Decided to show this cold Chicago winter who’s boss have some fun in the great outdoors today. We’re closer than ever to our goal (95%) and thanking God for His faithfulness every step of the way. Can’t wait to have some exciting news to share soon!
Here’s a little video of our afternoon adventure: Adventures in Snowshoeing
Hard to believe this year is almost over. We have spent the past twelve months traveling and sharing our story in churches around the country. We have had a great time but can’t wait to begin! We are SO close to our goal and plan to leave for language school in the next few months (Read our December update). Of course, there is much to come, but for now we look forward to a great holiday filled with laughter, love and family and wish the same for you! Thank you for being a part of this journey. We are so grateful for each and every one of you. Merry Christmas!
Every Christmas while I was growing up my grandma sent fruitcake to our house. She insisted it was the best and tastiest around and it was a tradition. Ironically, during all those years of getting fruitcake no one in my family ever ate it. The routine went something like this: Package arrived from fruitcake company, mom removed fruitcake from decorative tin (she kept that for Christmas cookies), boxed up the cake and sent it to a friend of hers in Texas. We didn’t mind really. I mean, we loved our Grandma but who likes fruitcake?
Eventually, Tom and I got married and celebrated our first Christmas together. I’ll never forget when my first and only fruitcake showed up at the door. To be honest, I panicked. A flood of memories came rushing back. Who would I send this too? I didn’t know anyone in Texas. Would I have to EAT it? After all my worrying, I eventually found a loving and safe home for my fruitcake but vowed to never again be put in that horrifying situation.
There are very few things that would make me look a fruitcake in the face again. Following a life long dream is one of them. As it turns out this year, we’re one fruitcake short of a Christmas miracle. The miracle being, us finally beginning our adventure to West Africa. Of course, we don’t really need an actual fruitcake - it’s just a way of saying that we’re super close to leaving. Check out our December Update and see what I mean but please don’t send any fruitcake.
We are always meeting cool people everywhere we go but sometimes you meet some people that are so incredible they are almost in a category by themselves. That was this past weekend. We had an awesome time with Pastor and Laurie Hoyt in Bellevue. This church is filled with love and we felt warmly welcomed by every single person we met.
Friday night, we hung out with Pastor Herbie & Jennie and the young adults of Pergo Dei. It was awesome to see how many of these young adults are already following the call to missions and going out into the world. We shared our story in their Friday night service and got to know some amazing people. They even made us a yarn flag of Mali - needless to say it was pretty awesome.
Sunday morning, we were so thankful for the opportunity to share in the two morning services and even visited with the kids in Super Church. We are honored to be a part of Bellevue’s missions family! These are truly some incredible people.
Now that we’re on the road a lot, we actually get to see our niece Kaylee and our nephews Hunter and Zane more than ever. It’s our favorite stop in southern Illinois and it’s so fun watching them grow up. Love these guys!
There is no celebration on the South Side of Chicago like St.Patrick’s Day. We just had to share a few scenes of this awesome day last week - the Chicago River dyed green, a house in our neighborhood completely decked out for the occasion and an obligatory green tea frappucino to celebrate the day. Actually, we can’t complain. St. Patrick was one of our all time favorite missionaries and any day to celebrate him is ok by us.
With all the traveling we are doing it’s always a treat to see good friends and catch up. Last weekend, I (Jenni) and my sister Erin were able to attend a baby shower for a childhood friend from Milwaukee. It was a blast to see everyone and even more exciting to celebrate with two of our closest friends, sisters Kelly & Kristin who are both expecting babies soon. Together with these friends we built memories going on vacations, dancing in the living room, playing hide and seek and growing up together. I guess it’s always crazy realizing that everyone is getting older and having families of their own. It also has to be one of the best things in life. I am so excited for Kelly & Kristin and made them pose for this cute picture - I mean when will this ever happen again?!?! Thankfully, they put up with me.
We had an amazing time with new friends at Christian Life Fellowship in Antioch, IL. To help recreate a village in Mali, their team of creative geniuses built a life sized display of a clean water well and market scene - they even had real chickens! It was incredible to see these scenes come to life right in front of us. We had a great time sharing our story with the youth on Friday night, talking about the need for living water on Saturday and sharing in the Sunday morning service. We had a great weekend and loved experiencing such an incredible heart for missions right here at home!
One of the fun things near our new neighborhood is Chicago’s very own Chinatown. It’s a fun place to experience Chinese culture - lots of restaurants and little shops line the streets. Visiting Chinatown was great until….
We ate in Chinatown. It’s not what you think. The food at Joy Yee was amazing and the menu is GIGANTIC. It’s just that now it’s become one of those crazy cravings that haunts me at the weirdest times. Tom Yum soup and Mango Strawberry bubble tea. And I am totally addicted.
(Read about my first experience with bubble tea here.)
