Getting Closer...

Another couple of days have passed, and we have some more news about our two little bundles of joy...


Ryan is improving, he is now taking four bottles per day, and four tube feedings per day. This morning, he actually finished his first full bottle! Usually he only drinks about 35ml of the 55ml bottle, then they have to put the rest in his tummy through the tube, but the fact that he finished one is a big step forward!

He is still a pretty sleepy little guy, only seems to wake a little bit for feedings and baths and then is out like a light the rest of the time. The above picture was right after a bath, so he still was pretty alert. The nurses and doctors are hoping that Ryan can be out of there in a week or less, and we hope so too!

Little Katie, on the other hand, looks like she may be out of the hospital within the next day or two! She has been taking 100% bottle feedings for 48 hours now, and they have removed the feeding tube completely, as you can see in the picture. Finally having her tube-free is quite a relief!

Daddy got the chance to feed Katie tonight, and she ended up giving him a nice little surprise:

So all in all, some very positive developments! Of course, having one baby at home and one baby in the ICU will present some challenges of its own, but we are definitely looking forward to having Katie home with us (with Ryan soon to follow, hopefully).

As far as prayer requests go, we have a few:

1. Tricia has been a bit under the weather for the last few days, and unable to go to the hospital to see the babies, so please pray for a speedy recovery for her!

2. The continued progress of Katie and Ryan...

3. The balancing act that all of this commotion requires of all of us!

Until next time,

The Johnson Five

Happy Easter!

At 6:50am today, Jake was yelling "Happy Easter" from his bedroom, so we got the day started by finding what the Easter Bunny had decided to bring him in his basket. Jake was thrilled with all of the candy and the gift, and we have been trying to contain sugar consumption ever since! :)

Here's Jake with his little Hot Wheels mini track that the Easter Bunny got him. The little car falls down into a tank of water with "pirahnas" in it, and then comes out "scratched" when it gets wet. Hours and hours of fun!

As for Katie and Ryan, it has been an eventful couple of days. Mommy and Daddy got to bathe each of them on Friday, and they got to put on clothes for the first time! Of course, that lasted for less than 24 hours and they had slight setback yesterday, as they both became a bit jaundiced and had to go back under the UV lights. However, it appears that 24 hours under the lights did them some good, and they are back solidly in range that they need to be. Here's a video of part of Katie's bath:

Both of the babies are also taking some bottles now as well, in addition to their tube feedings. Katie is now getting four feedings per day from the bottle and four from the tube, and is doing quite well. Ryan, on the other hand, is getting two bottle feedings and six tube feedings per day, and is a little behind his sister as far as taking to the bottle. We seem to keep missing Katie's feedings, but ended up lucking into one of Ryan's bottle feedings last night. Also, the NICU was a bit short-staffed last night, so they let Tricia try to feed him, which they don't normally let parents do this early in the game:

As we remember Christ's sacrifice and resurrection on this Easter, we get some first-hand symbolism about the new life we have in Him. Some of us progress faster than others, some have setbacks, some take their food more readily than others, but God loves us all, and is actively participating in our development on a constant basis! We praise God that not only is He taking care of and developing our little babies, but He is working on us at the same time as well. Please pray for us and our babies, but also for those who are spiritual "babies" and may have not even had their "birth" yet!

Until next time,

The Johnson Five

Update on the Dynamic Duo

Just before we head off to bed, we thought we'd give a quick update on Katie and Ryan.

Katie is still progressing very well and no longer receiving IV fluids. The only thing she is on is a little bit of oxygen, which they plan to take away tomorrow! The next steps for her will be to try to maintain her own body temperature (with clothes on), and also to nurse well from a bottle. She fed from a bottle for about 5 minutes today and did a so-so job, so the nurses are hoping that she can pick it up a bit next time. Almost forgot, Katie had her first bath and Mommy and Daddy got to hold her for the first time yesterday! :) All in all, she is doing great!

Here's a little video of Katie hanging out (from yesterday):

Katie getting a bath:

Ryan is also doing well, but still being outdone by his sister. :) He is off of the ventilator now and just on oxygen. He is still receiving so IV fluids, but they hope to be able to take him off those tomorrow. Today, Mommy and Daddy got to hold Ryan for the first time, and he also got a bath. It actually was a very big day for Ryan, as we got to see his eyes for the first time! Since he got ripped off in the last blog entry, we're posting two of his videos this time. :)

Daddy and Ryan after his bath:

And, not to be left out, the big brother!

