Zipping through the years end

Wow where to start? Well I will start off by wishing everyone a Very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year! In michif it is pronounced Le Bon Noel and La Bonne Ann EE! We have been very blessed having all our family around us this Christmas season. I (Mandy) had a little go round at the emergency room two Saturdays ago, one of my ovaries had a large cyst burst on it. It was a VERY painful experience but all is well now. I am getting it check again this week to check if everything is healing like it should. It seem when you are very busy and a little stressed thing like this happen but I know the Lord is in control. You see this was the only month out of all the years we have been married (7) that we didn't have insurance. This morning the Lord gave me Luke 12:22-34 These verses talk about not worrying, that God will provide all our needs. This gave me much comfort. I know that He see ALL our needs and He will not leave us anxious and worried if HE is our great provider. We will be vary busy this month, we are booked every Sunday this month till we leave at churches all over the state. Please be in prayer that we would be able to receive all our funds that we need before Jan. 26th. If anyone would like to meet during the week that would be great for us. Will write again soon. Many blessing Mandy

At home with the parents

Hello all we are know in Trenton. It has been fun living with our parents but will be nice to have a place of our own again. This maybe awhile but God knows what we need. Our girls are doing well and we are adjusting to yet something new. I think that this maybe our life for the next few years. We are just about there for our fundraising, we are just waiting on the Lord to finish off our amounts that we need. We know that He is faithful. One of our friends that we went to Bethany with is going to be in Williston for 10 days. Ross is very excited to get to see him again. This guy is a close friend to Ross and also his accountability partner. A fun thing about this is this guy (Chris) is also dating my best friend Mandie. Christmas is well on it way always a busy time of year for everyone. We are very glad to get to be with family this year it will be missed next year. It was interesting shopping for the girls this year beings they can only take 5 toys total with us across customs. Hope to be able to run into people when we are around town. Hope to see you soon. Later Mandy

Soon to be on the move again

Hello all, we are going to be coming back to Williston the beginning of December. Alyssa starts school in Trenton with Mrs. Nelson December 3rd. It is funny how God works, I was wishing for Alyssa to be able to go Kindergarten with Michelle when we were moving back from Minneapolis but Minot opened up and I was thinking that she wouldn't be able to have her as her teacher. I am very excited that Alyssa will be doing a Christmas program out at Trenton school. It will be like going back in time about 21 years for my mom and dad. She is a little mirrored image of her mom that is for sure. Zoe found my favorite blankie today at my parents house. I showed the girls the blankie that I had from the time I was a new baby till the time I moved out and got married (Ross wouldn't let me bring it when we got married (= ) ) She has not set that blanket down since she saw it. That makes me smile! It will be a very rewarding time moving in with both sets of parents for the short time that we will be back home. It will bring back alot of very good memories for me and it will make alot of new memories for my daughters also. It will also be a very stressful time with so many different changes happening, but God will always be by our side and show us He never leaves us or forsakes us. We are ready to leave to Mexico end of Jan. beginning of Feb. We are positive that God will provide the supporters that we will need. It is all in His timing. I am sure everyone is starting to think of Thanksgiving time. I love having family around and all the food. Bring on the sweet potatoes. Shelby and I will have to fight each other for them (= This will be the time for the rush of the holiday madness. Just remember why we are celebrating Christmas. It is not about the presents it is about Jesus. That is it!!! Don't let yourself get stress over this holiday season. Cast all your cares upon HIM. When you think about all that you have to do, all the presents you have to get. Thank Him for them people that you are getting the gifts for and thank Him for that last breath you took. Because you are not guaranteed the next one. Let this Holiday season be different. Enjoy your family and tell your loved ones that you love them and appreciate them. It will give you that extra joy that is suppose to come along with Christmas. Not the scrooge attitude. Also please please please give time for your Savior that came down to earth in the most humble of was. Praise Him!! Shout Hallelujah!!!
Love ya Mandy

NEWSLETTERS

Hey everyone we just got our newsletter back to our agency. It should be mailed out by the first part of next week. If you do not receive one or would like to be on our mailing list please email us at rossandmany@yahoo.com . We would LOVE to put you on our mailing list. Also if you would like to be taken off of it please also email us and tell us if you don't want to receive one. Our phone number is 701-570-3253 if you would like to set up a appointment with us. We would love to come and visit and share what the Lord has been doing so far and what we are going to be up to. These always are good if you are wondering if you what to financially give some how. This helps you know where your money is going to be going. Thanks again every one. Mandy

new beginnings to an old story

We have alot to update you on. We went to Minneapolis last week and meet with the missionary the one we will be with in Mexico. Instead of us going in May we are now going to be going in late January early February. This cuts our fundraising time down six months. We are just trusting in God that He will send people to support us. We will be moving back to Williston the end of December to live with parents. This will help us cut costs. It is hard to believe that we will be leaving in just a couple of months. This has been a tuging in my heart for so long. Who knows maybe we will come home with a new addition to our family. I love kids I am a real softy when it comes to seeing them hurting. Our guys has moved out now. We got her a apartment and she started Job Corps. It is funny how God brings things about if we will what for His timing. The girls are doing wonderful. They are getting more beautiful every day. Aylssa's teacher always has something good to say about her and Zoe just absolutely loves school. She is a real social bug. Alyssa has started reading know. It is so hard to believe that they are both getting so big. We are thankful to be around family this Thanksgiving and Christmas. It will be hard to be away from them for two years. Thankfully goodbyes don't have to be a forever thing. We are very thankful for the friends that have came behind us and started to support us already. You guys are real encouragements to us. Also people that we have not seen in years are stepping up to the plate. Thanks. If there are any of you out there that would like to hear our presentation or meet with us just give us a call at 701-570-3253. Thank you once again for following up with us on our blogs, we promise to keep them updated more. Things should ease up a Tish since we are having to slow down on our contracting work. This will enable us to get all the things in line for us to go down south. =) Many blessing to you all!!!

Hello all my peepes!!!!

