Wild West Adventures

I love Summer! We have had a beautiful summer here in Southern Idaho, not too hot, not too cold.

I had surgery at the beginning of June and that plus the recovery went very well. I was well enough three weeks after the surgery to go with our group to Frontier Days in Idaho City.  There were about 15 (?) of us that went. Most of us dressed up in our old west clothes. People there thought that was so cool and many asked where we were from. That helped because one of our guys lost his wallet. It was found and returned because the wallet had a military ID card and a gal remembered that our group of dressed up people were connected with the military. The wallet was discovered just after Ed and several of the guys stopped to pray about it. Everyone seemed to have a great time.

I just love this picture (above) of Ed, Andrew, Aaron and Nathan.

Ed and I are leaving in a few days for junior boy’s camp at Warm Lake again. Andrew and Aaron will be joining us this time. Please pray for that!

For 4th of July we had a big get together on base. The event was advertised on the base face book page. Last year, we had about 20 people. This year we had around 175 – 200 people. Wow! Below is a picture of Sharlene and me cleaning up afterward.

Sharlene and her daughter, Meleeya are going to help me at junior girl’s camp right after the boy’s camp. Her husband is deployed right now.

This past week we had our supervisors, Bill and Syliva Sawyer visit us.  They came to encourage us and they accomplished that task.

We took them to Shoshone Falls in Twin Falls, Idaho. We also visited Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) in Nampa.

We are encouraged. We see such great depth in many of our airmen and spouses. Bill and Sylvia marveled at that. To God be the glory!

Late Spring 2011

Two days after we got back from Hawaii, I went to the PWOC (Protestant Women of the Chapel) retreat in Cascade, Idaho. I had very little to do with running the retreat this time (except for booking the place). Most of the work was done by gals in their 20’s. I was very proud of them. We all had a fabulous time and we achieved our goal (getting to know each other better). I’m excited to see these gals grow in their faith with a passion to serve GOD wholeheartedly.

Shortly after this, our gals threw a baby shower for Birthright in Boise.  We filled several large vehicles full of gifts for young moms and their babies. The Birthright director was thrilled! The very next week we had our end of year program, a tea party.  That was my last official day as president of this group. We don’t have a new president. Please pray for this need.

Here I am with Madeline Carollo. Her daddy is a chaplain here in Mt. Home.

We found out around this time that Ed’s dear Aunt Trudy had passed away. Her only child, Dan, who was my age had passed away in 1990 of malaria. We all loved Aunt Trudy. She loved Jesus and that was very clear by testimonies of her people shared at her memorial service. That was the second memorial service we went to that day. Our neighbor from Cleveland Rapids Road in Roseburg (Helen Lehne) also had passed away. She also loved Jesus. It was great to hear how she impacted the lives of so many.

We got to spend time with family while in Roseburg, especially Greg.  It was so nice to be with him. Below is a picture of him with his two grandmothers at Aunt Trudy’s service.

The evening we got back from Roseburg, we had four guys over at our house hanging out and chatting for awhile. I was so tired! But I was also honored that these guys would want to hang out with us. Ed has been spending lots of quality time with these and other guys. Here is a photo they sent to facebook by phone from one of those times.

Velocity (the young adult ministry on base) is now participating in the intramural softball league on base. This past week was their first game. Here they are praying before the game.

 Also last week, the base chapel put on their Vacation Bible School.  We did Group’s Pandemania. I usually help out with registration but a few months ago I didn’t feel led to do that. I opted to help Chelsea with the opening and closing ceremonies. I wanted to get to know Chelsea better. It worked out because I ended up having to have surgery the Friday before. I couldn’t have physically handled any other task. The kids (many of them unchurched) LOVED this VBS.

We had many obstacles to deal with including the loss of half of the chapel parking lot and all of the adjoining parking lot due to security changes and construction projects. On Wednesday, we had a base exercise which put the chapel into lockdown. The outdoor games had to come indoors …. in the hallway.  When they let our kids and families leave, we saw airmen dressed up in their gas masks and weapons on the street. The kids didn’t seem to notice since they are all used to that stuff.  One of our little ones pointed to one of the airmen and said “Daddy!”.  I so appreciate our military and what they and their families sacrifice.

