Day 9 - Second Baptist Houston and Boyd family Thanksgiving (in May)

Our first Sunday in Texas brought us to my dad's church and Sunday school class at Second Baptist in Houston. After coming from a small church in Tirana (about 120 people total) this church campus and people gathering to worship (well over 8,000) was a bit overwhelming. What a great joy and blessing it was for Kris to be able to communicate with the dear folks in my dad's Sunday school class how grateful we are for their faithful prayers for our family and to give them and update on what God is doing in the country of Albania.

Everyone was so gracious and warm to us. We had a splendid day of worship together with this dear body of believers.
Happy (official) 11th birthday to Whitney Laine Stire! This may the 11th year of her physical life, but it is the first year of her spiritual life. ON April 26th, Whitney came downstairs with a paper that had these words on the front "The Prayer of My Life". Inside was this prayer that she had written to God:

"God, please forgive my sins in the past and in the future. I know I don't deserve to go to heaven and I am sorry that You died on the cross for my sin and You took the blame for me. I am thankful that You are King of Kings and Lord of Lords, but please send me to heaven where there is no sickness, no cuts or bruises, and no sin, just You. In the name of Jesus, Amen. "

Praise God for opening her spiritual eyes and awakening her spiritual heart to seek Him and find salvation! So, this birthday is an extra special one for us!
There is nothing like a traditional Thanksgiving meal - especially in May. We certainly were thankful for all that God has been doing in our lives and for bringing us together with our family again. My mom, sister, dad, Amanda, Aunt Wanda, Uncle Tom, and my cousin Elise with her sweet husband and 4 kids all gathered for a huge thanksgiving feast! Boy, was it good!
The girls had a wonderful time re-connecting with their 2nd cousins, Brooke, Bradley, Bethany, and Brenna.
Chelle and her dad, Bill Boyd.
Stephanie (Chelle's sister), Elaine (Chelle's mom), and Chelle
All the adults enjoying turkey, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole (!), etc. Also, brownies, cookies, lemon meringue pie... for dessert.
Stephanie, Elise (Chelle's cousin), and Chelle
Chelle and Steph
Chelle, dad, and Steph
It was such a blast to talk, catch up, and play games together. One fun game involved blowing ping-pong balls across the table to try to get it off the table at other players spaces. I almost passed out from blowing so hard. I think Kris was victorious.
Brad and Kris were like long lost brothers together. They are hilarious playing ping-pong by their own rules. It was driving Amanda and Steph crazy.
Cousins - Stires and Groenemans
The Groenemans and the Stires - what a blessing to be together.
What a fun photo of all the kids! Memories in the making.
Uncle Tom (Bill's brother), Aunt Wanda, Bill, Amanda, and the Stire family.
What a tremendous day we had! Praise God for the church family and for our physical families. We are blessed indeed!

Grace group kick off

Februrary brought the start of a new ministry at Grace Church Tirana. Small groups or Grace groups finally started after months of leadership training. Kris and I were especially excited to be a part of this ministry because small groups were such a vital part of our life and growth in our years at Lakeside Bible Church. There are about 6 groups meeting all over the city of Tirana at people's homes. The purpose of the meetings is to have a deeper level of spiritual fellowship, pray together, use the Sunday sermon as an avenue for daily Bible application and live out the Biblical principles of discipleship and the one-anothers. It was with great anticipation that we opened our home for the first meeting and lunch.


Here is the young married/young family group at our home. Our group consists of mainly Albanian nationals. We do have a few non-Albanians that are married to an Albanian in our group. Out of this group 2 couples later decided to attend other grace groups that met closer to their homes.


One question that we get frequently is, "Do you speak Albanian in your group meetings?" The answer is, "Not yet". All those who attend our group speak English very well. Of course, our goal (to which we are are working very hard to attain) is to be able to have our meetings totally in Albanian because it is much easier for the Albanians to relate and discuss in their own language. However, we are so very grateful that God has allowed us to be able to minister even though we can't yet do it in the native language. It is really exciting to be able to converse more and more in Albanian during the fellowship time. We continue to make LOTS of mistakes, but these dear friends are so very gracious with us and don't laugh too much. :-)


This is Ghazi and Irena and their baby. Irena and I have had many opportunities to get to know each other in the past year and I am thankful for her continued thirst to grow. We continue to pray for the salvation of Ghazi, her husband. He is very open to spiritual things.