Thanks to all for all of the prayers and support. Please keep praying not only for Katie and Ryan, but the whole family, as the 3X daily trips to the hospital have proven to be exhausting (and expensive) for us all. We praise God for the strength he gives us to get through each day and the grace he is giving Katie and Ryan to adjust to life so quickly!

Until next time,

The Johnson Five

Mommy's Home!

It's a big day here at the Johnson house, as Jake and Daddy welcomed Mommy home today. One down, two to go! :) We are very excited to have Tricia back, and she is glad to be home, because even though they took very good care of her, they didn't let her sleep much. Now that she's home, she's going to try to get some good sleep so that we can gear up for 4X daily trips to the hospital.

Okay, I know everyone is looking for a baby update, so here it is... Katie was taken off her ventilator today, so she is now breathing 100% on her own, though she does have oxygen right now to make the transition easier. She should have the oxygen taken away tomorrow, and then maybe everything else as well, so there is a small chance that we could get to hold her for the first time tomorrow evening! She is doing very well, and although it looks like at least another week in the ICU for her, she's doing great.

Here's a little video of Katie fussing, now that she is doing a bit better:

And another of her... sneezing? Making some weird noise, anyway. You can also get an idea of how tiny she is by seeing my hand and her pacifier. :)

As for Ryan, he is also doing well, but he's about a day behind his sister as far as his breathing and everything goes. The one thing he is ahead of her on is eating, however. :) Here's a picture of him today:

So we're all doing well, in need of some rest, and just sort of feeling our way through this right now. Please pray for all of us as we adjust to this new way of life. Also, please pray for our situation with our car, as Daddy and Jake were on the way to the hospital in the dark and rain last night and hit a pothole in the road that broke the suspension on one of the front wheels of our car. So although we are okay, we are also trying to organize repairs for the car. Not too worry too much though, we are fortunate enough to be driving a car that belongs to a volunteer that's back in the US, so at least we have a way back and forth to the hospital. God is good, and we are reminded of it often!

Jake's Quote of the Week

Jake: "So if you're happy to come home from the hospital, why were you crying when we left?"

Mom: "Well, Mommy is happy to be coming home, but I was just sad to leave Katie and Ryan at the hospital..."

Jake: "Oh, so you were just being dramatic then?"

Keep praying!

Until next time,

The Johnson Five

Welcome Katie & Ryan!

So, the blessed day has arrived! At 3:35am and 3:36am respectively, we welcomed Katherine Rayn and Ryan Robert into the world a couple of weeks ahead of time. Tricia is pretty sore and tired, and the babies are going to have to spend a week or two in the neonatal ICU to help them with their breathing, but we praise God that everyone is fine and healthy! We are all very excited (especially Jake!), and thank you all for your prayers over the last (almost) nine months. Here are some photos!

Tricia and the doctors preparing for the caesarean section (ironically, on the day Julius Caesar was murdered). :) History nerd moment...

Katie resting in the neonatal ICU just a few minutes after her birth. She weighed in at a dainty little 4 lbs., 13 oz.

Katie's little brother Ryan resting in the bed next to her, weighing in at an unexpectedly manly 6 lbs., 3 oz.

The beautiful baby Katie

The handsome baby Ryan (who looks more like Jake's twin than Katie's, we think)

Please continue to pray for us all in our various areas of need, but especially for a quick recovery for Tricia, and a good (and fast) adjustment to life on the outside for our little twins!

Until next time,

The Johnson Five

Getting Ready!

Well, we are getting pretty close to delivery time for the twins, the doctor told us that we are “in bonus time” now, and he is happy with the progress of the pregnancy so far. He says that the babies are about 2.1 kg each now, which is about 4 lbs. 10 oz., and we are hoping that they can reach 5 lbs. each before they are born. Right now the scheduled delivery date is March 27th, but in reality, it could happen at any time! Tricia is getting pretty uncomfortable these days, so she won’t mind when it is over and we have two little babies. :)

Some of the ladies here threw Tricia a baby shower last weekend, so we received some of the things that we will need, and Tricia had a lot fun as well! Here are a couple of pictures of Tricia getting presents and playing baby shower games:

Jake and Jeremy set the cribs up this weekend, and we went to buy mattresses and some final baby supplies, so we at least have all of the absolute necessities here in case something happens soon. Finally, we have settled on names for the two new members of the Johnson family: Ryan Robert and Katherine Rayn. So please be in prayer over the next few weeks for all of us, but especially Tricia, Ryan, and Katie!





















Jake’s Quote of the Week

Jake: "Mommy, can you make hearts with your eyes? 'Cause I really want to make hearts with my eyes when I see beautiful girls."
Mommy: "What do you mean, Jake?"
Jake: "You know Mom, like Popeye does when he sees Olive Oyl."

