~Natasha Needs our prayers!!!~

My neice Natasha (who just had spinal surgery) is to have her long cast put on her today (Thursday) and will probably have to walk too. (She was supposed to have all of this done yesterday, but plans changed.)
All of this will be Very Painful!! Please PRAY for her as you think of her. I'm praying that her pain will be much LESS than expected. GOD IS ABLE!
Thank you for your prayers they mean a lot!!!

~Pics of those who helped us on our USA home!~

We are very blessed when we think of all those who gave of their time or money to help us on our USA house. Here are some pictures that I could find from our files. Our dear church took up 2 love offerings and our Jr. church gave us a love offering at Christmas for us to use on our home! Others gave as well!
~A picture of my kitchen...during the renovation process!~~Michael came and helped Phillip tear out old plaster and take off lath boards in our house in Cinci and this is what they looked like when they got back to Mrs. Phyllis' house that night. =)~
~They are standing in my kitchen and behind Phillip (the wall he is holding onto) is the small doorway and wall which Phillip tore out and made it "open" in between my kitchen and dining room.~

~One day I came to our house and Phillip and I worked in our basement. He tore out a bunch of rotten divider walls, and I had enjoyed sweeping up the mess. It was fun, for I couldn't do much w/ being pregnant, but I could sweep. =) We got a lot done that day.~~On Phillip's b-day we shoveled up a bunch of old plaster that was knee deep in our house and the entire Hausman family came over and were a HUGE blessing. Phillip built a ramp and put it out a window, so they dumped buckets of old plaster down the ramp and into Rob's trailer below.~
~I didn't have any old maternity clothes, so I wore Philip's work shirts.~
~Lil' Elijah~
~Natasha taking Elijah on a ride. There was lots of plaster dust in the air.~
~Bro. Probst came and helped.~
~Phillip worked untold HOURS!~
~This is the new wall that Phillip built when he knocked out the wall in between my kitchen and dining room. The dining room is behind us.~
~Sis. Jowers and her daughter Stephanie came and helped wipe down our furniture. (I must have not taken a picture of Stephanie. =(
~Bro. Jowers was a HUGE HELP! He changed locks on our doors, and came several days and helped!~
~Bro. Becker (our mission director) spent untold hours wiring our house!~

~Sis. Massengill helped us paint the girls room.~
~Will helped Phillip rebuild the roof on our front porch.~
~Sis. Becker came and helped in lots of ways! Sweeping, picking up, holding babies, bringing meals, donating nice window sheers, etc.~
~Dad D. came for a few days and helped Phillip as much as he could.~
~Daryl helping.~
~Sis. Becker.~
~The Hausmans were a big help!!~
~Natasha~
~Bro. Becker and Phillip~
~Bryanna and Kimberly~
~Bro. Donald~
~Sis. Melinda.~
~Warren and his brother and sisters helped a lot too!~
Jim Smith from IN. came over and did a lot of work. Randy Paulus and his Dad, Will W. and Bro. Wegener all came and helped but I wasn't around to get pics of them. Rob K. and Scott S. loaned Phillip a lot of tools and advice when Phillip needed it. Laura cooked a lot of meals, and Grammy brought food. If I have forgotten someone, Please forgive me, it wasn't on purpose.
We are very GRATEFUL to all those who helped!!!

~NATASHA NEEDS LOTS OF PRAYER TODAY!!~

I copied this off of my sister Laura's blog.
What would we EVER do without Jesus? What an awesome God we serve! How I thank the Lord for His amazing care over Natasha! Last night was the roughest yet. many tears on both Momma's part & Natasha's! Today, they say, though VERY TOUGH, will do her lots of good! My devotions did my heart good this a.m. Deliverance! God watches over us. A song I sang this a.m. is... "God WILL Take Care of You"! How true and how wonderful! Sorry for the "weaker" side of admitting this... but we couldn't make it w/o your prayers! I NEED to be strong for Natasha today, but I don't "FEEL" too strong. So I'm asking Jesus, who promises strength for each new day... or could I translate that... "each new turn.. since she needs to roll every 1/2 hr. on the clock.." :) for the strength to be strong for her. So far I've been able to be strong and not break down when she sees me. THAT's ALL GOD... for I'm a very emotional Moma normally. So God is good, we are counting on Him! Natasha memorized the verse Is 41:10 this week, heading into surgery. she loves music as you know, but didn't realize that it was a song too. I sang it to her once and she had it. we'll be singing a lot today no doubt. I quote/sing, "Fear Thou not, for I am with thee, be not dismayed, for I am thy God, I WILL strengthen Thee, Yea I will help thee... Yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my Righteousness!" God Bless You all, from this over-whelmed Moma's heart! ~Laura~
Big day today!!! The Dr. has mentioned, it is when we need to get a little mean - getting her up, moving her around more - so there will be much pain involved. It has been real tough on me to see Natasha go through the pain. She rolls from one side to the other about every hour, which requires assistance from Laura and/or myself. However, the nurses, techs. and Drs. are amazed at how well she is doing. For the most part Natasha rolls over on her own, which is very unusual for patients with this surgery, at least the first 24 hours that is. Daryl

