~Our Mother-Daughter Breakfast~

I have a PRAISE!!!!  On Monday my b-in-l from Ohio called us while we were in Indiana and told us that a tree had fallen in our back yard.  It did NOT hit our house!!!
Thank you, Dear Jesus, for watching over our Your home! =)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~Over 15 years ago my sister Laura and her 2 little girls, and I (who was great with child carrying our first-born Kimberly =) got to attend a Mother-daughter banquet with Moma.  Little did we dream that it would be 15 years, that God would call both Laura and her family and I and my family to be missionaries, and that our families would spend time in 5 different countries... before we would get to attend another Mother-Daughter function with Moma.
A few months ago, I called Moma from Colombia and told her that if her ladies were willing to have their Mother-Daughter breakfast a weekend earlier than Mother's day weekend...that Phillip would try to schedule our deputation schedule so that I could attend.
We're SO GLAD it worked out that we could attend this Mother-Daughter breakfast with Moma at her Union Friends Church.  I tried to take lots of pics to remember that special day and time together. =)
~Years ago in Phoenix, AZ Sis. Boardman and Moma did Women of Worth together. It was so nice to see Sis. Boardman again.~

 ~My sweet sister and I.~

 ~There was a good crowd of Ladies and their daughters.  If I remember correctly there were 84 of us!~

 ~Sis. Pam led us in the hymn "Fairest Lord Jesus."  We sang it A Capella and it was beautiful hearing all the female voices blend together.~

 ~In 2011 Melanie Smith from UBC came down and did her internship with us.  We LOVED having her.  She was such a blessing to us that month she was with our family.  So, I enjoyed getting to meet her 2 sweet Grandmothers at the Mother-Daughter breakfast. =)  Melanie had to work, so she couldn't be with us.  (We MISSED you, Melanie!  =( ~

 ~Our speaker Sis. Everhart and beside her was our dear friend Mrs. Penny.  It was so fun to see Penny again.~

 ~Shannon Rose catered our breakfast.  It was all yummy!~

 ~Greg and Shannon working in the kitchen.~

 ~My 3 nieces (Laura's girls) Brittany, Natasha, and Darla played a fun special for us.~

 ~Here's our table.  Mrs. Martha Forsee and her 2 daughters joined Moma, Laura, and her girls, and our girls and me at our table.~

 ~Laura, Martha F., and I had a fun time visiting together.  We were remembering our days at T.R.Y. conference.~

 ~Our little Mary.~

 ~Kimberly, Sarah, and I sang: "I don't want to be just any Woman" written by Maren Duren.~

 ~Sis. Parker introducing our speaker...~

 ~Sis. Pheobe Everhart.  Jesus helped her and she did a great job speaking to us from her heart. It was very touching and challenging.~

 ~Laura, Moma, and I.~

 ~L to R: Natasha, Brittany, Laura, Darla, Moma, Heather holding Mary, Sarah, and Kimberly.  It was such a fun time being together.
I want to say a BIG Thank you to my Sweetheart Phillip, for arranging our deputation schedule so that our girls and I could attend.  =)
THANK YOU, Daddy and Moma, for changing the date, and all y'all did to make it possible us to come HOME to be with y'all for that special weekend. =)
And Thank you, Laura and family, for taking the time to make it happen...even in the midst of busy school days. =) ~

~A few hours ago, we loaded our van, held hands with Daddy and Moma and had special prayer together, and hit the road for our nearly 2 months of doing deputation in the West.
~We just passed the St. Louis Arch...so we are technically out West now.  =)
~We surely appreciate your prayers and God's help so far! 
  

