~Our Deputation services and travels...the first part of May~

Thank you for your prayers, Jesus is helping us keep going. =) Sarah and I would appreciate prayer that we can kick these allergies/sinus troubles that are REALLY hindering our voices, and our speaking/singing abilities.  And since we 2 are the ones that sing LEAD in all of our deputation songs, it makes it doubly hard.  =)
Here's a couple BUNCH of pics for you to enjoy!
~May 1st, we were honored to have a chapel service at our own Bible College... God's Bible School.  Thanks, Laura and Brittany, for taking pics.  ~

~Jesus helped us and they tell us that little Mary sang so well that she stole the show...and some of the students hearts as well.  =) ~

~On Sunday, May 5th, we had our deputation service at Daddy and Moma's church, the Union Friends Church in Westfield, IN.  Here's a pic of Gram with 9 of her GRANDkids.  =D ~

~Enjoying Moma's yummy Sunday dinner together.~

~And that evening our dear friends Dave and Roseanne Evans and their kids came for a visit.  We had such a great time and visit that we all talked until midnight! ~

~On Tuesday, May 7th, we headed west to our service in Fordland, MO.  Moma packed us a yummy picnic, which we stopped at this fun rest area to enjoy.~

~In Colombia...going barefoot is STRONGLY looked down on.  So, little Mary has hardly ever been barefooted outside.  Here, she is all concerned for the ground was wet and her feet were muddy.  =) ~

~Noah picked me some Dandelions back at Gramp and Gram's house, so we brought them along and they were the centerpiece for our picnic.  =)
Moma had fried us some donuts (made out of canned biscuits...one of my favorites) for our breakfast that morning, and packed a few for our trip in this flour sack.) ~

~That night we stayed with our dear friends ...the Gaylerd Millers...he is also the pastor of Fordland, MO church.
Our kids were so THRILLED the next morning to wake up to all the FUN things they would get to do at the Millers.   A fun pond, fishing, and canoeing, blowing up and letting go BIG balloons, being with the Millers, etc.~

~Our service that night was at their church, Fordland, MO.  I was so HAPPY to see my dear friends Adrian, and Katrina.~

~They served us a fun pot-luck before church.~

~Elijah met a new friend.~

~I was happy to finally meet a long-ago blogging friend...Misty!~

 ~Bro. Gaylerd Miller took this picture of us singing during our service there in Fordland.  We don't often get a picture of us singing...so we were happy to have it.~

 

 ~Yours truly playing and singing.~

 

 ~Then on Thursday we drove to Milan, IL to spend the weekend with our DEAR friends, Steve and Luann Boardman and their precious family.
We became great friends back when Phillip pastored in Phoenix, AZ....before our missionary call.  Luann's the one that helped me scrapbook all of my pics before we went to the mission field.  Their family and our family were VERY SAD when we had to say those hard goodbyes and leave to head to the mission field.
During our AZ days, we had a Kindergarten graduation for their Kara on the left and our Kimberly on the right! Aren't they so CUTE? (They still are! =)~

 

 ~So, it was so FUN to be with the Boardmans again.  (We hadn't seen them since little Elijah was 3 weeks old, and this time we celebrated his 5th birthday with them. =)
Here, Luann is showing the boys how to do some wooden puzzles.  Sadly, I wasn't feeling the best that weekend.  But, Dear Luann helped entertain our children and with a little help from our girls and her girls she made some Yummy meals. I did try to help when I could.~

~Phillip helping their Matt put together some out-door furniture.~

~Eating at a fun cafe with their family.~

~Then on Saturday we had a service in their house.  Here's a pic of our 2 girls, the 2 Boardman girls, and some new friends before service started.~

~Phillip speaking in our house service.  Steve and Luann invited some of their friends in so there were about 30-35 of us there in the house service that night. Jesus' sweet presence was there too.~

~Eating one of Luann's yummy snacks with some friends.~

~Sarah and her sweet friend Bethany.~

~Starbucks Luann's "Coffee Bar."
She had such yummy goodness...that it would nearly put Starbucks out of business. =) ~

~Luann and I with some lady friends.  The lady in hat is a niece to the man that runs sound in our CNC church in OH. ~

~Then, after everyone left, Bro. Steve told us that we had been asked to provide a stringed/piano offertory for church the next morning.  So, this pic below is us practicing in their awesome "music room."
So, Kimberly, Sarah, Bethany, and Bro. Steve played violins, Kara played a viola, Matt played a cello, and I played the piano on a fun arrangement of "Just a Closer Walk with Thee."
It turned out so pretty and so fun...I think we could have played together all day. =D~

~Bro. Steve and Mary before service started on Sunday morning. I didn't get a picture, but our family also sang that morning.~

 ~Sunday morning after church L to R: Carmen holding Mary...whom she nearly adopted as her baby sister =), Kimberly, Sarah, Kara, and Bethany.
Kimberly and Kara, and Bethany and Sarah dressed in matching colors that morning since they were playing the offertory together.  =)~

 ~Bethany and Sarah "swapped" clothes for the evening snack.  Bethany wore Sarah's dress, and Sarah wore her jean jacket.~

~Kimberly snapped this pic of us sitting together in the Boardmans' living room and relaxing Sunday night after service.
We are SO HAPPY that Jesus worked it out for us to spend this time with them!! We love them to PIECES!!!  =D~

~On Monday, I let myself SPLURGE and have 1 more YUMMY coffee at Luann's house. =)  (Due to my illness, I was TRYING to STAY AWAY FROM COFFEE...but it was virtually I.M.P.O.S.S.I.B.L.E. to not indulge...with all these "DELIGHTS IN A BOTTLE (OR CAN)" sitting around in Luann's kitchen. =D~

~Little Miss Mary even learned to "swim" while we were there in IL.
She was VERY NERVOUS when she first got into the water ...but it didn't take her long until she was "swimming" all the way to the deep end...with a floaty suit on.
She looked like a little tadpole...her legs and arms were going everywhere. =D  ~

A few more pics from our time in IL...and more pics from MO, and our service at Mt. Zion coming up.
Right now we are headed to Mitchell, SD, for our service tomorrow night.  TODAY will be a L.O.N.G. travel day for us...about 10-12 hours on the road. 
Thanks for praying...we so APPRECIATE God keeping us safe mile after mile, and helping us service after service.  =)