~Company and Indian fry bread Tacos~

Spending time together is VERY IMPORTANT in this culture. So, A big part of our ministry here is having people over. One Sunday we invited Bro. Jimmy, Sis. Farly, and their daughters, his Mom, and Edgar and Joanna over for dinner. I wanted to serve them Indian Fry bread tacos. Since I accidently left my 2 recipe books (WAAAA!!!=( in my house in the USA, I didn't have the Becker's recipe...and I WANTED their recipe! So, I contacted Sis. Becker and her daughter Kelly and got the following 2 recipes. Sis. Becker's makes less, Kelly's makes for a group. Both are delicious!!! I ended up making Kelly's since I was feeding 13 of us. I didn't realize that the recipe would take nearly 16 cups of flour, nor did I realize that I was running low on white flour. I ran out about the 11th cup of flour and I started to panic. Eekk! Here it was Sunday, I was fixin' to have 7 guests knock on my door, and I didn't know what to do for the rest of my flour! (It wasn't a life and death matter...so I was NOT about to go and buy flour on the Lord's Day!!) So, I called Phillip down, we PRAYED for my Indian Tacos, I found some whole wheat flour and with FEAR AND TREPIDATION I started stirring in the whole wheat flour. God created a miracle and they were delicious! =D
By the way, Kelly's recipe ended up making 64 (med. to small) Indian Fry breads. =) ~Here are a few of the 64~

~Indian Fry bread~
From Sis. Becker
1 Pkg. rapid rise yeast
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. shortening or oil
2 cups warm milk or water (Sister Hooper uses dry milk. Really nice flavor and texture!)
5-7 cups Flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar, salt, shortening/oil, and warm fluid. Stir well and add flour.
Mix till well combined. Cover and let rise one hour. Roll or pat into circles 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick and let rise a little.
Heat oil in skillet and fry till golden. Drain and enjoy!
Makes 6-8 large taco breads.

My friend Ruth Hooper shapes her breads with her hands on an oiled cookie sheet. This prevents the flour buildup in the frying oil which sometimes burns and taints the flavor of the bread.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~One thing I love about having company over is setting a fun pretty table. BUT... this time I was toooo busy rolling out and frying 64 Indian fry breads, so I never got to set my pretty table. Our dinner ended up being more like a buffet. =)
~Indian Fry Bread~
from Kelly Jones
Mix together in a large bowl:
1 cup of oil
1 TB salt
3 1/2 TB yeast
3/4 cup of sugar

Add 6 cups of warm water and stir until yeast is dissolved. Stir in 14-16 cups (this was always up to the maker's discretion) of all purpose flour until dough is no linger sticky, working it in with your hands near the end. Cover and let rise for 1 hour. Roll into desired shapes and fry in hot oil. Drain and serve
It is VERY important that your oil be hot. To test drop a small piece of dough in. If the dough floats to the top quickly and begins to brown your oil is hot and ready to go.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~Here are Kimberly and I rolling and frying away.~
~Our company and my family loved them.~ =)

~Since we don't have any living room furniture yet, we turned the table long ways and added another one, so we all could sit together.~
Dear Sis. Farly held Mary for me...which was a HUGE help.~
~Mary is showing you what we all felt like doing after we got done eating the delicious Indian Fry bread tacos!~ =)

~Thank you for praying for Natasha....~

AND PLEASE KEEP PRAYING!
God REALLY helped...but she has a lot of painful healing to do.
Here are 3 updates from my sister's blog.
1. Praise the Lord for his help so far. Natasha's in recovery and will soon be moved to her room. She's been in a lot of pain,but doing well. Everyone involved in the surgery has commented on how well she has done in surgery. She has a long road of recovery ahead of her, but we thank the Lord for his help so far.

2. Thank the Lord to his help so far! The doctor was pleased with how the surgery went. However, since they had to do so much correction and straightening, he has prescribed a brace for her to where for six weeks.Thank you for your prayers! We ask that you continue to pray for Natasha that the Lord will heal her completely. WE serve an awesome God!
3. Wow! What a day! I am emotionally exhausted and didn't have anything done to me. Natasha is in her room and resting as well as possible. Thank you for your prayers and the comments as well, they mean a lot and we've passed many along to Natasha and she has been touched by them. Many times we don't see the results of God moving, we pray but never see the end result. May I encourage you tonight that our God is awesome and has answered your prayers. Yes, Natasha has a LONG way to go - approx. 2 months of recovery and 6 weeks in a brace but we serve an awesome God. We sensed your prayers! Yes, it's been tough on mom and dad but a deep peace has been there and that only comes from God. All of the Drs., technicians, and nurses who were in the surgery and that we talked too commented on how well Natasha did and how everything went well. Chance? Luck? Hardly! Not when you are a child of God and His children are praying. Thank you to our Russian, Romanian, Colombian, Canadian, "who knows what other countrian," and our dear fellow Americans who have been bought with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. You are our brothers and sisters in Christ. We love you! Continue to pray that God gives Natasha complete healing and mom and dad the strength needed to help Natasha be strong. We will try to keep posting just to keep you updated. For more updates go to their blog.

