Beauty in the midst of the storm!

We had what some would call a snow storm, approx. 5 inches of snow, then 1/4"- 1/2" of ice, then 4 or 5 more inches. Haven't heard the official results!

If you look closely enough, during some of life's greatest storms, there will be beauty. Sometimes that beauty only comes when the storms of life rage. It's then that you find the presence of God so close and real and beauty that you can never see when things are calm and serene.

Teachable Moments!

In a class I'm taking one of the points for teachers was to not get so engrossed in having to strictly adhere to your syllabus / schedule / time restraints where you miss those "teachable moments" that come along. Many times we have tons of other things we need to do, but seize the moment when it presents itself. It may not present itself again!!!

Well, this is our bobsled run or luge run if you know anything about that. We had snow, then ice then snow at our house and it made our street one great sled run. As you can see, the tire tracks are solid ice. The work in the house and all of the studies had to take a backseat for a while. So with a lookout down at the bottom of the run, we took some time and had some fun. I wish I had the time to do that, some would say, well.... I couldn't afford to miss the opportunity. We find the time to do what is important to us.

So many Christian workers, intent on doing something for God, forget that His main work is to make something of them.
Jim Elliot

Boys are found everywhere - on top of, underneath, inside of, climbing on, swinging from, running around or jumping to.

Mothers love them, little girls hate them, older sisters and brothers tolerate them, adults ignore them and Heaven protects them.

A boy is Truth with dirt on its face, Beauty with a cut on its finger, Wisdom with bubble gum in its hair and the Hope of the future with a frog in its pocket.

By Alan Beck

My wife wanted me to thank her dear family and husband for a couple different Christmas gifts.

About 6 years ago, before we went to the Mission field, her sister and my wifes dear, wonderful husband got her this Christmas gift. The silverware, came from Daryl's parents and are beautiful. Laura was unable to use the china because God had called us to the Mission Field. This was the first year we could use it because it was in storage all of this time.

Thanks to the gift givers and gift storers'! Both are equally important when you don't have a home of your own.

God is so good to give us so many little treats as we walk with Him! God is good, all the time!

We were privileged to have our 3 Pastors and their families over for a meal this last week. Anytime you get 3 Pastors of this Quality together, it's sure to be a good time! They were real troopers with us crazy Missionary commoners and endured the unfinished "Haus". (the pink walls in the background are the latest up to date trends in interior decorating :) )

We are extremely blessed to sit under the leadership of this Ministry Team. The Music not only Ministers to needs but focuses us on true worship. The Messages that God's servants bring are what we truly need and relevant for today.

Thank you to The Eisenharts, Pilmores, and Ryans for your Ministry! We love and appreciate you all!

Here's the kiddos!

Well, for those who were worried that we actually got ripped off by only getting 25% of the tree, here's "the rest of the story".

Sometimes I have a little twisted humor and my family wanted me to actually let everyone know that we actually had a complete tree.

The tree and lights were a gift from my mother when she downsized. Thanks Mom!

We would like to take this time to say "S nova Godum ee S Razdisfoam" to all of our dear Russian friends! (to all Russians, please forgive the spelling, I only did that so we crazy Americans can try to pronounce the words correctly)

Happy New Year and Merry Christmas to our dear Russian friends! Russians celebrate Christmas on Jan 7th, following the Russian Orthodox Church's leadership in it's celebration. As many of you know, we here in the West have followed the Catholic celebration on Dec. 25th, thus the difference.

Since going to Russia, we've decided to leave our decorations up until after Jan. 7th, to honor our dear friends in Russia! You are often in our thoughts! May God bless you and keep you!

May the baby who was born in a lowly manger, be Lord of our lives! He came to this earth to die for our sins. All we have to do is repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour!