Colorado, Arizona

We had a really good time with Nate and Tresa Scholz in Florissant, CO. I was really dizzy and a little sick the whole time, probably because of the altitude. It was great to catch up and see old friends!

After we left there we went to Garden of the Gods on our way to Pueblo, CO. Noah and Kayla had a blast climbing on everything while Lela and I watched! Lela isn't much of a climber so she was content to stay with mommy. Caleb took Noah and Kayla on lots of trails and hikes and they had a good time!

We stayed in Pueblo, CO for a few days in a Missions Apartment NTCP, USA had helped build, so that was neat. After that we left for an 11 hour drive to Page, Arizona. This is where it gets interesting! On the way there we found out the church was giving us an "authentic" Navajo meal, including Mutton. The church is on a reservation and the Pastor wants to turn it over to a Navajo Pastor in a few years. They came early on Saturday, slaughtered the sheep, cut it all up and then grilled it! I was doing school with Noah so unfortunately I couldn't watch! But Caleb had a good time taking pictures. The kids got to see them take the wool off and then Noah watched them cut the meat up, they thought it was pretty neat. The made a dish called "konan" with the intestines, onions and peppers. I braved it and ate it and it was delicious! Although I don't know if I would try it again. The grilled meat, or mutton, was tough since it was an old sheep, but it was still fun to try it and it was nice of the people to do that for us. The church was so nice the whole time we were there and such a blessing!

Page, Arizona is at the top of the Grand Canyon so we went to Glen Canyon and the dam. It was fun and the kids had a good time climbing and seeing it. It made us really want to see the Grand Canyon! I wish I could post more pictures but they'd take up too much room and I haven't messed with this blog enough to figure out how to get a picture display thing on it. Maybe someone can help me? I have a Facebook where I post most of our pics. I haven't uploaded photos from the Grand Canyon yet and we went to Carlsbad Caverns today so I'll write a post about those places when I get the pics up.

I wanted to do an update about my pregnancy. I could complain about the baby being low, my hips and pelvis constantly throbbing, but in all honesty, I am having a great pregnancy now that I'm over being sick! I have a friend who had a uterine tear and has been on bed rest her whole pregnancy; another friend who is having twins and is miserable; another one who is still sick constantly even though she's 7 months along; and two other friends who have gestational diabetes. I have been so blessed with this pregnancy, I can't complain about anything! I'm not sick anymore, I don't sleep well because of different beds and hip pain but that's not bad, I can eat whatever I want, I haven't gained very much weight, and I can climb canyons and explore caves! I'm doing pretty well. We don't know what the baby is yet. I will probably have an ultrasound in April but then the baby might be too big and squished to see what it is, we'll see. I've learned to let it go and trust God. He knows what it is, He knows that we need clothes, a car seat, burp clothes, blankets, pacis, diapers, wipes and pretty much everything you would need for a baby, and He knows when I'm going to have this baby. So I'm just enjoying being pregnant and doing fun things with my family, and He'll provide what we need! Thanks to everyone who has asked how I've been. If you want to pray that I'll get some relief from this back pain, I'd appreciate it. But God's good! All the time!

Arizona, Colorado

After the GIBF meeting we were in a Missions Conference in Phoenix, Arizona with Bro. Bessinas. We stayed in their Missions Apartment for two weeks and we had such a great time! They have foster kids and adopted kids all around our kids' ages so they played mightily the two weeks! The church there is so sweet and loving. On Saturday Caleb went to the swap meet with the church where they set up a tent and hand out gospel tracts. It's mostly a spanish community and people were very receptive! The kids and I met him later and I was amazed at how friendly the people were and how much they wanted to take the tracts. Of course we found a lot on the ground and there were people that refused them, but all in all alot took them. The Missions Conference went well even though I was TERRIBLY hot!! It was in the 80's which to them is cool (they wore jackets and sweaters) but to this pregnant lady I felt like I was going to die. To make matters worse they didn't turn on the a/c in the church, they just opened windows, and there was little to no breeze. We also got allergy colds so we were all sniffing and sneezing the whole time.

