A Cali story…of God’s faithfulness

January 10, 2013

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” no matter that we weren’t home yet and were still in somebody else’s house with no privacy, Cali had just realized that Lais and Leticia were not coming back to Manaus with us, and she was going to yell. And cry. And scream. And wail. For awhile. “I left all my friends in Wisconsin! […]

Prayers and Praises

September 26, 2012

Thank God with us for: a safe trip here, and no trouble getting our stuff here either an apartment in Manaus that is in an excellent location and is even furnished friends and coworkers that have taken us under their wing and helped us SO much in our first weeks here Cali is handling all […]

Wait, we ARE still in Kansas

August 9, 2012

Last night as we were pulling out a couch into a bed for the girls to sleep on, we scared up three spiders. “That’s brown recluse,” Jevon’s brother said. So I killed one with my flip flop, and he killed one with his knife, but the third one retreated back into the dark safety of […]

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

July 20, 2012

“You knit me together in my mother’s womb…I will praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made…” Thank you SOOO much, God, for each moment you arranged for me to be with my brother Phil and his wife Julie and my little nieces last week! Thank you for the freedom to be human and […]

Saying Goodbye, Looking Ahead

May 16, 2012

“Mom?” Cali asked for the hundredth time. “Is it spring?” We had told Cali that we would stay in Oregon until spring. So she knew, as the days grew warmer, that it was time to say goodbye to the Louks, and Meadowbrook, and the Molalla River, the temperate rainforests and waterfalls of Western Oregon, and […]

The Easter Story

April 4, 2012

Praise

January 29, 2012

above: The kiddos asleep on the way home from a late night meeting. They’ve been great sports. We pack jammas along, and they sleep in late the next morning. 🙂 It’s fun meeting neat people who love the Lord and are about His kingdom business. And it’s fun sharing what is on our hearts and […]

Christmas with the Studtmanns

December 31, 2011

To anyone who misses the kiddos’ bright eyed faces…and to anyone who misses the Studtmann faces too. 🙂 Enjoy. 2011 Christmas Thoughts (from Danica’s journal) When Karina was born, it was only barely more than a month before Christmas. She was born at home in our living room. I remember Jevon lighting the candles in […]

What’s an Ebenezer anyhoo?!

May 9, 2010

Our Cali is extremely angry and defiant these days, and we’re not sure if it’s because we’re leaving “home” again soon and she’s an emotional mess, or if it’s just because she’s a stubborn child of Adam. Either way, it’s pretty much consuming our days. There’s nothing like a ballistic 2 year old to put […]

Easter Reflections from a Semi-Nomadic Desk

April 9, 2010

We hope you all had a sweet Easter celebrating Jesus. I have to admit I was feeling a wee bit sorry for us that we couldn’t be with our Salem family on Ressurection Sunday. Then, on Sunday morning, God changed my mind. I was reading 1 Corinthians 15 and remembered that Easter Sunday isn’t about […]