John Piper on the prosperity gospel

Conference

We went to the annual conference in Chernigov this weekend. It was a great time of catching up with old friends and making new ones, as well as hearing good teaching on what it means to be part of the church. We only ran into a few obstacles. The first night was very chilly and Justin did not sleep much. He made his presence known in our building with his hollering. The MacNamee's graciously let the baby and I bunk at their house Saturday night which made us both very happy and rested. Micah sprained his ankle playing soccer, so he was left hobbling around. Other than that, we had a nice time. It is exciting to see all that God is doing among the churches represented there and we are blessed to be a part of it! Check out our web album for more pictures...

Josie's Surprise day with dad

Today I picked Josie up early from the "kids garden" and we headed off for a special day! I brought a picnic lunch and some paints and headed off to the lake with my daughter. She was pretty surprised and excited to spend "alone time" with dad. We finished eating our picnic lunch and jumped into painting...at her request. As you can see, she is a natural. We also started painting the horseflies as they landed around us...it was fun. After that we headed to the park in Kaharlyk. She led the way as we headed down the trails. We took a couple of pictures at the war memorials. From the park we went to get ice cream. It was a very special father-daughter day!

Quote from Josie....
"Dad, I love life...I love my special day!"

The kids and I went to a very fun birthday party for Marie Gollan in Rzhyshchiv. Micah was away at a youth workers conference, so we hitched a ride with the Zschech and Zahurski families. All the kids were supposed to dress up as a fruit or vegetable. Ours went as a strawberry, carrot and asparagus. Dan and Priscilla had the party nicely planned out with lots of games, yummy food (tacos) and a very creative garden cake. The games were almost more fun for the adults than for the kids, including pass the pumpkin, potato carving and eating contest with fruit and whipped cream. It was great to visit with everyone and let the kids get their fill of sugar and exercise!

Kids start "kid's garden"

So, the kids have finally started at the "kid's garden" here in town. It was quite a process to get them signed up and have all the required tests and paperwork done. The first day went well. Josie was thrilled to start and her teacher said she did wonderful and fit right in. Jaden was very unsure, but went along with things. Jeremy cried a little at first, but settled in nicely. According to Josie, "I like school so much! The teacher picked my picture to show the class because I am very good at drawing. And I like the food we eat, it's delicious!" Jaden said, "My teacher is pretty. She has gold teeth. But I really don't want to go anymore." Jeremy said, "I have friends, Mommy! And I sleeped on a pillow!" They will attend 5 days a week from 8-5pm. That feels like a lot to me, but Micah and I agreed that it will be good for them right now to get adapted to the culture and start learning the language. I think we will take it month by month and just see how they do. This will give Micah and I more free time together, which we really need!

My quick trip to the States...

On August 14, I took a quick trip to Colorado to see my grandmother. She is battling ovarian cancer and I really wanted to see her and let her meet her great-grandson. So Justin and I packed up and headed west. We stayed with my sister, Michelle, which was great. We had the chance to spend time together just relaxing and letting the boys, Justin and Jake, to get to know each other. One evening we had a birthday party for my step-dad, Marcel. It was a nice surprise to see some of my relatives that I haven't seen in a while. I also got to see my newest nephew, Elijah. He is adorable and has tons of black, spiky hair!

On the weekend we headed up to the mountains to see my grandma. She lives in Glenwood Springs, which is a beautiful town. We spent two days visiting her and catching up. She is doing remarkably well and is still as feisty as ever. And still beautiful! We looked through scrapbooks and reminisced. She was so excited to be able to see three of her great-grandchildren. I am so thankful for this chance to spend time with her!



On my way home, I stopped for a quick layover in Phoenix. I only had a day and a half, but it was great. I was blessed to have some precious time with my family and even some close friends. I was a bit nervous about the trip home, seeing that I had a 9 hour layover in JFK and 15 hours in the air. That is tough with a squirmy 6-month old. But the Lord was with me every step and the travels went very smooth. Micah did great back on the homefront with the other 3 kiddos. He said once he got into the swing of things, it wasn't too hard. The girls in the church graciously fixed dinners for him and the kids.



I am so glad that I could take this trip and I hope I can visit again very soon!!! Check out more pictures from my trip in our photo link...