Weekend at the Beach

The kid's, Jeremy, and I went over to Morro Bay on Friday the 22nd.  The weather was predicting rain, rain, and more of the same!  I questioned going, but realized, do my kids care? No!  They just want to be at the beach.  So on Friday I decided, packed too much stuff, and we left that evening.  Being the smart mom I am, I let Judah take a nice long nap just before we left.  I guess I didn't think that through too well.  He was ready to play and let loose until we strapped him in that car seat for a "not so fun" car ride to the beach.  Yep, he's a screamer all right.  At least all the way to Kettlemen!  I remember thinking when Ella was a baby, "Where are the earplugs when I need them, and are they illegal to wear while I drive?"  They would've come in handy at times... many times.  So we are telling ourselves we are preparing for our trip to Colorado in June.  Jeremy says we just need to take Judah on some more short road trips before then to get him ready.  I say no sleeping for a week and then maybe he'll just crash out the many hours it takes to get there!  All that aside, we had a fun time at the coast.  Jeremy's family has a place at Morro Dunes park for a month so all the family rotates on who goes when.  Jeremy was there from Fri. - Sun. night and left with his dad. I stayed until Tues. morning with the kids and took our mom home too.  The rain was off and on so when we had the chance we took the kids out to look for rocks and play in the sand.  Ella loves the water and pretty much anything to do with the beach.  She had a great time.  This was Judah's second time and he liked crawling in the sand, eating the sand, and watching the waves while riding in the stroller.  On Sunday we drove around to some different beaches and there was no beach! The surf had come up so high, and the sea was so rough that there were severe weather warnings about going in the water.  People that lived there said this was a once in ten years phenomenon.  It was pretty crazy. Jeremy, Ella, Doug, and Debbie were walking on a beach and at one point in a matter of seconds had to run up a hill to where the highway was just to get away from a wave that flooded the place they had just been.  A surfer came running because he saw the wave come and thought they were gone with it.  He's was ready to jump in the water after them! 

Monday was a beautiful day and we got to spend a lot of time on the beach just playing and having fun.  It ended up being a nice little get away.  We'll see if we can make it again before their month is through there.

Why we Know...

Well I said that I would let you in on why we know God has directed us to go to Costa Rica. Well, if you didn't read our first posting on the blog you can check that out for how God changed Erins' heart about it. That in itself was a huge event. Other than that our whole life has led up to leaving. For me it started when I was about six. I began collecting change and sending it to a missionary in Costa Rica as often as a young kid could. I guess you could say I have been sowing into the country for a long time. Erin and I have been married for almost seven years. In that time the only thing we have purchased besides our home was a kitchen table and a computer desk. It has been very odd that everything we have has been given to us. Erin has asked several times to buy furniture but we never felt like we could afford it so we never did. So really, we have nothing to leave behind. Erin has always said that she knows she'd move away but never known where to.

Another huge sign has been my job situation. I have always felt drawn to ministry. I was a youth pastor for a short time and have looked into other types of ministry opportunities but nothing ever felt right. I always felt like there was something else. Currently I work for So. CA. Gas Co. and I love certain aspects of the job but still I feel like there is something more for me. S.I. provides an outlet for ministry as well as utilizes my strengths in construction. for the first time this opportunity seems like it could fit. There is more that God continues to show us in this process. It is very encouraging when we are questioning if we made the right decision and He shows us another thing He's done to prepare us. 

Thanks again for reading!

Jesus Bless You,

Jeremy

Judah will be one on Feb 13th. Happy Birthday Judah!!

25% yippeeee!!!

Well hello All!  I hope you are all doing well! We are all very well and seem to have missed the sickness that's been floating around, lucky us. We are busy, as always, but enjoying the season God has us in now. We're in our birthday season for the next few months. My nephew, sister, and Judah all have birthdays in February. My niece and a close cousin are late March. Ella and another cousin are early April, and my sister, Jennifer is expecting her 3rd beginning of May.  Then on to our anniversary, which is on Mother's Day, and Erin's birthday at the end of the month.  It's a lot of parties let me tell you!

Well, we are still in the process of raising funds to go to Costa Rica but as I was running some numbers this evening I saw to my amazement that we are already 18% of the way. Even better is that if everyone who has told us they will give monthly does we will be over 25%!!! That's exciting.  This however brings up a good question that some have expressed. Some have wondered if we are for sure going and what would happen to their moneys they have given if we don't go. Well, short of a death or invasion or God audibly speaking, we are intending to go as soon as possible. The only hitch is fund raising. If we aren't fully funded by May or June we will have to push our departure time back to January of '09. If we aren't funded by then it'll be pushed back until May '09. past that I can't say because I really believe that God will get us there by then. Our hope however is still to leave in August of '08. We are attending MTI (Missionary Training Institute) in June one way or another so we will be prepared to leave as soon as possible after that. As far as what would happen to the moneys if we didn't go, as unlikely as it is, all moneys I believe will stay with SI to fund the ministry they are a part of around the world. That is still a good enough cause for me but don't worry, we are going.... as soon as possible ';)

Another question that has been asked is, "Why give now if we aren't even leaving yet?" We actually have two accounts with SI. Account 1 is for our monthly living when we are living in Costa Rica, that one isn't being filled yet. The other (account 2) is building funds now in order to pay for our moving expenses, language school when we get there, to get legal documents for living there, and anything else to "Get Us There".  In other words, it's a one time expense. All contributions we receive now, monthly and one time, goes into this account until we are actually living in country. In order to  leave we must have enough pledged monthly to live on(account 1) as well as enough to get us there(account 2). 

Through all of this I am at times worried but then I remember... this wasn't really our idea. God has called us to go and He will be faithful to get us there. Actually.... I think I will write another blog right after this one to tell why we know it is God directing us.  Anyways, I know deep down that we are called to go and it is a great peace to us to know we are in God's will for us right now. He will do everything in His timing and we can rest in that. Like I said, at times the enemy tries to take that assurance from me, but I know the truth and I can always fall back on that.

Again I thank you all for taking time out of your day to read about our lives. It means so much to know you all support us. If you would like to support us in any way you can send all donations to Students International P.O. Box 2733 Visalia, Ca 93279. make checks payable to Students International and to make sure they get to us Write "Janzen" in the memo. Also if possible send a note to let us know if you are committing to monthly support us or if it's a one time gift. All contributions are tax deductible and very appreciated. Remember, you are all a part of God's work, find your place and thrive in it. If it's giving give. If it's going go. Thanks a lot and Jesus Bless You All,

Jeremy Janzen