THE NEXT STEP: Well, we have taken the next step! Norman turned in his resignation to his boss on Monday, June 22nd! His last day of work will be July 15th. We are less than 2 months away from our departure date of August 22nd. It is hard to believe how fast time has flown since a year and a half ago when we started this whole process!
UPDATE: We wanted to give you an update on some of the happenings in our lives right now. As some of you know, Vickie had a spot removed from her neck on June 11th that ended up being skin cancer (mellanoma). The surgeon removed a bigger swatch around the spot on Thursday, June 18th and that showed that all perimeters were clear. Praise the Lord! So Vickie went to a dermatologist on Wednesday, June 24th to be checked out all over. The Doctor removed one more spot, per Vickie's request more than from the doctor's concern. We will get the results of that back tomorrow. If that comes out clear, she will just need to be checked out annually. We are so thankful! As you can imagine, initially the news took us back a little bit but we know we are in God's hands and nothing can happen to us without going through Him first and there is great peace in that no matter the outcome! We praise Him for that peace and thank Him for answered prayer in the surgeon getting it all. We serve an almighty God and we can rest in the truth of John 16:33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world!"
ANNIVERSARY: We celebrated our 26th anniversary on June 25th. We praise the Lord for each other and are excited to embark on this new stage of our lives together. It is exciting to see how our God given gifts compliment each other as we prepare to go serve Him in Guatemala. To sum it up, Vickie plans it and Norman gets it done!
HEATHER IS HOME: On Friday, June 26th, Heather returned home from Guatemala after 6 weeks of serving there in medical ministry with "Adonai International Ministries". She had an awesome time and God confirmed His calling of medical missions in her life.
Well, there is the latest and greatest in our lives. We pray that you are all doing well and that you see the presence of God in your everyday lives! God bless! (vs)
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
June 2009 Newsletter
June 8, 2009
As we started down this path of obedience, a word picture that came to mind was that of us
walking into the middle of the river and saying okay
Lord here we are, we will go! He then knocked us off our feet and we started soaring down the river at breakneck speed. He has always kept our head above water
and has put the things that needed to be done in our path. We often finish one thing and before we have time to figure out what we should do next, God has already put it in our path. We feel totally out of control and don’t have a clue what we are doing, but that is exactly where God wants us because He is in control and He knows what He is doing. And He does a much better job! He has been faithful to guide us each step of the way!
We are only a small part of His plan to show His love to His children in Guatemala. His plan also includes many others to join in this ministry. We praise the Lord for those of you who have felt the Lord’s calling to be a part of this ministry as a financial and prayer partner and ask those who haven't yet committed financially to prayerfully consider if it is God’s plan for you to be a part of this ministry also. God’s blessings to each of you! Norman & Vickie
-For the sale of our house and the smooth transition to our new home.
-Praise that to date the Lord has raised up financial partners for 50% of our monthly need.
~Prayer Requests~
-That God shows us everything that needs to be done before we leave the country and we complete those things in a timely manner.
-That our remaining support comes in by August 1st.
-For the host family we will be living with in Costa Rica. That we will bond with them quickly and be a blessing to each other!
-For Heather and Ryan as we all prepare for the adjustment of us living in another country.
Dear Ministry Partners, 
As we are preparing to serve on the mission field full time, we have seen the truth of two verses first hand. One is Proverbs 16:9, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” And Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Our life has been full of changes and plans coming to fruition over the last few months. We are finally getting a breather long enough to give you an update. In our last letter we had an offer on our house and were waiting for all inspections to be completed. We had the course planned, but God determined the steps. After lots of waiting and prayer and patience building exercises, we closed on our house and bought a smaller house in town to call home base for our family and for Heather to live in while in med school. We moved into our new home on April 17th with the help of some wonderful friends! We really like the neighborhood and have wonderful neighbors. We both feel very at home and content here. That is a huge God thing because we both, especially Norman, loved our place in the country. Also, the couple who bought our house is a young Christian couple who love the Lord and want to be kept informed about our mission to Guatemala. Only God could orchestrate such things!
Heather is in Guatemala now until the end of June ministering with a medical ministry. Ryan is home from college in Chicago for the summer. We will all be together in July as a family and hope to spend some quality time together before we all go back to school. We have been accepted into language school in San Jose, Costa Rica and will report to orientation on August 26th. Our airline tickets have been purchased as we step forth in faith and plan to fly south on August 22nd. Reality is starting to set in! This is no longer just a dream that is fun to talk about, we are really going!
As we are preparing to serve on the mission field full time, we have seen the truth of two verses first hand. One is Proverbs 16:9, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” And Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Our life has been full of changes and plans coming to fruition over the last few months. We are finally getting a breather long enough to give you an update. In our last letter we had an offer on our house and were waiting for all inspections to be completed. We had the course planned, but God determined the steps. After lots of waiting and prayer and patience building exercises, we closed on our house and bought a smaller house in town to call home base for our family and for Heather to live in while in med school. We moved into our new home on April 17th with the help of some wonderful friends! We really like the neighborhood and have wonderful neighbors. We both feel very at home and content here. That is a huge God thing because we both, especially Norman, loved our place in the country. Also, the couple who bought our house is a young Christian couple who love the Lord and want to be kept informed about our mission to Guatemala. Only God could orchestrate such things!
