Planting Our Garden

Ever since we have lived at our house we have enjoyed having our own garden.  This year we weren't planning on planting anything new because we thought we'd have sold our house by now.  Since we haven't had any bites on the house yet and we don't know when God will move we decided to go ahead and plant anyway.  The weather has been very nice lately and there hasn't been any frost for a while, so last week we went to it.

Since we don't own a rototiller and our garden isn't all that big, Mark decided to plow it up using an old fashioned wheel hoe.  It was hard work but was fun at the same time, and it was very satisfying to see how nicely it worked.

We planted lots of beans, as they are one of our favorite garden vegetables.  Mark dug rows and laid down some home-made compost.  Rebecca spread the seeds over the compost and then Mark spread another layer of compost over the rows.  Mark had made a compost box (which you can see in the first picture) a few years ago and we have been filling it with yard and kitchen waste.  It has turned into some very dark, rich soil that will really help the plants to grow.

We also planted three tomatoes, two bell peppers, two zucchini, some spinach, and lots of flowers.

This is one of our two rhubarb plants.  It has a huge flower stalk, something we've never seen before.

The rhubarb flower.

There are also lots of strawberries in the garden.  What started out as eight plants has spread out and they now take up over a quarter of the garden.  We are really looking forward to making some strawberry-rhubarb pies, Mark's favorite!

Some of our asparagus came up this year too, but there were only a few stalks and we didn't catch them in time to eat.  Bummer.

It was very fun planting the garden, and now watching the plants grow.  If our house sells soon as we hope it will then whoever buys it will have some nice veggies and flowers!

Tulip Time

It's a special time here in West Michigan, it's starting to warm up and the sun is shining more often than not.  It feels great to feel the warm sun and to be able to go outside and enjoy the outdoors.  Last week we went to see all the tulips in Holland since it is Tulip Time there.  We have gone to see the tulips each year for the past four years and each time it is a really special treat.

The tulips were very beautiful and were blooming very nicely.  We stopped at a park to check out the multicolored assortment of tulips they had there.

We also went to the test planting park where there are fields of tulips that can be seen for free.  We didn't go to any of the larger fields like Windmill Island because they charge for entry.

We drove up and down tulip lane, following the signs is always a challenge but seeing all the tulips planted along side the road is always fun.

We posed with statues that probably look a lot like our ancestors from the Netherlands.  See the resemblance?

We could see a windmill from the test planting park, those really are tall fully grown trees all around it, that's how big it is!

We also admired some flowering trees throughout the city.  What a fun time we had.  God's creation is just so beautiful it can't be described with words!

House Update...

Wow, it's hard to believe that it is May already.  Recently we have had more activity on our house and even though it hasn't sold yet we are very hopeful that it will soon.  We had an open house last weekend and it was on a beautiful day.  Two couples came through and one liked our house very much.  They are just starting their search for a house so we can pray that they decide on our house.  Besides that there have been some other people interested and looking.  We don't yet know what all of them are thinking, but that's OK.

We would really appreciate if you would join us in asking God to sell our house soon.  We are still hoping that the house will sell soon so that we can start working in Romania in the summer.

Ludington Fun

Last weekend we headed up to Ludington for a mini vacation with some friends.  Our friend Jonah's work gave him two nights free at a hotel there, and one of his coworkers gave him their room so we had two free rooms for two nights.  

Rebecca was popular with all the kiddos, Lexi, Sam, and Precious.

We spent some time each night swimming in the pool and hanging out in the hot tub.  It was the biggest hot tub we had ever seen.  These are our friends Scott & Kayleen with their kids Lexi & Sam.

This is Jessica with Precious...

And this is Jonah with Precious.

On Saturday the guys went fishing at Ludington State Park.  It was a gorgeous day!  We didn't have much luck fishing though.  Scott just about hooked a two foot long dog fish but his hook was too small.  Just before heading back we decided to try one spot out again, and Mark had a bite.  The bobber went down and then the battle began, with a roughly 12" large mouth bass.  Unfortunately the bass swam right into a downed tree and the line got stuck, so he got off.  Man, the disapointment, but there will be another day to catch him.

Sam loved going fishing, and he kept saying "I'm going fishing" over and over.

On the walk back to the car we let Sam carry the worms.  To every person we passed he proudly exclaimed "I'm carrying worms!"  It was so cute and funny, boy was he having fun being a good helper.

Saturday evening we went out to eat at a local brewery and then ordered dessert to go for later.  Who could resist the chocolate mousse cake and snickers cheesecake?  Mmmm.

It was great spending time relaxing and hanging out with our friends.  It was a refreshing weekend and it was nice to get away for a couple days.  Too bad we can't do something like this more often!

Could They Be The Ones?

