New Year Contemplations

I, Kathy, have my own ideas of what this New Year will entail. My own dreams, aspirations, plans, hopes, wishes and purposes fill my mind and prayers much of the time. But as I enter 2008 I ask God what HIS dreams, aspirations, plans, hopes, wishes and purposes for me are. And my prayer in entering this New Year is that God will interrupt me, will in fact, re-set the navigation system if any of my settings are off course.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer challenges me to start out my New Years thus:

"We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God. God will be constantly crossing our paths and canceling our plans by sending us people, claims, and petitions. We may pass them by, preoccupied with more important tasks...When we do that, we pass by the visible sign of opportunity raised in our path to show us that, not our way, but God's way must be done. It is a strange fact that people frequently consider their work so important and urgent that they will allow nothing to disturb them. They think they are doing God a service in this, but actually they are disdaining God's 'crooked yet straight path.' But it is a part of the discipline of humility that we must not spare our hand where it can perform a service and that we do not assume that our schedule is our own to manage, but allow it to be arranged by God". Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German theologian, murdered by the Nazis during WWII.

On a lighter note, our "schedule" was interrupted in a most delightful way this past weekend. We had 3 young men in their early 20's (kids of Kathy's cousins) stop by to see us during a 10-day European tour. We were able to give them a little taste of legalized anarchy on New Years Eve, when our usually quiet little neighborhood housing somewhere between 600 - 1000 people (covering a territory equal to approximately 3 square city blocks) turned to bedlam. Millions of dollars go up in smoke in Holland between 10 pm and 2 am every December 31, when anything, anywhere, is legal. The net effect is, you get the kinds of fireworks displays going on 360 degree around you, similar to public shows on the 4th of July in the states. Here are a few pictures of the carnage about 12 hours later, noon on New Years Day.


















































Brian Nuth, Brent and Randy Johnson

A few clips of our summer

Kristi had one dream for her 21st birthday - and here it is. We all went to Baldwin and watched her get on the plane, watched the dot fall out, and she landed right in front of us. Awesome!




















Kevin's family got together one weekend at his sister's lake cabin.













The 3 kids, happy to see each other again.

Father's Day

Kevin had two of his three kids home for Father's Day, and got to talk to the third on the phone (in the 15 minutes he was home, good job Kari on timing that call). We started the day out at church, then the church picnic, you can view pictures on the previous post. What he really wanted to do for Father's Day was to watch the sunset into the ocean with his family. So we all headed for the beach. Here are some pictures, enjoy.

Crossroads Annual Picnic

Great food, water balloons, a pool, and a silent auction to raise funds for Omallas who will be heading off to Uganda in three weeks (2400 euro was raised) made all the work well worth the while. Kevin doesn't often lose, but he lost this battle, as you can see!

Anybody from Woodland Hills recognize the face on the last picture? I got a tap on my shoulder on Sunday morning at church, and there stood Terri Christopher. He was in the country on business, which he is every once in awhile, but he still catches us by surprise every time. Kristi has been home since the 3rd week of May, Terri gave her quite a shock.

Our New Director of Youth Ministries

Its been a long time coming, but finally Crossroads has a new Youth Director! Caroline is from the Dutch Antillies, and has lived in the Antillies, Holland, and the United States. She is full of energy, loves kids, and is deeply passionate about God. And... here she is....

Last week we were at Al’s house for a barbeque. Al, Daniel, Bobbie, and Katie are amazing. They have bonded together as a family since Deela’s death, and are doing really well. Our small group along with a few other people from Crossroads gave Katie an “extreme room makeover”. Her favorite television show is “Exteme Home Makeover”, she watches it religiously every Sunday evening. We gave her a makeover, mimicking the show starting with the makeover team surprising Katie after school and ending with a little bus attached to a string in front of her door and the team shouting "MOVE THAT BUS”. We gave her a room based on a “Secret Garden” theme. She even has a very real looking tree in her room, a labor of love by Mariel Geven. I’m not sure who was more blessed, Katie or all of us who worked so hard on the project.

Tim and Wilma Omala were on Crossroads stage this morning, and we’d love to tell you about them. We first met Tim and Wilma and their two young boys about 14 months ago when they had us to their home one evening to share their vision for Uganda. Tim is Ugandan, Wilma is Dutch. They met in Uganda at an orphanage where they both were serving on a short term missions trip several years ago. As their relationship developed so did the stirring in their hearts for the orphans in Uganda. Now finally, years later, their dreams are soon to become reality. Crossroads is sending them to Uganda where their hope is to birth an orphanage for a few of the 3.4 million orphans presently in the country. Through “Child’s Destiny of Hope”, Tim and Wilma have a vision to equip these young people with skills that match their own passions, interests, and abilities. The 7 minutes on stage this morning came after months of preparation to get ready for this huge undertaking. They have a board of directors from our community who have worked endless hours helping with all the details and preparation to send them off.

A Tour of our Holland Home

We thought you might enjoy a little tour of our Holland House. We are located in a typical Holland neighborhood. Situated right in the middle of busy streets, tram tracks, and a train station, our neighborhood offers a quiet respite from the hustle and bustle. The streets are very narrow, room for only one car at a time to pass. In Holland you can drive on the curbs or sidewalks when necessary, so when 2 cars need to pass going in opposite directions, one simply pulls over onto the curb allowing the other to pass. Each building contains four houses, with a parking lot nearby. Our front garden is pictured here.

The next four pictures are taken right inside the front door. We have a small entry way, then the dining area and kitchen. To the right are a set of stairs going up to the 2^nd level, which has a loft, 2 bedrooms, and a bathroom. The last of this set would not be remarkable in the USA, but here in Holland it is a real treat when Kenny gets some good American cereal as a gift from a visitor! He is loving his Reeses Puffs.

Now we walk through the kitchen to the living room.

We’ve now ascended the stairway inside the front door. Pictured here is the loft, just big enough for our computer. A small hallway leads to the bathroom on the left (where the washer and dryer are located, Kevin and Kathy’s bedroom on the left, and Kenny’s bedroom straight ahead.

We’ll go up one more flight, another winding staircase very typical of Dutch homes. Here we have 2 more bedrooms, plus a little nook with a sloped ceiling for a bit of storage. Pictured below is our narrow, winding stairway, and then one of the bedrooms. What used to be Kari's room now serves as a great guest room.

This home, though small by American standards, is very nice and we are thankful that we have the space for our girls whenever they want to come home, and the room to have visitors very comfortably. We hope you enjoyed our tour, and we’d love to show you the place in person!