In the last week, I have “captured” a couple of special writings that I wanted to share in my blog. I want to give you a snapshot of our lives through the eyes of Jenni and Bekah. Both have written a bit about our journey recently, so I thought I would give you life from their perspective…

Jenni copied me in an email she wrote to our parents regarding our first Sunday (Easter Sunday) in Kiev. With permission, this is from Jenni’s eyes…

“We had a great day today. We started today with a 6 am sunrise service downtown and outside.  Thankfully the rain did not come until much later in the day. We also attended services at two different Nazarene services, one at 11 am and one at 5.  Both had a class for Bekah and Sarah, and they went so bravely with the other kids and teachers!  God is really helping them make this transition and even enjoy it.  Just to give you a picture of our transportation today, we rode a bus downtown then were driven home in a van. We walked about a mile and a half to the 11 am service, and then back home again.  For the 5 pm service, it was raining, so we walked to the bus stop, rode a bus to the subway station, rode the subway for about 20 minutes, then walked about 10 minutes to the church.  We are definitely getting some exercise! We are really tired tonight between the newness of everything and all of the exercise.  We will sleep well!”

Bekah has seen and heard me talk about the blog I am doing. The other day at a kiosk near the Metro she saw a kid’s notebook with bright colors and a lock/key. She decided that she wanted to buy it with the money she had saved. In the notebook she began to journal her time in Kiev. It is very, very cute. With her permission, this is word-for-word (not correcting spelling or grammar)…

“Our life in Kiev

First Chapter

God is so good to us. He help us through the airport. Bob helpt us with the bag’s. I like Kiev. The park is fun. It is spring in Kiev. The trees are blooming. I can write my name in Russin.

Name: бeka”

I thought you all would like hearing from 2/3rds of my girls!

Kiev is a beautiful city, and we are enjoying watching the city come to life with spring. There are statues and parks everywhere we walk.

Many of you have prayed for my back problems through the past four months. Praise God, I am doing very well with my back. The stress level of preparing for the transition is now past. I am also beginning to lose some of the weight I gained in three months of traveling in the States. Both of these things help with my back. Additionally, I think that riding all of the public transportation is actually going to help my back. I have always heard fitness people say that you help your back when you strengthen your core. Well, I think that riding these busses, trams, and metros (often standing) is strengthening my core. We’ll see, but moving to Kiev may have helped my back.

I am continually reminded of the magnitude of the change we have had in our lives. Everything is different. I went from being a pastor who was very busy with people to not knowing anyone. I went from having a long list of things to do every day to having basically ONE thing to do every day for 9 months… learn Russian. I went from witnessing everyday to non-believers to not being able to ask someone where the restroom is. LOL

The changes in Jenni’s life are equally overwhelming. Everything is different and at this point takes twice the time… No dishwasher. Shopping at 10 stores to find what we would get at one store in Houston. Having to use her phone (praise God for google translate) to look up things at the grocery story to simply buy food. She made quesadillas for us the other day… a common lunch while we were in Houston. She had to hand-make the tortillas, boil, smash then re-fry her own beans (not found in a can), grate her own cheese, etc. Lunch was delicious but took her about 2 hours to make. LOL

One of my great joys in life is to share Christ with unbelievers. Would you please pray that our language skills are blessed of the Lord in this year? We need the Spirit of God to give us this beautiful language so that we can talk with our new friends and family. We love the people here and simply can’t wait to talk with them. Thanks for your prayers today.

Monday and Tuesday (April 9-10) were our travel days from Fort Wayne, Indiana, to Kiev, Ukraine. Thank you so very much for your prayers. You prayed and God answered!!!

We had been told that the best way to make a life transition from the US to Ukraine is to take things with you when you fly. In other words, we are NOT having a shipment come. Rather, we sold our things in the US and brought only what we absolutely needed. Well, what we “absolutely needed” ended up being in 13 foot lockers, 2 large suitcases, 2 booster seats, 7 carry ons, 2 guitars, and two young girls. Picture Jenni and me trying to maneuver all of that through the airports. Yuck! One of our prayer partners commented that he would be praying for “an angel” to help us when needed throughout our journey. God answered that prayer at least 6 times…

When we arrived at the Fort Wayne Airport (3 hours before our flight left), I went to the first official person I could find and asked for a large cart to move luggage. They had one! It held half of our stuff. I went back and asked for another. The attendant smiled and said, “I am not sure if we have another you can use.” A minute later she emerged from behind the door with a second cart! She was our “angel #1”.

