I have a baby! Thank You, Lord!
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
Good Homemade Peppermint (or vanilla) Ice Cream
I finally made that peppermint ice cream that I've been wanting. It turned out pretty good. I like this recipe for homemade vanilla ice cream because it is creamy like store-bought ice cream. Then I just added peppermint flavor and two crushed candy canes to it. Yummy!
Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1 cup double heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* For peppermint ice cream, 1/2 teaspoon peppermint flavor and later add two crushed candy canes.
Instructions:
First of all, mix together the egg yolks and sugar and beat until thick. Separately, pour the milk into a saucepan and scald it (bring slowly to the boiling point). Pour the hot milk into the egg yolk/sugar mixture while continually stirring. The pour the mixture back into the pan and heat gently, stirring until the custard thickens. DO NOT LET IT BOIL OR IT WILL PROBABLY CURDLE.
When you see a film form over the back of your spoon (takes a little while), it's time to remove saucepan from the heat and let cool. When it is cool, stir in the cream and vanilla. Pour into a metal bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator. Chill until it is really cold. Now transfer the bowl to the freezer for half an hour. After half an hour, check to see how much it has frozen. Ideally, it should have started to freeze at the edges but not fully through to the center. Take bowl out, scrape sides of bowl to remove crystals, and beat the ice cream with whisk or egg beater till it is once again creamy. This is to break up ice crystals that may have formed. Put it back in the freezer for another half hour. Remove and beat again. Repeat this process until you've beaten the mixture at least 3 times while it is freezing. The more times you beat it before it freezes, the smoother it will be. Put it back in the freezer this time until it freezes completely and is ready to eat. Add any mix-ins (like the candy canes) after the ice cream is thick enough to "hold" the mix-ins so they don't fall to the bottom of the container.
Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1 cup double heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* For peppermint ice cream, 1/2 teaspoon peppermint flavor and later add two crushed candy canes.
Instructions:
First of all, mix together the egg yolks and sugar and beat until thick. Separately, pour the milk into a saucepan and scald it (bring slowly to the boiling point). Pour the hot milk into the egg yolk/sugar mixture while continually stirring. The pour the mixture back into the pan and heat gently, stirring until the custard thickens. DO NOT LET IT BOIL OR IT WILL PROBABLY CURDLE.
When you see a film form over the back of your spoon (takes a little while), it's time to remove saucepan from the heat and let cool. When it is cool, stir in the cream and vanilla. Pour into a metal bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator. Chill until it is really cold. Now transfer the bowl to the freezer for half an hour. After half an hour, check to see how much it has frozen. Ideally, it should have started to freeze at the edges but not fully through to the center. Take bowl out, scrape sides of bowl to remove crystals, and beat the ice cream with whisk or egg beater till it is once again creamy. This is to break up ice crystals that may have formed. Put it back in the freezer for another half hour. Remove and beat again. Repeat this process until you've beaten the mixture at least 3 times while it is freezing. The more times you beat it before it freezes, the smoother it will be. Put it back in the freezer this time until it freezes completely and is ready to eat. Add any mix-ins (like the candy canes) after the ice cream is thick enough to "hold" the mix-ins so they don't fall to the bottom of the container.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Put to the Test by a Deaf Boy
This morning, BJ went to one of the church Bible clubs. There were about 100 children at the Bible club,and among them, they found a seven-year-old deaf boy. Evidently, this boy whose name is Raymond has been coming to the Bible club faithfully, but no one knew he was deaf until today. BJ signed with him for a while and then asked him if he would take him to see his parents. The little boy did not really want to leave the Bible club because he knew they give out candy for children who pay attention during the lesson. He wanted some candy! They gave him some early and finally convinced him to take BJ to see his parents.
When they got to his house which was only a short walk away, Raymond's parents were not home. Raymond, however, went into his house and began bringing things out to show BJ. He asked BJ what the different things were. "What is this? And what is this?"
Later, when BJ told me the story, I wondered if the deaf boy was trying to learn the signs for those things. BJ smiled and told me no, that this little boy is sharp. He already knew the signs for those things. He was simply testing BJ to find out if this white man really knew his language!
Some people think the Deaf are not smart simply because they cannot hear and because they do not speak the way we do. On the contrary, many Deaf are extremely smart, and this little boy is one of them. He was probably trying to find out if he could really trust BJ.
