WorldVenture Community

coffee & books

5 cup family — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:03:29 GMT

Yesterday I had a wonderful time with my friend Ximena. We went out for coffee and talked straight for two hours. My Spanish was a little rusty, but she helped me through expressing my thoughts in another language, we were able to relate about more personal issues than just our likes and dislikes, we laughed, [...]...(read more)

Visit and repairs

janmreimer — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 05:00:00 GMT

We are still in Spokane, Washington. We have had several times of visiting a RV dealership in town to fix a hydraulic issue. On Monday night we drove and parked overnight to miss the morning traffic. This dealership has a very nice place to park if you need to. So Tuesday morning early we had them look at our problems. After several hours it looked like they had it fixed, but since it was something that slowly leaked...they suggested we stay for several days and check it out over time. So that is where I write from tonight. It is very comfortable and quiet here in the evenings and at night. So it hasn’t been hard at all. We have been treated so well at this dealership which is R n R RV in Liberty lake, WA(it is just east of Spokane). I would suggest to anyone who needed and RV or something fixed to come here. It is probably the best service we’ve had.

We leave here tomorrow and go back to the horse farm. We look forward to the Settler’s Days of the closest town,this weekend. That should be fun.

We did get to have a new experience on this past weekend. We went to a Cherry Festival. What it really was, was a festival to pick cherries in several fairly close by orchards. What sweet cherries! How fun!

We did take a trip two weekends ago over the mountains to visit Kent”s parents on their little farm. We wanted to help out as they are in their 80’s now. We felt a little weeding and other chores might be helpful. We greatly enjoyed our short visit and the work did get done. Dad’s garden is just starting to produce too. Yummy spring peas.

I do hope you all are having a good summer and enjoying some quiet times with family and just by yourself. May God grant you peace!

From the Roving Reimers

Friendly visits with good friends

Serving Third-Culture Kids in Germany — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 23:10:02 GMT

In addition to our family visitors, we have been able to catch up with a few of Chrissy’s college roomates/housemates and other friends. It was SO fun to see our kids playing together in the same room and to share this phase of our lives together. My (Chrissy) roommate from my sophmore year at CSU, MEGAN, [...]...(read more)

Eye of the Dolly Storm

Hazen — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 22:01:00 GMT

Tropical Storm "Dolly" just blew through and I found that ironic. My pet name for all of my girls including Ruth is "Dolly". And so, while hurricanes are not something to joke about, "Dolly" winds are blowing all around our family these days. I just spent a week staying at the home of Dolly #2 (Karissa) during our annual Kid's Missions Camp recently. While I'll post a photo taken during camp, the best pictures and description of the camp can be found at www.campjonah.blogspot.com. It doesn't get any better than hosting a fantastic camp with a record number of campers and also getting to stay with my Dolly and my grandkids overnight.

Dolly #1 (Kindra) is about a week away from giving Ruth and me our third grandchild. This would normally be no big deal schedule wise except that Dolly #3 (Alicia) is getting married a week after Kindra's due date. So right in the middle of wedding preparations, Ruth will be heading to Seattle to play mommy and grandma. That happens next week, hence the eye of the Dolly storm!! Kindra and Simeon are most likely going to give us some treasured red-haired kids as that seems to be their preferred hair color with genetics on both sides of the family kicking in. We'll take it... and I'm actually hoping for another little Dolly! Meanwhile, Alicia is literally getting married on the top of a mountain with a spectacular view of Mt. Adams in the background. Wish you could be there but the guests will be few; you have to hike the last 3/10's of a mile up a very rough road to the wedding site. Most folks will opt to attend the reception that follows. And, of course, I'll continue my Dolly tradition of singing a song I've written for the occasion. Should be memorable.

Much more ministry stuff going on these days as well with an eventful High School Mission Encounter behind us and more resources for missions in local churches being developed. But the big winds for the present are family. We're praying that we'll all still be standing when the winds all die down!

Mozambique Trip: Catching Up With A Bit Of My Heart

Bear Yarbrough — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 04:38:00 GMT

So I made it to Mozambique! I flew out of Denver the 21 st of July and will be here till the 3 rd of August. It was an uneventful flight (as far as problems are concerned). We received all of our luggage and got settled into our Oasis, which is absolutely beautiful. The team had an 8 hour lay over in London, so we jumped on the underground and went to Piccadilly Circus. The history and beauty of London is astonishing. We went into a free art gallery just to use up time, most of us reluctantly, but...(read more)

Always One Set of Footprints

DeWeese — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 02:06:00 GMT

The famous poem Footprints is special to many, but it actually can lead us to falling into one of the three traps of perpetual immaturity mentioned in Eph. 4:13-16 (being tossed to a fro, carried about by every wind of doctrine). When the man in the poem looks back and sees that sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there was one, God tells him the that when there was only one set, He was carrying the man. But the Bible actually says there is always only one set of footprints,...(read more)

playing risk

5 cup family — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:11:59 GMT

We played Risk as a family the other day. How? you may ask with our kids being so young…it would take a lot to explain, but I simplified it and we had a blast. As I sat at the table and watched Ben and Dan go head to head over a country, Rachel cheer for the [...]...(read more)

really, no R-E-A-L-L-Y frustrated

Karch — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 16:20:00 GMT

Our good friends Titus and Stephanie, working with street kids in Guayaquil , are living through some CRAZY and FRUSTRATING experiences in Ecuador. (And to think I can get upset when someone steals my parking spot). I'd encourage you to check out their blog here (http://tsfolden.blogspot.com/) I'd also encourage you to send them money here ... then pray ( Matt 6:21 ). Can you remember the last time you were REALLY frustrated? I mean, really, REALLY frustrated?? Join us in the following (condensed...(read more)

Life is not...