Praises and Prayer Requests

We thank God for the way that he has safely brought Tricia and the twins through this pregnancy. With just a couple of weeks left, we are so thankful and blessed that we have had no complications at all. God is good!

Please remember the following needs in prayer this week:

-- Our family, as the time for the twins' birth draws near.
-- The many World Mission Communications projects that we have going right now
-- That God would provide continuity for the 3D program while Tricia is caring for the babies.

Until next time,

Jeremy, Tricia & Jake

Back in South Africa

Just to begin, I'd like to mention a little bit about the picture here. Jake took this picture all by himself! He has the camera in his hand, and not even being able to see what he was shooting, he was able to take this. Having a digital camera is nice to help develop his love of photography, since we can just delete the pictures (except for the good ones)!




















The other picture you see here is Jeremy last week as a part of the Regional Communications Coordinators meetings in Kansas City. World Mission Communications hosted all of us for three days of meetings to discuss techniques, new developments in media, and to learn a bit more about what we are all doing in our separate regions and how we can learn from each other. Since three of us are new within the last year, it was really good to get to meet everyone.

I know that a lot of people are looking for a baby update, so here's a brief one: Tricia is about 32 weeks along now, and Baby Boy and Baby Girl are doing very well, even a little bigger than the doctors expected them to be at this point. Of course, this makes Tricia pretty uncomfortable, and she is dealing with the effects of her body being stretched to its limits, both literally and physically! Please pray for Tricia and the babies (we are still trying to pick names) during these last few weeks of pregnancy. The longer we can wait the better, but we should have news for everyone soon!

Things are going well for us here, just seems like everything is very hectic right now. Not only has Jeremy been out of the country for two of the last four weeks, but he is also teaching a class out at Nazarene Theological College in addition to his Communications responsibilities. Oh yeah, and preparing for two new additions to our family has kept us pretty busy as well!

Well, Jeremy's class is ending next week, and so we are in the middle of final preparations for the big day, which should be sometime next month. We feel like we still have a lot to do, and Tricia is much less able to get around and do things than she was with Jake. Please pray for our preparations (and sanity) as well!

Jake's Quote of the Week

"Okay Dad, let's play. I'll be Spiderman, and you be Dr. Phil."


Until next time,

Jeremy, Tricia & Jake

A Trip to Rwanda

Last week, Jeremy travelled to Kigali, Rwanda to attend a meeting with our French Equatorial Field leadership. He met with Field Strategy Coordinator Rev. Chanshi Chanda, district superintendents and pastors to discuss the use of radio, video, internet, and written communications on the field, which covers the countries of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Madagascar, and Reunion. We hope to start a couple of new radio programs in the field this year, as well as develop a short documentary about the Church of the Nazarene.

The country of Rwanda has a dark past with the genocide of 1994 being the low point (over 1 million people were slaughtered), but the country has come a long way since then, and the future is full of hope and very bright. President Paul Kagame seems to be a very wise man, and the country is trying to capitalize on the high-quality coffee and tea crops grown there to improve the economy. The city of Kigali was very clean and also one of the safest in Africa. Most importantly, the Church of the Nazarene is alive, well, and growing there!

Above is a short video clip from an ordination service that took place while Jeremy was there. This was a choir from Rwanda singing in Kinyarwanda. Dr. and Mrs. Porter (jurisdictional General Superintendent for Africa) were on hand to ordain five elders from the Central and Northwest Rwanda Districts. It was an exciting time!

Jake's Quote of the Week

"Man, it is really getting 'crowdy' in there!"

(Commenting on the crowded and rowdy playland at McDonalds)

Praises and Prayer Requests

We thank God for Jeremy's safety as he travelled, and also for the safety of the rest of the family while he was away. Everything went well!

Please remember the following need in prayer this week:

-- A couple of days after Jeremy left Rwanda, an earthquake struck in DRC and Rwanda, killing more than 40 people and injuring hundreds more.

Until next time,

Jeremy, Tricia & Jake

We're Back!

Well, we have actually been back in South Africa for about 11 days now, but it has taken us almost that long to get our sleeping schedules readjusted, get back into a routine, and just feel normal again!

On January 5th, we celebrated our second year of being in South Africa, which just seems surreal. It certainly has been a quick two years, and we have had a very positive experience overall. We now sit with less than a year before we go on home assignment for four months (January - April 2009), which is equally unreal for us. It seems just like yesterday that we were going through our missionary intern training!