Hello everyone, sorry it has been so long since I last wrote. Life seems to always be way to busy to even be able to take a seat. We have had a guest staying with us for the past week. She is a wonderful girl that is trying to get her feet underneath herself in Minot. It has truly been a joy having her work with us and stay with us. I am at my parents home right now. I just got one of my wisdom teeth pulled yesterday. Ouch!! My best friend Mandie and I are going to celebrate our birthday together tonight. Have a great girls night out. I am sure it will consist of a lot of chocolate and junk food. Alyssa and Zoe are doing wonderful. They always have a great time at their grandparents homes. Alyssa has been out side the last two days with the horses. They are her love. She always says that she is going to be a animal rescuer when she grows up. Zoe she is still as happy as ever she always has a song on her lips. She can bring joy to any ones face. The Lord has blessed us with such wonderful kids. We are still in much needed help from our family and friends to help us with our support raising. There are days where I get overwhelmed and then that's when I know that I need to go have some quiet time with the Lord so He can encourage and strengthen me. I am really missing all our friends back at Bethany College. It will be refreshing to be able to go see some of them again when we go check in with our missions agency and the school. If any of our classmates are keeping up I just want to yell a shout out to you!!!! We have been able to keep up with some of our classmates. We are in contact with about five of our friend fairly often. Bonnie Youngdale is you are reading this I just want to say I miss you and want to thank you for all the time you invested in my family and myself. I really miss you. The girls also really really miss Rebecka. Well I better get going thanks yet again for keeping up with this journey the Lord has us on. I will write again soon. Mandy

another week of provision

Another week has went by and we are well on our way to getting settled in here in Minot for the duration of our stay. It it like an airplane ride, everything is amazing, new, wonderful, happy, and yet we know that it is only short lived. We are really ready for our next step in the faze of our lives, but we are learning patience, and faith. The building that we are living in has been up for sale, and I was told today that an offer came in on it, but has not been accepted yet. If it sells we are not sure where we are going to live, if we stay here I am not sure that we can afford it, and if we move, I am not sure where we would go. Please keep us in your prayers. This is not the first time that our living conditions have been in the gray area, and yet God has came through every time, so I am just waiting and praying, excited to see what God does for us this time.
We went to Devils Lake on Monday and the trip went awesome, we had fun, and it was the perfect rain day that we were looking for to make a road trip, so everything worked out great for us, Thank Jesus!! I ask that you all keep praying for our funds, as we are starting to fall a little behind in the monthly amount that we need saved up to go. We still have time to make it up, but we either need more people to help support us, or we need more jobs to provide that income. We know that all things are perfect in Gods will, and he will provide what we need, so once again as we press into Him in these little things, it will build our faith for the large things. We also thank God for keeping my family healthy, even in this time of transition, and "back to school" even though for us it is really more fitting to say "to school"since this is the first year for both of them. It has been wonderful living in Minot. Thank you all for your prayers, and we will talk again soon.

More of God

Hey guys, its been a while since we have had some time to sit and tell you all what has been happening. We are now in Minot. God has really provided a HUGE blessing here in town. Mandy and I have been busy, between meeting with Church's, meeting with people, working, and trying to be family. God has opened some big doors for us here in Minot. Mandy and I are officially contractors now, and working as much as we can to put all our money towards the trip to Mexico. We got the approval of New Hope Wesleyan yesterday to be there missionaries, that is another big thing that we are excited about. We have had some people step forward and start supporting us financially as well, thank Jesus for there willingness to support the ministry. We have been in contact with Bethany about our trip to Mexico as well, and things there are moving ahead. We are praising God for the things that He is putting in our lives, and doing for us. I have time to tell you a couple miracles that God is doing and I will post more later. We had a fairly large job that we had to do, and really needed an airless painter. We could have did it by hand, but it would have been 100 times the work, and time needed. We finally broke down and decided to buy one. After looking at used ones and trying to find something there we kept running into roadblocks. We decided that because of warranty issues and just reliability we should go find a reliable, but inexpensive sprayer. Well, after we picked out the one that we wanted a lady came up to us and asked us if we were the missionaries in town going to Mexico, we said yes. She told us that to support us, and our ministry she would buy the sprayer for us. Here is the kicker. Mandy and I did a job a couple days before and while we were there we felt like we were supposed to donate almost all our time and supplies to the family. They had a good run of bad luck and we were able to tell them about the love of Jesus through this. More than just tell them, we were able to show them. Well, we did it and went and told them right before we went sprayer shopping. We could not afford to do it, but if that what God wants, that is what we have to do. So after it was all said and done, we ended us with a sprayer donated to us that was equivalent to, or maybe even more than the value of our work that we donated. God really has been supplying for his people. Another miracle that we have to tell you about is the daycare/schooling that God provided. We had nothing for Zoe here, and the day cares that had openings here, were like that for a reason. We also wanted Zoe in pre-school to get a good base before going to Mexico. We figured it would be a long shot but we stopped at the best daycare in town. They had a waiting list a mile long. Everything that we went after wasn't working. After 1 week of pulling our hair out, we finally gave it to God. Many felt like we were supposed to go back to ABC Childcare (The good one) and talk to the lady that told us they were full. We went back in and they told here that they were going to be opening us another 3 year old wing in the Church very soon. They also said that they would be willing to let Zoe in as soon as it opened. Well it did, and one week later she was in. God also provided a place for Zoe for the week that we were waiting. What a Huge answer to prayer. Thank you Lord for all that you are doing for us, even though we are not worthy. I would love to tell you more, but there is not enough time, so I will update later. Please keep us in your prayers as we are looking for people that are willing to come behind us and support us financially while we make this trip down south. Love you all and God Bless, Good night.

No we didn't fall of the face of the earth

Sorry that we have not wrote lately. We just got internet yesterday and have not had time to keep up with our blog. We are now in Minot, ND starting our fundraising. We just got into our apartment and are trying to adjust to the new schedule. The girls are loving school and we are loving working together. We promise to type more within the next couple days. It is late and have to get up really early tommorow. Please check back for more of a up to date letter on our plans. Many blessing Mandy Johnston