They walked back to the Bible club together. BJ interpreted the Bible lesson for Raymond, but Raymond barely looked at BJ! He knew he had to pay attention to the preacher to get that candy! BJ says, "How do you compete with candy with a seven-year-old!" They will have to let him know that paying attention to the interpreter is fine too!
Later, as BJ and the others were about to leave, Raymond took off running for home too. He ran about 20 paces, then whirled around, and waved goodbye to BJ. I think he figured out he could trust that white man!
God is opening many doors for us to meet the Deaf here in Nakuru. It takes time to form relationships and to build their trust, but it is a beginning, a very exciting beginning for us! Please keep praying for the work here.
When they got to his house which was only a short walk away, Raymond's parents were not home. Raymond, however, went into his house and began bringing things out to show BJ. He asked BJ what the different things were. "What is this? And what is this?"
Later, when BJ told me the story, I wondered if the deaf boy was trying to learn the signs for those things. BJ smiled and told me no, that this little boy is sharp. He already knew the signs for those things. He was simply testing BJ to find out if this white man really knew his language!
Some people think the Deaf are not smart simply because they cannot hear and because they do not speak the way we do. On the contrary, many Deaf are extremely smart, and this little boy is one of them. He was probably trying to find out if he could really trust BJ.
They walked back to the Bible club together. BJ interpreted the Bible lesson for Raymond, but Raymond barely looked at BJ! He knew he had to pay attention to the preacher to get that candy! BJ says, "How do you compete with candy with a seven-year-old!" They will have to let him know that paying attention to the interpreter is fine too!
Later, as BJ and the others were about to leave, Raymond took off running for home too. He ran about 20 paces, then whirled around, and waved goodbye to BJ. I think he figured out he could trust that white man!
God is opening many doors for us to meet the Deaf here in Nakuru. It takes time to form relationships and to build their trust, but it is a beginning, a very exciting beginning for us! Please keep praying for the work here.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Jesus Loves Me
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| Learning about Jesus |
Singing songs of the Savior to my baby girl, stroking her sweet head of hair. Pure happiness when Seth joins in with "Jesus Loves the Little Children" and then says . . .
"Mommy, let's sing "What Can Wash Away My Sin" to Brina so that she can know how her sins can be forgiven only through the Blood of Jesus."
Song after song . . . The Crayon Box song too! How I love my children! I am so blessed!
Thursday, February 23, 2012
An Interesting Weekend
I will try to catch you up on what's been going on around here. Last Friday, I became sick with a bad headache. Fevers started in the night, and Saturday and Sunday found me in bed as much as possible. The aches and pains were so strong that it felt like what I remembered malaria to feel like.
Monday morning, I felt somewhat better, but the headache was still there, and my left cheek hurt really bad. I was leery to try a doctor here in Nakuru because many times outside of Nairobi, doctors call everything malaria. However, we wanted to save ourselves a trip to Nairobi, so we decided to try it one time. We tried the Karen Hospital outreach clinic here in Nakuru, thinking that since it is a branch of the Karen Hospital where we used to live, maybe they would have their ducks in a row!
We were there most of Monday morning. I saw a young doctor who asked me my symptoms. Then after he looked in my throat, he informed me I had tonsillitis. Surprised, I said, "Really? I've never had tonsillitis in my life." Also, my throat was not red and did not hurt, my glands were not swollen, and I could talk and swallow just fine. He sent me to the lab for several tests to eliminate the possibilities of malaria and typhoid. Upon returning to his office, he again confirmed that what I had was tonsillitis. I thanked him, and in my heart decided to get a second opinion!
So early Tuesday morning, we made the trip to Karen. I walked into the clinic there, and soon found out that I'd probably had the flu over the weekend, but that now I had a bad sinus infection on top of it. Hence, the headache and the intense pain in my sinus region. After a couple of doses of an antibiotic, however, I felt as good as new.
Tuesday afternoon, on our way back to Nakuru, we got stopped by the police. It always makes me nervous when I see them flag us down because I think, "What do they want this time?" BJ knew he'd not been speeding. (He has not sped since he found out that the speed limit was 100 k/h . . . well, just one time--the night I was in labor!) He purposely keeps that speedometer at 90 k/h because he does not want the hassle of another day in jail! Well, we found out we had indeed been speeding at 90 k/h. There was a hospital nearby, and we were only supposed to be going 80 k/h through there. BJ asked where the speed limit sign for that was, and the policeman told him that unfortunately, young boys had pulled it up and thrown it away. Hmmmm. That must've happened more than a year and a half ago because we've been up and down that road so many times, and we have never seen the sign! Thankfully though, the policeman gave us mercy. He said that since we understand Swahili, he would let us go this time. I am SO glad we've tried to learn Swahili. It pays off in more ways than one! We both breathed a sigh of relief as we continued on our way.