Heather is in Guatemala now until the end of June ministering with a medical ministry. Ryan is home from college in Chicago for the summer. We will all be together in July as a family and hope to spend some quality time together before we all go back to school. We have been accepted into language school in San Jose, Costa Rica and will report to orientation on August 26th. Our airline tickets have been purchased as we step forth in faith and plan to fly south on August 22nd. Reality is starting to set in! This is no longer just a dream that is fun to talk about, we are really going!
As we started down this path of obedience, a word picture that came to mind was that of us
walking into the middle of the river and saying okay
Lord here we are, we will go! He then knocked us off our feet and we started soaring down the river at breakneck speed. He has always kept our head above waterand has put the things that needed to be done in our path. We often finish one thing and before we have time to figure out what we should do next, God has already put it in our path. We feel totally out of control and don’t have a clue what we are doing, but that is exactly where God wants us because He is in control and He knows what He is doing. And He does a much better job! He has been faithful to guide us each step of the way!
We are only a small part of His plan to show His love to His children in Guatemala. His plan also includes many others to join in this ministry. We praise the Lord for those of you who have felt the Lord’s calling to be a part of this ministry as a financial and prayer partner and ask those who haven't yet committed financially to prayerfully consider if it is God’s plan for you to be a part of this ministry also. God’s blessings to each of you! Norman & Vickie
~Praises~
-For the sale of our house and the smooth transition to our new home.
-Praise that to date the Lord has raised up financial partners for 50% of our monthly need.
~Prayer Requests~
-That God shows us everything that needs to be done before we leave the country and we complete those things in a timely manner.
-That our remaining support comes in by August 1st.
-For the host family we will be living with in Costa Rica. That we will bond with them quickly and be a blessing to each other!
-For Heather and Ryan as we all prepare for the adjustment of us living in another country.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
February 2009 Newsletter
February 17, 2009
Dear Friends,
“Cock-a-doodle Doo”, the rooster crows the news that the sun is up and it is time to rise and shine. And a day in the mountains of Guatemala begins. As we have been sharing with people about our upcoming great adventure of ministering at the Home of Life and Nutrition in San Andres Guatemala, the most common question seems to be “What will you be doing there?” To be totally honest, we don’t know exactly because day to day life in Guatemala is ever changing and the proverb, “Blessed are the flexible” is applied daily. There is never a dull moment. We do however have a general idea what we will be doing and would like to share that with you.
Dear Friends,
“Cock-a-doodle Doo”, the rooster crows the news that the sun is up and it is time to rise and shine. And a day in the mountains of Guatemala begins. As we have been sharing with people about our upcoming great adventure of ministering at the Home of Life and Nutrition in San Andres Guatemala, the most common question seems to be “What will you be doing there?” To be totally honest, we don’t know exactly because day to day life in Guatemala is ever changing and the proverb, “Blessed are the flexible” is applied daily. There is never a dull moment. We do however have a general idea what we will be doing and would like to share that with you.
Our main purpose in going is to encourage and uplift the national Directors of the home, Sebastian and Oralia, and to raise up the children in the home to love the Lord and to have a positive influence on their own people. We will be two extra sets of hands in the daily chores of caring for a family of 30+ children! Since we aren’t quite ready to take on the title o
f “Grandparents” (even though if we weren’t in denial we would admit that we are now old enough to be grandparents) we like to refer to ourselves as an Aunt and Uncle there to help. We will be doing some mentoring, tutoring, teaching life skills, and most importantly loving and nurturing the children! In addition, Norman will apply his “jack of all trades” skills in the upkeep and daily functioning of the home and Vickie will apply her accounting skills in working with the financial end of the ministry and also in managing the sponsorships for each child in the home.
f “Grandparents” (even though if we weren’t in denial we would admit that we are now old enough to be grandparents) we like to refer to ourselves as an Aunt and Uncle there to help. We will be doing some mentoring, tutoring, teaching life skills, and most importantly loving and nurturing the children! In addition, Norman will apply his “jack of all trades” skills in the upkeep and daily functioning of the home and Vickie will apply her accounting skills in working with the financial end of the ministry and also in managing the sponsorships for each child in the home. Currently the orphanage is set up in a traditional format with all the kids together in one building with several rooms. It is a dream to set up the home in more of a family home setting with houses and house parents and a few children in each home. We are hoping to be a part of this dream coming to fruition. Also, right now once the kids turn 18 they can either be employed by the home or they move out and find a job. This can be very difficult. We would like to help the kids continue their education or become trained in a specific skill. We are also praying for better job opportunities in the area and whether God would want us to be a part of making this happen.
So these are the tasks and dreams before us as we prepare to head to language school the end of August. You are an integral part of this ministry through your prayer and financial support. The Lord has truly blessed us in the last couple months by raising up some wonderful ministry partners and we look forward to adding more partners to the Lord’s mission and also to being co-laborers with you in furthering the Lord’s kingdom! We only need a total of 50 people to give $50 per month and 10 people to give $100 per month (or a combination thereof). If you haven’t already done so, please pray and ask the Lord if He wants you to be a partner in this ministry.