~Cappuccino Muffins & Natasha's surgery~

Thank you for praying for our baby Mary. She still has a bad cold, but the flu symptoms are gone, Praise the Lord!
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PLEASE REMEMBER TO PRAY FOR OUR SWEET NEICE NATASHA AS SHE HAS SPINE SURGERY IN THE MORNING, MONDAY, MARCH 28TH!! IT IS A SERIOUS SURGERY, BUT GOD IS ABLE TO GUIDE THE HANDS OF THE DOCTOR, AND HELP NATASHA AS SHE HEALS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS!! (For Details about her surgery click here.)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I posted this recipe a several years ago, but wanted to re-post it for my new readers. Enjoy! =)

~Taste of Home Cappuccino Muffins~
(I just made these again...and they are good! =)
In large bowl, mix together:
2 1/2 cups flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 teas. baking powder
1 1/2 teas. cinnamon
3/4 teas. salt
1/2 teas. baking soda
In Med. sized bowl mix together until coffee is dissolved:
1 egg
1 1/3 cup buttermilk (I made my own w/ 1 1/2 Tab. vinegar & the 1 1/3 c. milk! Mix together, and let stand for a few minutes, before mixing in the rest of the ingred.)
3 Tab. oil
4 1/2 teas. instant coffee granules
2 teas. vanilla
Add the liquids with the dry ingred. and stir just until moistened.
Use 12 chocolate kisses to hide inside the muffins, OR I LIKED STIRRING CHOC. CHIPS INTO THE BATTER...YUM! (for the muffin was a little dry, but with moist choc. chips each bite...it was delicious!)
Topping: cinn/sugar
Place dough into muffin cups (can place a little dough and then a hershey kiss, then more dough to cover it, or just put the dough with the choc. chips in the muffin cups). Sprinkle the tops lightly with cinn/sugar and bake at 425 for 16-20 minutes, or until toothpick is clean!
Makes about 12 YUMMY muffins! =) ~BEST IF SERVED WARM~

~Mary's sick, and birthday pics.~

Please pray for our tiny Baby Mary...she has the flu. =(
~Our nice Noah turned 7 back in January, but I just now got to take his birthday pictures. The pastor and wife of our church in Medellin make and sell clothes, and they made Noah's shirt. =)~

~Our Sweet Sarah turned 10 in December...and here's her "birthday pictures."~

Lord willing, I'll take Kimberly's and Elijah's pics soon too.
~I have had a hectic day today. I had no way of knowing that Mary was coming down with the flu, just knew that I couldn't get a thing done but hold babies. =) Phillip had to go and take care of some business, and so while he was gone, I decided to make an apple pie to surprise him. I almost had the pie in the oven when Mary got sick. =( We called Phillip to tell him about sweet baby Mary being sick, and when he came home he brought me these roses. He had wanted to get me some flowers, and found these for ONLY $1.50!!! Not bad for 13 roses! =) (Phillip said there was a dozen for me and one for sick baby Mary. =)
Cheap beautiful flowers are one of the perks of living in Colombia! =D
(We also got our first piece of USA mail at our new home today. =)~

~More House pics~

Thank you for each of your sweet comments about our house. Your comments make me feel like you "dropped in for a quick visit." I wish y'all could drop in...=).
Someone asked about the bars on my kitchen window...that is very common. If you don't have bars, you get broken into.
~Here's the kids' bathroom on the 2nd floor.~
~And here are 2 of "the kids." =)~


~A shelf outside their bathroom is "the linen closet". (We have more towels, they just weren't present for the picture. =D)~


~On the fourth floor is my laundry room, and our "garage"/storage shed." When you travel internationally every 6 months or so, you have lots of suitcases to store. (And there are suitcases inside the suitcases. =)
~Here's my ironing board, hot water heater, and washer...and HERE...
~Is my DRYER. =D~
~Our dinning room.~
How I miss our large wooden table (and chairs), but it's too big for this house too. =(
Thank the Lord for this china cabinet. This piece of furniture is used to catch what won't fit in my little kitchen. =)

~We have a nice full bathroom in our room too, but it's hard to get a good picture.
Here is one of some of the sea theme we use.~
Our girls are still working on their room.
When we get living room furniture, I'll post pics.