Huge answer to prayer

We have been praying to the Lord to find us a place to live when we go home and start working and fundraising. We needed it to be very cheap because we need to raise around 40 some thousand dollars within 8 months (which will cover all our expenses for the next 2 years, including all 4 of our plane tickets to and from Mexico). We had gotten an email from a childhood friend of Ross's before we even moved to Bethany to start school. We found out that him and his family lived in the city and that they would like to visit with us sometime. Ironically we ended up running into them at a International church we have been volunteering at in the cities. They had been gone to India for three months doing missions work as a family, and that is why we haven't really been able to met up with them. We were very excited to have finally meet with them. Anyway they found out that we had been praying to find a place to live back at home. He called us yesterday and said that "in order to help support us he wanted to give us a free apartment for the time that we were home fundraising." It is in Minot and also he offered Ross some contracting construction work on some of his apartment. Also he was going to help Ross find work with one of the construction companies he knows of there. This place is one of the nicest places he owns in Minot. The best perk about it is that there is a elementary school very close to it. Alyssa is going to be starting Kindergarten this year and Zoe preschool. God thinks of everything. He once again completely answered or prayers even better than we could have imagined. This is now the second place God has given us to live for free since we started this journey He has place us on. I know that God takes care of His people, but I also know that God tests His people. He has definitely been doing both of that in our lives. When we take a step back and tell God that He is the one in control of our lives He honors us in that. He tells us that we are His dear children and He will take care of us if we would only allow Him too. Some times we think we know what is best for us and completely push God out of the picture. Wrong choice. I am sad that Alyssa won't be able to go to school in Trenton with Mrs. Nelson but I know that the Lord has good things also for us in Minot during this time. If anyone knows of a good preschool in Minot please let me know. We need to get Zoe into a childcare/preschool. Our cell number is 701-570-3253. We are able to move into this apartment Sept. 1st. This gives us about one week back in Williston before Alyssa starts school on the 23rd of August. We will have to find someplace to stay till then. I am excited to see what the Lord has planned for that! I just wanted to remind everyone to keep praying for the families that lost their loved ones to the bridge that collapsed in Minneapolis. Also for the Korean missionaries that have been captured and killed in the middle east. Their families are going to need prayer from their brothers and sister in the Lord from the West to help get them through this hard time. We need to honor these fallen brothers and sisters. Mandy

A fun day with friends

I also wanted to mention the wonderful time that we had with a very dear friend of mine Vickie Arneson and her family.They came and spent the day with us. We were able to go the the Como Zoo and Como town with them. We were able to watch a sea lion show and see many fun animals. The gorilla was bye far the coolest. The girls are still talking about being able to play with Dillon and Austin also being able to go on the rides. Thanks you Vickie and Terry for the wonderful day you truly blessed us with your generosity. It will forever be remembered. Thanks you Lord for friends. We will be coming home soon. We have two weeks left of this part of school. We will be coming home to work and fund raise for the next 9 months. I am very excited for Alyssa to be able to go to school with one of the teachers that truly blessed my life. Michelle Nelson she is such a great person. I love to be able to see someone that will pour out her heart in all that she does. Also too the people that she meets. I am honored that the Lord set it up this way that my daughter will be able to also have Michelle as her teacher. I know that it will be a great year. We will be looking for a place to live during these nine months. Please pray that we would be able to find a cheap place to live and also for me to find a job that would work around the schooling of the girls. I am excited to see everyone and catch up. I am very excited to see my friend Trisha Houles little twins. I have not seen them since I have been gone. What a blessing! I am sure they are beautiful and I will very much enjoy holding them. See you soon I must now go to lunch and feed my belly. Mandy

It is a sad time in our town now

It is a sad time in Minneapolis right now. I first off want to ask you to take second and pray for the families that have been lost and the people that are still missing...... In the mist of all this thought we were able to see how the Lord does take care of His children once again. One of our class mates was suppose to be in that area at that time. She would have been handing to help with her church that was downtown area but she decided yesterday afternoon that she was not going to go that day. The Lord protected her. Thank you Lord. We are going to be trying to go downtown to just sit and talk with people to that need someone to listen to them. If at that time the Lord quickens their heart we will share His good word but we want to be there first off to just love them in their time of hurt. He will make His presence know during this time. He is the great comforter. Please be praying for the driving situations this is one of the busiest roads for alot of people. We traveled this road often. When I was walking home from Youth Group last night before I heard about what happened outside had such a eerie feeling. It was like a brownish yellow color outside. I can't imagine how it was and still is for the people that are around the site. I pray that during this time that the Christians would be willing to open their hearts and arms for their fellow neighbors. In Mathew 22:37 Jesus tells us to love Him first and then love our neighbors as ourselves(shortened version :) ) We are not suppose to wait for something like this to happen before we do this. This should be in our everyday life. Thanks for all the people that called to make sure we were ok. We appreciate you. We feel very loved!

I can't come up with a cool name so you choose

Well it has calmed down a little since I last wrote. We just got done with a class called Ancient Paths. This was a class of mixed emotions. There was lots of great stuff taught in this class but there was even more not so great. The Lord uses even things that are not so great to teach us somethings. When you are open to hear and be taught what the Lord is teaching you then He will do some amazing things. Which HE did this last week. He healed some things in my heart that we hurt and wounded. Thank you Jesus that you only bring out as much as we can handle at a time. He never over steps His boundaries. Any way the girls are getting so big. Zoe is now riding a little bike now. She thinks she is such a big girl because she can do things like her big sister. Alyssa is just about out of her trainning wheels. She just amazes me how much she has grown. She is very much a little sweetheart. They are both going to be going to school this coming August. I am going to be one of those emotional moms that cries the first time they get on the bus. We would love to talk and hear about how things are going in your lives. Shoot us a email to rossandmandy@yahoo.com It would be nice to hear about people back home. Thanks for taking the time to hear about how this year is going for us. We would also love to hear about your live too. Talk later Mandy

