts. When we got there and were discussing the Lord’s day and what they were expecting they mentioned that they had some different American’s to be there in the evening service. We were VERY interested to know who it was and were so pleased to find out that it was Rick and Joan Hutchison. She was my piano teacher years ago and Daryl later had their youngest son as a student. What a small world! And HOW WONDERFUL to hear a message in English too! They had 3 men traveling with them from TN! YES! We were soooo excited to get to meet them and hear them talk. I was raised in east TN and have never gotten over it. 2 of the men were even from Friendsville. One of them is married to a granddaughter of my Grandmother’s 1st cousin A.D. Long... we had fun joking that we were “related”! It was unreal for we American’s... and just think we thought we were “too” busy to come up there that weekend! For more of a man’s point of view check out Daryl’s blog.

A real treat was also ours this week to get to take the kids from the orphanage to McDonald’s. This was thanks to a friend of ours giving the funds specifically for this purpose. We took them out to celebrate getting out of school! It was a fun time... there is a picture on the blog of this outing too. Later this week we were able to also give them the clothing that Salvation Army donated back in January. We were able to see some happy faces and in the service this morning they were wearing many of the new things that they had just gotten. It was a blessing to see how God moved to work things out for this answer to prayer!

Enough for a while from us... I must get busy writing thank you notes... for since we have American’s coming, I can send back mail... so that means quite a bit of work to get all the mail mailed that you’ve been wanting to mail for the last 4 months! J God bless you all and thanks ever so much for your prayers for this family. We feel them and so appreciate them. Love, Laura Hausman and my much loved family

P.S. I’ll try to write once while the team is here... but don’t hold you breath for it might only be wishful thinking!