Spring 2011

This Spring we were blessed to have an early celebration of our 25th anniversary (June 28 is the actual date). With gifts from friends and family and some freebies (free air fare, free motel stays, gift cards, car use, etc.) we were able to travel to Hawaii for two weeks.  We got to stay on the Big Island for 3 nights at military lodging on the volcano crater’s edge and explore a good portion of the island.

This is the caldera near twilight.

We went snorkeling, enjoyed the yummy foods unique to the island, laid on the beach, hiked near water falls and lava tubes, perused historic sites and ventured into a valley accessible by 4 wheel drive vehicles. This next picture is of us in Wai pio Valley.

We spent the rest of our time on Oahu with the Cornell family. While there we got to visit the Cadence hospitality house run by the Cassidy family. We did some more hiking (once with Elba). We enjoyed more yummy Hawaiian food. We got to see Jesse (our son in law) save someone’s life. Yep, you read that right. Jesse even got a great write up about it on the Air Force web site.

It was wonderful to see our family and I loved having grandma time with Dawson. I got to ride in the back seat with him lots. He started playing his version of “peek a boo” by grabbing my hand and hiding his eyes. I would say…”Where’s Dawson?

He would then push my hand away and smile when I would say “there’s Dawson!”

Another highlight was attending the Easter Sunrise service on board the USS Missouri in Pearl Harbor.

We are grateful to God and to some of you for our wonderful trip. We are blessed to celebrate 25 years of marriage.

The following pics are of the Ali’i tour on Oahu.

We are very blessed.

We Love Our Guys!

Someone asked us what our weekly schedule is like. It is hard to answer sometimes. We do have things that are strictly scheduled and then we try to have flexibility in our schedule to accommodate the military schedules. Today was such a day in that we were glad to have some flexibility. Andrew had to work over the weekend and had today off. We invited him over for some soup. Soon others wanted to join him too. I went to the pantry and threw another soup concoction on the stove. Andrew told me last night that we are like parents to him and he loves coming out to our house. He has grown tremendously since coming to Mountain Home. You all are a part of that. Thanks so much for your encouragement, prayers and support!

Winter’s End…?

This has been a sad time for us as we have had to say goodbye to a few people.  We had to say goodbye on this earth to Harley Fitch. We met Harley and his wife Cathie at our home church in Roseburg. They have supported us since the beginning of our time as missionaries to the military. They had recently moved to the Boise area to get medical help. We were able to attend the memorial service. The service was a tribute to Harley and his love of missions. He was serving God with his passion until the very end.

 

This display was a nice tribute to Harley’s life.

The second good bye was to Chaplain Anderson and his family. They moved just last week to North Carolina. They were very supportive of us and Richard Anderson became one of Ed’s dearest friends here. The chapel had a gathering to honor him and it was one of the largest crowds I’ve ever seen at the chapel. He touched so many lives here in Mt. Home. He counseled Jesse and Julie and performed their wedding ceremony.

Here he is praying with some of us at PWOC (Protestant Women of the Chapel) as his last act as our advisor.

Chaplain Anderson’s very last act as a chaplain here was to perform the wedding for Amber and Caleb Zody. Amber and Caleb met at Velocity after both had been through traumatizing things. We have seen both grow immensely in their walks with God through the ministry of the chapel. It has been so exciting to see. We got to meet Caleb’s parents and they were so grateful for Ed’s input into Caleb’s life. It was our honor to share in their joy at their wedding.

Velocity is still going strong. Just this last week some of us from Velocity went skiing together at Bogus Basin. It was a great time of developing relationships with some folks who are open to the Gospel. I had an especially great time hanging out with Michelle. She likes to ski the challenging slopes and I like the green ones. I’ve only skied once since before my children were born so I’m not that good.