Whirlwind

This is exactly what it has felt like these last two months. We want to first apologize for not writing like we promised we would. Our classes have been stretched longer into our already short nights and we have had our ministry week during this time and also we went back home for a week break. This was a verrrrrrrrry much needed break to be with family and friends. Also since we went to Thunder Bay God has been stirring some things up in His plans. You can really never give times or dates when you think you are going to be doing something for God. His timeline is a lot different than ours. There is a reason that James talks about this in James 4:13-17. James says you should not say "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city and spend a year there, buy and sell and make profit"; You do not know what will happen tomorrow. He says that you should rather say "If the Lord wills we shall live and do this or that". This is something we are still learning in. Our will is to do the Fathers will not our own that is why we have really been in prayer about taking the girls up to the environment we would be in in Thunder Bay, especially after Zoe just about ate three pills that would have overdosed her. A few months back we were casually invited to go with the college to finish of our degree in Mexico City, Mexico. We just kind of blew it off because we knew we were suppose to go the the Bay. The thing that we ignored though was that God quickened our hearts to consider it. This was extremely amazing in its self because none of our class had this option, the only options they had were to Africa and Indonesia. God had different plannes for us for right now. We first started this journey off thinking we were going to go somewhere South of the boarded. We didn't care where we just felt that love for the people of the South. After much prayer and fasting we have decided to finish off our schooling with Bethany. Some huge things that were answered with this choice was our daughters safety. They will each be 3 years older and will both be in school full time. This will save us over $800.00 dollar a month in pledges for part time daycare. Also the girls will not be around the atmosphere of the streets as often. The number one things that we have prayed since we started this journey were "Lord help us to stay on the path that you have laid out for us, don't let us step out of your will for our lives. Second was "Lord you have placed this specific calling on our family, Our family is going to live by the order you have created us to live by: God first, family second and ministry third." The safety of our daughters was the biggest part of our choice. We feel that this choice has been blessed by God and that it is in the path that were are to journey on. Also we were having a hard time getting into Canada. When we finish our B.A. degree with the school we will be able to get into Canada with little red tape. What a blessing God has had planned from the beginning. Here we thought we had to plan this trip!HAHA I guess that is the life of a missionary(and all Christians) You have to totally walk by faith and let God guide your foot steps. We still have a calling and a purpose up in Thunder Bay Canada. We want to fulfill this after our schooling is complete (if the Lord will's). The Love of my Native ancestors is still as strong as ever. When God puts a love in your heart that strong nothing on this Earth can shake it. I must leave and go again into my extremely busy life. We will be celebrating Ross's 28th Birthday this month. I am blessed to have a man as good as him. If any body has any questions or concerns we would love to visit with you. our email is rossandmandy@yahoo.com. Blessings Mandy Johnston

Our Trip to Thunder Bay

Wow this was a amazing trip even before we got up there. We didn't have any money to make it up there but we had just put a lizard cage on a thing called craigs list it is like the shopper online. We asked God if you can sell this by tomorrow then we will go up to the bay. We looked the next morning and someone emailed us to buy it. It was sold that afternoon. We left late Friday night. On Saturday we went around looking at the town for a little bit then went to the Rock Worship Center were we are going to be working. We met Pauline and her husband Rob the Senior pastor of the Center. We talked about our plans and it was amazing how God gave all of us the exact same dreams for this future life skills center. She has had the opportunity to get this building for three years but she never took it because she knew that the right people we not there to run it. When she heard of us God gave her the go ahead and she knew that we were that exact people that she had been waiting for. This was not your average church. It was full of drug dealers, prostitutes and homeless people, but I was more at home than ever before. It is amazing how God places things in our heart. I have been praying since I can to know that Lord that I could have a older woman to teach and pray with me about the things of the Lord. Pauline is that exact fit. I am so excited to get up there. We have alot of the same giftings. I am thankful the Lord uses elders to teach us younger one about things in life. She told us 90% of the people that walk through the door are HIV positive and/or have Hepatitis C. and that she could almost guarantee that everyone has also experienced some form of sexual abuse. It was a tough place but the Holy Spirit was very much present. Ross was holding Zoe during worship and she said daddy dreams come true, Ross asked her what she meant and she told Him that she dreamed of this place, that dreams really do come true. Alyssa also was filled with so much joy. She danced and sang for Jesus before and after church. At supper that night she prayed for the meal and thanked Jesus for putting joy in her heart as she danced and sang that day. We learned so many things up there. We learned that we need to lean even more on God because He wants to supply all our needs. It is so important to be in Gods word. It helps rejuvenate us daily. He also teaches us things through it. Please be in prayer for us, we need to be able to trust God more with our children. This is so hard especially when that girls found three drug pills at the center that were laying out. Thankfully Alyssa knew not to eat them and brought them to us right away. Lord I give my children to you and I trust in you daily. You are the person that gives us breath, help us to see that everyday. I really could go on all night about our trip and what happened but I must get to bed. If any buddy would like to hear more about our trip or what we are doing up in the bay. Please email us at rossandmandy@yahoo.com. We are also going to be starting up something in Trenton for the youth as we are doing our fundraising in the town. We will be posting about this at a later date. Hope all is well with everyone. Talk Later Mandy

A very special Mother's Day

I hope everyone had a Happy Mother's Day. Mine was a special Mother's day for many reasons. One was because my baby turned three years old on Mother's Day. We went out to eat and went to the Zoo. We had so much fun. It was 90 some degrees out that day. I got my official start on my tan for the season. Then that night my husband took me to Spiderman 3 at the IMAX theater. I got very spoiled. We had some friends volunteer to babysit for us that night for a mother's day gift to me. The people we are in school with are so wonderful. We are going to miss them very much. It is a blessing to know that all of them are here for the same purpose as us. On Monday we had a little party for Zoe. We had many friends come from all over the world. We had a couple that sang her a Norwegian birthday song and dance. She had to stand on a chair as people dances all around her and sang in Norwegian. She was all smiles
Zoe also had a dream on the morning of her third birthday that we will all remember forever. She woke up and told us about it. She said that she woke up in the middle of the night and was scarred so she prayed to Jesus because she wanted a huge from Him. She then went back to bed and in her dream she seen Jesus, He came and gave her a big huge and told her that He loved her. She said that there were angels all around them and Jesus also told her that He love her mommy, daddy, and sister also. She was so excited when she woke up. She looked like she was really glowing. I have never seen that much joy in someones face ever in my life. It looks like we could also learn something from Zoe. Jesus always wants to reach out and have a relationship with us. We just have to ask Him. He wants also nothing more than to hold us close to Him and protect us from harm. She told this story many times within the last few days and she has not changed anything. She has been right on in telling everyone what happened. She also gets that amazing look of joy on her face every time she tells it. All I can do is give praise to the Lord, because He is so faithful to answering all our prayers. Later Mandy