Yesterday and today, my life has been back to normal. BJ's too!
He willingly watched Seth and Brina, cooked meals, washed dishes, etc, while I was sick, but now he is glad to be able to be missionary/teacher again! That is more his "cup of tea"! =)
Monday morning, I felt somewhat better, but the headache was still there, and my left cheek hurt really bad. I was leery to try a doctor here in Nakuru because many times outside of Nairobi, doctors call everything malaria. However, we wanted to save ourselves a trip to Nairobi, so we decided to try it one time. We tried the Karen Hospital outreach clinic here in Nakuru, thinking that since it is a branch of the Karen Hospital where we used to live, maybe they would have their ducks in a row!
We were there most of Monday morning. I saw a young doctor who asked me my symptoms. Then after he looked in my throat, he informed me I had tonsillitis. Surprised, I said, "Really? I've never had tonsillitis in my life." Also, my throat was not red and did not hurt, my glands were not swollen, and I could talk and swallow just fine. He sent me to the lab for several tests to eliminate the possibilities of malaria and typhoid. Upon returning to his office, he again confirmed that what I had was tonsillitis. I thanked him, and in my heart decided to get a second opinion!
So early Tuesday morning, we made the trip to Karen. I walked into the clinic there, and soon found out that I'd probably had the flu over the weekend, but that now I had a bad sinus infection on top of it. Hence, the headache and the intense pain in my sinus region. After a couple of doses of an antibiotic, however, I felt as good as new.
Tuesday afternoon, on our way back to Nakuru, we got stopped by the police. It always makes me nervous when I see them flag us down because I think, "What do they want this time?" BJ knew he'd not been speeding. (He has not sped since he found out that the speed limit was 100 k/h . . . well, just one time--the night I was in labor!) He purposely keeps that speedometer at 90 k/h because he does not want the hassle of another day in jail! Well, we found out we had indeed been speeding at 90 k/h. There was a hospital nearby, and we were only supposed to be going 80 k/h through there. BJ asked where the speed limit sign for that was, and the policeman told him that unfortunately, young boys had pulled it up and thrown it away. Hmmmm. That must've happened more than a year and a half ago because we've been up and down that road so many times, and we have never seen the sign! Thankfully though, the policeman gave us mercy. He said that since we understand Swahili, he would let us go this time. I am SO glad we've tried to learn Swahili. It pays off in more ways than one! We both breathed a sigh of relief as we continued on our way.
Yesterday and today, my life has been back to normal. BJ's too!
He willingly watched Seth and Brina, cooked meals, washed dishes, etc, while I was sick, but now he is glad to be able to be missionary/teacher again! That is more his "cup of tea"! =)
Saturday, February 18, 2012
So Thankful for Rain!
It's raining again! I'm not sure that I've ever longed for rain so much! I've even missed the smell of rain!
We moved to Nakuru at the end of the last rainy season when it was still raining hard every afternoon. I loved it! The air was clean and fresh, and our yard was lush and green. Well, after two weeks, the dry season began, and we've had no rain. These past several months have convinced me that Nakuru must be semi-arid. Literally, it is almost like desert during the dry seasons. The dirt road outside of our front gate has been covered with fine, sandy dust that billows up behind your car to the point that you can't see out of your back window! Vehicles even get stuck in the sand at times!
That dust hangs in the air like a haze. It comes into the house and coats everything. It's been a losing battle to keep the house clean! The dust drys out your nose and skin terribly as well.
The grass in our yard is in desperate need of water. I've tried to haul bath water and dish water out there (the day before I went into labor with Brina! It's probably what got my labor started! Like 20-25 buckets of water. Yeah, I was nesting bigtime!) However, the little I did was obviously not enough.
And to top it all off, the ants came in the house looking for water, and, well, unfortunately, they found food! I've lived in the tropics most of my life, but I don't think I've ever seen more ants at one time! They were even getting in my food as I was trying to prepare it! Every morning, I would enter my kitchen, and the battle would begin all over again. They were everywhere! We tried vinegar, Vaseline, and even poison mixed with jelly in an effort to get rid of them. Needless to say, I've missed the rain for more than one reason!
