Thanksgiving Missionary style

Yesterday we had the privilege of celebrating Thanksgiving with our Missionary friends here. I only take random pictures and we all got wrapped up talking so I didn't get a group pic. But I did get these

Makes you feel like you were there with us right? check out Logan, looking like he is about to do  something he shouldn't. He probably was. As you may notice the Ens (our friends who hosted us) have 2 boys close in age to ours. They also have an older daughter. Sadly I don't have a girl for her to play with but Timothy thinks they were sent here because he prayed for a boy his age. So God sent the Ens with their 5 year old named Timothy. Our Timothy has dubbed him 2nd Timothy. So we went biblical on the nicknames and call them 1st and 2nd Timothy

1st Timothy swiping some of the cheese ball prematurely

Logan and 2nd Timothy...have you ever noticed how hard it is to take pictures of 

little boys when they haven't seen each other in awhile? 

Real Men help with the food prep

Real men also get food for their kids 

Here in Peru we don't have canned or instant stuff so we had pretty much everything made from scratch

(except for the cranberry sauce I imported ;) 

I learned how to make cheese balls which I've never attempted before but they came out pretty great if I do say so myself. :P One of the girls there made her first ever "from scratch" sweet potato casserole 

everything was amazing. I'm actually a little sorry I didn't think to swipe some leftovers. :)

I will be making Thanksgiving dinner for our church next week though so hopefully I can do 

justice to the food we had yesterday. I'm hungry again just thinking of it. 

I haven't participated in any of the 31 days of gratitude things people have been doing on twitter (and FB I think...) But there are a few things I'm especially grateful for that I wanted to mention.

God and his grace, mercy and faithfulness. I know it sounds like just the right thing to say but I am seriously feeling so grateful for Him lately.

Jose. I could not have found a better man or husband if I searched for 1000 years. He isn't perfect but he's perfect for me. I love him so much

Logan and Timothy. They make me laugh all the time. 

They are always there offering to do all kinds of helpful things. Like sleeping in my bed at night 

or mopping the floor with lemonade before I wake up.

But they are sweet, sweet boys and I thank God for them everyday. 

My life would not be as full without them.

A healthy pregnancy and baby

True friends here in Peru and also in the states. 

As Philippians 1:3 says "Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God."  

It is really amazing to know that there are so many people I could call up and they would 

be happy to hear from me even if I just need to ask for help or prayer or a listening ear.

God is so faithful to provide for all of our needs no matter how big or small. "friends" might not seem like that big of a deal but sometimes they are more valuable than you can imagine.

And now I will leave you with the one picture of me. 

Right before we started eating I asked for this picture to be taken. 

Enjoy our goofy faces.  

Happy Thanksgiving!

Pregnancy after loss

The last couple months have been a bit of a roller coaster for me. Since everything seemed fine with my last pregnancy I feel this hesitancy to totally get comfortable. Planning for the future seems so silly. I mean I did that last time. I had a baby registry and planned out how I would decorate the nursery. When he didn't come home with me though, any baby stuff I had out only served as a reminder of the big hole in my heart and my arms. But if I don't think about the nursery and the baby, if I don't plan then does that say I'm expecting the same outcome as before? This is the difficulty in being pregnant after losing a child the way I did. I want this child so much and I'm afraid to lose it. I'm also afraid to give into the joys of expecting in case I do lose it. I'm told it's normal to feel this way and I'm sure it is. That doesn't make it any easier.

The good news is that I have now had 2 ultrasounds with great results. The report that the Dr sent home with me listed my amniotic fluid level as "normal" both times. There is no way to explain how happy I am to have a normal amount of amniotic fluid. The baby has wiggled all the way through both ultrasounds and that is another great sign. Last time we took the boys with us hoping to find out the gender (no dice, the baby is still too small for Peruvian ultrasound technology to be able to tell) and we got to see the hand and the feet. We told them the baby was waving and they were excited about it. Both of my boys are voting for another brother. Apparently they like the boys club we've got over here.    Everyone in the world is wishing for me to have a girl, so the rebel in me thinks I should have another boy. It kind of seems like thats what I'm wired for anyway. Honestly I'll be happy either way. I just really want a healthy baby. Seriously, that's all that I care about.


If you are praying for us please continue to pray for the baby's health and peace for our family.
Also the value of the dollar has been plummeting over here. That means our money is not going as far as it was before because we are losing value in the exchange. God is faithful and has been providing as we have needs but we are praying that the dollar turns around and at least stabilizes. Hopefully it's just temporary.

We have a lot going on in the next few months that I'm just waiting until it's all finalized before I share. But please continue to pray that God opens doors and brings the provision for the doors that he has opened

The plan

Several years ago, when Jose and I were still pretty much newlyweds one of us was usually working for our church (first me then him) and we were involved in several ministries. Back then I used to think we spent so much time at the church we practically lived there....fast forward to our 8th year of marriage and we do live in the church, literally in the church. If you have read this blog or known us for very long you probably know this already.