Thank you and God bless!
So these are the tasks and dreams before us as we prepare to head to language school the end of August. You are an integral part of this ministry through your prayer and financial support. The Lord has truly blessed us in the last couple months by raising up some wonderful ministry partners and we look forward to adding more partners to the Lord’s mission and also to being co-laborers with you in furthering the Lord’s kingdom! We only need a total of 50 people to give $50 per month and 10 people to give $100 per month (or a combination thereof). If you haven’t already done so, please pray and ask the Lord if He wants you to be a partner in this ministry.
Thank you and God bless!
~Praises~
-We have accepted an offer on our house and are waiting for final inspections to be completed.
-Our daughter Heather was accepted into Medical School.
-We have commitments for 12% of our monthly support.
-We have accepted an offer on our house and are waiting for final inspections to be completed.
-Our daughter Heather was accepted into Medical School.
-We have commitments for 12% of our monthly support.
~Prayer Requests~
-That our house passes inspection and the sale goes through without a problem and also that we find a good place to live in town.
-For final selection of language school and housing in Costa Rica.
-That the total monthly need of $3,500 will be raised in time for us to head to language school the end of August.
-That our house passes inspection and the sale goes through without a problem and also that we find a good place to live in town.
-For final selection of language school and housing in Costa Rica.
-That the total monthly need of $3,500 will be raised in time for us to head to language school the end of August.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
December 2008 Newsletter
December 1, 2008
Dear Friends,
We are writing to share with you how God has been working in our lives and to ask you to partner with us as we endeavor to serve Him in a new way.
On July 20, 2006, we stood next to a giant size cactus on the side of a dirt road in the m
ountains of Guatemala looking at the beautiful valley below. We discussed how the Lord had been speaking to us and we both knew that the Lord was calling us to “sell the farm” as Norman put it. We didn’t know the details yet, we just knew that the Lord was stirring a desire in us to serve Him full time in some capacity.
During the two years since, through much prayer, God has made it clear to us that He is calling us to serve full time at the Home of Life and Nutrition in San Andres, Guatemala. So here we are, December 1, 2008, selling the “farm”. We have our house up for sale and are making plans to go to language school in Costa Rica in September 2009 for 6-9 months and then on to live and serve at the Home of Life and Nutrition in San Andres, Guatemala.
We praise the Lord for each of you and the ways you have supported us in the past. Would you consider being one of our long-term partners through prayer and finances? We value our relationship with you and hope that even while we are living in Guatemala our partnership will continue in order that the Kingdom of God might go forward!
Dear Friends,
We are writing to share with you how God has been working in our lives and to ask you to partner with us as we endeavor to serve Him in a new way.
On July 20, 2006, we stood next to a giant size cactus on the side of a dirt road in the m
ountains of Guatemala looking at the beautiful valley below. We discussed how the Lord had been speaking to us and we both knew that the Lord was calling us to “sell the farm” as Norman put it. We didn’t know the details yet, we just knew that the Lord was stirring a desire in us to serve Him full time in some capacity.During the two years since, through much prayer, God has made it clear to us that He is calling us to serve full time at the Home of Life and Nutrition in San Andres, Guatemala. So here we are, December 1, 2008, selling the “farm”. We have our house up for sale and are making plans to go to language school in Costa Rica in September 2009 for 6-9 months and then on to live and serve at the Home of Life and Nutrition in San Andres, Guatemala.
The Home of Life and Nutrition, where we have been going on short term mission trips the last 10 years, is all about carrying out God’s command to care for orphans (James 1:27). It is a 24/7 care facility that houses between 30 to 35 children ranging from newborn to 18 years of age. Our role will be to assist in the day to day activities of caring for the children, sharing the love of Christ in all that we do both in the home and in the community. The skills and gifts God has given us will be used to nurture and care for the children to help them mature and develop into young men and women of God.
Sebastian and Oralia are the Directors of the Home of Life. They live on sight with their 4 boys. Our purpose is to uplift and encourage them as we serve along side them.
This adventure has been growing in our hearts for some time now. We know that God is calling us to go and know that He will raise up a team here in the States to partner with us. We ask that you pray and see if God is calling you to be a part of this ministry to orphans through prayer and/or financial support. Our budge
t once on the field will be approximately $3,500.00 per month. Monthly support can start at any time. Any monthly support or one time gifts that come in between now and September will go first towards start up costs such as transportation and language study and then towards our monthly expenses.
t once on the field will be approximately $3,500.00 per month. Monthly support can start at any time. Any monthly support or one time gifts that come in between now and September will go first towards start up costs such as transportation and language study and then towards our monthly expenses. We praise the Lord for each of you and the ways you have supported us in the past. Would you consider being one of our long-term partners through prayer and finances? We value our relationship with you and hope that even while we are living in Guatemala our partnership will continue in order that the Kingdom of God might go forward!
Blessings!
Our future home!
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