Wednesday, September 30, 2015

CAMP 2015

 
The week of camp is our favorite part of summer!
 
 
 Hours and hours of planning...months in advance.
 
All the people, with different jobs, that make our 2015 Camp Team.
 
Prayer and fasting days for the children that will be at camp.
 
 
And then the week of camp arrives!
 
 
Kids arrive at church with their bags packed!
 
 

We all lose sleep. We all have moments of intense frustration.
We all have the opportunity to share Jesus.
 
Sometimes it is the nurse, going to a cabin at 12 am to put on a band aid.

 
Or the counselor who sees past the disrespect to the heart's cry for love.
 
Or helping a child deal with intense fear in a team building activity.
 
Or pulling a kid aside and praying with them.
 
 
We are so thankful for all of our prayer warriors who dedicated our kids and the week to JESUS!
 
Our cabins were completely full this year...with a total of 50 children!
 
Youngest girls cabin..."I saw a boy in the woods. He had blonde dreadlocks!"
It turns out he was Amish!
 
 We took a trek through Proverbs...Jesus wants us to make wise choices!
 
 "What was the scariest thing that you had to do this week?"
"Zip line! There's only a few things that make me want my Momma!"
 
 
 
A stretching, hard week of intense moments.
Praying that the moments of impact would continue to draw us towards our Creator! 

 
 
PRAISING GOD FOR A WONDERFUL WEEK OF CAMP!

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Summer Bible School

 
Pictures are worth a thousand words. 

Dennyza & I decided how to decorate the church...and the teachers did the work!
 
La Finquita (Little Farm)    Community Work




Money for Support - An - Orphan
 





 
 
Kindergarten was Dr. Seuss themed!
 
BLOCK PARTY
  

Face Painting, Ring Toss, Darts, Bean Bag, Twister, and Door Prizes!
Hot Dogs & Popcorn
Lots of kids!!!
 
 
FOOT SPA IN KENSINGTON
 
 
Wonderful opportunity to meet people!


We spent one day in Center City...surveys, tracts, and singing!



Serving the Homeless





Singing & Prayer time at Race Street Pier
Green Route
We are so thankful for the teachers who poured their hearts into the kids of our neighborhood! Praising God for a good year!



Saturday, July 18, 2015

When plans changed...

 
 
June ended with some tough questions and decisions.
 
Dennyza was not be able to move for legal reasons

until the next court date over a month later.
 
School was ending and summer in the hood was only beginning.
 
We are so thankful for the prayers and support we have felt. 
 
Over half of our time here, Dennyza has been with us.
 
I may have an identity crisis after she moves out.


 
One of my favorite parts of the past few weeks has been the Tall Ships Festival!
 
Sailboats from around the world dock in ports on the East Coast this summer.
 
This year one of the ports was Penns Landing, Philadelphia!
 
We spent a night enjoying lots of people, huge ships, and impressive fireworks.
 
 
German, French, American, and Canadian ships were there.
 
Each ship had its own crew and unique uniform.
There were several ships you could board and tour.
 
It was such a wonderful learning experience!
 
 
 
Hard work, helping hands, and many prayers...
 
The new kitchen in the first floor of our building was completed just in time
 for Summer Bible School. 
 
 
This kitchen is the "church kitchen." It used every other Sunday for fellowship meals, Summer Bible School, Tuesday Bible Studies, and anytime kids want to bake cookies, etc.
So for us, this is a pretty big deal.
 

Dennyza's new favorite game is Monopoly Deal.
Any willing player she cohorts into a challenge or a tournament given enough time.
We are also playing the license plate game. A map of USA is on our fridge and each state we see she checks off. We now have 43 of 50 states.

 
 
Another big deal...we found bed bugs.
 
I didn't sleep very well the next few nights.
 
Immediately, Orion and Tristan sealed the room to stop contamination and they "took care of the problem." I am praying that all the unwanted creatures have died.

Tristan & I took an afternoon off and went to Kelly Drive.
 
 
Orion & Lynnelle and Tristan & I were the superintendents for Summer Bible School.
So Summer Bible School arrived and for two weeks we were immensely busy.
We are so thankful to God for a great year!
 
 
The next few days we will be helping Dennyza pack.
We are specifically praying that God would be near
her as she makes yet another big transition.


"Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you."
Isaiah 41:10
 
 


Sunday, June 7, 2015

Grace for the Journey

 
In the past month, there has been so many tears and so many good laughs!
Life right now has me checking the mirror for gray hair.
Some of the best and incredibly special moments are the following pictures.
And then there are some days where it feels as if we are on an emotional level E.
Shortly after Dennyza moved in, I remember a case worker telling us that it is
going to get much harder before it gets easier.
He was right.
But it is in those intense, emotional moments that we claim the verse:
"My grace is sufficient for you,
for my power is made perfect in weakness..."
 
A few times in the past month, we had other kids over for an afternoon or evening.
 
Wednesday night girls Bible study is over.
The last night’s project was making blankets for a local adoption agency.
 

My Tuesday night class has been working hard all year.
They memorized the Books of the Bible.
And as promised, we went to Wendy’s and everybody got a Frosty.

 
The Blue Ball, Calvary, and Open Door youth group spent the day at Sixth Street.
They painted, cleaned, power washed, etc.
It was SO nice to have some of those huge projects off the list!


Tristan is spending more time fixing bikes.
 
 
Roselle moved back to Lancaster this past week. We are going to miss her!

1,000 piece puzzle that Roselle & Dennyza completed
 
But for the most part, our lives right now revolve around Dennyza.
She really means the world to us!

 
Friday nights, Dennyza needs to create the supper menu and then together we do our best. She wanted to do a seafood night. She knew about this crab shack in south Philly.
So I drove and once again she was the GPS.
And once we arrived, I was ever so glad that she was with me!
 

There is been a lot of half days as this is the last month and half of school. I’m so grateful for the relationship that she has with people from church!
When she spends an afternoon or evening at someone else’s house, she comes home with stories, laugher, or new games to play!

Dennyza spent the afternoon with Lynelle planting window boxes!

 
 
Dennyza is incredibly intelligent…with a desire to answer all the questions
that flash through her mind.

We were driving home from a therapy appointment the other day…

“You will eat approximately 35,000 chocolate cookies in your lifetime. Unless you are a Mennonite, then that number probably doubles, don’t you think?”

A snail can sleep up to three years.

Do you think that blind people dream in color? Japan has square watermelons.

It is against the law in Switzerland to slam a car door.

What language do deaf people think in?

It has been such an honor to meet some of her friends, teachers, etc. that make up her support team. Can I go shopping with…and her mom? Can we plan to do something with…?

Heidi & Dennyza on Memorial Day
 
Or her favorite question right now…Can we visit your mom? I want to see the puppies again!

 
By the next time I write, she will living with Galen & Marlene in Souderton. They come to Sixth Street Church so she will be able to stay connected to family and friends. This weekend we are camping with them, next week shopping for curtains and paint. We are intentionally spending time with Galen & Marlene hoping to make the transition into their home as smooth as possible for her.

Most of the time, we have no idea what we are doing.

We do not know how to parent a 16 year old.

But we walk with Jesus…and that makes all the difference.

I guess that is actually how most of life is.

And as God leads, He gives grace for the journey.


Thursday, June 4, 2015

Jesus in the Courtroom

 
It was a date that loomed ahead of us. Dennyza is a witness, needing to testify.
 
As the tidal wave of emotions die down, my mind has yesterday on replay.
 
In every moment, we saw God's hand.
 
Dennyza chose the color hot pink for her team!
It was fun, visible symbol of people who love and care about her. Our lawyers,
child advocate, and some friends dressed in pink...
 
"Dennyza Awareness" she called it.
 
It felt as if time stopped. Each moment defined by small details. Moments that make up minutes and minutes that then become hours. Finally our case was called.
 
Tears of fear and knowing what was ahead ... But she was so brave!
And then there was this moment, the fear dissipated.
 
The truth was spoken.
 
The moment a police officer in the room excused himself to get tissues.
He was listening to her story and he felt her pain.
 
The moment when a man was pronounced guilty.
 
The moment she stopped shaking when she realized the hardest part of her day was over.
 
The moment before we left court to finally go home...
One of the child advocates, pulled our team into a circle and we bowed our heads to pray.
 
  Jesus walked each step before us.
 
Thank you so much for your prayers! We were specifically praying for three things:
1. Feel safe in the court room
2. Courage to tell the truth
3. Deal with emotions correctly after it's over
 
God answered above and beyond what we could have hoped for.
 
Now the trauma of yesterday is simply something that we will be discussing.
 
Today brings school and a dentist appointment and tomorrow an all day school trip to Six Flags...
With a weekend that we are looking forward to very much!
 
 
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you. I have summoned you by name; you are mine. 
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior... Isaiah 43:1-2