Graduation Presents

Greetings,

It has been one roller coaster ride of emotions. Joel and I only have about 6 more days here at Friend Ships. I can't believe it actually. I am more in shock than anything. Plus there is so much to do that our goal is to drive out of here. So I haven't thought MUCH about leaving Friend SHips. It feels more like a long vacation then actually leaving.

So I had an awesome thing happened to me that was a God thing for real.

The other day during my quiet time with God I starting thinking how scary it is to leave Friend Ships. That was one of my first times that it truly hit me. So I started to get nervous about us going out in the big bad world. Not knowing what to expect. Then in the middle of my worry the Lord put on my heart that leaving Friend Ships is like graduting from college or a university. That people do it all the time and have great excitement thinking about all that can be offered to them now that they have a degree. And for me graduating Friend Ships I have learned a lot about ministry and what God wants me to learn as well as growing in the Lord to which I am now more like Christ than ever before. (I still have a lONGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG ways to go but it is better than when I came to Friend SHips over 5 years ago) So these thoughts of graduating brought me much peace and I really hadn't thought much of it since . . . UNITL TODAY.

There is a lady named Renee that goes to Hope Chapel. She picks food up for her church every week so that a hand full of people from her church can go out and give food to people or families who are in need and share the love of Christ. Renee and I have become good friends over the past year. We even went to an awesome Christian concert last summer that had TOBYMAC. WE got our praise on like no other.

Well Saturday is the day Ranee comes and picks up food for Hope Chapel. Today when Renee came she brought a present for Joel and I. She explained that during the week she started to get sad that Joel and I were leaving. And she didn't know what to do but then she got the idea that we were graduating just like her daughters did a few years ago. And that it wasn't a good bye good bye but that just like any college/university student graduating we would still be in touch.

The "graduation" present touched me so much. Not just because it was very thoughtful of her to get them for us but it was God's way of showing me that things were truly going to be alright.

What an awesome God we serve. I can't believe how much He loves us and takes care of us.

Thank you Lord for your blessings you pour in our lives and through us like no other.


In Love with My GOD,
Dess

This is Hope Chapel praying before going family to family to give food, love, and prayer.

New Necklace blogger Website

Hey My Friends and Family,

It has finally happened and I am so excited. I have been praying about it for months and I finally got the Yes I wanted from GOd. NO Joel and I are NOT having a baby.

But I am starting to sell my jewelry online (kind of). So check it out. Mainly I want you to tell your friends so they can tell their friends and so on. So please do not think this is for you to buy but I just want my website to spread by word of mouth.

Love you Guys.
THANKS,
Dess

www.sarahsjewelry.blogspot.com

PS if you really want to know why I call it Sarah's Jewelry it was not named after Sarah my sister in Law. Though I love her to death. There are other reasons. So email and ask me if you would like to know. I might tell you . . . I might not. Hehehe

Can you believe it???

Hello Everyone,

We just wanted everyone to know we are leaving Friend Ships in May. Our time has come and God has released us. We are pretty excite and are praying about the next step.

It is really hard right now because God is only telling us "Be Still and know that I am God" And "just wait"

I think the hardest part for me is going home and maybe running into old Friends. Especially those that don't believe in God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit. I guess I am stuck on the verse, Faith without deeds is dead. "I will show you my faith by what I do" But for me it is hard to articulate my faith with out really having anything to show for it at the time (like this summer). But as both Joel and I agree there are times I emphasize my work too much and some times put too much of my identity in my work. So it will be a challenge and a place to grow in God. I don't think I will shy away from telling about Jesus.

So yeah that is where we are. Working here at the warehouse until the last minute and closing this huge significant chapter in our lives.

We would not be the followers of Christ we are today if not God calling us to Friend Ships. It has been great and we have nothing to regret about our 7 years for Joel and 5 years for me. Wow can you believe it. Look what the Lord has done!!!

