our funny dog

faith has discovered television. this happened a few months ago but her watching tv intently continues to make us laugh. here she is watching gabe and tim play madden on xbox. she loves watching sports, anything where she can see the ball move in the screen. :)

She loves The Sound of Music too, just like her mother :)

Scary how animals can be so much like their owners.

best of friends

we had dinner with keri and charlie tonight. such good friends. i love that we laugh hard when we are together. they came to visit us in colorado springs.

yeah for good friends, the best of friends!! especially in times of uncertainty.

Things change

this is the continual thought i have had for the past week. so much has happened and so i will attempt to do justice to the dramatic shift our world has taken.

Christmas Eve brought news that Ken, Tim's dad, has a tumor the size of a tennis ball in his abdomen. Ken has been complaining of stomach pain since Thanksgiving, but we all assumed he had an ulcer or needed his gal bladder removed. this news brought waves of intense emotion and we felt the strong need/desire to be near our family as we wait to gain more information. he had a CAT scan on Friday and will have a biopsey this coming Thursday (and will have to spend the night in the hospital). the doctors are thinking it is lymphoma but that assumption will be confirmed with the coming biopsey.

our initial plan of my dad coming to help us move our things to Bellingham changed. we ended up moving our things to Colorado Springs, with the thought of if we need to stay our things are here and if we don't we will move our things to Vancouver in the summer (where snow storms are much less likely).

we will be with tim's family for another week. we will know much more a week from Monday.

tim and I have been continually asking, "Jesus where are you? what are You up to? What are You calling us to?" His nearness and peace is clear but sadness overflows every part of me. there have been lots of tears. lots of conversations. much waiting. and yet we are having much opportunity to affirm our belief that the Lord is trustworthy and GREAT is His faithfulness.

When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then You knew my path, in the way in which i walk. Psalm 142:3


I wait for the Lord, my soul waits. And in His Word I do hope. My soul waits for the Lord, more than those who watch for the morning, yes more than those who watch for the morning. Psalm 130:5-6.

we treasure your prayers. Pray for peace. Pray for a greater trust. Pray that Ken would be comfortable (he has been in much pain). Pray for Vickie, Tim's mom and Janae, our sister. Pray for wisdom as much is in the air with our plans. And pray for healing, in whatever way the Lord sees fit. we believe the Lord has much to say to us during this time and trusting He will use this time to fashion us more fully into the image of Christ.

Itinerary

Here's a shout out to Sonya who requested a formal itineray being posted on our blog. We recognize there is much to remember about where we are exactly - so we hope this helps.
(So look to the left and find it beneath our picture).

soccer game blues

Here is the only picture that I was able to take at Tim's last soccer game before my camera died. Sweet Dylan Hommes watching the game. Tim has loved wrestling with Dylan and Connor lately (as the Lord continues to prepare him to be a dad - even though we aren't even trying to have kids).

in other soccer news - Tim's team was the league champ!! makes a soccer wife proud.

(I have been slightly frustrated with my camera lately - just when you need it to have power and be in focus... oh well. thankfully i am trying to store all of these precious memories in my heart).

boo for being blury

Me, Heidi and Nikki went out to dinner on Wednesday. We had a great time. I am slightly disappointed the picture is not in focus. :( good friends from seminary. talk about walking a journey together. love these two amazing women.

Pictures

Here are some pics from different good-bye moments


Averi and I - amazing how much she has grown. For those of you who don't know - I watched Averi on a weekly basis for the first year of her life (she just celebrated her 2nd birthday). Our relationship gives me great joy! and i will miss her so much.

Kendal, Tim and Sean at the Young Life Area Christmas party attempting to be serious for a picture. Good friends and partners in ministry.

Lexi and I - crazy to think this was our 5th YL Christmas party together. Such a wonderful friend in so many ways.