We checked in at the desk and the man helping us (“angel #2”) looked at us as if we were crazy. “You want to check 17 pieces of luggage?” LOL. “Yes, sir,” I said. We laughed and kept it light. He was very nice and helpful. One by one we sent each piece of luggage through. LOT Polish Airlines has a policy that economy class international only allows for one free bag per person (that would be 4!). As he checked our bags, he said, “Good news, they are going to give you 8 free bags. And the booster seats are free.” Bottom line is that we had to pay for 7 extra bags at $180/bag (total of $1260). That was amazingly less than I had thought. With the good ticket prices we found online (only $800/ticket on LOT Airlines), our tickets and extra luggage fee was still a little less than then next best price for an airline. We were on our way!

After the layover in Chicago, we boarded our plane headed for Warsaw, Poland. The flight was comfortable and everyone was very kind and helpful to us. Jenni and Sarah sat in the middle seats on this flight (there were 3 middle seats). Next to them was a lady (the age of a young grandmother) and our angel #3. She had lived in Chicago for 20 years… an immigrant from Poland. She was supper nice and loved on Sarah. She showed me a picture of her own granddaughter (age 3) that she had just left. So, she and Sarah loved their time together.

Probably the most challenging area on the trip was in Warsaw. We had one hour and 10 minutes for the transition. We were last off the plane. We had to go through another checkpoint (remove shoes, computers, money belts, computers, etc.). Sarah had a meltdown at one point and was very spacey due to lack of sleep. At one point she almost walked into the closing doors of an elevator waking us ALL up!!! We had to take a bus and were trying to manage all of our carry ons, guitars, and kids, and a man kindly helped us with our baggage (angel #4).

When we arrived in Kiev, we were waiting in line at the Passport control and I could see our foot lockers coming around the luggage carousel. There was a man in a uniform (angel #5) who began to take our 13 foot lockers off the carousel. By the time we got there, he had retrieved 11 of them for us! After collecting our final bags (all of them were there!), I showed the man a picture of the larger cart we used in Fort Wayne, and I asked him in the best Russian I could muster, “Ya khochu eta,” or “I want this…” He smiled and said “Nyet” or “no”. We had the regular sized cards and just loaded them up the best we could.

In the end, we needed 5 carts. Jenni and I pushed one and pulled one, and Bekah pushed one. When we got the carts to the men at the customs area (angel #6), he said in English, “One family?” I said, “Yes,” and he said, “Just go through that door over there.” “That door” was the exit where I could see Bob Skinner (missionary
here in Kiev)! The customs agent didn’t even ask to see our stuff or our list of goods. We had made it!

We have experienced some jet lag since being here. Jenni and I have experienced this before and as adults, you can get over it within a couple of days. But Bekah and Sarah may prove to take a little longer. Last night (Thursday night) was our first uninterrupted night since arriving. Praise God!!!

We have had McDonald’s for lunch for two straight days. That hasn’t happened in our lives since we were kids. And I have already eaten something from one of the street venders! LOL

Two fun stories of our first 48 hours here…

Yesterday afternoon after a full day of learning how to use public transportation here in Kiev, we stopped with the girls at a playground. There was a young, Ukrainian girl playing who was probably Bekah’s age. I could tell that Bekah wanted to play with her, but she didn’t even know how to talk with her. Bekah asked me, “How do I ask her what her name is?” I shared with her the Russian to ask that, “Kak tebya zovut?” For the next 5 minutes Bekah slowly, cautiously, and nervously inched closer to this girl. All the while, I could see her mouthing these Russian words in practice of her first encounter. It was so precious. I was silently praying for her the whole way to her first friend. The mother of the Ukrainian girl called for her daughter to leave and the encounter never happened. But, I felt like it was a victory to see Bekah making her first move to meet someone in another language. I am proud of her!