It looks like the rains have started up again though. Each afternoon, we coax those big, dark clouds to drench us! I can't say the rains have been real drenching yet, but rain is rain!
And lo, and behold, the ants have vanished from my kitchen all of a sudden! I guess they are finding that precious water outside the house now. I'm extremely happy about that!
Nakuru has two extremes--lots of rain or no rain. There are two rainy seasons--the long rains and the short rains. There are also two dry seasons, and one is longer than the other as well. Um, I think this last one was the short dry season.
Am I complaining about all of these irritations? No, that is why I am writing about them after the fact! But they are facts of my mission field during certain months of the year and part of the true picture. Some days I was sorely irritated and did complain, but you know what I've learned? No, I did not learn to like the dust and the ants and the parched ground and cracked feet. But I had to accept it as part of the place that God has called us to. I even had to accept those pesky ants! Yes, I fought them (when I felt like it), but there were times when I just said, "Let them have what they want. They are here, and what can we do about it?" Not much until it rains. May as well accept them too. =)
We moved to Nakuru at the end of the last rainy season when it was still raining hard every afternoon. I loved it! The air was clean and fresh, and our yard was lush and green. Well, after two weeks, the dry season began, and we've had no rain. These past several months have convinced me that Nakuru must be semi-arid. Literally, it is almost like desert during the dry seasons. The dirt road outside of our front gate has been covered with fine, sandy dust that billows up behind your car to the point that you can't see out of your back window! Vehicles even get stuck in the sand at times!
That dust hangs in the air like a haze. It comes into the house and coats everything. It's been a losing battle to keep the house clean! The dust drys out your nose and skin terribly as well.
The grass in our yard is in desperate need of water. I've tried to haul bath water and dish water out there (the day before I went into labor with Brina! It's probably what got my labor started! Like 20-25 buckets of water. Yeah, I was nesting bigtime!) However, the little I did was obviously not enough.
And to top it all off, the ants came in the house looking for water, and, well, unfortunately, they found food! I've lived in the tropics most of my life, but I don't think I've ever seen more ants at one time! They were even getting in my food as I was trying to prepare it! Every morning, I would enter my kitchen, and the battle would begin all over again. They were everywhere! We tried vinegar, Vaseline, and even poison mixed with jelly in an effort to get rid of them. Needless to say, I've missed the rain for more than one reason!
It looks like the rains have started up again though. Each afternoon, we coax those big, dark clouds to drench us! I can't say the rains have been real drenching yet, but rain is rain!
And lo, and behold, the ants have vanished from my kitchen all of a sudden! I guess they are finding that precious water outside the house now. I'm extremely happy about that!
Nakuru has two extremes--lots of rain or no rain. There are two rainy seasons--the long rains and the short rains. There are also two dry seasons, and one is longer than the other as well. Um, I think this last one was the short dry season.
Am I complaining about all of these irritations? No, that is why I am writing about them after the fact! But they are facts of my mission field during certain months of the year and part of the true picture. Some days I was sorely irritated and did complain, but you know what I've learned? No, I did not learn to like the dust and the ants and the parched ground and cracked feet. But I had to accept it as part of the place that God has called us to. I even had to accept those pesky ants! Yes, I fought them (when I felt like it), but there were times when I just said, "Let them have what they want. They are here, and what can we do about it?" Not much until it rains. May as well accept them too. =)
Our School Room
I've been wanting to take you on a tour of my home here in Nakuru. However, our house is large, and I've been wondering just how to go about it. It won't be quite as simple as my first house tour. Plus, I was kind of hoping to get things looking a little more homey first like getting curtains in the windows. However, I am coming to realize that it is going to be a long long time before I can get curtains made for all of the windows in our house. There are tons of windows (which I love), and they are huge. We just got curtains made for Brina's nursery though. Yay! They look so pretty, but I'll save those pictures for another post.
The first room I will show you is our school room because Seth and I just started school back up this week.
It's been somewhat of a challenge to hold a baby in one arm, a marker in another, and be teacher and mommy at the same time! But we did it, and I must say, it went pretty smoothly over all.
I love our school room! It is so nice to be able to leave everything set up instead of taking it up and down every day like we were doing in Karen. This room was already painted blue when we moved in--the perfect color for a school room, I think. It is on the eastern side of the house, so it gets the morning sun with two large windows that let in lots of light.
I still want to hang some maps on the walls sometime, and this room needs curtains . . . eventually. It is working out great for us though.