Tim, Gerta and their baby boy are new to Grace Church. Gerta is an Albanian who lived in the states for 9 years where she met and married Tim. They are a really committed couple and have been involved in ministry for quite some time at other churches. We are really thrilled to have them join our church and our group. Tim is teaching English at a Turkish school here in the area. Pray for him to be tremendous witness to the many Muslim co-workers and students that he comes in contact with every day.


Nik and Lizzie have one boy and one baby girl on the way. Nik is an Albanian who attended university in the states and met and married Lizzie, who is a missionary kid herself. (An interesting side note - Lizzie and I actually met in 1991 in Nepal where her parents were missionaries and I was on a 2 months short term medical trip. When I came to Albania the first time in 2005 we both realized that we had met so many years before. How great is God to bring us together again.) Lizzie inspires me in my language learning. She is fluent in Albanian and has a really great ministry with other young Albanian women and moms. Their passion for Christ-likeness is a joy to behold.


Flori and Genta are newlyweds. Flori is a recent graduate from the SouthEastern Europe Theological Seminary where Kris is a professor. Genta came to know the Lord through the ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ here in Albania and worked for them for quite a few years. Genta definitely has an evangelst's heart. She is always looking for people at work to share with and get to know. She meets with two committed Muslim women for a Bible study on Christianity and the Muslim faith. Her passion for the orphan girls has led her start a weekly ministry in the orphanage. This is a ministry that I have the privilege to be a part of. Flori is an intern at the church.


Lenci and Alta are dear friends and co-laborers in this ministry. Lenci also graduated from the seminary and does lots of translation work into English. He has a wonderful grasp of the English language, as does Alta. Alta teaches English at the Lincoln Center here in Tirana. Alta's father is a pastor and she had the privilege of growing up in a Biblical based family - this is VERY rare in Albania. She and I have spent lots of time together talking about Christianity and the Albanian culture. I look forward to many years of fruitful ministry with them.

Building Leadership and friendship in Albania

Core leadership team for Young married and family ministry



A couple of weeks ago we invited to dinner the two Albanian couples who will be joining Kris and myself in starting up a young married and family ministry in the spring of '09. What a splendid time we had talking (in English, thankfully) about how we can glorify God in this new, and necessary, ministry at our church. Lenci, one of the young men who just graduated from SETS, and his wife, Alta, are a passionate young couple that want to make a difference in their country for the Lord. Nick, an Albanian man who studied in the states and has returned to Albania to reach his country with the gospel, and his wife Lizzy (an American MK who I met in 1990 in Nepal - another whole story in itself)are an amazing couple who have been serving faithfully in the church.

The purpose of the new small group ministry at church will be to establish spiritual friendships with the 15 or so couples that fit in this category at church. Kris has been teaching a discipleship class to the various small group leaders for the past month in preparation for a church wide small group ministry that will kick off in January of 2009. We are going through C.J. Mahaney's book "Why Small Groups?"

I am looking forward to the small group format where we will be able to focus in on applying the Sunday message and keeping each other accountable to taking the truth that we hear each Sunday and living in out through the week. I especially look forward to deepening the sweet friendships that God has begun with Lizzy and Alta.

Kris teaching at CCL




On November 10th, Kris had the privilege of speaking in a chapel service at the Center for Christian Leadership. This undergraduate Bible school, here in Tirana, offers a two year Bible degree for Albanians in Albanian. Their purpose statement is "Glorifying God by equipping spiritual leaders to become disciple-makers". It was so encouraging to see 6 young Albanian men and women committed to studying the Scripture and taking it back to their villages to serve in their local churches.




After chapel we had such a sweet time of fellowship together over a fabulous lunch in the schools dining room. Kris and I had a super opportunity to practice our Albanian over steaming bowls of Albanian chicken lemon soup and homemade bread. The body of Christ is an amazing thing. I love the fact that we can meet someone for the first time and immediately experience the bond of fellowship in the Spirit. We look forward to building on these new relationships.

We are so thankful that God has allowed us to begin new areas of ministry now that our first year of language learning is behind us. We look forward, with keen anticipation, to what God will do in us and with us for the sake of His kingdom.

Beggars 2 - the Roma people

Matthew 25:35-36, "For I was hungry, and you gave Me someting to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me someting to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me..."

