Furlough Recap

I thought it about time to give you the run down on our furlough ministry. We have had a wonderful time so far reconnecting with family, friends and churches. We have enjoyed sharing our experiences from the past three years, answering many questions and spreading the burden for the people of Italy. The kids have enjoyed the opportunities to be involved in Sunday school each week. Being a church planting family these experiences for them have been new as we yet do not have a church up and running. Emma is struggling being left alone in such environments without the security of mom being there. But we pray as time keeps moving on that she will have more courage to do that without making a huge scene in the churches we are visiting.

We have spent 2 months in Michigan living with Jonathan's parents and 5 weeks living with Noella's parents in California. It has been a sweet time of fellowship and of mutual encouragement for us all. How blessed we are to have our families supporting us so faithfully and with so much love and passion for the work we are called to do. Thursday marks the conclusion of our time here in California before heading back to the mid-west. Our hearts are already heavy as saying good-bye is always so difficult. As far as we know and have planned this will be the final time we see our CA family before going back to the field. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers if you think of us especially on Thursday.

We will spend the 4th of July in Michigan and then drive to Cedarville, Ohio on the the 5th. We will be living in the missionary house provided by our sending church in Cedarville until the middle of August. We will be in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania from July 10-19 for a missions conference and other home office meetings. So that is the next phase of our furlough adventure.

To Date:

• Days on furlough: 96
• Days to Go: 64
• Churches Visited: 8 (3 supporting, 5 new)
• Churches yet to Visit: 10
  
• New Monthly Support: $0
• Support Yet to Raise: $1364.19
  

Construction Time

One of the anticipated events for Samuel in coming to California was for a very special and unique opportunity to drive construction equipment. However, for some reason he got it in his head that he was going to ride the "instructions". He knows what construction equipment is like none other so I thought it was funny that he kept calling it "instruction." I didn't think Californians had accents that would confuse him. Boh? Anyway, thanks to Papa who knows one of the foremen working on a new sewer plant next to his farm, Samuel and Emma were allowed to drive some heavy duty machinery yesterday (on Papa's Birthday!) "Hard Hat Tony" was just as excited to show them all the equipment and maybe a little more trusting than I would be with a 5 and 3 year old to handle the controls of a 1.2 million dollar crane. We all kind of held our breath and prayed that Samuel would not hit a lever that would send the hook crashing down into the parked truck. After maneuvering the crane they then played in the dirt pile with an enormous excavator. The machine was jerking and bouncing around when Samuel was working it but after a while he got the hang of it and was doing pretty well. Tony was more than willing to take them on more stuff but we did not want to impose on his generosity and time nor press our luck on such expensive equipment. Samuel & Emma were ready for more of course! So thank you Papa & Tony for making the kids' year!

El Capitan Beach

Thanks to my brother, Ben, and all of his amazing planning, foresight and organizing, we ventured on our first family camping trip last week. To be honest we were a little nervous taking our young and very active tikes camping, but after only the first and final escape of Luca to another camp site down the road did we all settle in for our time of fun. The kids had a blast taking walks and playing on the beach, roasting marshmallows, watching the camp fire and of course sleeping in the tent. The trip had some ups and downs starting with Jonathan having back/shoulder problems which prevented him from coming with us on the first night. Melissa was not feeling well and Maddie still had her cold. And then for the final night we would have had to switch campsites, so we opted to just cut the trip short after 2 nights and end our time with a BBQ at mom and dad's house. It was wonderful to have the concentrated time with family. We are already looking forward to our next summer of family camping and as the kids get older they too will appreciate it all the more.

It was so cute to see the cousins interacting with each other. Emma and Luca particularly really love Maddie and thought she was rather funny. Not having seen Luca interact much with other kids younger than himself we were really surprised by the tenderness he showed Maddie. He would fix her glasses for her when they got off-centered, give her random kisses and hugs and just was very interested in her. The day after they left he went around the house saying "baby, baby?" We are finding Luca to be our most affectionate child who loves everyone and is ready and willing to give a big hug. We made some wonderful memories and here are some pictures to remind us.

I am an Iraqi Child

Here is a closer look in to what my brother, Cody, has co-founded this past year in Iraq. He is working towards making the Preemptive Love Coalition his full-time pursuit as they raise awareness for the people of Iraq. Pass it on and check out their website!

Cousins

We had a wonderful time celebrating cousin Maddie's First Birthday this past weekend. She is so precious! It was so fun to see the kids together and one day we'll get Diego in the picture too.

Sunny California

California is living up to it's reputation of beautiful and perfect weather. We certainly have enjoyed the sunshine and have realized that the sunbeams do indeed shine brighter here. After a week and a half we have defined tan lines even without stepping foot on a beach. We will have our share of beach time next week as we will be tent camping at the beach from Wednesday to Saturday. It will be a blast to have such consentrated time with Ben, Melissa & Maddie, Cody (just returned home from Iraq) and Papa & Nano. I'm sure we will have adventure stories to tell come next weekend.

We were so excited and thankful to have seen Great Campa shortly after arriving here. He is still in a rehab center and we pray for the Lord's guidance for the doctors and my parents as decide what is the next and best step for his care. He has really poor circulation in his lower legs that is then giving him ulcers that will not heal and so he will be having some testing next week to see how that issue can be addressed. His spirits are always so positive and he was thrilled to see his great grandkids and to meet Luca for the first time.

This week the kids enjoyed going to Papa's farm and riding tractors. It was a terribly windy day and the dirt was flying through the air as they raced down the fields and roads. There were a number of tractors and Papa was gracious to let them test out each one. They would be content to ride all day with Papa. So here are some pictures from our California adventures thus far.

30-1 Years Old

Happy Birthday Jonathan...

...my beloved husband and our amazing Dada! As you celebrate 29 years of life we rejoice in how God has worked in your life to grow and mature you in to a godly man and leader for our family. You say that you are what you are only by the grace of God...and for that we cannot be more blessed than to know that God reigns supremely in your life. We love you so very much and wish you the best birthday ever!

Lovingly,

Noella, Samuel, Emma & Luca