A crazy month ahead!

As we approach May, our calendar is getting more and more crazy! Jon is preaching on May 3rd, and we have a dessert night/presentation that night. May 6-9th we are having a HUGE garage sale. May 8th the praise team at MPCC are having a going-away party for us. May 15th there is a "trivia night" fundraiser for us at BCC. May 16th and 17th we will be packing up the remainder of our belongings, and on May 18th we will be moving back to the Quad Cities! Once we are in the Quad Cities, we will begin living on the support that we have raised to this point. We are so thankful for all of you that have committed to support us. However, we are still a long way from our goal! We currently have about 43% of our monthly support raised, but we are still looking for people who are willing to team with us! Would you please prayerfully consider how you can become part of our team? Thanks! We love you!

God is SO GOOD!!!!!

As we get closer to getting ready to go to language school for the summer, we are getting a little more nervous. But just when we start to feel unsure about God's plan for us, He makes it clear that He has everything under control, and that He will provide for our every need.

A little while ago, we wrote about how God had blessed us with a place to live while we attend language school in South Carolina. Now we are so excited to be able to say that God has also supplied us with a place to live for our first year in Ukraine! When Jon and I went to Ukraine in the spring of 2008, we stayed with another missionary couple from the US. They will be leaving Ukraine in June 2009 for their furlow, and are going to let us stay in their 3 bedroom apartment while they are gone! They will not return to Ukraine until August 2010, so our first year of housing is covered!

This is wonderful in so many ways. First of all, when we arrive in Ukraine, we will have 10-15 suitcases and 3 tired boys. Since most people in Ukraine live in 1-2 bedroom apartments, I was a little concerned that we would have to move in with someone else while we looked for our own place. Second, because the apartment we will be living in is fully furnished, we won't have to worry about buying everything right when we get there, and will have a little more time to be able to scope out where we can get the best deals on stuff. And thirdly, we will have some time to figure out where would be the best place for us to live for the remainder of our time in Ukraine, and will give us time to fix it up and get our furniture before we actually have to move in.

It is so wonderful how clearly God is speaking to us about his will for us. We thank all of you who have been praying for us. It is very obvious that God is listening!

A great weekend in Fort Wayne, IN

This last weekend, I had the priviledge to meet one of our vendors and his wife in Fort Wayne, In. Mike owns one of the companies that we buy products from, and he is really excited about what Jon and I are going to be doing in Ukraine. He asked us if we wanted to come to Fort Wayne and stay with him and his wife Diane, and speak at his church. Boy are we glad we said, "Yes"!!!

When you go to stay with someone you have never met before, there is always some uncertainty about how you will get along. Will the conversation be strained or forced? Will you feel wierd? Will they like you? Well, this weekend certainly exceeded my expectations. I felt at home immediately. Diane and Mike were warm, and welcoming, and were very gracious hosts. We talked, we joked, we played with the boys. We had a great time getting to know them, and were very sad when we had to leave. It was amazing how quickly I made a connection, especially to Diane, and it was evident that she felt similar when we both started crying while saying our goodbyes. I am so thankful that God allowed our paths to cross, and can only hope that they will cross again soon.

Thank you Mike and Diane (GiGi) for a wonderful weekend!