I wanted to follow up on what I wrote yesterday about the beggar boys I encountered on the street. Here is what I wrote about them, "It was his eyes that captured my attention. Those old, sad eyes that had seen too much sorrow and hardship in his 9 or 10 years of life. He sat on the sidewalk with another boy, who couldn't have been more than 8, both of them puffing on cigarettes. Neither boy wore shoes or shirts. Their pants were ragged and dirty, just like their bodies and hair. The older boy's face was lined and haggard, like an old man. I stood there, staring. I had never seen a child look so much like an old man. Even his shoulders were stooped like he had carried 70 years worth of cares on his small back."

These boys are the face of the Roma people - the modern day Gypsies. The Roma people people have made Albania their home for the past 600 years or so. They originate from north India. According to one research paper on the Roma's there are over 150,000 of this people group living in Albania. It is not an unusual thing to see these people begging on the streets - in fact, it is a normal part of life here in Tirana. As Albania, as a nation, has been growing and changing to become an economically stable country (we became part of NATO last year and are looking to become a part of the EU soon), the Roma people have been left behind.


It is estimated that the average Roma family will live on $199 a month. The majority of the income of the family is from begging. Some gypsies sell used clothing, shoes and cigarettes on the streets, and recycle metal parts. It is rare to see the Roma men begging, instead you will see women and children on the streets. These children are sometimes as young as 4 or 5 and wander by themselves into traffic to beg at car windows. They rarely wear shoes, even in the winter. Their hair is matted and their clothes filthy and torn. The women are of all ages. Most often they are pregnant. When a girls turns 12 or 13, she either married off or is passed around the community of men. In one study done by UNICEF in 2002, of 74 Roma youth (ages 11-20) 69 of them were sexually active and only 7% of them used contraception. Also 28% of them regularly traded sex for money or other favors. Therefore the abortion rate is astronomical. I had one American missionary to the Roma tell me that some women in the community will have as many as 15 abortions in her lifetime. Prostitution and trafficking of women and children is also on the rise. The men are often alcoholics who take the money that they get from the women and children to buy alcohol.

Sometimes these kids will only have food that day if they can scrounge it from a dumpster, steal it, or beg for it. Some of the mothers will drug their babies with opium so that they will appear more pathetic and people will give them more money. That is just inconceivable to me, as a mother! Some of the children will try to wash car windows at stop lights to earn a little bit of money. This is not often appreciated. I sat behind one car where the man got out of his car and beat on the young girl who was trying to to wash his window. The girl stood there crying and went on the next car. This abuse and disdain is a normal part of their lives.

The Roma people are really a people unto themselves. I have been told that they have a Gypsy king and queen and live in communities set apart from Albanian nationals. Their "homes" are a warren of ramshackled huts made of corrugated metal, plywood, tarp and other odds and ends. They usually have no running water and often no electricity. This is what one Roma woman, Shpresa said, "I live with my husband and 6 children. I have also my granddaughter; my daughter has been separated from her husband. I live without social assistance … What are our problems? We have no house or bread. Four people sleep on the couch, two on one side and two on the other. The others sleep on the other couch”. Many times the family unit is made up of a man who has many wives (I saw an interview with a man who had over 15 wives) Although I came from a country where beggars are a familiar sight at underpasses and street corners, I was unprepared for the extreme poverty of these people.

They really are in a difficult spot. In the states, there are some options for the homeless that many of the homeless ignore. In Albania, the country is still so undeveloped there is not a system set up to help this minority to begin to build a life above this kind of poverty (these are some organizations setting up programs to reverse the declining socio-economic plight of these people). They are discriminated against. They are not a part of the educational system, for the most part. In one Albanian city, Fier, out of 256 children, ages 6-15, only 36 of them were in school. One reason is that the school system in Albania is heavily dependent on the parents participation at home. The school day is only for 3-4 hours. The teachers give the students a boatload of information and then the parents are required to spend the next 3-4 hours at home going over all the information given at school, doing homework, and filling in any gaps where the kids do not understand the information taught during school. This put the gypsy children at a disadvantage from the get-go. They don't read and neither do their parents (over 50% are illiterate), so they can't do the work required because no one can help them at home. It is a vicious cycle for these people.