When we left there we headed to Farmington, NM to be with Burson Corley in his Missions Conference/Preachers Meeting. We stayed with the Waldrip family who live on the bumpiest road I have EVER been on! It was awful, we couldn't go more than 5 mph and we were shaken around like rag dolls. We had a good time at that church also, and Caleb was able to sing some specials and I played some offetories and Caleb was able to present our ministry. Sunday morning (March 1st) we were with Bro. Harjo in Shiprock, NM. They have mostly an Indian congregation and it was good to be with them. It really is sad how pitiful life is on indian reservations. It's almost like a third world country, like Bro. Harjo pointed out. Whole families living in tin shacks, beggars everywhere (Caleb wouldn't even let me take the kids to the bathroom at a gas station by myself), and just poverty and sadness everywhere. I'm sure not all reservations are like this, but it really opened my eyes to the need the indian people have of hearing the gospel!

On Tuesday afternoon we left Farmington to go to Englewood, Colorado. We were planning on leaving at noon but didn't leave until after 3pm so we didn't make it to the first night of the Home Missions Conference. We drove straight to Silver State Baptist Youth Camp where we were staying for the week. It was excited to drive through the mountains at 10 at night, let me tell you! We went around the back of the mountain because of the direction we were coming from and I was for sure we'd go around the corner and there would be a bear.

But we made it safely and we were able to get unloaded and in bed before midnight! The next morning we woke up and drove to the church in Englewood for the meetings. Let me tell you, we've been in a few "big" Home Missions Conferences and we have NEVER been in one like this one. I don't want this to sound bad, but we usually feel like we have to make ourselves known or nobody will talk to us, we just end up sitting by ourselves hoping someone will look our way. But at this one, everyone was so friendly and there weren't "ranks" in the preachers of who you could and couldn't talk to on a social scale. Everyone was open and nobody was made to feel less than worthy of a conversation! That doesn't always happen when you get a lot of preachers together, sad to say. The people of the church were incredibly friendly and I can't even count how many asked me about the baby and if we knew what it was! I felt like taping a sign to my shirt "6 months along, we don't know what is it" because I answered those questions so often!

The best part of the entire week, we got to see Lauren Murray. We knew each other in High School from going to camp together but for some reason never liked each other. Then we went to Heartland together and we were inseperable! She was my Maid of Honor and I love her so much. I forgot how much I love her, actually. On the last night of the Conference we were sitting in the service and Caleb was on my left and Lauren was on my right. I felt so deeply satisfied I honestly could not think of anything else I needed. I am so thankful that the Lord brings friends into your life that you know will be there forever. Even though we don't talk often, maybe 2 or 3 times a year, whenever we do talk it's like we've never been apart. I am so unworthy of a friend like her!

This week we're in Albuquerque, NM. Sunday morning we were with Bro. Carr at Mesa Baptist Church and we might be able to be in their Missons Conference the beginning of April, if we can work it out! Sunday night we were with Rio Grande Baptist Church which is where we're staying in a Missions Apartment. We were supposed to get here Saturday night but the Pastor forgot we were coming and put another Missionary in the apartment! But he was very kind and put us in a hotel room for two nights. We are now in the apartment and will be here until Saturday.

After this we will be going to Florissant, CO to be with Nate and Tresa Scholtz; Page, AZ with a Navajo Pastor; and then Hobbs, NM which is at the bottom of the state. We're hoping to go to the Grand Canyon when we're in Arizona and Carlsbad Caverns when we're in Hobbs. Noah really wants to go! Thanks for reading.

GIBF Meeting

This week has been long already! And it's only Thursday. Sunday night we went to Miranda's church, Lakeview Baptist Church in Peoria, AZ, and had a really great time. We went to the Pastor's house (Bro. Crichton) for pizza and fellowship and had a good time laughing about funny and crazy things we used to do. The Pastor and his wife are so sweet and you can tell they love Miranda as much as we do. I am so thankful for them that they took my request for them to take care of Miranda seriously. It would've been easier to forget about it and not worry about picking her up, letting her fall by the wayside. But they continued to pick her up and keep track of her for the last 1 1/2 years.