Mommy ducky

Well I officially became a mommy duck a couple days ago. We found a orphaned mallard duckling that just about got ran over. We had it at the house for three days and two nights. It followed me around every where I went. It cried if it didn't go with me. The girls were like its sisters. We had fun with it. It showered with me, napped with me and went everywhere with us. We finally found a wildlife rehab shelter. This is suppose to be the best one in the nation. It was a hard lesson for Alyssa to learn about. She had to let go of something that meant a lot to her. She learned to think of someone else more than herself. She did very good. It was hard but she did good. We pretended to be like Go Diego Go. She and Zoe were real life rescuers. This place was amazing. We were also able to go for a walk were it would eventually be let out into the wild. This made it a lot easier for the girls. We all have such big hearts. The duck became a family friend. Thank God we found out about this beautiful place. Alyssa also became a little bit more grown up today. This is something that a mommy is always proud of. Thankfully daddy was also able to be with us during this fun adventure. He is such a wonderful dad!!! Sorry ladies the best is already taken!!! Better go it is late. Mandy

My baby is going to be three

I cannot believe Zoe is going to be three on May thirteen. We are going to be able to celebrate her birthday and Mother's Day together. What a great blessing for a mommy to be able to celebrate. I sound like I am old, but I didn't think that it would go this fast. Both girls are going to be in school this fall. Alyssa is going to be in Kindergarten and Zoe in her first year of preschool. How the time flies. Mandy

Fun times

Ross and I are taking a class this week called Preaching and Teaching. This has been one of the best classes that I (Mandy) have taken so far this year. I love getting up and preaching the Word of God. The teacher has been such a huge help in explaining different ways to preach. I just gave my 10 minute sermon in class today. I spoke about Luke19:1-10. The story about Zaccaheus. I asked the question "Are you one of those people that would go out of your way to find out about whom this Jesus person is that causes so much controversy in our society?" I lite up with the authority of the Holy Spirit and hit all the points that I wanted to get across to the class. I was complimented by the teacher and my class mates by them saying that I am a true Evangelist. I was humble that the teacher came and gave me a pat on the back and said well done. I will try to get this on the blog page. When I was up preaching all I could keep thinking was I want to be in Thunder Bay preaching this to the people that really need to hear this the most. My heart is so ready to start on the road that God is leading us on. This is what I was created to do!! What even makes me more happy is to know that I have a man that will stand right next to me and encourage me through out it forever. Ross also has a heart of an Evangelist. I am so proud to be his wife. I can see how God has favored me in this. I also just wanted to take a minute and thank all of you that are keeping in touch with us through out this journey so far. Thanks for your prayers and encouragement. I better go know to my girls. I realize that my kids come first before ministry, and I have been gone from them all morning and worked on my sermon last night, so I better go. Being a mom is what I love and I am eternally grateful that the Lord is allows this special blessing to me.

exactly where we are

Well, we haven't updated where we are exactly so I thought that we should let everyone know. We are now fully accepted by IMF a missions sending organization. We are now labeled as faith based missionaries. We are one summer term from graduating Bethany, and God is opening door for us like I have never seen. He is directing our steps, and showing us the plans that He has laid out before us. I am working on getting our presentation online so that everyone can see exactly why we are doing what we are doing. I would love to hear from people that are keeping up with us. We are going to mailing out newsletters and would love for people to send us there mailing address's, and e-mail address's so that we can be sure they are informed as to where we are. Thank you to all of you that are praying for, and supporting us in every way.

YAAAAAAAAAA

Wow this spring break has flown bye. Were are home starting our fundraising and it has been crazy busy. We have not seen our family much but I am thankful to be able to see them in August. We are going to be giving our presentation in church on Sunday during both services at New Hope church. Please in in prayer that the peoples hearts would be open to hear about our ministry and to get involved some how. Through prayer, monthly support or even encouragement. God has opened so doors for us since we have been home in Williston. We were asked to give our presentation to the board out in Trenton and we were also able to get in tho speak at Trinity school. This has been a little bit of a blood pressure raiser but I know that God will provide because we are doing this for Him. I have never been so sure of anything in my life. The girls have had a great time being back with family. They are our little social bugs. Thaks all of you out there for keeping up with our family. I pray all is well in each and every one of your lives. God is GOOD. Mandy

test time

Thank all of you for the prayers that you have been sending up for us. God really heard your prayers. We took our psychological test yesterday and it went well, we are just as screwed up as everyone thought!!!! Just Kidding, it went well, they were very happy to see us, we took around over 800 questions and 2 hours of counseling, and it really went well. The lady convinced us that Mandy and I are a great match, she told us both our strong points and weak points. They told us that her weakness is my strength, and my weakness is her strength!! God is so amazing in how He does things!! God has had His hand in our ministry since we first met each other. We will have the final report by Friday, and then one last meeting and we will have the approval by the missions department!!! God is so amazing in how he has been moving us. Sky and Angie, and Chris and Jo were here this weekend for Easter, that was fun!! It is always a good time when we get together. We opened our house for the weekend, and we had about 25 people show up. We ended up with more food at the end of the meal than we started out with, because people would bring things as they showed up. This was amazing, and so was the food!! We had food from India, Thailand, Brazil, and normal BBQ brats and hamburgers, etc. We are so blessed by how God has provided for us, and others that are here on campus!! Please keep us in your prayers as we are starting into the summer term, I hope that it is a bit slower than the last trimester. We have had a busy, fun time, but now it is time to reconnect with our families.

Accepted At Last - The Next step in the process

Hey- well we finally got the word, we are accepted by IMF!! Praise God, now the last and final step is to undergo the psychological evaluation!! Yikes!!! Actually we should be good to go!! As soon as the results are in, and we are cleared to be missionaries we will be completed, except for the funding, and the last couple months of school!! God is so amazing, I just cant wait to tell you more stories about the people that we are going to!!
God's hand is moving more and more, the more that I look around and talk to people about Him, and see what He is doing in my life, the more that I realise how much He loves each and every one of us. I was talking to one of the guys that is located where we are going, and He was telling me about the miracles that are taking place up there!! Wow, God is really becoming pro active in the field, calling people unto Himself! We meet another friend and he was telling that there are Muslims that Jesus Himself is visiting at night while they pray to Allah. Jesus Himself shows up and tells them that He is the one true God, and they must worship Him!! There is no words to describe the fire that they are carying in there hearts. There are people that are praying for God to answer there prayers, but God does not just answer, He blows there doors off!!! A man that we know is building Hospitals in the middle east, and the way that God is using Him to witness to people is nothing short of a miracle!!!! Satan trys to take our eyes off God, and onto the things of the world, but the more that I push on towards God, the more that we render Satan inneffective. I have just recently seen that when the attacts happen, just push hard into God, and He will supply all out needs!! I am starting to get a glimps of what God meant when He said that the harvest is ripe, and the workers are few! I had no idea how ripe the harvest is, but I praise God to know that He is not willing to let me, or them go. There have been a million times that I should have been turned into a pillar of salt, but because of His great love for us I am still standing, and we will stand. In one of the class's that we are taking now, we are studying church History, and what that looked liked, and because of that I have been meditating on what kind of love would you have to have to sit there, while you are being burned to death, and praying for the forgiveness of the peopel that are doing it? Also, not being mad at them!! I wonder how people would react to christians in a society where you have to drive past the gallows every day, knowing that they are built to kill Christians like us! We have meet some people from here that have told us about the Chinese Church and how it is literally taking your life and throwing it out the window to say that you are christian!! What kinda love must you have in your heart to keep going every day??? God please help me keep fighting this fight until its won.
Please pray for Mandy and I as we go into this last evaluation, we should know if we are accepted by as soon as friday, or as late as the 17th. Thank you to all of you that have been praying for us, and supporting us over this last 8 months!!!! Only 4 more to go!!!!!!!! Later guys, please e-mail us and let us know how you all are doing!!!!

