Merry Christmas from the Road

We have traveled many miles in December, and God has been blessing us all along the way!

We would like to say a big thank you to all of the churches who have hosted our family this past month. We have been in so many states: Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and now Pennsylvania. 

This Sunday we had a rare opportunity to attend a service with extended family members. It was so amazing to hear from a pastor who just returned form a trip to Pakistan. God is at work all over the globe and we can't wait to get to Indonesia and do what He has called us to do. 

We are happy to be with family this Christmas. The kids are enjoying Grandma and Papa's house, and are so excited about the many presents that are under the tree. Bob and I are taking in each moment as this will be our last Christmas in the states for some time. We have so much to thankful for! 

Here are some photos from our travels this past month.

We were so blessed by Pastor Kevin and Kathy Gunion in Minnesota! They not only gave us a place to stay while we were there, but they also decorated it up for Christmas. What a special memory. 

The kids have had so much fun playing in the snow!

Lots and lots of snow!

Ethan trying to catch snowflakes on his tongue.

New Friends

service times

This child can find the donuts at any church.

Merry Christmas to you and yours this holiday season!

May His light shine bright in your home as you celebrate the King. 

Our Best Friend


"1 At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. 2 (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3All returned to their own towns to register for this census. 4 And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David's ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. 5 He took with him Mary, his fianc'e, who was obviously pregnant by this time. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. 7 She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the village inn."


Celebrating Christmas is more than just a baby that was born in a manger some two thousand years ago. That baby...is the son of God, the one who can give us hope for a great future! You see God sent him to us, but we still have a choice to make. Will we accept this gift? Will we let this JESUS change our lives? Or will we simply celebrate another year of lights, bells, and gifts, all the while missing the best gift of all? God sent  His son to us so that we could one day go to heaven and be with him. Will you accept him into your life this Christmas? 


We would like to Introduce you to our best friend, His name is JESUS! He created you, loves you, and wants to be part of your everyday life. If you would like to meet Him let us know. We would love to talk to you about it. :) 


~Merry Christmas Friends~

To the ocean and back

Montana is a long way from the ocean, but by the grace of God in the last 6 weeks we have seen the ocean many times! We spent most of the October in the state of Oregon. Praise the Lord for such a beautiful place to itinerate. We are blessed to serve a God who loves us enough to provide for our every need! While in Oregon we had the opportunity to connect with family members, and friends that we had not seen in a very long time!


Some of the highlights were: 


1. Being able to share in the church were Bob spent most of his youth and was baptized in the Holy Spirit. We had the opportunity to share at River of life Assembly of God, where Bob distinctly remembers the spot at the front of the church where he was called into ministry as a teenager. 


2. Sharing with extended family and friends the vision and call that God has placed on our lives. 


3. Connecting with friends and receiving much needed encouragement in our daily activities.


4. Receiving Spiritual and Financial encouragement from churches and friends that are so dear to us!
  Words could never express how truly thankful we are for you!


Some photos from our travels:

School in many different homes

Time to see grandparents

A ride in Grandpa's 18 wheeler

These little guys became the best of friends as we were blessed to stay in their house most of the month.

Sharing about Indonesia

Our very patient kids sitting through so many services.

Faithful friends and partners in ministry!

Traveling


We have seen a lot of Montana these past few weeks. The kids think that we need to travel everyday. If we do have a few days at home they ask, "When are we going somewhere?" :0 I love that Montana is so beautiful. This is a bonus to putting on so many miles. 


We have had the opportunity to meet so many new people! Thank you to all who are currently supporting us. We are so blessed by all of your kindness. As of today we are at 38% of our budget. Praise the Lord! As soon as we get to 100% we can go to Indonesia. 


Here are a few pictures from our recent travels. Enjoy.

One of the coolest welcome signs ever.

Night, night blanket and back pack. He is all set. 

Fun times in the hotel. I don't think they got much sleep. :)

It's a blast to find fun things waiting for us in the hotel room.

(Thanks Whitefish Assembly)

First tire blow-out. 

Yes the Chicago Bears blanket got sacrificed as it was raining and Bob already had his nice pants on. 

Fun in the cabin at Hungry Horse. 

(Thanks Pastor Steve and Jan)

Labor Day Weekend


What a weekend! We were so blessed to be in Malta and Saco Montana this past couple of days. God is so amazing! We had the opportunity to meet so many great people and hear how God is working in their lives and communities. While on the high-line we visited two different ranches. The kids had a blast playing outside, and trying to catch chickens. They wish we could visit these new friends EVERY Sunday. I was joking with Bob while driving on Sunday afternoon, "We have been on this road a LONG time, we have to be getting close to Canada!" Then when we reached the ranch he asked, "So how close are we to Canada?" The rancher replied, "Oh about 18 miles."  :)  (Maybe we should be thinking of getting our passports?) Thank you so much for letting us be a part of your families. We were so blessed and had a fantastic time. 