Dad’s Thoughts... — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 02:44:34 GMT

We are visiting our friends, the Willetts, this weekend. Malia and Stacie just got back from riding horses with Syd. The Willetts have a quote on their refrigerator that I think is fun: “Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming... ‘Wow! what a ride!’” racecar driver Bill McKenna...(read more)

C & J’s summer adventures PART 2 - Family visits & celebrations

Serving Third-Culture Kids in Germany — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 15:49:24 GMT

We are having a great time visiting with family and friends. Jonathan is doing well considering he gets passed on from arm to arm. The summer time brings many birthdays and anniversaries in our family. Here we are at church on Father’s day. Unfortunately Christopher was not with us on his first Father’s day. We were able [...]...(read more)

rae’s purse

5 cup family — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 21:00:45 GMT

This is Rae’s purse. It was given to her by her aunt, and she absolutely loves it. In fact it has become a treasure chest for our family’s belongings. If you can’t find it, its because its in her little tin purse. One night she was sitting on my bed playing with it [...]...(read more)

Learning

McDonnels in Ukraine — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 05:48:02 GMT

Well learning never stops, but we knew that, right? As we get back into life here, it’s easy to want to focus on doing what I want to have happen first. But I realized (again) that I need to just seek the Lord in my agenda and I’ll have a much more peaceful heart. So although other [...]...(read more)

Lord, here i come

5 cup family — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:47:27 GMT

I love to decorate. And those who have known me for a while know that my house has a tendency to change décor quite frequently. Now here in Bolivia, I find a way I like an arrangement and leave it that way. Probably because we have moved so much I’m beginning to [...]...(read more)

The Penner Saga, Part One

The Penner Place — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:31:00 GMT

The Saga August marks 25 years since we arrived in Japan as missionaries. Many of you have prayed for us and also supported us financially from the very beginning. Others of you have known us only recently and are not familiar with the our story. As we think back, we want to say thank you for the many ways you’ve stood with us over these years. Recently a Japanese Deaf pastor borrowed my digital camera and when it was returned I noticed some video recordings that had not been there before. He had...(read more)

Back to Northeast Japan

The Penner Place — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:29:09 GMT

Tomorrow we head to the Northeast again, this time to work with Pastor Hori, training him to check Pastor Minamida’s first draft of Genesis. Pastor Matsumoto may also join us for a bit and talk about translating Ephesians and training materials. I’m also hoping to contact an old friend from Sendai. Pray that it will all work out. We’ll be at the Fukushima Deaf church on Sunday, where Hori pastors. We're looking forward to meeting the people there--our first time at the church though I've...(read more)

The fields are ripe for harvest

5 cup family — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:43:23 GMT

Maybe you heard my story about being on the bus in Bolivia, looking out through the window and watching the world fly by. I thought I’d just journal out a “typical” ministry trip. Last week I traveled to Oruro, the mining capital of Bolivia to meet with a group of 7 student leaders (here a [...]...(read more)

Jesus the revolutionary

Karch — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 01:28:00 GMT

This Sunday's message: "Jesus the Revolutionary" -Did Jesus really make a difference? We will look at everything from human rights, to women's rights, to the abolition of slavery, to child-labor laws, to the most significant; our justification before a just God. You may remember this theme from "le Lounge". I decided to re-use part of my notes from that discussion, expand on them, and present them Sunday morning. It will be great to partake of the Lord's Supper together...(read more)

too wate!

5 cup family — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 18:45:16 GMT

Yesterday I let the kids play their version of Monopoly at the dining room table. I was listening to their conversation and this is what I heard. “Rachel you can’t have that!” “MINE!” “No Rachel the dice are for the game!” “No! For my purse!” “Rachel!” “Oops. Too wate. Dice MINE!” and she put them in her tin purse and [...]...(read more)

A few thoughts...