Pushing on

Well, Mandy and I have been really busy lately, we are working on getting our newsletter out, doing class, planning Easter, and most of all we starred in a movie. Well, it is kinda a movie. When it is finally online I will post a link to it. We are going to mail out our newsletter in a couple days, hope you all enjoy it.
We got snow last night, SNOW! What in the world is going on? I thought this was over!! I am going to write a letter to God and let Him know that this is just not right!!! I was mowing grass on Friday, and shoveling on Wednesday!! What In The World!!???!!
Sky and Angie showed up Monday night at our house, we were overjoyed to see them again! They updated us on everything that is starting to move in the Bay area. God is drawing people unto Himself, and miracles are happening. The devil better watch out because when God is in the equation, things start to happen. The Rock is really doing great things, and God is really getting us ready. He is walking us through the valleys, equipping our minds, and really strengthening our faith so that we can stand! Without the Holy Spirit strengthening us we would just fall on our face's. Through Him however, "All things are possible". I cannot tell you how miraculous of a God that we serve, every time that I know God is going to do a miracle, He just blows our doors off. I look forward to seeing what God continues to do in us, and with us, as we move closer and closer to the step out. Thank you to all of you that are praying for us, and with us.

God is still in the business- Zoe's healing

Matthew 16:18-19 On this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it! I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven!!
I thought it would be beneficial for me to put this online, and let the world know what happened last night. I pray for forgiveness for doubting what happened, and waiting until now to post this, but I am only human. It started a little while ago, Zoe was complaining that she was hurting, as we soon figured out, she had some sort of bladder infection, or something like it. We were wanting to take her to the doctor, but because of the money, or lack thereof, we decided to wait until we got home where she could go to TISA and therefor be way more affordable. Well, she kept complaining about it, and then last night it came to a head. She was awake most of the night complaining about it. We decided that we would take her in on Monday, irregardless of what it cost, and we would figure out how to pay for it later. It went from a nuisance, to bad in literally a day's time. I was sitting up with her and just rubbing her back in the middle of the night last night, and began to pray. I told God that He needed to take care of them, because there is nothing that I can do! I don't remember everything other than I was really sincere! I began to pray for healing for Zoe as she sat there and whimpered. This is quite possibly the worlds worst feeling, knowing that there is nothing that you can do for your child!! I poured out my heart to God, and kept asking Him to just touch her. Then I began praying for His peace, and comfort to fall on her. I noticed that as I was praying she first began to cry, then within 5 minutes she fell fast asleep. I prayed a while longer then stumbled back to my bed and fell asleep. Zoe slept in this morning and I just waited to see how she felt. She got up all chipper and I asked her if she was still hurting and she laughed at me and said no. I was shocked, this was the first time she had said no since all this started!! Then as the day went on I asked her a bunch of times about it, and she just kept telling me that she was fine!! No pain!!! Thank God, He healed her when there was literally nothing that we could do for her!! We serve a big God, that cares enough to comfort us no matter what we are going through. That is the reason that we are doing what we are doing, waiting for His return, with eternity on our mind!!! We do not serve a god made of feathers, or a rock that just sits there, or a god that might strike us down with fire at any moment, we serve a loving, kind God that is always there for us no matter what!!! AMEN

IMF missions application

We have officially submitted our application to International Ministerial Fellowship and we are awaiting an answer. Thank you to all of you who sent in references for me. We should have an answer by the time that we get home for spring break. Thank you to all of you who have been supporting us in prayer, and everything else while we are here.We now have the church covering, the ministry covering, we have been showered in prophecies, and we are very excited to go!! To explain it best, I feel like a caged up animal ready to get out. God now is just teaching us patience! God is really doing good works in what we are doing, we are seeing lives transformed in the youth that we are teaching, and the students that sit in class around us. We are not the same people that left home, and neither is anyone else that sits here with us. God is still in the business of changing and transforming lives, and I am blessed, and humbled to be apart of it. I am continually excited to see the growth of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the youth that we are teaching. We are studying the history of the ancient church and looking at how God directed His disciples, and how He worked in the lives of the early people, and it is so exciting to see Him doing the same thing today!!!! We will be sending out an update letter so if you want to send us your mailing address to receive this please let us know, otherwise it will be online hopefully by Monday.

back again- few days off, or on??? Not sure!!

Hello, It has been a few days, I have been sick again. I just slept, and slept, and slept. Then as soon as I got better, Mandy left for 3 days to go to a ladies retreat, and the girls and I stayed home. We had fun, we went to a dog adoption deal where they were giving away all these dogs that were abused, and taken away from there owners. Then we went and hit a bunch of pet stores just looking around. We got to play around with some birds, and bunny's and other stuff. As I sit here at Caribou Coffee this morning reflecting on the week-end I am not sure how Mandy does it everyday, but that was a blast!!! We are blessed to have 2 of the best kids in the world!!! We are going into Isaiah for the next three weeks now, so this should be interesting, and informative. I also have to meet with the church here in Minneapolis today and see what they decided about being able to take us on with the administration details. This will be a turning point for us, once this is complete, we will start to push hard on our immigration details, and getting this done. I will keep you all updated as God keeps pushing us, and stretching us in the direction that He pushes. Thank you all for the prayers that have been prayed for us, God is hearing you!!!