We suppose there is a lot to update everyone on, but we'll try to keep it brief, just to make sure that you can still see by the time you get done here:

1. Babies - On Wednesday, Tricia will be 27 weeks along, so we are entering the range of "viability" if the babies should happen to come early, as often happens with twins. The doctor said that the next 4-5 weeks will be the most critical time of the pregnancy for the babies, so we expect him to tell Tricia that she will have to work from home for the rest of the pregnancy when we pay him a visit tomorrow. But so far, all is well!
2. Jake - He had a BLAST going home and seeing his family and friends over the holidays. He still talks about "the States" at least once a day, and has already made all kinds of plans for what he is going to do next time he goes back. The picture above is Jake's first snowman that he and Daddy built while in Bourbonnais.
3. Jobs - Virtually everything in South Africa that is not a retail business looks like a ghost town in December, especially after the 15th. Johannesburg especially, since people head for the coastal towns to enjoy the summer. Most people here take at least two weeks of vacation every December. At any rate, we are back in the routine at work, and starting 2008 off right is our main focus. Jeremy and the World Mission Communications team are working on a number of things, starting with goal-setting for the new year. This should be an exciting year for WMC-Africa. As for Tricia, she is trying to get things wrapped up to a point where she can hand most of her duties off when the babies are born.
4. Life in general - We praise God that we are all well and has readjusted back to the time, weather, and life here. There is something to be said about being able to settle into a routine, it just makes life easier (for us anyway). However, at the same time, we are amazed how two different places, halfway around the world from each other, can feel like home to us at the same time. We expected to feel a bit weirder going back home than we actually did, and we also didn't expect to feel so at home when we got back, either. Being a missionary is a confusing thing sometimes! Well, anyway, we are anxiously awaiting the end of March, when life in general will change in a big way for us!

Jake's Quote of the Week

Daddy: "Jake, in about 10 years, you'll be out there playing basketball with Daddy and the rest of the guys!"
Jake: "I'll tell you when I'll play basketball with you guys... how about right after never?"

(Definitely his mother's child... :) )

Praises and Prayer Requests

We thank all of you for all of your prayers as we were travelling to the US and back. The actual travel was fine on both ends (or as fine as 2o hours in a plane can be), and we all enjoyed our time in the US. We definitely felt God at work, even in the little details of making our trip a little more enjoyable. We thank Him for that!

Please remember the following needs in prayer:

-- The continued health of Tricia and the babies
-- Jake is starting his first year of 5-day-a-week preschool now
-- Our openness to God's direction for our lives and ministry
-- The dream of WMC-Africa and Africa East Field to start a Nazarene radio station in Nairobi, Kenya in 2008 (e-mail Jeremy if you want more details)
-- Jeremy's trip to Rwanda later this month (and for Tricia and Jake while he is gone)
-- The Africa Region Leadership Conference in April 2008

Until next time,

Jeremy, Tricia & Jake

Real Quick...

We have had a number of questions about what we would like for Christmas, where to send gifts, etc., and thought that answering those questions here might be helpful.

We will be leaving for the U.S. on December 8th and will be traveling around visiting family and friends for the rest of the month. We will not have much space in our luggage when we come back, so the most useful thing would be Wal-Mart or Target gift cards to help us out with those things that we need to buy in the U.S. (some things are MUCH cheaper in the U.S.). However, we don't want to limit people's creativity, just letting you know that we might not have room to actually take much back with us.

Here is our U.S. mailing address for those wanting to mail things to us:

14100 S. Locust St.
Olathe, KS 66062

Another update soon!

Until next time,

Jeremy, Tricia & Jake

Jake's Surgery

Jake has come out of his surgery to put tubes in his ears just fine, and is in mostly good spirits and pain-free at the moment. He is still dealing with the grogginess from the anesthesia, but is otherwise okay. The doctor said that with a couple of days of rest, he should be back to 100%.

The doctor also said that while he definitely thinks that the tubes were necessary, that his ears looked better than they did a year ago. He hopes that this will be the final time that he has to put them in and that Jake's middle ear will grow enough to take care of the issues by itself by the time these fall out.

Please continue to pray for Jake's recovery over the next few days. Also, please remember in prayer Linda Braaten, a fellow missionary that will be having knee surgery tomorrow. Linda works with Jeremy in World Mission Communications.

Until next time,

Jeremy, Tricia & Jake

A Quick Update

Hello everyone... yes, it has been over a month now. We actually started to write this post over two weeks ago, and didn't get around to finishing it. We are pretty swamped right now, so here is the "highlights" version of what has been going on over the last month (in no particular order):

1. Jake had a concert at school, in which he was a duck, and sang loud enough that Mommy and Daddy could hear his voice over everyone else's, even 10 rows back from the stage! We included a pre-concert and post-concert picture of him here.