Nashes in Brazil — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:58:00 GMT

I shared a short message at Pop's funeral. It was emotional, given the situation. I was able to share some thoughts and stories about him, how proud we were as kids (what could be cooler than having a Dad who was a policeman!), how hard he worked (providing for seven kids), how he did his best with us and took care of our mother when she was sick and dying. I know I didn't say everything I intended to, but at least what got out came from the heart. I also shared the message of our heavenly...(read more)

Eric & Rikki DeGrove

WorldVenture Prayer Connection — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 09:54:46 GMT

New Appointees Anticipate Serving in Singapore Eric and Rikki DeGrove, along with their son, Charles, anticipate ministering in Asia, with Singapore as their base. Eric will assist fellow missionaries by providing vital research about the areas they minister in. This research will inevitably help the WorldVenture Asia Leadership Team identify new countries and regions for future missionary activity. Rikki is also excited about the opportunities to use her gifts and abilities in Asia. Please pray...(read more)

You Wouldn't Fit In

Bear Yarbrough — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 23:39:00 GMT

Sitting at Starbucks, enjoying the beauty that is a two pump caramel macchiato, I was reading on their outside patio. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a gentleman approach me in a kind of stagger. I looked up to match gazes with this scruffy looking man. Realizing he was caught staring, he asked me, "What are you reading?" I told him I was reading Connecting (a great book by the way) and showed him the cover to read further. Noticing that he was just staring at the not too appealing book...(read more)

Two Become One (pictures)

Johnson Updates — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 19:05:49 GMT

What a wonderful time for the Johnson and Fernandez families as we celebrated with David and Leah as they began their marriage. Both families enjoyed immensely our time together and are looking forward to the next time we can get together. We are working at getting some pictures together. For now, Stefan, Leah’s brother, has a few here ....(read more)

Fires.... and God's blessings

janmreimer — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 16:57:00 GMT

We are still in Spokane, Washington and have had a very different experience yesterday. We have been parked at a small farm about 10 miles out of Spokane in the country. Most of the country side around there was pastureland or fallow fields with some of the beautiful tall Ponderosa Pines with some Blue Spruce. We love this spot and I have just totally enjoyed having countryside to look at out my windows.

On Wednesday of this week we had an appointment at a local RV dealer to get some needed warranty work done. So we left the farm and went into Spokane about a 18 mile drive. We have been parked for these past two night on the grounds of the RV dealer which even had electric hookup for us. so we could use our air conditioner when necessary. We were getting the work done that they could do, although they are referring us to a hydraulic dealer for the troubles with our hydraulics. The hydraulics are what power our slides and also the jacks under the unit. So it is a pretty important system to be worked on properly.

We will be moving to this other company this afternoon and see if they can help us with it.

Our weather has been pretty nice , although everyone form here was saying that is was hotter than usual at high 90’s. We were comfortable and at night the temps drop to a cool 60’s normally and so sleeping is very comfortable. Well on Thursday we awoke to some wind and in the low 70’s. But we noticed that the wind was getting stronger as the day wore on. 12 noon was pretty windy but not so bad but by 4 pm we were being buffeted so bad I was wondering if we needed to move to be safe. At 6 pm as I was trying to get supper ready I really wondered if we might be in trouble. We had turned on the TV as we had been smelling a smoke smell. Well there were several wildfires burning throughout the city already and the high winds(gusts of up to 58 mph) were pushing them and they were moving pretty fast. By 8 pm they had evacuated part of the city where the houses were in danger. We kept the TV on and kept listening although the winds had died down and by 11 pm the winds were back to about 11 mph. So we felt safe to go to bed since we were a long way from the evacuation area and the winds had almost stopped.

This morning we heard that NO ONE was hurt in this fire that has destroyed only 8 houses but about 1200 acres of grassland and woods. It is amazing to us to see how something can be so destructive but praising God for how everyone was protected or got out of the way of the fire. Of course we could have moved to a safer location if we had been in danger...but with those high gusts I wonder how we would have gone down the road. I am grateful that God allowed us to be where we could stay put and still be safe.

Some of you may know that as a child of 5 years old my family lost our home and all the furnishings. Our family always talked of what we wished we could have gotten out..we always missed the pictures. But no one was hurt and that was more important. It does bring this kind of thing a little closer to me though.

Sometimes God brings these kinds of things to happen to allow us to realize how blessed we are and that things are only things. The real treasure is the relationships that we have and are making for the kingdom...this includes our families and friends too. May you be blessed today in a new way realizing your blessings.

From the Roving Reimers Kent and Jan

Meeting Jesus

Karch — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:20:00 GMT

This Sunday will be a blast. Jean-Louis will share his testimony and be baptized. Many visitors have already confirmed their attendance. Noël, a hard-hitting, construction-worker-type evangelist will preach. Zac will lead us in singing. Here is the flyer for this Sunday's sermon. Again, we passed out about 3,000 of them in several different neighborhoods. Please pray!!! TRANSLATION: "A meeting... Is it possible to meet Jesus in 2008?"...(read more)

Gary & Karen Shogren

WorldVenture Prayer Connection — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:13:55 GMT

New Appointees to Costa Rica Gary and Karen Shogren anticipate joining the WorldVenture team as they continue serving in Costa Rica. Since 1998, the Shogrens have ministered in San José, the capital of Costa Rica. Gary has served as professor of New Testament and as Academic Dean at the Evangelical Seminary for Pastoral Studies (ESEPA). In 2005, Gary became President of the university. Karen will continue working with new missionary families, teaching them how to adjust with the challenges of moving...(read more)