Proud Grandmas

I usually try not to post more than once a day. However, as Connie Patty wrote on her blog, "blogging is how I keep track of our life." I'm starting to give myself permission to just post especially when the pictures, videos, or words are pieces of our lives that I want to remember.

Here are some recent pics of some proud grandmas (both Grandma Gs--this is my mom with Cece and this is Kathy with her first grandson, Jackson. Jackson is my cousin, Mark's, son.)

Both Melissa and I (Jackson's mom) are going to have fun buying shoes for these two.

Tractor Ride and FAQs

First, I have to share this photo of Cece with her Grandpa G in Minnesota. She had her first tractor (really lawn mower) ride. I'm not sure who enjoyed it more. I have video of it, which I'm sure to make into a movie that I will likely post--don't you worry.

Next, I wanted to add some other FAQs from our website:

Q: When are you leaving?

A: We really wish we had a definite answer for this. Here is what we do know – we will not join Josiah Venture until we are 100% supported. That means we will need 100% commitment for our monthly needs ($7,400), as well as full support for our outgoing expenses ($55,000). Our goal is to be moving to the Czech Republic in January 2010. We sense urgency in regards to serving with Josiah Venture because of the specific roles they are asking us to do. Our motto right now is “Expectant waiting for God’s movement”.

Q: If I decide to support you on an ongoing basis, when should I start giving?

A: If you can begin your giving as soon as possible, it will allow us to join Josiah Venture sooner. The reason for this is that the funds we receive before we leave for Eastern Europe will go toward our outgoing expenses. For example, if we receive 100% commitment for our monthly support ($7400) today and those supporters begin their giving immediately, then we can expect to join Josiah Venture no later than 8 months from now ($55,000/$7,400 = 7.4 months).

FAQs

We are continuing our journey to the Czech Republic to serve with Josiah Venture. We have recently updated our website with Frequently Asked Questions. Brian did most of the work on these, and frankly, I think he answered some hard questions really well. Feel free to visit the FAQs section of our website for all of them, but I decided to post some of them on our blog.

Q: Why do you have to raise your own support?

A: From a practical side, we are able to invite the people who have supported us, mentored us, cared for us, and taught us to be part of our team in a way that would not be possible otherwise. This provides a larger number of people to experience the work of God in Eastern Europe in a very personal manner. And we hope that, in turn, expands the number of God’s people who are praying for this area, supporting the work being done in this region, and directly serving through mission work. In addition, we are able to keep you informed of the work we are doing and the fruit that God is blessing Josiah Venture with more directly than the organization can do as a whole.

There is also a very powerful spiritual side of this process that we are only beginning to experience. God will prepare us for the work that we will do as we continue to raise support, and we will learn to trust him in phenomenal ways because we walked this path. We will confirm the calling He has placed in our life as we share our story again and again. We will learn to prayer more fervently, submit more effectively, and hope more boldly. God blesses this process not only because it makes more people aware of the spiritual needs of Eastern Europe, but also because it will more effectively prepare His children to embark on this adventure He has placed in front of us. We believe he loves us that personally that He would use this time to teach us new things.

It's All about the Hair

A lot of people ask me about Cece's hair. Have I figured it out? Well, as someone who has curly hair, I am well aware that you never really figure it out. You have to keep trying new things, and it's all about product. I really am having a lot of fun with Cece's hair. It does, however, take me longer to do hers than it does for me to do my own. One of my favorite parts of doing her hair is combing it all out. I usually do it while she's in the bathtub because it saves time, and she distracted. I just couldn't resist capturing what it looks like all combed out. I mean--is that not awesome!?

I'm not the only one who is fascinated with Cece's hair, so is her cousin, Kendall:

(To view in other formates and better quality, visit our mobileme gallery. By the way, if someone has a tip on uploading videos to blogger via a mac, please let me know--I feel like I loose the quality every time.)