Originally our plan was to live in the house we live in and once the church outgrew it we would move the church and continue living here. That was until things changed. We found a way to grow in the house and extend the use for the church but we need to move out. So for the last 3 months or so we have been looking for a house with the goal to be moved out by August 1st...but we didn't find anything. A part of being missionaries is we are completely dependent on God, and the people who give into the mission being faithful to give every month. Sometimes for one reason or another that doesn't happen. So in an effort to use wisdom we had to set a pretty low price point for the amount we can pay in a country where houses rent for about the same as the US. Realtors thought we were crazy or lying about our financial position because after all I am obviously a gringa. In a lot of peoples minds here white skin=lots of money. Jose actually started looking at houses by himself and verifying the cost of the house because some people even raised the rent price once they saw me. So we kept praying and finally a member of the church noticed one of the houses on her street was empty. She did some checking for us and we were able to rent it! We are going to move hopefully this weekend or possibly next week depending on when the repairs are finished.

We are so excited that God brought this house to us. Honestly I was starting to get discouraged about the whole thing. I knew that we needed to move and that God would take care of us. But sometimes...ok most of the time. I want to control the situation. I want to tell God "OK, I need this thing in my hands by 8 am Monday ok?" As if I could actually be in charge and give God a deadline. But he always comes through. Always.

It isn't without stretching though. A part of our August deadline was because we knew the month of September would be crazy and we need to be out before our conference which is September 18-20.
Jose has been having meetings all throughout the day every day for the past month and since this is our first conference he is only getting busier. So we are going to be moving in the middle of the busiest time of our lives. S--t--r--e--t--c--h. While I'm in the first trimester of this pregnancy. S--t--r--e--t--c--h. Oh, and we are hosting a group from our home church during the conference. yeah that too. Thankfully we have several church members who have stepped up and offered to let some of our visitors stay with them. Plus we don't have that much stuff so hopefully moving will be smooth, quick and easy.


Please pray for us
~that God would continue to work out all of the details of our upcoming Save the Family conference. He has already done some amazing things and we are so excited about it!

~Our move to be seamless and easy

~ the first trimester blahs would go away so that I can be a better helper for Jose and mom for the kids.

~extra funds/support as we continue to grow and expand the ministry here in Piura and as our family expands

If you are interested in supporting us monthly and have questions or even would like to make a one time donation. Please send me a message at jkmission2peru @ Gmail.com
We also have 2 different links to donate on the right hand side of the blog. One is through paypal and the other is a tax deductible donation through our home church

A Rainbow

February 2nd was one of the hardest days of our lives. We lost our sweet baby boy Caleb when he was only 2 days old. While we know he is in Heaven and that gives some comfort it doesn’t completely take away the pain of what happened and the fact that we miss him.  

But God is faithful and has sent a rainbow in the midst of our storm.

"Rainbow Babies" is the understanding that the beauty of a rainbow does not negate the ravages of the storm. When a rainbow appears, it doesn't mean the storm never happened or that the family is not still dealing with its aftermath. What it means is that something beautiful and full of light has appeared in the midst of the darkness and clouds. Storm clouds may still hover but the rainbow provides a counterbalance of color, energy and hope.

~Courtney

This week we discovered we are expecting another baby he or she is due April 7th 2013. Please pray for us that this would be a boring and happy pregnancy. It was a surprise but we are thrilled beyond words.  

6 months

It's usually not this hard. Most days come and go casually with very little thought of the baby I don't have. But then I have days that are fairly catastrophic and even though the struggles and frustration have nothing to do with my missing child, they do. Why am I so edgy today? Oh yeah, Caleb would have been 6 months old today. I would have told him happy half a year birthday at his morning feeding and we would have been quietly, almost without noticing, celebrating the 6 months he was here. If he was like Logan he would have been crawling by now. If he was like Timothy he would be happy to stick to scooting for several months more. But I will never know what he is like on earth because he is not here.

I'm still sad. I still ache to hold my baby and my eyes fill with tears occasionally when I see babies that are about the age he would be. I guess it's similar to a physical wound. Generally it doesn't hurt so much but when something touches it then the pain is strong for a moment.

The good news is God is faithful. He has carried us through this and at the end of the storm there will be a rainbow.


The week that Caleb went to Heaven my sweet friend Johanna sent me an album through iTunes. That whole album (and "Where I find you"by Kari Jobe) has been very soothing for me. I pretty much played them nonstop for 2 months. The words to this song pretty much sum up how I feel and have felt since the beginning.

Under the wings of God
I will rest, and I will lie in wait
Watching the storm go by
From this shelter of His love and grace

His love is strong
And my hope is here, under the wings of God
Where I belong
And in His love I am safe

When the leaves begin to fall
From the trees of happiness and joy
When the season of sorrow comes
Like a frigid breeze over the frozen soil

His love is warm
And my hope is here under His blazing sun
Where I belong
In His love I am safe

When I am weak He is, He is stronger
When I am slipping He pulls me in close
When I am helpless He will defend me
He is with me wherever I go
Who is like Him? Awesome in power
Who is stronger? His strength has no end
If He is for me, who stands against me?
He will hold me safe in His hands

Thank you for those of you who pray for us and send notes and messages. They mean a lot to us. I love to hear how my baby boy's short life has impacted people. I will never get tired of talking about him so please don't hesitate to mention him to me. (if you want to)