We can't even write a big enough book to tell you all that the Lord has done since coming here. Not just to us but all the miracles we have seen, the lives it has changed, and the people we have met. There were so many times I was in a "moment" at Friend Ships and thought wow I wouldn't even be here if not for saying yes to God or I wouldn't be talking or knowing these people if not for saying yes to God and coming to Friend Ships. There was one time during Hurricane Ivan relief in Florida we had just got done putting vinyl on an older couples house until they could get carpenters to put a really roof back on their house. They asked us to stay for dinner and as I sat with Joi, Joel, Jon, and the couple I couldn't help think "wow I wouldn't be here with these people sharing this wonderful moment if not for God." It has been incredible. Both incredibly wonderful and incredibly hard. Lots of laughter, lots of tears, lots of happiness, lots of sadness, lots of growth, and lots of love.

Thank you Lord for what you have done and we look forward to what you will do next and forever more!!!! Amen!

Joel's Birthday (progressive dinner)

Hey Guys,

Joel and I had the best time on his birthday (Jan 31). I took Joel out to do a progressive dinner. What my idea for a progressive dinner is to go out to nice restaurants. Have a salad at one place, the main meal at another place and then dessert at another. Joel said he did it with his church where you went from house to house and each house had a different part of the meal.

But Joel wanted a fast food progressive dinner. It was so much fun. We went to Wendy's for the salad. We split a Chicken BLT salad. For the main course Joel wanted to go to Churches Chicken but when we got to the place it was a donut shop. SO we ended up going to a restaurant that was called both the Louisiana Famous Fried Chicken and the China Bowl. WE don't know how they knew about Louisiana Chicken since they were all orientals but the chicken was off the hook. Then we went to Dairy Queen (Joel's favorite dessert place ever)

Here are some pictures from our adventure.


Here is Joel about ready to dig into our salad at Wendy's

Here am I, licking every last drop of our yummy salad.

This is me thinking really hard where to go to next since Churches Chicken turned out to be a donut shop.

Joel Pouting since we couldn't find a Church's Chicken

You get the picture .


Joel diving into the greasy yummy Louisiana Fried Chicken (the only thing different between Fried Chicken and Louisiana Fried Chicken was the creole seasoning.)

Joel with his dessert at Dairy Queen

I didn't want what Joel wanted so I got my own.

SO that was our adventure. Isn't life fun. Joel's birthday was a blast. You should try the progressive dinner thing. You might actually have as much fun as we did.

Love ya, Bye

What happened last year and what could happen for 2008?

It is crazy to think back on what happened last year. I was just talking to my mom today about all that had gone on. The most odd thing I realized is that Joel and I only spent a month or less at Port Mercy (Friend Ships home base in Louisiana)

Lets Recap, Shall we:

1) To bring in 2007 Joel and I were sailing back from the Canary Islands on the Spirit of Grace.
(It was Joel's and my first trip out of the USA since we got married . . . immagration stuff)

2) After a few days off Don and Sondra had a meeting with Joel and I to send us to Los Angeles for a month to check everything out.

3) Drove to Los Angeles

4)Three weeks later we had another meeting with Don and Sondra and all decided Los Angeles would be Joel's and my new home.

5) Drove back to Lake Charles only to fly out for our long awaited vacation

6) Flew to Canada to visit Joel's parents and family for a month

7) Flew to Washington/Idaho for 3 weeks to see my family.

8) Came back to Port Mercy to study for Joel's and my Truck driving licenses and we got it. And we became Class B truck drivers (watch out now)

9) Drove to Los Angeles in a big truck for the first time. (YIKES) Ms. Bird did okay with the drive.

10) Have been in Los Angeles since May.

11) Got a Bird, three cats, and one dog with in three weeks of each other.

12 - 100) Lots of things happened in Los Angeles too much to mention.

Any way what a year. I can't believe it is over and now on to 2008.

What could this year bring? Maybe:

1) Leave Friend Ships?

