Sunday to Sunday

Last Sunday, John and I sensed a wonderful victory in our spirits.  We rejoiced greatly throughout the day, lingering into Monday. Tuesday, doubts and fears assailed us from every side. We were miserable part of the day until we took authority in prayer.  Wednesday, the Word encouraged us from different angles and we lifted our heads and hearts in praise.  The rest of the week, we continued to prepare for our journey and to trust fully in the Lord.  This Sunday, we receive a phone call that gave us two answers to prayer.  1) A young American man had rented a 4 bedroom house in the village nearby the base and now he is moving out.  He had already rented a room to the national dentist and her husband that work on the missions base and the other rooms to two students that stay 2-3 nights out of the week.  So, we have a house available that already has other renters to help pay rent!   Because the renters are nationals, they will help us learn the language and understand the way of life quicker.  2) A Kansas farmer wishes to ride down with us.  In talking to him, he insisted on paying the fuel cost going down as his church has been setting aside an amount for his going.  Wow!  That is a huge blessing...we don't have to haul a trailer and because of our nice large vehicle, we can take a traveler and his gear too!  To God be the glory.  What next?  Keep watching and reading!

Tuperware to go!

Joyce's mother/sister-in-law had a benefit tuperware party for her.  Before we went to India, Joyce had sold virtually all her tuperware and it had been her most heartfelt loss.  Eula wanted to bless her with a bunch of new tuperware and especially some to put in the new trailer going to Mexico. This lightweight product will carry easy and keep out the many bugs and moisture of the beach area we will live in.  Friends and family came to the party and those who couldn't come sent in monies with gracious notes to help purchase the list of needs.  That list was met and more besides.  She is truly benefited and blessed...both by the tuperware she loves and by the family and friends that show their love to her.  Thank you everyone!

Clouse Christmas dinner in January

Christmas isn't over till the Clouses get together.  We had a great gathering of family from near and far with additional relatives and friends present to help us enjoy a great time.  It was really interesting to see the large group of young people present, many who had brought girlfriends with them.  Hm!  Many of our young people are male.  That made for a really big group of us.  There was tons of good food, photo shootings, friendly banter, fellowship, and exchange of nonsensical gifts.  We met in the local senior citizen building so when it was almost 10pm, there was a quick shuffle of everyone present to get everything cleaned up-FAST.  What a blessing to have a loving, godly, family that works together, prays together, stays together. 

Jenifer's wedding

Jenifer's wedding was full of fun experiences. She and Kevin spent hours buying and envisioning the decorations. They wrote out unique and touching vows. They incorporated American and Chinese customs to the delight of all. On Monday, two nights before the wedding, Jonna held a personal shower for her. We dressed three grandmothers in toilet paper lingerie which was a big hoot and then sent Jen on a honeymoon dressed very bizarre under blindfolding amid much laughter from her cooperative dramatization. For her new mother-in-law, it was a first shower party and she was very happy. Tuesday, John & I hauled big twigs (6 ft tall) and buckets of sand to town to begin the decorating of the ballroom that was rented at the local college campus. The wedding and reception were both to be held there. Huge swags of teal and silver cloth with Christmas bulbs were hung dangling from the ceiling. Three Christmas trees were center stage full of lovely things. The big twigs lined the center aisle laced with pearls and beads. Every table had vases of white twigs and flowers in them surrounded with tea lights, artificial snow, and teal popouri. It was a Winter Wonderland theme and was beautiful. Tuesday night our little family stayed with Jen in her new condo and we crashed into bed early, exhausted and excited.

All the wedding photos aren't yet available so my selection is few but the left photo is them in their wedding attire and to the right, Jen is wearing a second dress for the reception that is edged with the Chinese wedding color of red.

