Enjoying our New Home Away from Home

The last time I posted we just arrived in Austria at my brother and sister in law's home to recover from jetlag. Since that time we have moved into our home, obtained our visas, bought a van, started language school, and now enjoying A LOT of snow! So much has happened since we've been here.... I'll catch you up on the happenings in a bit. Now, my house is begging for some much needed attention.

Almost HOME

Our family experienced a wonderful Missions Conference last week that officially sent us on our way to Croatia. It was a wonderful time of laughing, crying (alot), and remembering our deputation experience. Saying goodbye to friends and family was the hardest thing we have ever done! God had to get us to the point of helping us remember the task at hand... getting the GOSPEL to Croatia.

Our flight began by being delayed 2 hours at Dulles airport which meant we would miss our connecting flight in Munich to Graz. Our only option was to wait a few hours in Munich and then board another plane to Vienna and then on to Graz. Despite being TIRED & WORN OUT, eveeryone made the trip well. They held our luggage also in Munich, so we did not receive it til the next day. Things could have been worse...thank the Lord for his goodness.

Jetlag is another story... it is hard convincing 3 children that it's time for bed when their body is still on US time. Oh well, this too shall pass.(:

HOME in Croatia ... 7 days. Lots of thanks to my inlaws in Austria for allowing us to stay with them for now.

Dog Tired... To Say The Least

Lately it's just been my Ford Taurus and I keep the roads hot in search of things we may "miss" when we leave. I have come to the conclusion that I will probably forget something.... and I am okay with that. God has always provided and still will even though we are not in the comforts of America.

Our container is arriving on Saturday they tell us...(YEAH)! ;) It will be a great thing to have all of the packing done and just be able to chill out a little before we leave. I am so thankful for a wonderful church family who is taking care of our children's carry-ons (even down to the extra change of clothing). We are blessed to have such a kind and compassion Pastor. Our container will not arrive until the first week in September though so pray for us. That is okay though because there is much to do in our "new home". Painting, rearranging, new fixtures, things to purchase until it do get there etc. Just another day in the life of a missionary, another grand adventure! LOL

Deputation was a challenge... I'm sure we haven't seen anything yet once we arrive. I'm so thankful for friends that have already paved the way into Croatia and are waitng on us. Also I'm thankful for a wonderful sister & brother inlaw who are opening their home to us in Austria until we recover from jetlag. It will be a blessing to be able to see them again and just wonderful to have them close.

OH, I think I hear the phone ringing and many other things wanting my attention.


Bye for now ya'll

Will This Ever End?

It seems like we have been packing forever for our BIG MOVE to Croatia. I would have to say that I am not a fan! You never realize how much stuff you have until it has to be packed into boxes and inventoried. Well, this is the part of deputation we are at... much to do and only a little time to do it. Please pray that we can have it done and on it's way to our new home by the end of the week. We do have a majority of it finished, it's just those little "What if we need it items" to deal with.

I am so thankful for the Leslie Family who helped us find a home already. They have been working hard on our behalf to get things ready for us to get there. Although packing is a daunting task... I can't wait to unpack on the other side of the ocean and settle into our new home.

The Lord has much for us to do when we arrive. Please keep us in your prayers as we make Croatia our new HOME... only 17 more days.

Okay so it's been a WHILE

PLEASE EXCUSE THIS BLOG... THINGS HAVE CHANGED ALOT W/ BLOGGER SINCE I POSTED LAST & THINGS ARE NOT THE WAY I WANT THEM TO LOOK. THANKS

All at once life just happens really quickly and lots of things become neglected... such as this blog. Just to bring you up to date, we went to Kansas for some meetings and have been back home since Mother's Day even though my last post says otherwise! WOW, time flies when your busy!! Lots of exciting things have happened since we've been back home: we have all of our shipping container funds, our plane tickets are purchased, and we have half of our set up costs covered when we move to Croatia. We are praising the Lord for HIS goodness to us.

Our last official meeting is the first week in August at our home church. Our last official day in the USA is August the 5th! YIKES!! We are so excited to be making the move and taking this next BIG step of faith.

Pray for us that we:

* will finish our inventory of our storage unit in a timely manner.

*find housing in Croatia- can't ship our container without an address- our friends in Croatia are helping with that.

*will be faithful to HIM as he directs us in the PATH He has laid out for us.

OH, by the way... we were in VA.... but now we are in PA for a Wednesday night meeting! LOL The life of a missionary is always interesting to say the least.

I'm not in Virginia anymore!

We have followed the YELLOW BRICK ROAD all the way to Kansas for a few meetings through the month of April. God has already blessed us with one more church who has promised their support to help us reach Croatia for Christ! WELCOME aboard Hillcrest Bible Baptist Church in Ark City, Kansas!! *Praise the Lord* Although this road of deputation has been long and hard at times, He has been faithful to us and provided the churches He wants us to have. Our deputation trail has almost come to an end and for that I am most thankful. HOME in Croatia is calling our name.

Pray for us, for we still have much to do before we make our departure.

I"m a Bargain shopper

I can't pass up a bargain!!! Most of the time, if I see it and it is almost dirt cheap, I think that I must have it! Deputation has kind of changed me a little... bargain prices are a must, but our tiny car and budget can only allow so much.

About a month ago I started looking for winter clothing to put away for the kids to take to Croatia. Clothing there is so expensive and often cheaply made I have been told. So I started at the local kids consignment shop and boy am I glad I did!!

I found the BEST $1.00 rack in the whole world!!! There were tons of clothing on it from shirts to skirts and jeans to jackets. The best part of all is that everything was only $1.00. When it was all said and done, I only spent $23.00 and got so many great things for the kids. Many of the pants still had tags on them too. I even found a long jean skirt, which is very hard to come by. I was able to buy clothes in several sizes so they can grow into them. The Lord sure had me in the right place at the right time.

Since that day I have been able to find shirts and sweaters at Kohl's for really good prices as well. Thank you Lord for your blessings on me.


* I'm gonna have to post pics of my finds later.*