Monday morning we picked Miranda up and went to the mall. We only had the morning since she had track practice at one, so we couldn't really do anything fun like the zoo or a museum. By the time we got there and got in we would've only had 2 hours to do anything before we had to head back. So we just walked around the mall and goofed around. I got texting on my phone (YAY!!!) so we drove Caleb crazy by texting each other while walking next to each other. It was sad when we had to take her home, but I'm glad we got to spend a little bit of time with her!

Monday night was the first night of the Global Independent Baptist Fellowship. We aren't a part of the fellowship, but Bro. Randolph (the Pastor of the church that was hosting it) said we could put up our display anyway. We figured, hey, free advertising, right?! Plus a lot of our friends were going to be there including my Pastor I had growing up and my Youth Pastor. It was really, really, incredibly good to see them! They both had such an influence on my life and I'm so thankful for them. My Pastor always had a heart for kids and youth and making sure we had a youth leader that would take us to camp and things. I know that he took teens to camp when there was nobody else and I know that not many Pastors would do that! My youth Pastor, Doug Taylor, was also very special to me. He gave his heart to us teens and gave us his all. He was always quick to correct us in a loving way, but he was never overbearing, from what I remember. He married Caleb and me and he was the one that was always pushing us together! When we were working with the youth I found myself thinking "What would Doug do" very often! I know he gave his all to us and I'm thankful for that, I always will be. I love you, Doug!! (Mr. Taylor, sorry)

The meeting lasted through Wednesday night and although it was exhausted, it was fun. The preaching was all excellent, the church was very good to us with meals and coupons, and I always love seeing my friends from college! It is such a blessing to see people you went to school with serving the Lord just like you are. It's an encouragement and also a reminder that you need to be faithful, so you can be an encouragement to them. We had good fellowship, good food, and good preaching. What more can a Baptist ask for?

Family Emergency

Before we left for Arizona we had a little family emergency. A member of our family was dropped and broke her arm. She's okay now, Caleb was able to tape her arm back together even though the plastic band that is supposed to hold it on broke.
Okay, I'll be serious. Kayla's favorite doll, Jean, was dropped and her arm broke. Kayla cried for no less than 40 minutes and wouldn't let anyone touch Jean! She was holding the broken off arm in one hand and cradling Jean in the arm while laying face-down on her bed wailing and lamenting. I called my mom because I had no idea what to do. Let her cry it out? Try to console her? Make her stop screaming and crying? All I could think about was a time when I was 12 and I got in really big trouble for doing something really stupid. I cried for hours I think, because I was disappointed in myself. So I called my mom to see what to do and we talked about it. Eventually Kayla came out of her room and talked to Grandma. I don't know what Grandma said, but it worked!
Kayla let Caleb (our in-house doctor) tape up the arm and put it in a cast. We have to get a different kind of tape to make it a permanent fix, but she has a good temporary cast. Kayla was feeling much better afterward but decided to leave Jean at home to recover and brought a different doll with her to Arizona. We're hoping Jean will be stable enough to travel again when we get home in April. Kayla would appreciate your prayers on this matter!

I have been so remiss in updating this. We don't have internet very often and when we do, it's only for an hour or so and I hate writing in a rush!! Last time I left off we were headed for Arkansas so I'll start there!
We were supposed to leave Monday afternoon I think the 26th of January? Not sure of the exact date. But, a huge ice storm moved into Oklahoma on its way to Arkansas, so we would have been following a huge ice storm the whole way there. We decided not to go, and delayed it for that weekend. We left on Saturday and when we got there found out we were staying in a nice Missions Apartment about an hour away. I am so sorry, I can't remember any town names. This is why I hate writing in a rush!! The church where Caleb was working needed toilets and vanities put in, hot water heater put in, and a water fountain. They were also working on getting the painting done and carpet in. The Pastor was really nice and we all had a good time. They didn't get all the work done by Tuesday morning like they wanted, but I believe they were able to meet in their new building that Sunday which was a huge blessing. They had been meeting in a train depot and they had to set up and take down for each service.