The first room I will show you is our school room because Seth and I just started school back up this week.
It's been somewhat of a challenge to hold a baby in one arm, a marker in another, and be teacher and mommy at the same time! But we did it, and I must say, it went pretty smoothly over all.
I love our school room! It is so nice to be able to leave everything set up instead of taking it up and down every day like we were doing in Karen. This room was already painted blue when we moved in--the perfect color for a school room, I think. It is on the eastern side of the house, so it gets the morning sun with two large windows that let in lots of light.
I still want to hang some maps on the walls sometime, and this room needs curtains . . . eventually. It is working out great for us though.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Seth and Brina
We have discovered that Brina likes the stroller and that Seth loves to push her around. So they go outside and entertain each other around and around the yard!
The other day, I was trying to figure out what to do with a fussy Brina while I hung out my laundry. I opted for a big blanket on the ground and some outside time for the baby. She loved the wind in her face and hair. Seth soon joined her, and I got some precious pictures. I love to watch them together!
The other day, I was trying to figure out what to do with a fussy Brina while I hung out my laundry. I opted for a big blanket on the ground and some outside time for the baby. She loved the wind in her face and hair. Seth soon joined her, and I got some precious pictures. I love to watch them together!
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| Sleepy baby |
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| Big dark blue eyes |
Our Valentines Day
We had fun on Valentines Day. A couple of days beforehand, I got secretive wrapping BJ's present. (By the way, Mom, thanks for helping me surprise him!) Seth wanted to know what it was all about, so I explained that Valentines Day is a day when we tell people we love them. Well, he went into action creating Valentines presents for Mommy and Daddy! I think he thought it was Christmas all over again! BJ and I decided to get him a little something for Valentines Day too.
BJ surprised me with a steak dinner! We didn't want to go out to eat, so he brought the steaks home and grilled them. I made baked potatoes, salad, and homemade rolls.
And for desert, we had carrot cake. BJ likes carrot cake; Seth likes anything sweet!
I made a small cake because our little family has a hard time finishing a large one. Then I used the rest of the cake batter to make cupcakes for our tea times.
My sweet hubby brought me home a beautiful bouquet of red roses, and when we opened our presents . . .
For me--perfume and Snickers. Quite romantic, don't you think???
I was able to get several Journibles for BJ. They are like journals, but in them you can write entire books of the Bible.
BJ was already writing the book of Proverbs in a spiral-bound notebook, so I knew this would be the perfect gift for him. I gave him one for Romans, one for Proverbs, and one for John. He is excited to start studying and writing out the book of Romans first. Eventually, he wants to copy the whole Bible! It is an excellent way to study, learn, and retain God's Word.
And we gave Seth an art set with stencils and these special wheels that make pretty designs. He loves it.
Seth's gifts to us? Well, I didn't take pictures of everything, but they consisted of coke bottle lids, seeds, a little of this, and a little of that wrapped up and given with lots of love. He also made BJ a hat from bubble wrap! Don't laugh too hard!
Brina slept through it all, but that was okay. We had fun, lots of family fun on Valentines Day!
BJ surprised me with a steak dinner! We didn't want to go out to eat, so he brought the steaks home and grilled them. I made baked potatoes, salad, and homemade rolls.
And for desert, we had carrot cake. BJ likes carrot cake; Seth likes anything sweet!
I made a small cake because our little family has a hard time finishing a large one. Then I used the rest of the cake batter to make cupcakes for our tea times.
My sweet hubby brought me home a beautiful bouquet of red roses, and when we opened our presents . . .
For me--perfume and Snickers. Quite romantic, don't you think???
I was able to get several Journibles for BJ. They are like journals, but in them you can write entire books of the Bible.
BJ was already writing the book of Proverbs in a spiral-bound notebook, so I knew this would be the perfect gift for him. I gave him one for Romans, one for Proverbs, and one for John. He is excited to start studying and writing out the book of Romans first. Eventually, he wants to copy the whole Bible! It is an excellent way to study, learn, and retain God's Word.
And we gave Seth an art set with stencils and these special wheels that make pretty designs. He loves it.
Seth's gifts to us? Well, I didn't take pictures of everything, but they consisted of coke bottle lids, seeds, a little of this, and a little of that wrapped up and given with lots of love. He also made BJ a hat from bubble wrap! Don't laugh too hard!
Brina slept through it all, but that was okay. We had fun, lots of family fun on Valentines Day!