2. Tricia's best friend Amber had a baby boy, Levi Rush Dickson, on November 5th. For the curious, you can see pictures at http://ladickson.blogspot.com

3. Jeremy went on his first trip outside of South Africa in the 22 months that we have been here. He spent 4 days in Nairobi, Kenya working with the Africa East Field leadership and World Mission Communications team to set a strategy for how media can best be used on that field in the future.

4. Jake has been practicing riding his bike without training wheels and is getting pretty good at it!
A video clip of one of his rides is below. Here's what he is saying during the ride: "Hey, I'm all right! Oh no, here we go again... oh, we're making a turn, ya lousy bike. My bike is lousy! Oh, watch out, comin' through. Comin' through... whoooooaa." We don't know where he has heard the word "lousy" used in context, but it sure was funny!

5. Tricia is starting to feel a little bit better as far as nausea goes, but those twins have her worn out almost all the time. Please continue to pray for her pregnancy.

6. Jake is going to be having surgery to put tubes in his ears again, as he is having problems with his allergies and hearing again. He has his surgery on Wednesday of next week, so please remember him in prayer as well.

7. We are getting a chance to head back to the U.S. for Christmas this year, so we are leaving on December 8th and will be back in South Africa on January 2nd. Please pray for safe travels for our family during this time.

8. We met a young couple from Canada at the mall tonight, here with Athletes in Action. The guy is a professional soccer player and they are trying to organize the Christian professional athletes here in South Africa for some big outreach activities during the 2010 World Cup, which will be held here. It's always nice to make new friends!

Well, that's about all for now, we'll write more when we get a chance!

Jake's Quote of the Week (or is it Month?)

Worship Leader: "Who wants to go to heaven one day?"

Jake (in a loud voice, after the "amens"): "Not me!"

(And yes, the whole congregation heard it.)

Until next time,

Jeremy, Tricia and Jake

We're Pregnant... With Twins!

Wow. We are shocked. After over 3 years of trying to have more children after we had Jake, God has blessed us with two at the same time! Their due date is April 18th, though the doctor said that they will deliver them by c-section at least three weeks early, so around the end of March. We can't wait, but hope that the twins wait as long as possible!

Well, this a blessing that has us a little nervous, but we are overjoyed and so, so thankful at the same time. We know that twins presents a whole different set of challenges, starting from extra precautions in pregnancy, and proceeding up through sending both to college at the same time, but we know that the One who gave us this blessing will see to all of those little details. Right now, we're just trying to get these goofy grins off our faces! :)

Tricia has been feeling that good 'ol "morning sickness" for the past 7 weeks now, and it isn't just in the morning, either! It seems that two makes the problem a little worse than one does! Please pray for all five of us as we go through these next several months of pregnancy.

Well, we are so thrilled that we have such an extended network of family and friends that can be praying for us and sharing in this with us. It is difficult to be physically removed from everyone during this time, and we know that once the babies arrive, we are going to wish that we were able to share everything with family and friends (including sharing diaper changing duty!). As always, your prayers will be greatly appreciated!

Please feel free to share the news with your churches, we want our LINKS family to be aware and share in this with us as well.

Jake's Quote of the Week - Special Edition

Since we told Jake the news, he has really been on a roll:

"Mom, can you get muscles on your shoulders? I need to get bigger muscles so I can hold two babies."

"I can't wait until my mom lays two babies."

"I am so excited, I'm going to jump around like a kangaroo!"

"I'm not going to talk nonsense when the babies come, because then they will grow up and talk nonsense too."

Praises and Prayer Requests

Well, no need to be redundant here. We don't really have much else on our minds right now. :)

Actually, we would still very much appreciate your prayers for our ministry here in Africa.

Until next time,

The Johnson Five

Now Playing...

Well, this is the first time that you actually get to see some of our work! Above is a video that was just produced by World Mission Communications - Africa Region, with help from local media house Kurula Media, which is owned by a Nazarene here in South Africa. This video is a promotional tool designed to raise prayer support for the 2008 Africa Region Leadership Conference. Please share this video with your churches and as many people as you can! Also, if you have an FTP site and are interested, Jeremy can get a higher resolution video to you that will play better on a big screen, video projector, etc. Just contact him at jeremy@africa-region.org.za

Yes, we have been very busy lately, with the end of the year quickly approaching and the projects piling up. But God has really been making us feel useful and needed lately, which is why we are here! It would take a couple of pages to describe all of the things that we have been doing, so we won't bore you with details. Suffice it to say that Jeremy has been working hard in World Mission Communications and Tricia has been working hard with the 3D Program for Africans called to missions.