We left there Tuesday afternoon and got back to Oklahoma late Tuesday night. Wednesday we did laundry, packed and cleaned up. We had to get ready to be gone for two months! Thursday we left a lot later than we wanted, we didn't leave Mustang until almost noon and we had a ten hour drive ahead of us. But the drive went well and we ended up in Albuquerque, NM late that night. We stayed in a Missions Apartment there at Rio Grande Baptist Church. It was a nice facility and it was free, so that made it better! We are so incredibly thankful for Missions Apartments, words can't describe what a huge blessing they are to Missionaries! They save us so much money and enable us to do so much more than we normally would be able to do. I think every church should try to have one in their church, even if it's one room with a bed and microwave!

Friday we traveled to Prescott, AZ and we're staying in a Missions Apartment there at Valley Baptist Church. The church bought an actual house that they turned into an apartment in the Master Bedroom area, and the rest is classrooms and a fellowship hall. They then turned the shop outside into the sanctuary. It's at a great location and it's so beautiful here! I never knew that Arizona had mountains and it's unbelievable pretty here. It started snowing Sunday and snowed all through Tuesday morning and so the kids had a great time building snowmen, snowforts and having a snowball fight! The weather is warm, in the 30s-40s, but the snow isn't melting. It's perfect play outside in the snow weather!

Saturday we met Bro. Ikenberry at his church, Faith Baptist Church in Prescott Valley, to do visitation. It was fun to do that again, a surprisingly large amount of churches don't do visitation anymore, or just the Pastor does it. It was good to see a church that was concerned for its neighbors and those around them! That afternoon we went to a birthday party (I promise we were invited!) where Caleb thoroghly insulted the hostess by suggesting she turn her goats into summer sausage and jerky. She firmly said "We don't eat family members" and glared. They were both joking about it and had a good time, but what made it even funnier was that the Pastor suggested to Caleb that he tell her that goats make good jerky! He was totally set up by the Pastor. We played a game where you kind of needed to know people, and Caleb ended up winning, how strange is that? He's good at reading people I guess.

That Sunday we were with that church in Prescott Valley and had a great time. The church is very sweet and loving, and we felt like we fit right in. Caleb taught the teen class for Sunday School, I played an offetory and he sang a special for morning church, and then he preached for night service. I think things went well and the Spirit moved. It was a refreshingly relaxed and loving church, not something you find often out on the road.

On Wednesday we were with Tim Larkly in Cottonwood, AZ. Caleb knew him in college and hasn't seem him since, so it was good to see him. He's married now and his wife is so sweet and fun, we had a good time. They have two adorable kids and our kids had a good time being rascals together.

This Sunday we're going to be in the church with the Missions Apartment (Valley Baptist) in the morning and then in the evening we're going to Peoria, AZ (in Phoenix) and we're going to see MIRANDA!!! She's a girl that was in our youth group a couple years ago. She was saved at a youth rally she went to because her friend made her, and she was such a blessing to us. She was over at our house almost every weekend and she was my best friend, even though we were ten years apart. It was really hard for both of us when her Dad got a job in Arizona two years ago, but I am so excited to see her again. She was faithful enough to find a good church in her area that would come pick her up (her mom wouldn't take her to church) and her Pastor says she's a faithful person in the church. It will be so good to see her again, I always call her my mini-me.

After that we'll be staying in a Missions Apartment in the Phoenix area and I am praying with all my heart that they have internet!! I know that's so vain and carnal of me, but it's a desire of my heart! My pregnancy is going really well now. I'm about 6 months along and I'm in that final stage where I'm always uncomfortable and feeling huge. But at least I'm not sick anymore and the baby kicking reminds me that he's still there and still healthy! It's such a relief to not have to wonder if the baby's okay, to just be able to feel it moving and know it's okay. God is so good to give us worrying moms that peace of mind! We still don't know what it is yet, boy or girl. We might find out in April, if I can get an ultrasound. We're trying to get our insurance things worked out and see if anyone will cover it. I'm almost to the point where I don't care! We've waited this long, what's the point in finding out now?! But then I see cute baby stuff in the store and I feel the need to HAVE TO KNOW because I want to buy stuff!!!! Whether that be cute little pink fluffly socks or little suits. But, God will provide when I need it!