~Traveling on....~

~Jesus is giving us a good deputation. THANK YOU for your prayers.
Here we are in North Carolina with the Davis family.~

~And having a yummy snack with our dear friends...the Millers...after church.~

~Pretty mountains as we drove through N.C. heading to Penn View.~

~We were on our way to Penn View Bible College when I saw the sign for Roanoke, VA.  I thought..."Hey, we could drive by and see my brother Lincoln and his wife Lyn, and our niece Kelsea at their Christian day school...and SURPRISE THEM.
We did just that...got to see them,... and SURPRISED them very much.
It was so FUN!!  We only got to give quick hugs and visit for a few minutes, but it was worth it!!!
This is my Sweet Sis-in-law Lyn and I.~

~Lincoln and I in the front of his classroom.  He told me that I surprised him so much that we pretty much left him speechless.  =) ~

~My niece Kelsea and us. ~

~Here's Phillip speaking in chapel at Penn View.~

~After chapel our family had fun visiting with our good friends the Hoffmans.~

~Kim Hoffman and I...my other sister. =) ~

~Our family at Penn View.~

~Bro. Mowery and Phillip and I.~

~Then the dear Hoffmans let us stay with them for the rest of the weekend.  We had a lot of fun "Philosophizing," eating, visiting, cooking, and shopping together.~

~Having family devotions together.~

~The kids eating Mrs. Kim's yummy food~

~We ate Sunday dinner with them before we left to go to our next service.  I didn't want our boys to stain their shirts so had them remove them before they ate.~

~Doug and little Mary.~

~Kim and I.~

~Phillip and Doug.  Doug was such a blessing and helped Phillip change the oil in the Mission Helps van we are using on Saturday.~

~Our kids really enjoyed being together.~

~Our Sunday evening service was at York, PA.  We got to stay with our dear friends Jeff and Becky Paulus.~

~Becky and I call ourselves each others "twin."  For you see when I came to GBS a lady (whom I had no clue would be my future Mother-in-love =) saw me in the dorm at GBS and acted SHOCKED!  She asked me, "What in the world are you doing here?"
I told her that I was obviously here to study. ;-)
She said, "Well, you are supposed to be in Married and living in Pennsylvania!!"
She thought that I was Becky Paulus. =)
So, Becky is my twin.
We always have fun being together...even if it's just for a few short hours. =D ~

~Our kids and their kids had a blast jumping on their trampoline!~

~I even jumped a few minutes...the next morning before we left to travel back to Ohio.~

~Jeff and Phillip attended GBS together. 
Becky made us a yummy breakfast and helped me pack a lunch for the road.~

~Back at home: Here our kids are watching Phillip mow our lawn.  Our younger kids had never seen a lawn mower.  In Colombia they mow EVERYTHING...including big fields...with weed eaters.~

~Elijah working in our back yard. =) ~

~Then Darla, Sarah, and I unpacked 14 boxes from our basement of my china and crystal.  It was so FUN to see my dishes again after 8 1/2 years.~

~One Sunday night in Petersburg, IN I saw the lady in the blue jacket walk in and I thought..."I KNOW that face...WHO is that lady?"  Then, It dawned on me who it was.  It was dear Sis. Smith from the church that Daddy pastored in Loogootee, IN when I was only 11 and 12.  It was so fun to see her and her sister again!~

~This sweet lady wanted a picture with our Elijah and Mary.~

~Pastor Tim Miller and Phillip~

~Holly and I.~

~The Millers' children and ours had such fun running all over the church yard playing hide and seek.~

~During our Missionary Convention at our church last week...I needed an ingredient to make an international recipe, so my friend Michele took me to Jungle Jim's.  I was delighted to see lots of food from Colombia!  ~

~It was so fun to see the brand of coffee, coffee candy, hot choc., etc. that we used for the last 6 and 1/2 years in Colombia. =) ~

~Then I got to a "Ladies Night Out" with our CNC church ladies.  Things were busy and some ladies were sick, so there was only 5 of us, but we had an enjoyable evening eating and visiting together.~

~I snapped this picture of Mary on a very rainy April day.  One of her little friends from Jr. Church gave her this umbrella.  This is the FIRST umbrella she's ever owned....and she is happy with it.  =) ~

Lord willing, we pack up the van and leave Friday to go over to be with Daddy and Moma.  On Saturday morning my sister and her girls and I and my girls will get to attend a Mother-Daughter brunch with Moma.  We'll have a service with Daddy and Moma on Sunday...and then on Monday we head out west to do services out there for 2 months.  Please keep praying for us!!!!