There are two big goals left in our journey towards becoming missionaries to orphans in Romania; raising the rest of our funding and selling our house.  We put our house up for sale at the end of September.  Since then there has been some interest but not as much as we had hoped for.  We have been learning patience and reliance on God as only He knows the right timing for our house to sell.

Two weeks ago we had an open house and the only person to come was another realtor who was having an open house near by.  He stopped in because he has a customer who will soon be looking for a house in this area.  We recently found out a little more about these potential buyers, and we were greatly encouraged and excited.  First of all, they are relocating to the area for a job they already have.  Since many people around are losing their jobs it is pretty amazing that they are coming here for a new job.  Secondly, they are looking for a country setting and a house with a large lot, both of which our house has.  Our house is in their price range too, and it sounds like they're approved on a loan already.

Could these people be the ones God will use to buy our house and get us one step closer to starting our ministry in Romania?  We certainly hope so and are praying that God works in their hearts and leads them to buy our house.  They are supposed to be coming to look at houses around the first week of May, so we would like to mobilize many prayer partners to bathe this issue in prayer.  Would you please join us in praying?

Perspectives Class Fires Us Up

We have been taking a missions class since the beginning of the year called "Perspectives on the World Christian Movement."  It has been a great class and we have been learning a lot that will help us better serve God in Romania.  This week had the opportunity to share with the class about our upcoming ministry to the orphans in Romania.  We talked about the orphans there and the great needs that they have for love and to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  We shared how we will be working with them, how God has called us to this ministry, and where we are in our support raising journey.

To wrap up we shared prayer requests and then led an open prayer.  The response from the class was awesome, many people offered up heart felt prayers and we really felt God's presence in the room.  It was an incredible affirmation and encouragement to us to know that so many people are behind us and that God's Holy Spirit was at work in so many people's lives.  

Even our guest instructor, the founder of Mission India, prayed for us and the orphans.  He has a heart especially for the minority Gypsies in Romania, because India is where all of the Gypsies are from and he has worked with them there quite a bit.  The lesson he presented was very challenging and stretching, and it was very applicable to the ministry we'll be doing in Romania.

We left class very energetic and excited about the work that God has yet to do in our lives. We're excited to see how he provides for getting us from here to Romania and about the ministry He'll have us doing there.  We're praying that he'll use us to transform not only the orphans but all the Romanians that we interact with.  

Peeps Roasting Over An Open Fire

Last weekend we had some really nice weather.  We had our friend Mandy over for dinner and we decided it would be a perfect night for a bonfire.  We had a brush pile in our backyard that we had been wanting to get rid of anyway, and so we lit it up after dinner.  

This is the brushpile as it was being lit.  It was created when we cleared out the woods behind our house, and we had been throwing weeds and dead plants on it for around a year.  Needless to say it was really dry and it really took off.

The conditions were perfect for a rip roaring fire.  The wind was blowing directly away from the woods so we didn't have to worry about burning anything down.  The wind really whipped the flames up until it was so hot that we could stand no closer than 10 feet.

This is our friend Mandy, from Madison Wisconsin.  She brought lots of peeps and we figured since they are marshmallows that we should be able to roast them.  What a great idea!

This was about as close as Rebecca could get to the fire in order to roast her peeps.  Good thing we have long roasting forks.

Here's some peeps roasting away.  We were afraid that the sugar would burn, but it actually caramelized, creating a hard shell around the molten marshmallow.  We liked them so much and we decided that this was the creme brule of marshmallows.

Of course no fire would be complete without smores, so we tried peeps smores.  Yum!  It doesn't get any better than this!

Springtime

Spring is finally here!  It is so nice to see the sun for days instead of hours at a time.  It is great to be able to go outside and not have to bundle up.  After our record snowfall winter we've been more than ready for spring to come, and we're so exited to see the signs all around.  Flowers are starting to poke through the ground and trees are starting to bud out.  There's even a hint of green in the grass.

This week is also spring break for most of the schools around.  Last night we had a beach bash at church for kids who didn't go away for break.  There were games, contests, music, and flashing lights all around.  There was pizza, pop, candy, slushies, and popcorn to keep the kids full and hopped up on sugar. Kids could also get temporary tattoos and have their hair colored and styled. The most exciting thing for the kids was the raffle for the free iPod and Nintendo DS.  Everyone there had a blast and it was fun watching the kids enjoy themselves so much.  

The coolest thing about the event was that all of the proceeds will be donated to our mission to support us in Romania.  A LifeGroup from church came up with the idea and did all the planning and work, and they decided to support us!  A big thanks to all those who helped with this, what a great idea!

Spring is a time of new beginnings, and that is true of Mark's job situation now too.  Extol has been so slow and hurting for orders that the temporary layoff has now turned into permanent layoff.  Now we can only wait to see what God has in store for us next.  Somehow this must be part of His perfect plan, just like how He tells the flowers when to bloom, He will send us to Romania at just the right time.  We just continue to pray and try to be patient.