Leaving on a Jet Plane

The last few day's Mandy and I were blessed to have one of our friends stay with us for a few days. She was flying back home and we told her that she should stay with us for a few day's, and she accepted. We had fun hanging out, and visiting, and just relaxing together for the last couple days. She left this morning from the airport, and it was hard to say goodby, but we know she will be blessed, because she is following in God's direction. We stayed up late, and had to get up before 5am, so this day is going to be long day. It was worth every minute of it!
Please pray for us as I meet with a local church tomarrow about using them as a conduit to be able to funnel our funds to Canada. We need a local church to handle the donations in America, and then pass them on to Canada, because the church up there can only accept funds from another church to pay its employees. I know that Bethany Church is wonderful when it comes to helping out missionaries, so I dont see a problem, we just need to pray for everything to go through. Thank you to all that have been praying for us, as God has really been opening doors, and pushing us in His direction.

Sunday- The day of rest

Well, today was the day of rest, with a house full of friends, and food. We had a friends birthday today, and we made some food and invited a few people over. The next thing I saw, was a house full of people, and a table full of food. We are so blessed to have all the things that we get on a daily basis. God just multiplied, and multiplied, until everyone is happy, and full. People just showed up at our door with food in there hands. Thank you Lord for blessing us. It was humbling to sit here and watch people laugh, and talk, and play with the kids. I feel like I got a taste of what Sundays are supposed to be. Mandy got to relax and enjoy baby Jonah, and baby Jada, and just have fun. We have been sick, and locked in this house for about a week, so this was nice to have the windows open, fresh air, fun people, and good conversation. The conversation went towards the end time's and I got a book that I am going to read, I will let you all know how it is going as I read it. Thank you to all the people that have been praying for us, as we are still seeing God move in our behalf while we pursue our trip to Thunder Bay. Thank you all, and good night. Ross

Our Flickr account

For those of you who want to follow us on our photo journey, we have finally made a flickr account. I will post a link here, but if you go to www.flickr.com and do a search for rossandmandy you will find it as well!!!
I do not have to upload many of them, so I will do it as I have time. Check back often.

Thanks and love you all!!!!!!

The J's

THe Link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rossandmandy/

God opens doors--HUGE UPDATE

wow, I do not know where to start. I have been sick with the flu the last few days doing nothing but sleeping, at the same time God was moving miraculously in front of us. I got an e-mail on Wednesday telling us that the missions agency that we were going to go through is going to shut down, because there is not enough American interest in it anymore. They are moving to Europe, because there is more of what they need there. On Thursday I contacted my teammates in Thunder Bay asking them about what options we had for moving up there, that were still available. He said that he would talk to the church that he is going to start pastoring, and get back to me. He got back to me on Thursday night and told me to call a lady by the name of Pauline on Friday or Saturday night. So, tonight I called her and we started talking. She had heard about us, but before we could even tell her our story, she started telling us about how people that she knew from all over the world had prophesied from weeks earlier about us coming up to Thunder Bay to help her, and the church. We had already known that Thunder Bay was our calling, but this was just another boost to clarify what we are to do up there. We are still going to have to raise support because there is no money in the church. This is a recently new church plant, and it is just trying to maintain financially. We will be there faith based financially, and any money we raise after our living expenses, will go to the church to help build the life skills center. The church is in an area of Thunder Bay that has no Bible believing church's in the area. Anyway, Pauline told us how we can come under her and work on the streets, and have accountability, correction, and approval of what we are doing. She will take both Mandy and I together as a team, and not just one of us. With the Bethany class's and one year of hands on training, we will receiver out license as pastors. Both Mandy and I will be licensed, and also we will be running the life skills center, under Sky and Angie. This is exactly what God has placed on our hearts since we have been here at Bethany!! God closed one door, but opened a huge door for us to walk through. The church has pledged 100% help in not only providing a covering for us, but also help with all the paperwork, and legal stuff that is needed to get us into Canada as permanent residence. That is the only way that we are guaranteed to not have to walk away from our ministry, because of legal issues. We could get a temporary visa, but that would have to be continually renewed, this was we can just settle in, and make a home in the community. We also will be in charge of the summer teams that come up, to help do projects in the area. She has teams from all over the world that come on one or two week missions trips, and Mandy and I would oversee all that, and make sure they are producing positive, acceptable, results while increasing the knowledge of the team, and producing lifelong results for the beneficiaries. God's hand is moving, and now I just sit back and marvel at what He is doing. I am humbled that I am chosen to fulfill this calling that God has placed on our lives. I pray that I am willing and able to persevere in the face of trials, as Satan also knows what a willing vessel, in the hands of God, can accomplish

Relief & Development

We are two days into Relief and Development and we are seeing how this is a big issue in our christian church. I never realized the difference between them before. I am thankful for the teaching that we are learning, but the God encounters have been amazing! I had been struggling with some internal mental attacks, but through the grace of God I have been delivered. Now I know what it feels like to have the freedom in Christ that the Bible talks about. Every time that something hard happens I look at the scriptures and remember what the Lord said about the correction of His children. The Lord desires the very best for us, and a lot of times that takes spiritual correcting for the Father himself. I now feel the presence of the Holy Spirit in my body, and I can feel the love of the Father, and the presence of Jesus around me and my family. As the psalmist David said, "My soul longs after you" I know what that longing feels like. There is no place on this earth that can fulfil that longing, except in the presence of God. I just pray this love, and fire is never quenched in our souls.

another week

Well, Dad and the family made it to the train, He only grabbed for the seat about three times while I drove through the traffic, I must be getting better. Last time I drove my passengers closed there eyes and laid down because they didn't want to see what was next, he he! This driving thing is great, especially in the snow, because then I have an excuse!! Oh well, the kids were happy to see grandpa and Lynette, now that is over, and back to school. Human relief and development is next so pray for me. I know that there will be allot of anger issues to deal with when learning about the oppression of people that are just innocent people trying to provide for there families. If any of you would like to hear what we are studying about just e-mail us and ask us, at rossandmandy@yahoo.com. I better get to bed, I have to get up early. Later all.

Not where you are, but what you are.