Our "Relaxing" Weeks at Home

Well, we finally made it back home to Oklahoma. We had been told that there would be a mobile home on a church member's property where we could stay, but it wasn't ready for us when we got there. We stayed with Caleb's parents for a week before the trailer was ready for us. But once we got there, we were so thankful! Ron and Vicki LeHew bought the trailer and property next to them and were planning on moving into it this Summer, but they decided to let us stay in it until we found a place of our own. It's a really nice trailer with 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, a HUGE kitchen, dining room, and a massive living room. Our puny little possessions looked like they belonged in a doll house instead of this house. The church really got behind us and people donated a couch, chairs, side tables, dressers, curtains, table and chairs, and a LOT of food! We now have a lifetime supply of mac & cheese and hotdogs, which the kids are excited about. They want to eat it everyday, I guess they missed it on the road.

Although we've been home, we haven't really been "home". The first week we were there our church had a Family Life Conference with Bro. Mike Hays. He's a Biblical Counselor and probably the wisest, smartest man I've ever met. He did our pre-marital counseling and I love listening to him every chance I get. We had a really good conference, but we were ready for a few days off. That next week was the Heartland Home Missions Conference, so we were barely home that week! We had a good time even though Caleb didn't get to present our ministry. He was able to set up our display table and he made some meetings, so that was a plus. I didn't get to see many friends since most of my friends are pregnant and had to stay home! But I saw a lot of husbands. I always love going to these meetings because so much money is raised for Home Missions projects and one Pastor was even given a brand new minivan. Pastors come with all kinds of things just ready to give away and it's exciting to see God work.

That Saturday we were cleaning and recovering from the week. Caleb cleaned the oven, since I couldn't, and since every time we used the oven it smelled like burning mouse poop in the whole house! It's quite nasty. After it sat all day he rinsed it out and I made dinner. I made cornbread in the oven, but the smell was still there. Since my stomach is so sensitive I couldn't eat anything but everyone else ate the food. In the middle of the night Kayla woke up sick as a dog, so I got her in new pajamas and put her on the couch where I could hear her if she was sick again. Caleb and I decided that I wouldn't be oging to church so I didn't wake up to take a shower. Caleb woke up but after his shower, he started to get sick too. We were trying to figure out what to do when Noah and Lela both woke up sick! So we all stayed home from church Sunday morning. I was the only one not sick so we figured it had something to do with the oven cleaner/dinner. By Sunday afternoon Caleb and the girls were feeling better but Noah was still sick, so I stayed home with him. But I soon got sick myself and felt awful! I was sick all night and all day Monday so it must have been some kind of stomach bug going around, not my dinner. That makes me feel a little bit better anyway.

That week we just kind of relaxed and focused on school and laundry. Caleb went to Wellington, KS to install a new hot water heater for the Jacobs and then roofed a house of a church member for two days. He recommitted his vow to never roof a house again. He has a huge blister on his hand now that's quite nasty.

This weekend we are in Luther, Oklahoma at a Missions Conference with the Dedmonds. We know another couple in the conference, Hector and Erica Garcia, so it's good to see them again. The church is really nice and very sweet and Noah is loving it! The Pastor has two boys around his age and another Missionary family, the Rooneys to England, have some more boys his age (eight in total) so he has a lot of boys to play with!! And then Kayla tries to keep up and be apart of their club, but they won't let her.

Next week we're going to Arkansas so Caleb can work on a church there. We're only going to be there until Friday, and then we'll be back in Oklahoma for a week to prepare to leave for Arizona for a month! Wheew!! It's kind of exciting to start our third leg of deputation, especially since I'm feeling a lot better and actually look pregnant! My morning sickness has almost completely disappeared so thank you to everyone that has prayed for me. I'm starting to feel like a normal human being again and I can eat food again, which is nice for lots of reasons.

Well I'm going to bed. Thanks for reading the blog, please leave a comment or email me! I like to hear responses to what we're doing. It's nice to know people still care.