2) Have another 7 year commitment at Friend Ships? (Yikes, reminds me too much of Jacob who had to stay at his uncles for 7 years and got leah and then another 7 years for racheal)

2) Have a BABY???? NO WAY

3) Have more pets??? (maybe!!! I hope, Joel says no)

4) Become President (well Joel can't because he wasn't born in America, but I could)

5) Learn how to knit (NEVER!!!)

So any way we love you guys. Thanks for coming along on the ride with us. What a year with Jesus and now we can start a new one. What does the Lord have for us next???

Love,

Dess

This is the lake at my parents house. Isn't it beautiful!!!

What will the New Year bring???

Hello Friends, Family, and who ever else that wants to stumble upon this blog,

I am sitting alone on Christmas eve enjoying the rest I need. My heart is hurting from the past few weeks but with still much peace that I can not explain. It has been a slow, restful but hard vacation with much wondering of how this new year will turn out.

It is funny this vacation was so fly by the seat of my pants I didn't even think for a moment how any one else would feel about me being in Idaho. I have had many encouraging messages from some of my closest friends. Telling me things the Lord has put on their heart when they read our blog or when they prayed for Joel and I. It has been great confirmation. And then there are those other people that think there is something terrible wrong with Joel and I. Which is not the case at all. We are actually doing fabulous and look forward to the day we are back together again. There has also been those that do not agree with my vacation or my handling things in California. It has thrown me for a loop.

My Oldest sister was one of them. I love her to death and she didn't know anything that had went on. So one day in the car with just her and I, she said "Dess you need to learn how to handle stress better when you get back. Everyone has stress in their life and you need to think about how you are going to deal with it when you get back" Oh what a conversation we had!!! So I explained my situation and the things going on. She would give pointers then I would explain even more what happend. It was funny by the end of the car ride all she could say was "Well I guess the Lord is preparing you for something ahead!"

I just laughed for any one who knows what is going on says the same thing. The EXACT SAME THING. "The Lord is preparing you for your future."

Yes He is. I have to agree. So What could this year bring. Oh the only thing I look forward to is that God will be in the middle of it. He will be my center for anything to come. So I just laugh and say "Have your way Lord. Have your way. . . . Here I am . . . Have your way!!!"

I do Hope that all of you have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. And when you go to write your resolutions for this year make sure you put God, Jesus, and The Holy Spirit at the top. For the only way you could ever get through life is the Strength He gives us. The only way to be have true VICTORY is to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior to accept his Love, Joy, Peace, Patients, Kindness, goodness, faithfulness, Gentleness, and self-control. With those gift we can be more than a conquorer in this life.

I love ya'll
Dess

2 years down

Well it's hard to imagine it but we've been blogging for 2 years to the day. I hope that everyone who checks in on our blog has appreciated being able to know what's going on in our lives from time to time. It's been a long time since i personally have written. Many of my creative juices just haven't been flowing lately. A lot of things that i used to do as hobbies i don't do anymore. I also have been finding it harder and harder to open up to people. I'm a lot less likely to talk about myself or what's happening in my life than i've ever been in the past (and for those of you who have know me well, that means that i'm not saying much at all!!) So as i write this, i'm fighting conflicting feelings.

It's easy to write about what's been happening. To tell you all about what's new and exciting in our lives, but the deeper stuff remains deep. Well, this isn't turning out to be much of a post. I'm writing to let you know that i'm not going to let you know what's going on. That sounds pretty lame!!

Okay, well life has been challenging lately. There have been struggles and as Dess said there have been ups and downs. This is the first Christmas that i'm going to be spending alone like this. I try not to think about it much because there is a sense of loneliness. I've had plenty of offers from people to spend Christmas with them since Dess isn't going to be here. But i would rather do nothing than try to have a "holly jolly time" without her. I don't know if that makes sense. Plus i'm want to be around to talk with Dess and our families on Christmas Day. I am looking forward to having a day off where i can just hang out with our pets and talk on the phone. I think it'll be alright. There are other people in the warehouse, so if i get too lonesome i can always seek them out.

Sorry that i don't have too much to say. I hope you understand. It just seemed significant that we started blogging 2 years ago, so i just had to write something.

joel