Dear Family and Friends, As you have most likely saw in our previous post, Joshua Brendan James was born on November 25. He is 3 weeks old already! My due date was December 13 (my parents’ wedding anniversary), so he came 3 weeks early. The hospital experience was interesting to say the least, but thankfully Joshua was born without any …
Having the Right Heart This Christmas Season
Dear Friends, Another year is soon to end. As we look back at this year, we can’t help but give thanks for all the blessings we received. We had a busy year: raising support, packing and giving away all we own, moving a family overseas while pregnant, moving in a house, learning new ministry responsibilities, starting school (Amy and Haley), …
Our (Early) Christmas Gift
Dear Friends, Thank you so much for your prayers! Our little Christmas present is here. 🙂 We couldn’t be happier. To God be the glory for this new life. Name: Joshua Brendan James Date of birth: November 25, 2017 Weight: 7 lbs Length: 21″ Hair color: Brown Eye color: Dark blue Please keep him and us in your prayers. We …
So Much to Be Thankful for
Dear Friends, One of my favorite holidays, or actually possibly my favorite holiday, is Thanksgiving. I never did it the “right way” (watching football and eating a lot of turkey), when we celebrated it, it was always about family & friends and just counting our blessings. While we should often thank God for all the wonderful people in our lives, …
The Reason We Are Here
Dear Friends, We are so thankful to be here. While I would have never imagined 7 years ago, that this is where we would end up (or 3 years ago, for that matter), we cannot be more thankful. It is wonderful to be back at Word of Life Hungary. Life has been busy, crazy, and hectic at times, but all …
Settling in
Hi there, Chris Chris got his Hungarian insurance card this past month, was able therefore to make an appointment with a specialist, and already has medicine! Please pray the medicine works well, and he won’t be so sleepy. He is still busy with BI stuff, but he is reminded over and over again of the wonderful opportunity he has. This …
78 Students, 1 Goal
Dear Friends, We are so excited to be here! Thank you so much for making it possible for us to serve our God here by your faithful prayers and your sacrificial financial support. Our goal is to please Him with how we use our time and money. Both belong to Him ultimately and we never want to forget that! We …
Busy Life with Lots of Blessings
Dear Friends, We had a very, very busy month. Amy started 1st grade, Haley started pre-school, and Chris had many responsibilities at the BI. So far I didn’t forget to drop off the kids at their schools or to pick them up in time, so I count that as a victory. 🙂 Amy likes school, she has 2 good friends …
1 Year Anniversary
Dear Friends, Celebrate with us! One year ago today we started our ministry blog. Today we are in Hungary, serving our Mighty Lord at Word of Life. We are so thankful for this past year, for how God has built (and is still building!!!) our ministry team, for all the prayers and encouragement we received from people around us, for …
Last Week of Camp
Hi there, Last month, Amy and Haley spent 5 days at Lake Balaton with my parents. They had a lot of fun and did very well. I am so glad they got to go. Haley wants to go back to “Balaton” ever since. While I missed the kids terribly, it was nice to be with Chris alone for those days. …
Like Riding a Bicycle
Like riding a bicycle, (or more pertinently to my own recent experience, driving a stick-shift) there are some things that one can pick up fairly naturally right where they left off even after a long hiatus. Such is fitting back in with the rhythm of life at WOL Hungary. And though there are many familiar faces, there are also many …
We Have Arrived!
Hi there, We are at Word of Life Hungary! We arrived last Tuesday, our flights were on time, everything went really well. We had an amazing trip, thank you for praying! The kids slept less than 2 and a half hours in 31 hours, and as you may imagine, we slept even less, but to our surprise we were able …
Last Post from America :)
Dear friends and family, It’s hard to believe that in 3 days we are going to be on a plane on our way to Hungary. As you may imagine, our house is a mess at this point. We have 3-4 pieces of furniture left in the whole house, everything is on the floors. We’ve been working hard to get everything …
Big Blessings
Dear friends, We have a Kindergarten graduate! Our big girl had a wonderful year at school and we are very proud of her. She is ready to be in first grade, she says, but I am glad I have her home for the summer. 🙂 She had the opportunity to go to a wonderful camp, called Camp Navigate last week. …
Leaving in 1 Month!
Dear friends, It’s hard to believe that it is already June! This past month we were able to present our ministry plans at Pleasant Hill Church. We had a very blessed time there and were able to talk to many of the church members after Sunday School. We hope to see several of them at our Summer Camps in Hungary …
Someone Is About to Graduate from Kindergarten
Dear friends, Can you believe it’s May again? Here is a quick update on us: Amy has her Kindergarten graduation this month. She cannot wait to be a first grader in Hungary. We are so excited for her! She will have a busy summer moving to Hungary, learning how to talk fluently in Hungarian, (hopefully) making new friends, and getting …
Do the $10-$20 Challenge
Dear friends, (For the $10-$20 challenge, scroll down.) We had the privilege of going to two churches in April. It’s hard to explain how neat it is to meet sisters and brothers in Christ who care deeply about missions. On April 9 we visited Martinsville Bible Church in Illinois. Everyone was so friendly and kind. We really enjoyed getting to …
Spring Break
Hi there, Amy enjoyed her last long break before school ends on June 1. She was able to meet a dear friend of hers whom she hasn’t seen for a long time during spring break. 🙂 Amy is excited that they only have 2 more months of school. She is ready for first grade, and for the summer break. 🙂 …
Fruitful Month
Dear friends, We had the opportunity to present at Franklin Road Baptist church this month. Chris and I shared during the Sunday School hour, Chris taught Children’s Church and at the Sunday Night Service. We loved the church, felt so welcomed and loved on. The Pastor and his wife hosted us for lunch, and we had the chance to talk …
Getting Ready to Leave
Dear friends, 110 days and we leave for Hungary! We are really excited that we will be able to serve with Word of Life in just a few months, see family and friends, but we are also very sad to leave the wonderful people we got to know here. Our church became our family and we will miss them dearly. …
Turn It into Prayer
In my last post I talked about the word fast challenge my friend started. I knew right away it would benefit me to do the challenge with her, but I didn’t realize how desperately I needed it. I think more than the words coming out of my mouth, it was the thoughts I had that shocked me. I realized how …
Word Fast
A good friend of mine mentioned that she found a devotional on word fast. I looked into it, and found the 7-day sample on bible.com. (If you are interested in the actual book, The Forty-Day Word Fast by Tim Cameron, you can find it on Amazon.) The author says, “I encourage people to fast from words of judgment, criticism, sarcasm, negativity, …
New Year’s Resolution
Hi there, Chris, the kids, and I were looking forward to this year, as we hope and believe this year will be “a year of reunions” (as my dad would say). It’s hard to believe that in less than 6 months we will be moving back to the country we met in, we got married in, and where our first …