Monday, February 13, 2012
More Than a Conqueror
I stood before them, two new Deaf visitors at church last evening. Swahili songs were being sung. My hands waited. My brain frantically grasped at whatever words I could understand. About half of it was interpreted, very piece-meal to say the least. I could have wept. My heart cries out, "Nimeshindwa!" (I'm defeated.) Yet, my Lord speaks softly to my heart, "You are only defeated if you let yourself be defeated." And He brings a precious verse to my remembrance.
It is 6:00 a.m. I just fed Brina, and I should be sleeping for one more hour before I start my day. But my mind cannot sleep as I ponder I Corinthians 8:37, "Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us." That is present tense--"are more than conquerors." I am a conqueror right now even though I don't feel like it? I realized that the last few words of that verse are the key--" . . . through him that loved us." It is not my strength, my skill, or my knowledge that will get the job done. No, it is only through Him. Tears stream down my face as I realize that once again He only wants me to surrender these hands to Him to let Him use as He sees fit. He knows this language, and He knows how to interpret it. Can I not simply let go, quit struggling, and let Him work through me? "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13) I need to be an empty vessel for Him to fill up and use. The message may not be interpreted perfectly as I continue to grow in this language, but He does not ask for perfection. All He asks for is a surrendered heart and my willing hands to use for His glory. He'll do the rest in spite of me.
"But thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." I Corinthians 15:57
It is 6:00 a.m. I just fed Brina, and I should be sleeping for one more hour before I start my day. But my mind cannot sleep as I ponder I Corinthians 8:37, "Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us." That is present tense--"are more than conquerors." I am a conqueror right now even though I don't feel like it? I realized that the last few words of that verse are the key--" . . . through him that loved us." It is not my strength, my skill, or my knowledge that will get the job done. No, it is only through Him. Tears stream down my face as I realize that once again He only wants me to surrender these hands to Him to let Him use as He sees fit. He knows this language, and He knows how to interpret it. Can I not simply let go, quit struggling, and let Him work through me? "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13) I need to be an empty vessel for Him to fill up and use. The message may not be interpreted perfectly as I continue to grow in this language, but He does not ask for perfection. All He asks for is a surrendered heart and my willing hands to use for His glory. He'll do the rest in spite of me.
"But thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." I Corinthians 15:57
Friday, February 10, 2012
Back in Time--A Picture Post
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| Our courtship |
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| Double date downtown OKC |
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| Look at that 6-inch rule! |
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| Engagement! (Myriad Gardens, OKC)--Date on there wrong. It was 11/29/05! |
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| Christmas Banquet, 2005 |
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| WHBC Missions Conference--2006 |
Okay, I have to comment on this last picture! This was when we were in the Windsor Hills missions conference as the Cormiers, missionaries to Kenya. I would soon graduate from Bible College, and BJ had graduated the year before. The uh, weird, somewhat awkward thing was that we were not yet married! We were to be married in about another six months. My name was Jessica Harrelson, but there I was "posing" as Mrs. Cormier! Hey, we did it at the staff's bidding because they didn't want us to have to wait another whole year to be in the missions conference. Needless to say, we got a lot of teasing from college students and faculty members!
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| Our wedding--July 1, 2006 |
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| Honeymoon in Gatlinburg, Tennessee |
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| Seth, about two weeks old--fishing at Windsor in the Wilds. |
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| Full-time deputation begun! |
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| Seth's bed--a Pack n' Play |
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| In a prophet's chamber with his stuffed animals. Notice him signing "I love you." Sign language was his first language. |
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| Home for us was our tent. We loved camping at KOA's. Such family fun, and way cheaper than hotel rooms. |
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| Inside the tent |
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| Fun at KOA kampgrounds |
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| KOA cabin and a happy boy |
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| Places to explore! This was a quaint, German village . . . can't remember where. |
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| In over 200 churches |
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| And finally in Kenya! Arrived August 18, 2010 |
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| Six months of Swahili language school |
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| Deaf Sunday School |
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| Interpreting for the Deaf in church |
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| Teaching the Bible in Deaf Schools |
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| Sammy, our first Deaf soul saved! January 16, 2012 |
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| Seth saved! January 11th |
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| Sabrina born! January 20th |
January was a really good month for us! The past six years for our family have not been without struggles, discouragement, and pain, but I must say that God has truly been so very good to this missionary family! We love what we are doing, and that He graciously allows us to do it for Him.
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