We will give a more personal update soon, but since it had been nearly a month since we had written, we thought we'd let everyone know that we are still alive! :) Thanks for the prayers and may God bless you!

Jake's Quote of the Week

"We like the Cubs, eh Dad? We don't like the Cardinals 'cause they're stinky."

(So young, and yet so wise... :))

Praises and Prayer Requests

We praise God for the opportunity to be used by Him to make disciples of all nations. We are humbled everyday by the tasks that he has given us and the strength he provides to complete them.

Please remember the following needs in prayer this week:

-- Jake, who has a touch of the flu this week

-- Our work here in Africa

-- Our church, Africa Trinity Church of the Nazarene, and our pastor

Until next time,

Jeremy, Tricia & Jake

Gone Fishing!

This weekend, Jake and Daddy went on their first father/son fishing trip! Jake got a rod and reel a week or so ago, and finally got to put it to use on Saturday at the Malina Fishing Lodge, about 20 minutes from our house.

Jake actually did a great job of being patient and hanging there on a chilly spring morning. It was a little windy and cold, but Jake sat with his pole for over an hour. He got a few bites and even hooked into a pretty nice-sized rainbow trout, but the fish got off the hook and flopped back in the pond just as he was reeling it out of the water (Daddy needs to buy a net!). But it was a great time and a memorable experience for the two of them.

We also wanted to let everyone know that we are beginning to schedule deputation services for our home assignment from January 2009 - April 2009. We would love to visit any of you that would like to schedule us! Please let us know as soon as possible, as we are already filling time slots. Just drop us an e-mail at tjjohnson98@yahoo.com to check our availability. We look forward to seeing you all!

Jake's Quote of the Week

"Mommy, my name is not Jake Johnson anymore, it's Hungry Jake Johnson from now on."

(Yet it seems he is usually only hungry for sweets!)

Praises and Prayer Requests

We thank God for his constant love and attention to those little details in life. We also are continually amazed at his ability to keep us on our toes! This has been a good month.

Please remember the following needs in prayer this week:

-- Jake seems to have caught a little upper respiratory bug that was going around his school, which has led to an ear infection. Please pray for Jake.

-- Please pray that Tricia and Jeremy don't get it!

-- Please pray for our church, Africa Trinity Church of the Nazarene and our pastor, Rev. Madela Mashinini

-- Please pray that God blesses our efforts in serving him here in Africa

Until next time,

Jeremy, Tricia & Jake

Spiderman!

We have realized that we have been a bit lax in updating you all on the thing that changes most in our family, and that's Jake! So this blog entry is going to be all about him.

I guess the best way to do this is just to talk about some of his recent exploits, so here goes:

1. Spiderman - As you can see, Jake got a Spiderman costume for his birthday, but only started wearing it recently. Though he has never seen Spiderman in a movie or cartoon, he somehow got the idea that he was a "baddie". Now that he knows he is a "goodie", he wears the costume every chance he gets.

2. Fishing - Jake recently told his dad that he wanted to go fishing. So this past Saturday, Jake and Daddy went to buy a fishing pole with some of his leftover birthday money and then went to a trout farm to check the place out. Daddy brought him home after that and showed him how to cast and reel in the backyard, and he has been doing that each day since. He and Daddy are going on their first fishing trip this coming Saturday. Stay tuned for fish stories!

3. Gardening - We also recently bought some tomato seeds and are working on planting a little garden this year. We have five little tomato plants that just came up this week and check on them everyday (multiple times) to make sure they have enough water, sunlight, etc. It has been a fun experience so far for Jake, and he is already talking about eating some tomatoes!

4. Girlfriend - Jake has had a "girlfriend" at school for a few weeks now, her name is Naomi. Interestingly enough, she is a descendant of Harmon Schmelzenbach, the first Nazarene missionary to Africa! Jake and Naomi greet each other with hugs everyday at school, and also hug when they leave... and also every five minutes during the day... and now have started kissing each other too. The teacher are now separating them when things get out of hand, but Jake is quite the ladies' man, it seems!

5. Sports - As you can see in the picture, we have been playing soccer in the backyard lately, as well as baseball and football sometimes. Jake has also been taking gymnastics lessons to help him with his balance and has started doing rugby as an "extracurricular" activity during the school day. His favorite part of all of those sports is saying, "Doh!" and falling on the ground. :)

Jake's Quote of the Week

“ Can I have my Vitamin C and my Vitamin Pooh now?”