Jenni took the girls into the public restroom at a store yesterday as well. As you may be aware, public restrooms do not have toilets in Eastern Europe. Rather, it is basically a “floor unit”… a hole in the ground. When Jenni opened the stall, Sarah blurted out, “WHAT’S THAT?” I was an unsuccessful first attempt for Sarah using this form of bathroom.

One of the blessings of the timing of our trip to Kiev is that we have two Easters this year. US Easter Sunday was April 8 and the Orthodox calendar has Easter this year on April 15. So, we have the wonderful blessing of experiencing two Easters this year. Last night, I was able to go to Kiev First Church for their Maunday
Thursday Service. Pastor Vladimir Masyuk did an outstanding job of leading his church through a Seder meal.

Services tonight (Orthodox Good Friday), and three services on Sunday. Thanks for your continued prayers! We love and appreciate each of you!!!

On Thursday, March 29, we arrived safely in Grabill, Indiana, at the home of Farrel and Marilyn Habegger, Jenni’s parents. The days between March 29 and April 8 have been filled with family time and final preparations for our journey to Kiev. I would bore you to death with the details. Highlights included…

     – Watching March Madness with Dad Habegger, Kevin Reed, and Mike Lindsey.

     – Worshiping the Lord on Palm Sunday at Garrett Church of the Nazarene with Pastor Kent Wright and family.

     - Dinner with Alice Stiffner.

     - Dinner with the “regular Wednesday night crew”.

     - Lunch date with Jenni mid-week!

     - Homeschooling Bekah.

     - Fishing for walleye with Adam Bilbrey in the Maumee River near Toledo, Ohio.

     - Dinner and a Fort Wayne Tincaps’ Single A Baseball game with Dad and Mom Habegger.

     - Easter Sunday services at Grace Point Church of the Nazarene.

Today, some friends gave us a special plaque that had this verse on it… Psalm 139:9-10, “If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.” What a wonderful promise to keep as we make this move in our lives!

A little information on our flights…

     - Leave Fort Wayne International Airport at 1:05 PM tomorrow (April 9).

     - We travel through Chicago where we have a 4 hour layover.

     - Leave Chicago at 5:25 PM with a destination of Warsaw, Poland.

     - We arrive in Warsaw at 9:55 AM (Warsaw time; that is 2:55 AM EST) on Tuesday morning.

     - Leave Warsaw after a one hour layover and arrive in Kiev, Ukraine at 1:35 PM (Kiev time; that is 6:35 AM Tuesday morning EST).

Please pray for the safety of our flights, for Bekah and Sarah on the flights , for Scott and Jenni on our flights , for the movement of our luggage to and from the airports, for transitions in the airports with customs and the like, and most of all that we would display Jesus in all we do.

As I worshiped the Lord today in church and praised God for the resurrection, a distinct thought came to my mind. My life is totally wrapped up in this ONE event. Not being a pastor or missionary. Not this journey to Ukraine. No, my life is completely wrapped up in the resurrection of Jesus! He is my everything. We pray to Him. We worship Him. We serve Him. We talk about Him constantly. My marriage is centered in Him. My parenting is focused on Him. We eagerly await His Second Coming. We go to every part of the world to proclaim His grace. NONE of that would be the case if the resurrection would not have happened. It is the cornerstone of our faith. Without it, we have no hope. Because of it, we have all the hope in this world and the world to come!

A few months ago my family had an “estate sale.” Our move from Houston, Texas, to Kiev, Ukraine, required us to sell our earthly possessions. The problem with the title “estate sale” is that it usually is the name given to the sale of property when someone dies. Knowing that… someone… someone from Living Word, titled our sale a “Living Estate Sale”. What a great title! What a great challenge! Let’s give up our lives in total surrender to the King of Kings. Would you join me in wrapping your whole life around Jesus and His resurrection?

Thank you for all your loving prayers and support through these past 5 months. We could NOT have made it without all of you. You are our partners! We love you.

See you in Kiev!

This past weekend we concluded our final Sunday of “raising partners” as Mission Corps volunteers. We were at Richardson, TX, Church of the Nazarene with Pastor Scott Sherwood. God blessed our day with them in every way! They were so gracious to us and the presence of God was very strong in the service. Pastor Scott is a Spirit-filled pastor who obviously seeks the heart of God. Knowing this was our final church in our schedule before we leave for the CIS, they blessed us by praying for us around the altar.