The wedding day began very early. The first photographer showed up at 8:15am with another crew of videographers coming within the hour. We and they were all in Jen's small one bedroom condo. Karen, Kevin's sister, came and began the makeup process under filming and then Jonna and her mother helped her dress. While she sat quietly waiting in her bedroom, two other Chinese girls showed up along with mother-in-law to prepare for groom's coming. Kevin, along with three other men, came to bribe his way in to pickup the bride. Games, laughter, and shouting was ringing throughout the condo for the next half hour. It was great fun and filming. Everyone was all smiles. The bride was loaded up and taken for photo shots at a local historical theatre before reaching the wedding site where family photos were taken. Then the wedding and reception followed.

The wedding was in English and Chinese (through interpreter) with unique features of the groom praying over his bride while encircled with other praying wedding persons and she returning the compliment with a lovely song to her groom. Their vows were touching reminders of where they had come from and where they hoped their relationship would develop to. One bridesmaid and groomsman were in escort along with four lovely children (2boys, 2girls). Her father and mother walked her up the aisle.

The reception was outstanding. Jacki Prettyman, Joyce's sister, made a fabulous three tier, fondant wrapped cake and supervised the food set-up. The college caterers set up all the tables and food tables, arranging them beautifully in white tableclothes and teal decorations. Four kinds of cookies were present from Joyce and Jacki and a neighbor of Jacki's. Joyce and Jacki combined efforts to make dainty hor d' sandwiches and BBQ'ed hot links. Sushi, spring rolls, and crab ragoon were provided by Kevin's uncle Joe. The college caterers brought in veg and cheese trays with crackers along with coffee, tea, water, and punch and all the necessary condiments and tableware with that. It was a sight to behold and noone went away hungry.

However, there was still more to come. An hour after the reception, a Chinese tea ceremony commenced at the home of Kevin's mother. Kevin and Jen served us tea individually and received our blessings and counsel in exchange. Then, we all went for a late family meal together at Hemingway's in the Bass Pro Shop. It was a Very Full Day and one we greatly thank our Father for.

Thanksgiving family time

Well, since this blog is about our life and our ministry, we would like to share a few memories of Thanksgiving with the Spohn family. We met at Jackie Prettyman's in her new commercial kitchen. We are a family of cooks and we all had a great time around the many tables cooking, laughing, and eating together. Thank God for a family that loves one another.

Jenifer and her fiance, Kevin joined us. Kevin is the previous owner of a restaurant business that still thrives here in the Springfield metropolis so we have added yet another cook to the kitchen. We may need to enlarge the kitchen, sis! Or start our own little HGTV show? What fun!

Some prefer to do the eating and so they rested while the others cooked. Loren will soon be sent for a year to Afghanistan . He has already served two times in Iraq. We are a family that is proud of those serving us in the military. Rest well and eat plenty for there are hard days ahead.

Gifts of love

Since being called to "GO", we have received several gifts of love. We willingly gave away our chickens and dog, and sold our goats; or almost all of them. We had two young does we had great hopes for and when we wrote out a sales advertisement for them, the lovely Studdard family responded with an offer we couldn't refuse-to keep and care for them till our return. Their offering is one of sacrifice and love.
When travel is required, communication becomes of key importance. The next two gifts of love are helping to fulfill that key need. One was a new laptop computer so we can keep in touch with all of you and the other was an offer to take over our cell phone bill. What a great blessing these gifts are to us. We just won't let you be "out of sight, out of mind". We will write and when we are back home, we will call. We hope you will do the same. We love hearing from you and all the more when we are far away from home.

By Faith

By Faith...the first of November, David, of Clouse Motor Co., bought the truck he believed we were supposed to drive to Mexico. WHAT! Do you know how much those things cost? Before Thanksgiving, it was paid for. Wow! During that month, By Faith, some problems were noted and repaired. By Faith, the taxes and tags were paid. By Faith, the repairs and insurance will be paid as it must be debt-free to be qualified to drive through Mexico. God must surely have some big plans in store for us. What an adventure to walk with the King.