Sadly, the beggar children make things harder for themselves in many respects. They are very aggresive - accosting people on the street and stealing purses, cell phones and even a can of coke that is being drunk (this happened to a person on one of our mission teams). One day our family was walking down the street. Kris had just bought a pint of strawberries when a Roma girl asked for some. He gave her a couple of strawberries. All of a sudden there were two boys that literally attatched themselves to Kris. One boy was clasped onto his leg with arms and legs wrapped around Kris's leg. The other boy was trying to steal the bag of strawberries. Our girls were yelling and crying as all the children swarmed around Kris. Kris tried to gently deal with the beggar kids and give them some of the strawberries but when that did not work he ended up physically removing the boy and telling them to go away. Sometimes there are small boys that jump up onto the runner of our car and bang on the window, holding on even as we drive past through the intersection. Even if you give them money or food, they are not content with what you give them but are even more agressive or persistent in their requests for more. It is very hard to remain soft and tenter-hearted to them when they act in this manner.

Praise God that we have had some Roma, street children come to our church and get some education. They have attended our youth camps and are living in an apartment on their own. The youth pastor at our church has been actively involved in following up with these boys. Our church has also helped one of the Roma villages during a recent flood situation at the river near their homes. We went down and helped fill sandbags and build a barrier for the rising water. Our prayer is that we can build more than a sandbag barrier, but instead build a bridge into these people lives for the sake of the gospel.

There is a missionary family in our church that has moved near the Roma community and has been working with them for over 10 years. After so many years of life-on-life ministry they have only had a handful of people recieve Christ. I pray for them often as I think of the very difficult and often discouraging ministry they have committed themselves to.

I also have a friend who has started a minstry to help the women of the Roma community make some money while they interact with local Christian women. My friend, whose family are missionaries from the UK, have taught these women to make greeting cards by hand. They pay them 100 leke ($.75) for each card that they make and then sell the cards. The Roma women have loved learning this skill and have proved to be quite creative.

My purpose is sharing all of this with you is give you a broader picture of the people that live in Albania and the ministry that is going on all around us. I also wanted you to be able to pray for the Roma people.
Pray that God would do a mighty work among the men of the community. The men are heavy handed (usually abusive) with women and children and so no real change can take place in the people, as a whole, without the men being transformed and leading their families to live in a radically different way.
Pray for wisdom as we learn how to deal with the beggar children on a day to day basis.
Pray that my children's hearts would remain soft towards the plight of these people and that they would have a burden to pray and minister to them as they get older.
Pray for our church to take more opporunities to reach out to this needy people that live around us.
Pray for the missionary family that works with the Roma people, that they would be encouraged and strengthened in their work.

My heart cries out to these people the words of Christ -
"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. " Mtt. 11:28-29

Lakeside Bible Church Short Term Mission Trip

What a joy it was to welcome our dear friends from Lakeside Bible Church, our sending chruch, from Texas for the 4th annual mission trip to Albania. We have been looking forward to the arrival of the short term team for the whole year. It sure is different being the missionaries in country instead of the ones visiting with the team. It was fun for me to anticipate showing them all the new things and fun places that we have found during the past year.


God, however, had different plans than I did. The team was scheduled to arrive on Friday, July 11th. Due to bad weather in Chicago, the team was not able to leave Houston on Thursday, and had to wait until Friday to depart. One member of the team was already in Chicago on business and so he alone arrived, on time, in Tirana on Friday night at midnight. Charlie stayed at our house and we had a great time catching up with him.

I have to admit that I was really disappointed in this delay because I had been so looking forward to having some time with the ladies on the team. I had even mentioned to a friend how good God was to allow me to have some special time with these dear friends, especially since I would not be able to go to camp with them. It was a good reminder to me to know that God IS good and He DOES good (Ps 119:68) even if it's not in the way I had thought it would be. So, we looked forward to the arrival of the other 10 members of the team on Saturday night at midnight.

As it turns out, the airline had overbooked (what's new) the flight from Vienna to Tirana and so only 6 team members were able to catch that flight. The partial team arrived at midnight and Tyler came home with Kris (at 2 a.m.) to stay the night at the Stire Hotel. The team got a few hours of sleep and then were up with hearts ready to serve at church on Sunday morning. How wonderful it was to worship again with these fellow believers at our church. I was so encouraged by their attitudes and their servant spirits. They were willing to do whatever needed to be done to help out the church and the missionaries even though they were super tired. I know that they were a real encouragement to one of our team families who needed those extra, strong arms to help move.