We also enjoyed seeing some friends from the past again as well. Shane Needham and his family, Mike and Cindy McCracken, Nathan and Angela Clark, and Chrissy (Green) Hardy all surprised us by coming to Richardson Nazarene. It was so good to see everyone! Following the service, we had a very special time at lunch with the NMI council and staff of the church. In conversation we discovered their NMI president, Jane, was at Shawnee Church of the Nazarene during the time when my parents came to faith in Christ. Isn’t God amazing!?!

Sunday evening we were able to spend a fun and relaxing evening at Mike and Cindy McCracken’s home. What a blessing!

We have truly enjoyed our time with the Watson family. In forty-fun (41) years of life, I have never seen the spiritual gift of hospitality used like the Watsons do it. They are an amazing family. Right now, while we are staying with them, they are also hosting 33 young men who are attending a church planting conference at Gateway Church. Can you imagine hosting a missionary family AND 33 college age men at the same time? And they do it with much grace and flexibility! Wow!

Tonight, we share our journey with the Watson’s home group. This group consists of 40 adults and kids from Gateway Church. OK, so you are getting the picture, right… The Watson family, the Rainey family, 33 college-aged men, and 40 people in a home group… LOL. We are excited to share in this kind of environment where we can also answer questions about our call.

Tomorrow morning, we leave Fort Worth to begin a two-day trip back to Grabill, Indiana. We should arrive sometime Thursday evening. We are excited to spend our final 10 days with family. We have much to do in the way of closing out the final details of life in America. We have many people to try to talk with before we leave. We are excited and challenged by the task in front of us. But we leave knowing that the God who can do the impossible is our God. He will NOT leave us alone. And He promises to make us fruitful as we give Him our everything!

We have had an incredible week in Vian, Oklahoma. From Wednesday night through Sunday, we were blessed to spend time with Richard and Tammy Volz.  While they could have easily stayed in their home with us, Richard and Tammy stayed with Tammy’s mother so that we could “spread out” in their country home. What a gift to us!

Time in Vian was like vacation to us. Our activities included catching up on sleep, fishing, duck bowling, watching the first couple of rounds of the NCAA basketball tournament, walking/running, and homeschooling Bekah (my turn at it this week). Of course, we did continue our Russian study on Rosetta Stone. No vacation there .  Vian also had our first sickness on the journey. Jenni has not felt well for a few days. Praise God, she is feeling better today!

If you are not familiar with duck bowling, it is just like regular bowling except with a smaller, lighter ball with no holes for your fingers and smaller pins. Jenni, Bekah, Sarah, and I all bowled. Bekah won the first game… no kidding! Ashamedly, we were not even trying to let her win (insert sheepish grin here).

Vian also provided a dramatic moment for us as a spring storm came through eastern Oklahoma last night. At one point, there was a TV interruption that said, “If you live in Vian, there is a tornado warning and you should take cover.” The girls were already in bed, but we thought we should gather together in an interior room of the house. We did not face a tornado so it provided for a fun time of giggling and holding one another.

This past Sunday, I preached at Broken Arrow First Nazarene in their two morning services.  I have had a special connection to this church through the years. Two of my first mentors in ministry, Pastor Jerry Stipp and Pastor Bill Morris, came to Fort Wayne Lake Avenue Nazarene from the church in Broken Arrow.  When Pastor Morris retired as the music minister in Fort Wayne, he and his wife returned to Broken Arrow. While studying at Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City, each year Jenni and I would spend Thanksgiving weekend with the Morris’s in Broken Arrow. Great, great memories. It was there that I first met Adam Schwing who later became Houston Spring Branch’s youth pastor and the church plant pastor for Katy Celebrate Life Nazarene.

Broken Arrow First Nazarene has been pastored for the last ten years by Pastor Larry Morris. Through these years, we have become good friends. He and his wife, Kristi, are wonderful people and Larry is a great pastor. The Morris’s and the church were so welcoming and loving to us. We had a great morning!

