My Side of the Story...

Today, July 2, marks our anniversary and yes it's true, Kami and I were married 18 years ago!  Wow!

Kami posted on her blog (www.adayinthelifeofamissionarywife.blogspot.com) about what her day was like on the day we were married....so I thought I would post "My Side of the Story":

I had asked my high-school sweetheart and best friend to marry me and now the glorious day was here.

 I remember that there were so many plans that we had to make and prepare for.  You see, I was in the Air Force at the time and we would only have a 2-day honeymoon before we would load up a U-Haul trailer and take my new family of two (three if you include my motorcycle!) on an 1,800 mile trip to upstate New York to Plattsburgh Air Force Base. 

With all of the trip preparations on my mind and my wedding day at hand, I was a nervous wreck!  There I was, in my Air Force uniform standing next to my father-in-law who was in his tuxedo... bent under the hood of our car because it was broken down in the church parking lot.  As we frantically worked on my car, thoughts of missing my own honeymoon increased my panic!

But I have to admit, when I cleaned up from the grease and dirt and stood there watching my new bride walk down the isle, I knew I had made the best decision of my life (beside's my salvation of course!)

Our 18 years of marriage have come with trials, tears, laughs, and victories but I have counting it an honor and a blessing to have grown in faith with the "wife of my youth".  Kami has been my best friend and constant companion.  She has been my help-meet beyond measure and I am looking forward to the next 18 years!

P.S...that car of ours (an 86 Ford Taurus) broke down on our wedding night, and almost every 100 miles of our 1,800 mile journey to New York!

Unbelievable Memory Verse Contest In 2 Languages!

Two weeks ago, we started a contest between our 3 older children...Joshua, Elisabeth, & Brenna.  Our goal was to help them to memorize Bible verses in French and to help them to take advantage of their summer break.  The contest is as follows:

-- Each day we would have a time in the evening for them to say any new verses that they have memorized.

-- They must be able to quote the verse in English first and then in French.  (We were not allowed to help them with their french verses, only on the pronunciation of the french words.)

-- For each verse they memorize, they get one point and for each verse that is over 10 words they get 2 points. (This helps to offset the John "11:35 " kind of verses!)

-- At the final two days of our contest, they would receive 2 points for any & all verses that they could re-quote from all the ones that they had already said.

The winner would receive $12 on an item of their choosing from Ebay that we would order and have put into our box of this year's school materials that we are having shipped to us.

Kami and I both thought that we would have to prod them along and that it would be difficult for them to memorize many verses.  However, all three of our children really put in the "2nd Mile" effort!  We were amazed at the competition.  It was a tight race up all the way through with the lead changing from each child. 

On the final two days of our contest, Joshua was able to re-quote all 37 of the verses he had memorized, Elisabeth was able to re-quote all 36 verses she had memorized, and Brenna was able to re-quote all 32 verses she had memorized!

Wow, we were impressed that they could memorize that many verses in english and french in two weeks.  Needless to say, since they all put in a true "2nd Mile" attitude and effort, we came up with a second and third place prize as well!

Happy Birthday To My Right-Hand Man...Josh!

Happy Birthday Joshua!

When the Lord gave us Joshua, 16 years ago, I always hoped and imagined that I would have an amazing relationship with my son.  A relationship of being best friends and of my son being my "right-hand" man.  God has been so good to give me the desires of my heart!

I want to take just a moment and highlight some of the things that make him so special to us:

-He always seems to be at my side asking me what he can do, how he can help and looks for ways to be a blessing to his mother and I. 

-He treats his mother as a lady...always carrying her bags, heavy objects and opening doors for her.

-He is always willing to share what he has with others and has learned to not let money control him.  I have seen him take his last $20 from his wallet and give it to a missionary.

-He loves preachers and preaching.  He is always the first to want to go to a preacher's meeting and be the last to leave.  He always wants to attend any church function just to be near preachers.

-He loves family games and being together as a family most of all.  For him, a great evening consists of good food and family fun! 

-He loves his sisters and brothers.  He has always been protective of his family and no matter where we are or what he we are doing, he can always tell you exactly where his brothers and sisters are and what they are doing.  He is constantly making sure they are safe.

We love you Josh!  Thank you for making our lives so special.  God is great and greatly to be praised for allowing us to be your parents.....HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Tarps, Drink Mixes, & the Continuing VISA saga!

Summer is here and the temperatures have been so hot that I built a garage to keep the sun off of our Suzuki!

(...okay, it's a tarp...but it helps to give some shade to our car!  The car has been getting so hot sitting in the sun, that it has been way too hot for the babies when we get in the car to go places. The shade from the tarp has helped our car to be cooler when we put the kids in.)

On Monday, I told Kami that I would really love some drink mixes and some fresh fish steaks.  These are some things that we do not get very often (I get tired of drinking water & juice all of the time).  Well, on Tuesday, my aunt Mariane dropped by for a visit and brought a cannister of Kiwi Tang Drink Mix and some fresh Mahi-Mahi steaks!  Wow, only the Lord could manage to give me the exact desires of my heart from a passing conversation in the car with my wife!

(Thank you Mariane!  The fish was amazing!)

We started having Maria and Bruno over on Wednesdays for lunch, fellowship, and to get them involved more in the ministry here.  Today, we filled plastic door-hanging bags with a copy of John & Romans in French, a French Gospel Tract, and an invitation to our Sunday Bible Studies.

Then on the way to take Maria home (Bruno couldn't come today) Kami, our kids, and Maria passed out the door hangers on one of the streets in town. 

Kami and I went to the Government office of the Préfecture to continue the never-ending saga of validating her VISA.  We also tried to renew her Resident Card which expires today (the one for which we paid $480) and were told that since she is not working, she does not need the Resident Card....why didn't they listen the first time when I told them that we didn't need one since Kami wouldn't be working???  Anyway, we were told the government would call us to schedule her next appointment on the island of St. Martin for the beginning of July....We were also told that if we don't hear from the government, to call them in 2 weeks.    So, I guess we wait.

Sunday services have been going well.  We are glad to be back and having our Bible Studies/Lunch fellowships on Sundays.  We praise the Lord and look forward to what the 2nd half of 2012 will bring!