While I was having fun skiing, poor Ed was busy at the Air Guard.

Our Friday nights at the house are still going well and we are quite busy with ministry on base. We are having troubles getting people to step up and commit themselves to take on responsibilities. So please pray that God will work on the hearts of those here to do so.

Christmas and the New Year

Happy New Year Dear Ones!

We had a wonderful Christmas here with 45 (?) folks. We had 53 RSVP’s and we were wondering where everyone would go. It worked out beautifully. The food was plentiful and we had so much fun. Your prayers were so appreciated.

We did a white elephant gift exchange and the traditional 12 days of Christmas with hand motions.

Our wonderful supervisors with Cadence, Paul and Beryl Metko came to visit us as their last assignment as our supervisors. Our wing chaplain, Dan Crawford and his wife Cheryl invited us to their home to meet the Metkos. It was great fellowship. We are very blessed to know and work with both couples.

God has been gracious to me and has allowed me to go visit Julie and Dawson in Hawaii while Jesse is deployed.

I got to spend 16 (mostly) glorious days there. Two days the rain poured so much we stayed home. Julie was sick for two days, Dawson for two more and I was sick for a day. Here is a photo of Dawson when he was sick.

I got to see some friends and enjoy the island.

We had lunch with Julie McCool at the Hale Koa in Waikiki.

I hiked Diamond Head with Elba Adams.

The Klein family took me to the beach.

I saw more friends and sadly didn’t take good pictures of them. The highlight of the trip though, was spending time with Julie and Dawson. I so love being Dawson’s grandma!

I loved the warmth of Hawaii, but it was great to get back home to my hubby. I missed him. I am grateful for the opportunity I had to visit.

Two days after I got back we visited Bible Baptist Church in Payette. We brought Aaron with us. BBC has been a wonderful supporting church for us. We always feel so special and loved when we visit.

Here is Pastor Rob, Ed and Aaron. Ed, Aaron and I shared with the church what is going on here at Mt. Home AFB. I always love going there.

A party and a wedding

Thanks for your prayers for our women’s group on base, PWOC (Protestant Women of the Chapel). God has brought some truly wonderful YOUNG ladies who are stepping up to leadership and doing well. In the picture below I am singing with Victoria, Sharlene and Aleanna. Each of these women has a fantastic story. Victoria was raised in my first home town of Ontario, Oregon. I have seen her grow by leaps and bounds this past year. She is in charge of our Outreach and is learning to play the guitar.  Sharlene (who is my son Greg’s age) is our VP for programs. She put on the Christmas program pictured here. She is also learning to play the guitar. Sharlene has such a heart for God and it shows. She had a few “stumbles” in her teen years but is going very strong now. Aleanna was born in my second home town of Roseburg, Oregon. Her parents went to Roseburg High School the same time I did. Aleanna’s husband is deployed and a dear family member is chronically ill. She chooses to look to God for her strength and gives so much of her time and talents to us at PWOC. She is in charge of our praise and worship as well as our Spring Retreat. This description of these precious gals doesn’t even scratch the surface of what they are about. God has blessed me to work with them and several other very wonderful women. I am truly blessed.

Pictured above: Suzie, Victoria, Sharlene and Aleanna

Above, Sharlene is playing Silent Night while we sing.

Aleanna gave our devotion. She was so nervous but I think she is a natural.

We had great food and had a white elephant gift exchange.

This past weekend we drove to Boise to attend Matt and Alicia’s wedding. Matt has been involved in MANY other Cadence ministries. He started coming out to our house here from the beginning. We were so excited for him when he met Alicia through e-harmony.  Alicia is an Air Force kid who lives in the Treasure Valley of Idaho. They both wanted to honor God with their relationship and waited until their wedding day for their first kiss. It was very sweet.

They plan a cruise in the Caribbean for their honeymoon.

We plan on having a crowd here for Christmas. The RSVP’s right now stand at 46. God give me strength!

Merry Christmas to all of you!