We spent a couple of hours in the afternoon with Jenni’s cousin and his family (Terry and Kim Habegger). Terry is the youth pastor of Family Church of the Nazarene in the Tulsa area. It was so nice to put our feet up at their home between churches on Sunday. Terry and I watched tournament games and talked basketball and church. Jenni and Kim talked… well, they talked about whatever women talk about . Bekah and Sarah had a blast with Kayla Habegger, their 10 year old daughter.

Sunday night I spoke at Sapulpa Nazarene. Pastor Steve Davis has been at the church for around 20 years but only recently transitioned from the music minister to the lead pastor. He and his wife made us feel so welcomed at the church. The church was incredibly kind and generous to our family. We met extended family of Jeff Moseley, friend from Houston, there. We also were able to spend some special time with Monte and Elaine Geerdes. Monte and Elaine are the parents of Ben (and Isabel) Geerdes from Houston Living Word Nazarene. We visited their home and shared dinner together following the service.  What a blessing to be with them too! One of the great things about the Church of the Nazarene is that the fellowship is so much like family. Every church we visit we meet someone who is related to someone we know. I remember Dr. John Knight, a former general superintendent, used to say, “The Church of the Nazarene does NOT have a family tree we have a wreath… we just keep marrying each other!”

Tomorrow, we leave Vian, Oklahoma, and return to Fort Worth, Texas, and the home of Chuck and Vickie Watson. I have planned a “date night” with Bekah for Thursday night this week. We will be going to dinner together and then to watch “Oliver” at a local theatre in the round.

This weekend we will be at Richardson Church of the Nazarene in the Dallas area. Can’t believe it, but this is our final weekend of “raising partners” for our Mission Corps portion of missionary service. God has blessed us in every way during this journey. We are excited that it is coming to a close because that means we are close to departing for the field… less than three weeks until we fly to Kiev!

We arrived Friday in Fort Worth where we stayed one night with Chuck and Vickie Watson. The Watsons have the spiritual gift of hospitality and love to host people in their home. They are good friends of ours as well, so their home feels like home to us. The Watson’s home is actually a small farm… horses, chickens, and a pond. The girls LOVE it. They have a third floor apartment that they call “the Haven” where we stayed. It has an outside door so we can come and go and never feel that we are “intruding” on their lives. Over the next two and a half weeks, we will be in and out of their home as we speak in churches in this area.

Saturday, we drove from Fort Worth to Lubbock where I spoke on Sunday morning at Lubbock First Church. Pastor Bob Huffaker, former pastor of Grove City (Ohio) Nazarene, has been the interim pastor of Lubbock First for 9 months. I have heard much about Pastor Huffaker through the years. It was very nice to meet him personally. He was very welcoming and loving to our family.

Lubbock First has just secured their new pastor who will be coming on Easter Sunday, so the church was very excited. We had a great morning and truly enjoyed the people there. They blessed us in every way! In our short visit, we were able to have dinner on Saturday night with good friends, Dick and Donna Walls, wonderful evangelists in the Church of the Nazarene. We also enjoyed a great Sunday lunch with Doug and Cheryl Karr (Cheryl is the NMI president at Lubbock First). By the end of the lunch our girls were calling the Karrs grandpa and grandma and sitting on their laps .

Sunday evening we were at Big Spring (Texas) Nazarene. Pastor Calvary Callender had made the service a zone service so there were a number of churches who brought members. We had a wonderful service with these good folk. We love God’s church. Everywhere we go, we immediately sense the presence of God among His people. Dr. David and Susan Downs, District Superintendent of the West Texas District, came to the service too. We love David and Susan and their family. It was great to see them again before we head for the CIS.

Monday was back to Fort Worth and the Watsons. I must share one thing that happened on Tuesday in Fort Worth. For the past nine years, Jenni and I have gone to one barber in Houston, Rosa Bucio. Over the nine years we grew to love Rosa and her husband, Salvador. We shared many times, away from the barber shop, with them both. They were with us through the birth of our two girls and really became a part of our family in many ways. It is amazing how much you get to know a barber when you spend an hour once a month over so many years. Anyway, one barber in nine years!