The other 4 members of the team, left in Vienna, were scheduled to arrive at midnight on Sunday night. They would get to Albania with only a few hours to spare before they headed out with the youth to a camp that was a 7 hour drive away. Again, God reminded us that "the mind of man plans his way, but God directs his steps" (Proverbs 16:9). Again, the airlines had an issue with the tickets and had room on the plane for only 1 member of the team to fly to Albania. So, Amy arrived, weary, yet happy to be reunited with her husband. I was especially thrilled that I had a few hours (until 3 a.m.) to talk with Amy. I shed a few tears when she first arrived at our house, for joy that God allowed me to see her sweet face again.

At 7 a.m. Tyler, Amy and Kris were out the door for camp. There were, however, still 3 people still in Vienna with tickets to arrive at midnight (again!) on Monday night. Praise God they did get on that flight and after 5 days of travelling the whole team was finally in Albania!! I changed the sheets, for the third time, and was overjoyed to have these three friends crash at our house for a few hours. We stayed up till 4 a.m. talking about all that God had been teaching us this past year and repacking their bags for camp. Well, I got to spend time with each of my friends, it was just in a different way than I had imagined. I was so grateful to God that most of the team was able to spend at least one night at our house and we were able to share that quiet time together.


The last 3 team members arrived by taxi (a 7 hour ride) at the camp site in the south of Albania, on the border of Greece by mid-day on Tuesday. Finally, all the team and 25 youth were together for the week long camp. The theme of the camp was "A Life Worth Living" based on the book of Ecclesiastes. It was a joy and a privilege that Kris was able to be the camp speaker for the week. Most of the members of the team from Lakeside have been to Albania on previous trips, so this camp was a great reunion with many of the youth that they have been able to minister to and watch grow from years past. Many people said that this was the best camp yet!



This year the camp was held in the area of Erseka. This beautiful, mountainous area is owned by a Christian man who has a primitive camp ground that he uses for ministry. The campfire at night was the site for worship and the teaching of the Word.



Because the camp was smaller in size this year, the leaders were able to break up into smaller discussion groups and game teams. This led to some really great times of fellowship in the co-ed teams and wonderful sharing and accountability in the seperate boys and girls groups. The gorgeous surroundings added to the majesty and wonder of worship and times alone with God.




As you can see this was no luxury camp. The tents and sleeping bags were set in a wide meadow, but there were definitley lots of rocks around that made sleeping bags a bumpy affair. The temperatures were chilly at night and Kris was thankful for his comfy sleeping bag and a few layers of clothes. In Tirana, we were sweltering away in the high 90's. Thankfully, the camp does have an outhouse that boasts of a rudimentary flushing system. What a blessing with over 30 people using it! There was only cold water showers and everyone got to drink the fresh spring water all week long. Thankfully no one got sick either.



Each morning the group had breakfast, personal quiet times and a message. The afternoons where filled with lots of games that built unity in the team.




There was also a huge rock wall - not the pre-fabricated kind either - that they learned how to climb. One team member has all her limbs stretched to their limits when the instructor told her to put her right foot where her left hand was barely holding onto to the rock. Wow! That is rough! Thankfully they had all the safety harnesses.



Here is Kris, victorious, after his climb to the top of the rock. He really enjoyed all the outdoor activities.



On another day the whole group hiked 2 hours to the Greek border in search of a waterfall. They never found it but had a great time hiking, talking and fellowshipping in the mean time. Who wouldn't enjoy a long hike with this outstanding landscape to enjoy? They were very sore though.



Kris and Eric, one of team members from Texas, have a really special relationship. Kris was very instumental in Eric's salvation and had the honor to disciple him for a few years. Right before we left Kris had the joy of officiating the wedding of Eric and his godly bride, Sky. They both came this year to Albania for the second time.



What would camp be without the notorious camp food. The food this year, however, was an improvement on previous years fare. The camp provided lots of fresh cooked (in a tent over a small bunson burner, no less) meat and salad and fruit. Maybe it was the fresh, mountain air, or the long hikes, or just the great cooking, but they all enjoyed it immensely. Rosie, a high school age Albanian girl that plays the violin for the worship team, agreed that this food was great.