(Jake has Winnie the Pooh vitamins, and also takes Vitamin C occasionally.)

Praises and Prayer Requests

We praise God for this time that we are enjoying with Jake right now. We know that so many kids in the US (even four-year-olds) have so many "activities" that they do, that they hardly have time to breathe. We are glad for the chance to spend so much time with Jake in a place where we have to make our own activities. It's been a blessing!

Please remember the following needs in prayer this week:

-- Good health as the weather changes back to spring

-- God's blessing and guidance in our work

-- Marlen and Leo Leon (our friends in KC) as they celebrate the birth of their daughter

-- Unspoken request

Until next time,

Jeremy, Tricia & Jake

3 Weeks?!

Wow... embarrassed, ashamed, slackers... yep, those are all us. We haven't given you an update in three weeks, which means we are not holding up our end of the bargain on this blog. You've been hearing this far too often lately, but we're sorry. Again.

Let's see, what have we been doing since the middle of July? Ah yes, that was about the time that Tricia and Jake were both very sick for three or four days. There was a very bad cold going around, and they both happened to catch it. Then from there, we have had quite a bit of action here!

Jeremy spent the following week planning for intensive planning sessions for his World Mission Communications staff and a representative from Headquarters in Kansas City. These meetings took place last week and involved putting the goals for the Africa Region into a concrete vision of how World Mission Communications can help accomplish those goals. Jeremy and his staff were excited and energized by the meetings and you will definitely be hearing more about those efforts as they are put into place and/or completed.

Tricia has been working tirelessly on staying in contact with her missionary candidates here in Africa and will begin publishing a newsletter to them soon. She is also still working with managing the guest flats for the various guests that come from all over the world to the Africa Region offices. Another task that she has recently been given is preparing a week-long, Africa-specific training session for new missionaries that will come to our region from the United States. This will be an ongoing part of her duties in the future as well.

In our personal lives, we took a little getaway this weekend, as this week we will be celebrating their 9th wedding anniversary (August 8th)! Well, we still feel young anyway! :) We praise God for blessing our marriage to this point and thank him for every day that we have together. We have made it this far solely by his grace and love that allows us to love each other the way we do (and patience that allows Tricia to put up with Jeremy!). :)

Jake's Quote of the Week

Trying on sandals at Woolworth's: "Dad, these sandals look like 'le fruitcake'!"

(He got that little term from the movie "Flushed Away", not his father)

Praises and Prayer Requests

As mentioned above, we praise God for nine wonderful and exciting years together. We have definitely been through a lot of "life" in those nine years, with a lot of ups and downs, but we praise God for every minute of it, as he shapes us into the people and the couple he wants us to be!

Please remember the following needs in prayer this week:

-- Good health (only a few more weeks until spring!)

-- Labor strikes that have been affecting the South African economy

-- God's blessing on our work here

-- Unspoken request

Until next time,

Jeremy, Tricia & Jake

Babies, babies everywhere!

Well, we just can't seem to get it right lately and do a post every week, but better late than never, right? Mostly, it's just business (busy-ness) that is keeping us from doing it, but that is never a good excuse. So here are a couple of highlights from the last couple of weeks:

You see in the first picture here (in order of age), Jake, Lindiwe, Tshepo, and little baby Nikita. You all know Jake, but Lindiwe is a two-year-old girl, Tshepo is a one-year-old boy, and Nikita is a one-month-old girl (who is smaller than Jake was at birth).

These babies stayed with us for a couple of days when Tsholofelo Baby Sanctuary was relocating to a different house. We decided to help them out a bit by taking this crew to stay with us while all of the workers were busy packing, moving, unpacking, and getting re-established in their new house. It was quite an experience going from one child to four overnight, but Jeremy and Tricia made it! It was a rewarding experience and we plan on doing it again sometime just for fun (maybe with one less). :)

Another highlight was the time we got to spend visiting with Blue Springs First Church of the Nazarene on July 1st. We were able to attend a portion of their service through the magic of Skype, which is a really cool application that allows you to talk over the internet for free, as well as doing things like webcams, conference calls, etc. You should check it out sometime, it's how we stay in touch with a lot of our friends and family. Anyway, we were interviewed by a couple of members of their local Nazarene Missions International council, and it was a lot of fun to be able to interact with them in this way. If you are interested in doing this with your congregation as well, just send us an e-mail!

Other than that, we have been plugging away at work, spending lots of time playing with Jake, and having a good time! Jeremy is preparing to preach this Sunday, but otherwise we are just planning for a nice, relaxing weekend. Hope yours is as well!