Well, we needed a haircut in Fort Worth. So, we picked a Sport Clips place near the Watson’s home. And would you know it, the lady who cut our hair was named Maryna. She had an accent. When I sat down to get my hair cut, she asked, “Where do you live?” I said, “Well, that is an interesting question right now in our lives. In about one month we will be living in Kiev, Ukraine.” You should have seen her jaw drop! She said, “I am from Ukraine!” God is so good!!! We had a very nice conversation, and we were able to share God’s love with her. Please pray with me for Maryna who does not know Jesus personally.

On Wednesday, we journeyed to Vian, Oklahoma, where we will call home for 7 nights! We are staying in the home of Richard and Tammy Volz, members of Houston’s Living Word Nazarene and good friends. This is going to be a fun week for us and feel like a vacation in many ways. Today, I believe we are going fishing, playing duck bowling, and watching the Indiana Hoosiers (hopefully) win their first game of the NCAA basketball tourney!!!

Sunday, we preach at Broken Arrow First Nazarene and Sapulpa Nazarene! Only 25 more days until we fly for Kiev, Ukraine. Let the journey begin!!! Thank you for praying for us. God is so, so good, and we are blessed to be following Him. We wouldn’t change a thing if we could!!!

We arrived in Indianapolis this past Friday afternoon. We had an incredible time with Bill and Carolyn Morris and their family. We laughed and teased one another, remembering many good times of the past and creating some new ones too. I love the bond that only Jesus can create between people.

While we were in Indianapolis, we were able to see some very special people from our past… Dan and Heather Towriss (and kids), Troy and Sondra Sixberry (and kids), Jerimy and Alison Horner (and kids), Alan and Erin Vonderheide (and kids), Aaron Spaulding (sophomore roommate from Olivet), and Karen (Stipp) McClain. What wonderful friends!

We also met some new friends and had a wonderful evening with Pastor Mike and Karen Morris and Skip Walker on Saturday night. Sunday’s services at Indianapolis First were very good and blessed of the Lord! The congregation of Indy First is moving forward with God’s plan for them and has some wonderful days ahead.

On Monday morning, we were on the road again. While traveling through southern Indiana on Hwy 65, we passed the small town of Henryville, Indiana. Last week this town  was hit by a devastating tornado. Close to 40 people were killed in the storms. The tornado passed right over Hwy 65. So, we were able to see it path of destruction on both sides of the highway. Unbelievable!

We traveled south into Tennessee to stay three nights with John and Cathy Aller, former members of Houston’s Living Word. We have visited their country home before. What a great time we have had here! Some needed rest and relaxation for us and the girls. On Tuesday we visited the Tennessee Safari Park near Jackson. We drove through a 100 acre park with many different wildlife. Very fun for us and the girls. The highlight was rolling down the windows and feeding the Emus. These large birds, that look pre-historic, stick their long necks RIGHT into your car. It was hilarious to watch Bekah and Sarah hit the floor of the back seat the first time it happened!

We leave tomorrow morning (Thursday). We will have lunch at Scott and Andrea Harper’s home in Jackson, Tennessee, on our way through town. Scott and Andrea were former members of Houston Spring Branch/Living Word. They actually left Houston before we moved there but have been good friends of the church and us through our nine years of pastoring there. We are excited to meet their daughter, Darcy, for the first time!

We will be staying the night tomorrow near Hot Springs, Arkansas. Then on to Chuck and Vickie Watson’s home in Fort Worth, Texas, on Friday night. Our final leg of the journey will be Lubbock, Texas, on Saturday. We will be speaking at Lubbock First Nazarene on Sunday morning and Big Spring Nazarene on Sunday night. We are excited for the weekend!

Thanks so much for your continued prayers!

Last weekend began with a visit to my sister’s home in Toledo, Ohio. We had an incredible time with Scott, Pam, Tyler, and Tori Klem! The weekend visit fell at the perfect time. We were only in Toledo for 21 hours, but we were able to watch Tyler and Tori both play basketball for their respective teams. Tyler (a junior) plays for the Witmer High School Varsity Basketball team. Witmer is ranked 8^th in the state of Ohio. The night we watched, they won their TRAC conference and we were able to see Tyler and his team cut the net down. Tori’s basketball team has not lost a game in two years! We did NOT bring them bad luck as they trounced the opponent on Saturday morning. We laughed, played games, ate together, and just enjoyed being together.