Chrissie, Brooke, Cori, Me, Lexi, Brooke (holding Tate) and Sonya. Dear, dear friends - who have loved and cared for tim and i so well.

weekend with friends

such a wonderful weekend away in the mountains with good friends. these are mainly folks we went to college with - almost all of which at some point we were overseas together (whether in israel or nepal). lots of good conversation, laughter and food. i haven't stayed up so late in a long time... so i returned needing a good nights rest. and let me say playing murder in the dark in the basement of a very big cabin is one scary, fun time.

tim and i returned from the weekend with good-bye fatigue. we are in the midst of lots and lots of good-byes. i spent much of last week feeling sad. this is my last week of full time work for a long time, crazy. this week i am also beginning to feel excited for the adventures to come. much to look forward too.

please pray for patience for tim and i with each other. in the midst of this change it is easy to be short or grumpy with each other and we desire to love each other well during this time of transition. please also pray for a couple/individual to mentor/love on us during our time overseas. in therapy this week i realized how easy it is for me to think about caring for others and yet i feel the Lord calling me to allow myself to be loved on by a warrior in faith.

(funny comment about the pic: notice all the fake laughs except for ben, who is completely serious. i loved spending time with this 2 year old!!)

saying goodbye

it has begun. saying goodbye. i am in my last two weeks of work. i have began packing and cleaning. we had our first goodbye party. and i have come to the obvious conclusion that saying goodbye is hard. at least it is hard for me. i don't like being sad. but i am finding that as i allow myself to experience the fullness of my emotion there is a deep sense of freedom and peace. and i also feel the nearness of God.

thank you for your prayers. talking with my therapist (for i would recommend a therapist for anyone going through a transition) she encouraged me to picture the Lord wrapping His gentle, loving arms around me during this time. that picture has stayed with me, for I sense His nearness and i know that is an answer to your prayers. so thank you from the bottom of my heart.

thank you also for your prayers for the gathering. the Lord continues to be faithful as the community makes decisions for the future. last night we had the leadership over for cookies and conversation. it was a great night and much was accomplished. there is a plan in place for the leadership to re-affirm or search out a renewed vison for the community, and there are now practical steps in place for that process. the conversation was respectful and caring. the conversation was affirming, and i believe the Lord was glorified by the way the community continues to seek His face in all of this. tim and i stand in awe of all the Lord has done in our midst. He is certainly at work in the gathering community and His faithfulness is evident.

so thank you for your prayers. this time is difficult, but i am trying my very best to be present and to allow myself to experience the pain and excitement of this change.

love to you all, kristi

boxes

tomorrow is the first official day of packing. i figure i will start in the small storage closet - surely it will be easy to decide what we actually need, in order to let go of those things i haven't seen (or used) in the 3 years we have lived in our apartment. i am hoping to give away as much stuff as possible. i imagine, however, it won't be as easy as i would like. there is something inside of me which says, "surely you will use that some day..." i know i will stumble across some random gardening tool or piece of rope that's use will seem of utmost importance and a tension will arise as i hold the item and struggle to put it in the 'going to goodwill' pile. i experience this tension on quarterly basis when i go through my closet - it is amazing how appealing a skirt i have had since high school seems on a quiet saturday morning.

i think the tension ultimately stems from my desire to be generous and yet not wasteful with the things we have purchased. and if i am really honest i know it also has a lot to do with liking stuff and having a hard time truly living simply.

there is no need to feel sorry for me as i pack - for it is one of my most favorite things to do.

Thank you and a petition for prayer

Thanks to everyone for thoughtful notes, emails, prayers and support. The Lord has been faithful in the past week of granting us peace and tears. I am finding my prayer for tears being answered as I continue to desire to be present in the moment and therefore, also in the sadness. I know the Lord will continue to be tender with my heart as I enter further into the grief of leaving. And sorry to those whom clothes now bear the stain of my mascara. :)

Please pray for the gathering community. This past Sunday the leadership of the gathering (for more info: www.thegatheringcommunity.org) had a meeting to process the changes that are coming with the transition of us leaving. Leading the gathering has been a hard and abundantly rewarding journey, so saying good bye to our community of friends is difficult. Please pray for wisdom and guidance as the leadership makes decisions on what the gathering will look like in January. Please pray for provision as the gathering is now completely financially responsible for itself. Please pray for Gabe, Tim's brother, as he considers stepping into the head leadership position. And please pray for Brooke, Gabe's beautiful wife, as she will more fully understand what it means to be a wife to a man leading a community.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your prayers. The Lord is faithful as He reminded me this morning with these words, "Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds" (Psalm 73:23-28).

welcome

welcome to our blog. this is my first official post, hopefully to be followed by others. as tim and i desire so desperately to remain connected to friends and family during our journey to Israel and Nepal this blog is one part of the effort. i hope to share pictures, funny stories, challenging moments - all in a desire to bring you along with us in some way.