One of the most encouraging things about living in Albania after having come here 3 years in the past, is to see the seeds that we were able to plant grow and produce fruit. Almost all of the girls in this photo have been to previous camps and we have watched them grow and mature in the Lord. The girl in the pink jacket, Viola, attended a camp two years ago and rejected the gospel because she was afraid that her Muslim family would reject her. Praise God she kept coming to church and at the next year at camp the Lord granted her repentence leading to salvation. Now, a year later, she faithfully attends church and is bringing her unsaved sister and brother!



Once the camp was over the Lakeside team had a day of worship at church with us in Tirana before they headed back to America. The spirit of love and thankfulness to God for the rich time at camp was evident in the service. Here I am with two of the amazing and godly women on the Lakeside team, Amy and Gwen. One other things that I would be remiss if I didn't mention is how thankful I am to God and to the team for packing extra bags full of treats, gifts and food items that we are unable to get here in Albania. What a blessing it was to our family! Thank you team for serving us in such an amazing and practical way!



The last evening together we had the joy of meeting together for a meal with the two other short term mission teams that were in Tirana from the states to help with different ministries at our church. We all met at our team leaders home for a time of prayer, sharing and enjoying a delicious meal. This was one of the hightlights of the time together for me. This is a picture of all of the teams together in the Albanian twilight. I thank God for another year of service with this team from our home church in Texas.



Please pray for the students who heard the Word of God at camp to live it out in their daily lives as the school year nears.

Israel Conference Photobook

"I was glad when they to me,'Let us to to the house of the Lord.' Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem...Pray for the peace of Jerusalem..." Ps. 122:1,2,6

I read this Psalm of Ascents written by David, and sung by travellers to Jerusalem for thousands of years, as our bus climbed the mountains leading to Jerusalem. As we crested the hill, our group sang, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Oh how the angels sang, Hosanna on the hightest, Hosanna to the King!" My first sight of this city shimmering in the noonday sun, brought me to tears. All I could imagine was how glorious it will be to stand with Him on the day He brings the new Jerusalem, in all it's majesty, to this land. What a day that will be!

Here is a photobook with some journalling of our trip for you to enjoy. Thank you so much for praying for our safety and encouragement. The best part of the trip, for me, was spending time with the other families who serve God on fields all over the world. Some families have been on the foreign field for over 35 years. As the newest family to GMI, we had so much to learn from everyone. It was a time of soaking up all they had to say about learning language, raising "3rd culture kids", ministry to nationals and being faithful in our walks with God. It was an invaluable experience.

Today, as I write this, we have been in Albania 1 year! God has been so faithful to us over the past year. Thank you for your continued support, prayers and love for us. We are blessed indeed!

Make a Smilebox photobook

Prayerbreakfast with team mates

June 12th



What a joy to serve alongside these amazing women! Whenever we get together for prayer and/or Bible study, I am always encouraged to be more faithful as a wife, as a mother, as an encourager, as a friend, as a prayer warrior and as a part of our team here in Albania.

Pam is a source of great encouragement to me. She is a really busy mother and wife, but that doesn't keep her from giving me a call just to check up to see how I'm doing or to see if I need anything. She has really made me feel welcome as the "newbie" on the team. She is also a super generous and gracious woman. I am honored to call her my friend!

Mary Beth is an example to me of a faithful pray-er and a woman with a quiet and gentle spirit. She definitely has spunk in her, but she is wise in how and when she speaks. She is always serving in some way, whether it's with the children's ministry at church, providing meals for the single guys on our team or asking if she can watch our kids for a night out.

Julie has been a true gift from the Lord this year. She and I have developed a sweet kindred-spirit. She is a superb mother and home-schooler to her 3 boys and 1 girl. She has challenged me on many occasions to rely on the Lord and not focus on my discouraging or difficult circumstances. Julie reminds me of the Proverbs 31 woman.

Gretchen (not pictured) is not in this photo because she is in the states ready to deliver her 2nd child. This, in itself, is a great source of joy because the doctors here and in the states gave this baby a 5% chance of living to term. Gretchen has been an example of real faith in the fire. Even when she was told that her baby had a fatal problem she didn't fall apart, but continued to pray, do her duties at home,serve in the youth ministry, and respond with joy. We connected right away on our short term trip 2 years ago. I thank God for placing a dear friend here so that I would have someone to talk to during those first few, lonely months.

I thank God for these women that God has surrounded me with. I pray that He will bless their ministries at home, and in the church. I have so much to learn from them and I look forward to many years together in the service of our King.