I think I am finally getting going after all of my technical difficulties! I now have two working computers! Here are some pictures of the “goings on” here at En Gedi Hospitality House.

We are in front of an F15 at the air show at Mountain Home Air Force Base. This is the aircraft flown at our base. 

Tim (one of our guys at En Gedi) married the lovely Kalli in California. Ed was honored to officiate their wedding.

Some of our gals went to a park along the Snake River one day for a half day of prayer. It was time well spent. 

A bunch of us from the house went apple picking in Kuna. The guy on the right just got back from deployment the night before.

An impromptu game time after Bible study one Friday night.

I am the programs person at PWOC (Protestant Women of the Chapel) here. This is one of the programs this fall.

We had to say goodbye to Dan and Sarah Kephart. Their time in Mountain Home meant a radical change in their lives. When we met them, they weren’t Christians. Now Dan has already gone through a lot of seminary classes with a goal of someday being a chaplain. 

 This is a typical Friday night gathering. 

Since we are bursting at the seams, we have decided to enclose our patio and bring in a heater for the children to use during Bible study time. As you can see here, it is leaking and we still need to fix that before we can lay down a rubber floor and decorate.

Thanksgiving day at the Turkey Day 5K in Boise and then the meal at our house.

Our third annual Holiday Tea Party with a devotion led by Karla Schrader (Chaplain Schrader’s wife).  

                                       Merry Christmas!

Technical Difficulties

For the past 6 months I have had lots of problems with my electronic devices. I have had one computer die twice and a new computer died two weeks ago. Eric Thimell has been so helpful during this time. I have had a hard time keeping up with this blog and e-mail. This past month, we got to go to a mission's conference and a wedding. On the way to the wedding, we got to see Yosemite (which is 17 miles from where the nuptials took place).

Ministry here is going well. We are bursting at the seams. I plan to write more, when I'm settled. My new computer won't be fixed for another few weeks. Thanks for your prayers.

He's Back!

Ed made it safely back from Qatar. My computer died shortly after. More blog posts to come when I figure this stuff out on a new computer!

Yay for Summer!

This is the month folks when Ed gets back from deployment! Ministry is NOT the same without him. Ministry has continued while he was gone. We have had holiday gatherings, Friday night events, baby showers, PWOC programs and Bible studies, etc.

Memorial Day Weekend was full. We had our regular Friday night dinner and Bible study. The next day, lots of our gals got together at our house to put together shoes for children in Uganda. Below,  Jessica is displaying our first complete set.

We had a Memorial Day picnic at Eric and Janet’s house. Their backyard was packed! We took time to pray for Matt as he deployed the following week.

Our Andrew returned from deployment last month. He is getting out of the Air Force and will be going to school in Spokane to train to be a MAF pilot. Some of us went with him to MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship) in Nampa, Idaho. We are so excited for Andrew and Lisa. We will also be sad to see them go.

Friday nights at our house continue to go well. This past Friday we had a full house. We anticipate losing 3 dear couples to transfer this next month.

We have developed great relationships with our group. One Saturday, a bunch of us went to the zoo to celebrate Paisley’s first birthday.

Our Protestant Women of the Chapel (PWOC) is going great for summertime. We had a gal step forward to lead and she is doing a phenomenal job. Our first Bible study of the summer was well attended.

Since I last wrote I got to take a VERY quick trip to Roseburg with Leigh (an AF nurse here).  I got to see my dad and Carole; my mom and Jim; my in-laws and my precious son.

 

Did you know there is to scale replica of Stonehenge on the Washington side of the Columbia River along Interstate 84? We took a side trip on our way home. I like this picture of Leigh with Mt. Hood in the background.

Hurray for Spring!

I made it through the winter! Winter is hard for me because I don’t like the cold at all. Also, there’s only 2 more months until Ed comes home. Great ministry is happening in his part of the world. Here he is with two of his colleagues.

Ministry here continues on. Friday nights are going well. Eric is such a good teacher. We are frequently crowded here. I continue to wonder if God wants us to get a bigger ministry facility. Because of the age of those we love on, we frequently have baby showers and gender reveal parties to attend. We had one shower at our house recently with a dinosaur theme.

Janet did a great job with her dinosaur cookies :)

We went to Amanda and Collin’s gender reveal party. Amanda really wanted a girl….

 

Our ministry is all about relationships. One of our gals organized a girl’s day out. A large group of us descended on a manicure salon in Boise. The manager there liked us so much, she posed with us and put the picture on facebook. It was a great day of getting to know and love these precious women God put in my life.

 

I was blessed with some cash gifts over Christmastime to spend however I pleased. Well, Jesse and Julie celebrated 5 years of marriage this March and I wanted to help them celebrate by watching their children. I used the money for a plane ticket to San Antonio. I spent 9 days there. I just love being with them. Here is a shot of Julie and the children on a walk we took while I was there.

 

Happy Spring!

Early 2014

 

I have returned from Texas after visiting my daughter’s family. I sure do love my three grandchildren!

Spring is in the air. The whistle pigs (our area ground squirrels) have come out of hibernation. The ministry is changing.

As usual, we recently had to say goodbye to one our dear airmen on a Friday night. He is leaving active duty to pursue going to a Christian college with hopes of being in ministry in the future. We love our dear Preston. Some of our group prayed over him during his last visit with us.

Friday nights are going well. Eric is such a good teacher. We have a great group that comes.

The Protestant Women of the Chapel (PWOC) here is still doing well. We did another cookie giveaway at the BX last week. Our Bible study is phenomenal. Of course we have issues….especially with child care and winter sicknesses. But I have seen women grow deeper in spiritual maturity and that is something for which I’m excited!

These lovely women pictured above get together with me regularly to crochet and talk about spiritual things. This week they expressed a desire to go deeper. Yay!

I started to crochet a year and a half ago and God has really used this as a vehicle to get closer to other women. I recently posted a picture of a project I just finished on facebook.

This bag is made from plastic shopping bags. One of our fellow Cadence missionaries ministers to military wives in Cambodia. She has asked me (after seeing this picture on Facebook) to consider bringing a few of the local military wives to Cambodia to teach these women how to make these and market them. I have only mentioned this to a handful of our gals here in Idaho and I already have three who say they want to go. I have just now started to explore our options for this. But I am excited about the possibilities.

Thanks so much for your prayers for Ed. He is doing well but misses being here in Idaho. June still seems far, far away.

Rachel Suzanne Cornell

I am writing to you all from Texas. I have been here for several weeks. During that time, I’ve bonded with my family here and have welcomed grandchild #3, Rachel.

Rachel was born 6 days before her due date on December 15, weighing 6 pounds 2 ounces. I have enjoyed spending lots of time with Dawson and Laci too.  I have loved making things for them to wear.

Ed is continuing to minister to troops during his deployment. It is hard for him to be away. I miss him. Ministry in Mt. Home is going well. The Thimells are great partners and love on airmen and their families well.

Happy New Year!