A New Year

Happy New Year everyone! We had an exciting New Years week. We left that Monday from Grandview, WA with the destination of Klamath Falls, OR. Josh's church in Grandview voted to buy us new tires, so Monday morning we packed up and headed to Yakima to get our new tires. After that we left and almost didn't make it to Oregon. We got stuck on Hwy. 97 and Caleb had to put our chains on. It took him almost 30 minutes to get them on, and then when we got over the hill we didn't need them anymore! But at least we made it over the hill. Once we hit the bottom of Oregon we started seeing snow again and for some reason everyone wanted to go 35 mph on the highway. It was very frustrating because the roads were dry with no ice whatsoever and there were still vehicles stuck in the snowbanks. We were trying to figure out how in the world they went off the road, but I still don't understand it. We finally made it to Klamath Falls, and met my old friend Bekah Donaldson (Frain) at a restaurant with the rest of her family. We haven't seen each other since I was a Junior in HS so it was really nice. Her mom and brother are living with her, so it was good to see them again too! We had a nice meal, and then we crashed at our hotel!
The second day, Tuesday, our destination was Bakersfield, CA. The GPS said it would take 10 1/2 hrs and it was pretty close. It was a loooooooooong day, but we made it. Caleb's Granny (great-grandma) lives there and her church let us use their Missions Apartment. We went to see her the next day, Wednesday, and had a great time. Most of you will know that our oldest child, Noah, is not a hugging person. He doesn't like to hug or be touched, but he gave Granny a big hug (for Noah) right away. It was so sweet and I almost cried! The kids were really good and we had a great time with Granny. She is so sweet and I felt like I've always known her even though I had never met her before. I started to do the lunch dishes until she told me that was the only thing she could do and she was going to be completely bored the rest of the day if I took that job away from her! haha, she makes me laugh.
That night we went to Granny's church, McKee Road Baptist Church, for their services. I was having really bad indigestion and could barely sit up straight, so I took Lela back to the apartment. We cuddled and rested until Noah and Kayla came running back in all excited and exclaiming "We're going to stay up until midnight and play games and eat food and make popcorn and watch movies!!!" I was about to call them crazy nuts until I remembered it was New Years Eve! The apartment is attached to the Fellowship Hall and the church really did stay up until Midnight doing all those things! So we didn't get much sleep Wednesday night.
Thursday we drove from Bakersfield, CA to Flagstaff, AZ. This was probably our worst and longest day. I don't know why this drive was so hard, but it seemed like we were never going to get there! We finally arrived at Bro. Feaster's house at about 7:30pm and they showed us the apartment where we would be staying. It wasn't anything more than a few mattresses on the nursery floor, but we were so exhausted we were just thankful for a warm place to lay down! I probably would've slept on a pew. We did drag ourselves out to eat since we hadn't eated since 11:30am and we were thankful we still had some Chili's gift cards left!!
Friday morning we were a little more jazzed about traveling and we left pretty early in the morning. We drove all the way to Pampa, TX (a little NE of Amarillo) with a few stops at some trading posts along the way. Caleb has decided he hates New Mexico. Every time we stopped for a bathroom break, we had to drive around to five different places before we could find somewhere that was open AND had a bathroom! I guess if I were more willing to use a port-a-potty we could've gone earlier, but I'd rather wait, thank you! We finally drug ourselves (dragged, drugged?) into Pampa around 10:30pm and crashed in the lovely Missions apartment there. I don't even remember putting the kids in bed, I was out as soon as I laid down (lied down, layed down? my mind isn't working grammatically tonight).
Saturday morning we were more than happy to get on the road because our final stop was Mustang, OK!! Caleb was up and got the kids into the van before I had even moved from the position I landed in the night before. We left Pampa by 7:30am which was a good thing, because we didn't find a place to stop for breakfast until 9:30am. We all decided we just had to have biscuits and gravy and what better place to get it than Braums!! We knew we were close to home when we saw that Braums. The rest of the drive seemed to drag, but we were in Mustang by 11:15am. We went to the church and saw Miss Vicki who was watching the kids for visitation, and then we went to lunch with Caleb's parents.
We had a good week of traveling with no major setbacks. Noah got his school done while traveling, we didn't have any car problems, and we never left anyone at a gas station. We are so thankful to the churches that let us crash in their Missions apartments. Churches may never how much of a blessing it is to be able to stay in one, but I feel it is a necessity in a church! Even if it's a few mattresses on the nursery floor! =)