We are so excited about September! Our schedule is full, and we will be traveling lots. Please remember to be praying for us.

Also if you would like to see just a little of what we have been up to, please visit our website. We posted a new video on the home page. Thanks for your support and your prayers. God is making a way, and we are looking forward to being in Indonesia very soon.

Faith & Trust

We just returned home after a great weekend of ministry! It was wonderful to get to be with the people of Chapel of Hope in Billings and Round Up Assembly yesterday. Thanks for your prayers, and your support!


As we start this week, I am a honestly feeling a bit overwhelmed. We are getting school stuff ready for the kids as I will be teaching them. Isaiah is doing 4th grade this year, and Isabelle is starting Kindergarten. It is fun, and a lot of work at the same time. This week on the to do list: potty train Ethan, get the school room ready, paint Ethan's room, de-clutter the house and get things ready for the garage sale, and put OUR HOUSE on the market. Wow that's no small list.....


As we have been traveling and sharing our heart for the Indonesian people, Bob's main point of his sermon has been how we need to completely trust God. I think that now more than ever this is something that I am dealing with. I don't know why, but letting go of my house is a big deal. Bob says "we have already given up everything to do this ministry. What is the problem with selling the house?" 


Easier said than done. :(


God has given me a peace about it finally. I know that it is right thing to do, but taking that step of faith and doing it, is so hard! I don't have any idea where we will live. The good thing is I don't make the plans God does. He already has it planned out. 


Please pray for us this week, as we try to tackle this list. Only with God's power will we make it. 

Kid's Camp


This last week has been so much fun, and so exhausting at the same time. Our week started off with Bob and Isaiah traveling to Glacier Bible Camp with 5 other boys. I (Rebekka) followed on Wednesday with the youngest two. It was great to see how God was moving in the lives of the kids. Isabelle, Ethan and I stayed in a beautiful cabin. (Thanks Steve and Jan!)  Then the whole family had a chance to share with the kids during one of the evening services.

Here are a few more photos from camp:

From camp we traveled to Troy and Libby Montana. Such a beautiful place! We are so thankful to both churches for their support and love for our family. 

We are currently still on the western side of Montana with a service scheduled for this evening in Somers. The kids are having a blast seeing and playing with friends. Because we had so many services scheduled on this side of the state (7 or 8 hours from home) we have been staying with friends. Thanks Jon and Cassie Warneke for letting us live with you for awhile. :) It has been great.

God is doing great things in the churches of Montana and we are so thankful that we get to be part of it!

A short update:

Bob took a group of boys from our home church up to kids camp this week. Please pray that God will move in the lives of these young ones! Isabelle, Ethan and I will be traveling up to the camp tomorrow to meet up with them. The director of the camp has invited us to speak at the missions service on Thursday. Please pray for this mom as I drive five hours with my two little ones! It will be interesting. :)


Then this weekend we will be on the western side of Montana for services in Troy, Libby, and Somers! We are so excited to see what God is doing in the churches of Montana. Please be in prayer for us as we share our story and believe that God will move on the hearts of the people to be a part of HIS story!

Here is a picture from our service this past Sunday in Lewistown, at Celebration Community Fellowship. 

May God Bless You this week!

We are beginning a new journey as a family. God is directing us into missions, and we are very excited!

God has been speaking to us for some time about the kids of Indonesia. In fact He gave both Bob and I a dream on the same night about the people of this nation. They need to know how much the creator of the world loves them. So because of this calling that He has placed on our hearts we headed out to fulfill the great commission.

For the last year or so we have been doing paper work and going through interviews to become fully appointed missionaries with the Assemblies of God. It has been a lot of work, but we are excited to report that as of April 7th 2010 we got the final word that we are fully approved. YAY!

Now comes the tough part...itineration. What exactly is itineration you may ask, well .... let me explain. Itineration is the process of missionary candidates traveling from church to church ministering and trying to raise a budget so that we can get to Asia! You see we have a budget to raise, and before we can board an airplane and fly to our destination we have to have certain amount of money in our account. We do this in two ways. First we raise a cash budget that we need while over seas. This is done through offerings or people who donate money as a one time gift. The second budget that we have to raise is our monthly support. This is what will keep us going when we are in Indonesia. People or churches can pledge to give a certain dollar amount every month. If you think..."well I don't have that much to give," let us say that $10 a month means more to us than you know. If you would like to contribute please visit our website and click on the donate button.

As we take this giant step of Itineration please be praying for us! Traveling will come with many challenges, but God has a plan that is so much better than anything we could imagine!