This past Sunday was one we will not forget. It was our Sunday morning at Fort Wayne Grace Point. Grace Point is the church where Jenni attended from birth to the day we moved to Kansas City for seminary. I also attended Grace Point during my 6^th grade year and then again when I was a sophomore and junior in high school. We were married in this church and I started my pastoral ministry in this church. Much of Jenni’s family attend Grace Point still today. We had an incredible morning. My Uncle Ed (my dad’s brother) and Aunt Linda came. My Uncle Kevin (my mom’s brother) and Aunt Linda came. My Aunt Debbie and cousin Rachel were there. I was able to see many early converts from my past who are still serving Jesus.  The church was so gracious and generous with us. We were overwhelmed. Thank you to our Grace Point family for your love and support!

In the evening we traveled to Bluffton First Nazarene. The pastor there is Tim Miller. Tim was my youth pastor and a great influence in my life. In reminiscing, I realized all the important moments in my life that Tim and his wife, Monica, were involved in. Tim was my youth pastor when I sensed God’s call in my life to full-time ministry. I was in Tim and Monica’s house the first time I held Jenni’s hand. Tim officiated at my wedding. We told some fun stories, laughed, ate together, and got re-acquainted with their children. The church was great! For our Houston Living Word family, Bluffton First is the church where Pastor Ron’s father pastored for many, many years. In fact, we even saw Ron’s sister,  Annette.

This week has been full of more family and friend time. We had dinner on Monday with Brandon and Sharla Moga, Jared and Rachel Freeman, and Aunt Debbie. Sharla and Rachel are my cousins. Great time with them and all the kids!

We have also been doing some major detail work for our move to Ukraine. We have worked on a limited power of attorney, last will and testament, packing, paperwork for visas, etc. The other day, Jenni looked at me and said, “Will we ever get everything done?” I think we can… I think we can.

On Friday morning we leave for Indianapolis. We will stay with Bill and Carolyn Morris through Monday morning. Bill was the music minister at Lake Ave (Grace Piont) when I first became a pastor. He remains one of my lifetime mentors and we just LOVE his family. Sunday we will be at Indianapolis First Nazarene in the morning and evening service. In the morning, I will be sharing our journey toward to mission field. In the evening, I will be sharing last year’s experience with praying in Jesus’ name and the challenges I faced with the Veteran’s Administration.

We are thankful for God’s call and direction in every step we take!

February 22, 2012

What an incredible experience we had on February 12 in Nacogdoches and Lufkin. The churches were so warm and loving to us. It has been a great joy to meet God’s people in all these churches!

On Monday morning, February 13, we packed our stuff in Trinity, Texas, and headed to Houston. We were only in town for 48 hours but we lived a WEEK during those two days!

-          Thank you to Jonathan Jupio for letting us drive your truck for one month while you were in the Philippines.

-          Thank you to the Holts for your warm hospitality on our final trip through Houston before our departure to the mission field in April.

-          Thank you to John and Stephanie Rezac for everything you did for us in the last month of our ministry in Houston.

-          Thanks to the Flynn families for the surprise Valentine’s lunch.

-          Thanks to the Bucks for allowing our stuff to sit in your garage for a month.

-          Thanks to Abraham Hernandez, Shane Rickey, Aaron Webster, and Tim Stearman… the team who loaded our boxes into the rented U-Haul.

-          Thanks to Joel Primeaux for making our final trip to Houston feel like Christmas in February!

-          Thanks to Mike and Sue Robinson for watching Bekah and Sarah and loving our kids so much.

We love our great family in Houston and think of you with smiles EVERY day.

On Wednesday morning, we began our trip from Houston to Grabill. We made it in TWO days! Thank you, God, for protecting us along the way.

On one of the days, Bekah had a minor 7-year-old meltdown. It was so cute to be honest with you. She was just tired of all the driving and moving. I was correcting her behavior, and she started crying and said, “I wish you could just send me to my room.” LOL Our girls have done so, so well through this. They are living this journey with us and will be GREAT missionaries.