As I was having prayer time today I started to study into the subject of following God and how we are supposed to live our lives for Him. He told me that He was far more concerned with how we live our lives, and not where we live our lives. I have always looked at the Matthew 28 and thought that I was supposed to travel to the other side of the world, and then I would make a difference, but that is just not the case. I was praying and God gave me Isaiah 41:9-13 and it all became clear how some people are definitely called to do this (mission field), but others are not. I have heard it said many times that in order to follow God we must sell all our things and follow Him. This is true in one aspect, we do have to be willing to do that, but in another aspect God called us where we are, and not where we should be. He did not call us and say, "come over here to find Me", actually He runs to where we are! Then I was directed to Ephesians 4:1-2 and I realised that we all have different callings, some are missions, some are workplace, and some are living in the garbage dumps with the bums. The fact is that there was a savior that took upon humanity, became flesh, walked this earth, was beaten, bruised, kicked, mocked, shamed with the highest shame, and died naked, wounded, and marred so that we could have an eternity of joy and peace with Him. I just pray that I live a life worthy of the calling that is placed on me by Him. Never again will I look at someone and question whether the are living the life that God intended for them. I fear that too many times it is preached, that if we are not across an ocean, we are not following God's plan for us. I also fear that because of the person at work that is dieing on the inside, and is overlooked, and may spend eternity without Christ because I was too busy making my plans to go leave here, and change the world. I caught a glimpse of this the other day when I was sitting at a red light rushing from one place to another for the college when I saw this guy holding a sign next to the road saying "Homeless, need food, please help" and I thought to myself "If I only had time" and then God humbled me and asked me if I was in too much of a hurry training to be a missionary to help the helpless? We need to have a transformation in our church's and lives. The first step is to seek God with all we are, and realize that missions starts within OUR hearts, then it expands to the person standing next to us at the grocery store, or our 9 to 5. We just need to share our faith with those around us, and if it is our calling to do missions let's be willing, but if it isn't, don't look down at yourself as any less of a person, because the kingdom of God starts in the hearts of those who are willing to take the time to listen!
Sorry about going off on this post, I just feel like there is someone out there that needed to hear this as much as I did.

Sis This Ones For You

Hey, sorry I have not been writing lately but here is a little story that I owe to my sister so here I go. There once was a princess that had the coolest sister in the world. This princesses name is Kim. Kim said "my sister Mandy is so cool I am going to buy her a huge amount of chocolate because that is her favorite". Well after that Kim said " O coolest sister when are you going to send me that sweat shirt you owe me?" Well the cool sister Mandy said "o in good time." Then they had Indian tacos and that is the end of the story. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA This was a inside joke. If you are not Kim please realize that we really are normal it just might not look that way!! Or maybe you need to look up normal in the dictionary and you will see a picture of Mandy the cool one in there. OK here I really go. God has been doing such amazing things in our lives. He has shown me what real love is. He has shown me His love. I never really understood this before. It is like He and I have gone to a whole different level in life. Please pray that I can show this kind of love to everybody. This is what friends are for, to hold each other accountable in all areas of their lives. If you are to ever hear me talk against someone or not give them a benefit of a doubt please confront me. Because I also as a friend have to confront you. We are all called to love the Lord God with all our heart, soul and mind. Then to love our neighbor as our self. These are the greatest commandments. Mathew 22:37
The girls are doing amazing, they are busy being little social bugs around campus. All the students say that they bring life to the campus. I will take that as a compliment. They are very busy and loud but then I guess that is exactly how we are so they never real had a fighting chance to be normal. But remember from the story what the definition in Webster says about that!! HA HA I am very proud of my husband there is nothing more attractive than to see a man that is searching after God like he is. When the man of the house does this all family life just falls into place (thank you God for your perfect order). Well I must go I have to go to the never ending chore of laundry. Chou Mandy
(I am not the great "I Am" (Exodus 3;14) " but by the grace of God I am what I am" (1 Cor. 15:10)

Snow, Snow, Snow

We are starting to feel the effects of winter! Last weekend we got around 8 inch's of snow and nothing shut down, no school closings, no business's closed, not really anything except a lot of wrecks. I was shocked, and assumed it was done, but now round 2 is starting!! They are expecting somewhere between 16 to 18 inch's more. We got lots of rain last time, this time it is snow. We are having thunder snows?!? Thunder and lightening, and snow!! Crazy. Well, I better get to class, I will post later.

update on our missions

Hello everyone, we have been gone a while into the wonderful world of college, but we are back now. Mandy and I were able to come alongside of the Acquire the Fire event here in Minneapolis, and we were busy to the max, but we were extreamely blessed to be able to do it. If anyone does not know what those events are, they can visit the website at www.acquirethefire.com . I was in charge of all the transportation for the entire event, which threw me into 14 to 15 hour days, but it was a blast. I got to hang out with some of todays largest main stream christian bands, and motivational speakers. Mandy was able to be in charge over a large group of junior and senior high school kids. We were blessed to see God fall on these kids, and many, many miracles were done. That stage of life is over now, and it is snow removal, and study time. We are studying the synoptic gospels, and spiritual warfare, and Mandy and I are really learning a lot. Our girls now have 2 other girls that are here, and they are both the same age. That are able to get together everyday and spend a couple hours playing. They are really building some healthy, good relationships. They are having lots of fun, and it will be hard for them to leave.
We are entering snow season, which I thought I understood, but this is like nothing that I have ever been involved in. We got about 3 inch's of rain first, and then about 8 inch's of snow on top of that. There is 12 inch's that should be here tonight, and this stuff is so heavy that my bobcat can not hardly move it. My boss has me driving a bobcat to move the stuff before and after school. We have gotten stuck in the picks, bobcat, and tractors. It is hillarius, and my boss is 100% norwegian and is always saying things like, "Ufda" and "dontcha know" which I spend more time laughing than working.
Mandy is heavily involved in training sessons for counseling, and spiritual freedom meetings. She is involved in meetings at night, and weekends, and then we are spending lots of time studying the Bible on our own, memorizing scriptures, and learning how this all goes together. We are blessed to have many, many very wise instructors, that are very wise and are, more than willing, to help us with our questions and growth.
Thank you for all the prayes that you have been sending our way, and we will be sending out a newsletter very soon giving everyone an update on what we are doing, and when. I would love to comment on that, but we are just currently waiting on approval for the missions agency that we have applied for. Once we have heard something we will let everyone know. Thank you and God bless you all.