Garden Party on East Vasa

Yesterday I went over to the garden to hoe the weeds that are coming up around our seedlings. We finally got some rain last week, so the garden started to take off.  You may have noticed that these pictures of our family planting seeds are in a different garden than previous years.  There is a good explanation to that!

In December we moved out of Ethan's parents' house so they could put it on the market for sale.  The house we are renting was up for sale as well, and it has now sold.  We are in the process of moving to another house on East Vasa, and thankfully it has a garden!  The owner of the house invited us to plant seeds a few weeks ago before we moved in so that the garden got going.  Honestly, this gift of a garden made this dramatic change a little easier to deal with.  In every difficulty, there is ALWAYS SOMETHING TO THANK GOD FOR.

The best thing to we can thank God for is for the everlasting nature of our redeemed lives in Christ.  Everyone who puts their faith in Jesus Christ will not perish. We can look at life from a heavenly outlook where the temporary things in our lives have less weight to them.  We can look at things as only things. Life does not consist in the abundance of things one possesses.  Actually, this abundance of things really weighs us down!  "For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to Him name." Hebrews 13:14-15 and Psalm 17:15 "As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness."  God has chosen us for Himself and given us a great home--a place prepared for us--to look forward to in eternity.

Off And Running in May

Ethan returned from Liberia Sunday, and he has had little jet lag to contend with.  Ethan was very blessed as he taught at the college in Ganta. He had twice as many students as originally expected and the classroom interaction and participation was outstanding. The weather was very hot and humid, as this is the hot season near the equator. He said the food and hospitality were amazing!!  All in all, the trip was a success, and we pray will bring lasting fruit in the lives of the believers being trained at the college.

Teachers l to r: Eric Alexander, Philemon Yong, Ethan Larson, Liberian hostess, Howard Foreman, Liberian host

The kids and I were well at home while Ethan was away.  It was very busy while he was gone as is usual.  Ethan's parents and sister were in town to clean out their house in order to move to Arizona.  We put on a last minute garage sale Saturday, and were completely blown away by the success of the sale.  They sold all the furniture except the pool table, and most of the smaller items went very quickly including the antiques and many of the household items they were selling.  God blessed them so much!  We were also very grateful for the Christian friends who helped us.

We are still praying about our future as we prepare for ministry with TLI.  We are very excited to serve God around the world through theological biblical education.  We are still in the support-raising process and have raised approximately 60% of our monthly budget.  This week Ethan and I went to Maple Grove to visit a classical school that is also a charter school (free public school education) that all four of our children have been accepted to. It appears God is opening up an opportunity for an excellent education for our children there for this coming year, surprisingly because many children remain on a waiting list in order to be accepted at this school.  We are waiting, however, on the finances and housing that would be necessary in order to make this move down to the Twin Cities possible.  This remains a matter of prayer for us as we wait on God to provide and direct our path.  A missionary friend reminded me yesterday of how God directed Paul in Acts 16 with the vision of the man from Macedonia and how God had stopped him from going another direction.  Also, he reminded me of Proverbs 19:21

There are many plans in a man’s heart,Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand.

God has a plan! We continue to wait on God and trust in Him.  Please pray with us about these decisions.

Another noteworthy piece of news is that our church is moving into their remodeled building this weekend.  Ethan has been working hard all week getting the sound system up and running.  He is there now!  Gretchen, Lizzy, and I will be working in the nursery Sunday, and we are looking forward to having our own building after renting the YMCA for several years. I just hope my child with the stomach flu gets better by tomorrow!!!

The kids and I had a great time in Underwood yesterday for the 4H Jr. Garden Day. We scooped a lot of dirt for their potted plants, seeds, and terrariums.  I have cabin fever for summer! It has been so cold here! There is a chance of snow and rain today still! Haha!  But at least we are starting to get some green grass.

God bless you all!