Jake's Quote of the Week

“Dear Jesus, thank you for my wonderful dad and that I am going to have a girlfriend some day. Also, thank you for the peace of the heart that you gave me. Amen.”

(And... it starts.)

Praises and Prayer Requests

Well, over the last couple of weeks we have all been sick (though Jeremy's was just for a few hours and probably food-related), but we are doing much better now. It's winter time in Joburg again, which means it's dry, dusty, smoky, and then 65-70 during the day and 30-40 at night... a perfect recipe for colds and upper respiratory infections. We make it, though! :)

Please remember the following needs in prayer this week:

-- Jeremy will be preaching at Africa Trinity Church of the Nazarene this Sunday morning
-- Wisdom for creative ways to continue to build relationships with the South African community
-- Continued good health
-- Unspoken request

Until next time,

Jeremy, Tricia & Jake

Let it SNOW?!?

What? Snow in Africa? Yep, that's what we thought when we woke up yesterday morning. It had actually snowed in Johannesburg, for the first time since 1981 (Jeremy and Tricia were Jake's age then!). Our picture here doesn't show nearly as much snow as in other places throughout Johannesburg, but it was something! People were taking pictures, playing in the snow, and just overall enthralled by this little dusting of white stuff. It made these two Midwesterners laugh that this was actually considered "snow".

Jake was a bit under the weather with a cold this past week, but seems to be back to about 95% now. It has been a week of wild weather shifts, as you can imagine, and it has all of our sinuses working overtime. We're just glad we've had people bring us Advil! :)

Between our jobs, church, and volunteering at the baby home, our days have been pretty busy! This weekend, we will have three babies, ranging from two years to four weeks old, as the baby home moves to a different house. It should be interesting! By the way, for anyone interested, the baby home's website is http://www.tsholofelo.org. Jeremy is also substitute teaching a Sunday School class for the next couple of weeks, helping our pastor plan some outreach events, and preparing to preach a couple of times in July. So... we aren't bored! :)

Jake's Quote of the Week

“Can we watch my new ‘Flushed Down the Toilet’ movie tonight?”

[We recently picked up a used copy of "Flushed Away" (a little cartoon movie about an uptown mouse and his visit to the sewer), and Jake got the concept right, just not the words.]

Praises & Prayer Requests

We praise God for the snow! It was a nice little reminder of home. The last time we saw snow was in January 2006, so it did bring a little smile to our faces. God knows how to make us smile!

Please remember the following needs in prayer this week:

-- Jeremy and Tricia this weekend, as they go from one kid to four (temporarily)!

-- Our health

-- The baby home's move this weekend

-- Unspoken request

Until next time,

Jeremy, Tricia & Jake

Happy Fathers' Day!!!

This weekend we celebrated Fathers Day, and Jeremy wanted to go to the Botanical Gardens to go hiking with Jake for their special Fathers' Day activity. Jake is now 4 and he loves to hike around and look at bugs and birds. They hiked for a couple of hours on the trails in the Botanical Gardens, and then we all enjoyed a nice lunch in the restaurant there. One of the points of interest at the Gardens is the huge waterfall. Jake enjoyed throwing rocks into the water with his daddy and they climbed around by the water a little bit. It was a wonderful day where we could let Jeremy know how much we appreciate him and love him.

This week was a good week at work. Jeremy is all moved into his new office and is trying to figure out all that he needs to do in his new position of Communications Coordinator. It will be a period of learning for now as to all the different areas he will be involved in. He is a little nervous but very excited for what God has in store for him in this new area of ministry.

Tricia is still hard at work with the Africans that are called to missions. She is trying to move them all forward in the training and assessment process in order for all of them to be able to find their places in missions. She is also going to be promoting missions on the region and shedding light on the types of “missions” that Africans are already doing here in Africa. Once that occurs, then she can encourage more people to get involved in things that are already occurring in their own area.

Jake's Quote of the Week

“Do you know what my favorite part of my body is? It is my wrist… and my muscles.”

(This was one of those moments where you just have no idea what is about to come out of your child's mouth... but we were relieved!)

Praises and Prayer Requests

We would like to thank you all for your prayers. We praise the Lord we have all been well so far this winter and Tricia seems to be a lot better with her allergies than she was last year.

Please remember the following needs in prayer this week:

-- Jeremy's transition into his new ministry
-- The Africans that are called to missions, and Tricia as she helps them in the process
-- For continued health so that we can keep working hard for Him
-- Unspoken request

Until next time,

Jeremy, Tricia & Jake