This past Sunday we spoke at Middletown Nazarene (Middletown, Indiana) in the morning and Elkhart Northside (Elkhart, Indiana) in the evening. Thank you to Dr. Phil Rogers and Pastor Tim Sheets for allowing us to share with your great churches. We enjoyed the blessing of the Lord in each church!

While in Indiana, we have had special times already with great friends (meals, two hockey games, great laughs). We are staying with Jenni’s parents and loving our time with them! We are going back through our boxes and repacking, continuing the homeschooling with Bekah, getting many final things ready for our upcoming departure on April 9. The list is LONG, but God is leading.

This Friday we leave for an overnight visit to Toledo, Ohio, were my sister (Pam) and her family live. We have been excited for this part of the trip and can’t wait to see them. We even get to watch Tyler, our nephew, play in one of his high school basketball games!

This coming Sunday morning, we will be at Grace Point Nazarene (Fort Wayne, Indiana). Grace Point is the church started our ministry. I served on staff from December 1994 through August 1998, and then again from September 2001 through March 2003. We are so excited to be with them!

In the evening, we will speak at Bluffton First Nazarene (Bluffton, Indiana). The pastor there is Tim Miller. Pastor Tim was my youth pastor in the day. How exciting to be with him and Monica again! And I must say that I have a story or two to share with his congregation .

It has been a busy week. The last I posted, we were in Georgia and heading toward Kansas City, Missouri. We arrived in Kansas City on Wednesday of last week. For the week in Kansas City, we stayed with Tim and Marci Anzalone, some of our closest friends while we attended NTS in 1998-2001. They now have two kids, Keelin and Kai, who are wonderful kids and provided JUST what Bekah and Sarah needed… some kid time! We had a blast with their family… playing, visiting the KC Zoo, laughing, and watching the Superbowl. What a blessing from God the Anzalones are to us!

In Kansas City, I was able to attend the Men’s Prayer Breakfast on Friday morning. These weekly meetings with the men of the church were very forming for me through the years. We also were re-introduced to KC BBQ. After living in Texas for the past nine years, I must admit that KC BBQ is not as good as we remember. We will miss that good ol’ Texas BBQ!

On Sunday, Jenni and I both shared with the Disciple’s Sunday School class at KC First Church of the Nazarene. We love the great people of that class! Then, I shared our journey with KC First Church of the Nazarene. What a great morning!

Monday and Tuesday were spent at the Global Ministry Center (GMC, or the Nazarene Headquarters). The two days of meetings were very helpful and very challenging. We discovered tons of things we still need to do to be ready for the field. The GMC team was so helpful and encouraging to us. Most, if not all of them, are former missionaries.  While we were in the meetings, Bekah and Sarah spent two full days with Paige Hooker. Paige is a 20 year old nurse in KC whose family attending Houston Spring Branch Nazarene years ago before they moved to KC. The girls LOVED Paige and had a great time.

After two days of traveling south, we are once again in south Texas. We are staying with the Goin family at their lake house in Trinity, Texas. We have stayed here a number of times during our years as pastor of Spring Branch/Living Word. We have a wonderful full-house (Buddy/Marty Goin; Jackie Welch; Jason/Robin Goin and two kids, Ashley and Zach, with Ashley’s friend, Karli McDaniel; and Doug/Niki Conner with son, Grayson). Bekah and Sarah are once again lovin’ all “their friends”.

Thursday night, we had a great service with Huntsville Nazarene and Pastor Bill Richardson. This wonderful church came out in great love and support of our ministry to the CIS.

Today, we joined the Goin family at the “Love Fest Valentine’s Day Parade” in Lovelady, Texas. The theme for the parade was “Can’t Help Falling in Love with You”. We road on a float created by the Goin family with help from Niki’s school kids and threw candy to everyone along the path. Great time!

Tomorrow, we will join Pastor Harley Patterson at Nacogdoches First Nazarene in the morning. Pastor Harley has a great, evangelistic heart and has been a friend of mine on the South Texas District. This is also the home church of South Texas District Superintendent, Dr. Duane and Linda Srader. In the evening we will be with Dr. Wayne Stallings and Lufkin First Nazarene. We are excited to see what God is going to do tomorrow. We have loved being with all of these churches and meeting God’s people around the country!