Flip-flop friends

 Another awesome part of being in Minneapolis is that we met a new friend, Janet, who has been praying about Vanuatu for several years.  We met up with her and her girls and they bought a whole bunch of flip-flops for us to give out in Vanuatu! They were also a great encouragement to us and prayed for us. Pretty cool how God arranges divine opportunities!

 Hannah, Julia, and Janet

Benhardus family reunion

After our time in northern Minnesota, we got to go to Minneapolis to spend time with my mom's family and have a family reunion there.  It's been a long while since we've done that!  We arrived a few hours too late to see my cousin Heidi and family but everyone else was there other than my cousin Dawn, who's serving with the Peace Corps in The Gambia (West Africa).  Here's pics from our get-together.

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August 2011 Newsletter

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Finishing out May

Praise God, we made it back to Montana with no accidents and no drama. We did, however, have some fantastic opportunities to see friends and family along the drive. My friend Angie and her husband, John, drove 6 hours from Ohio to spend a day with me in Michigan before we took off. Thanks guys, what a sacrifice! We walked in the state park where I got all the pictures I posted last post. We saw a beaver and lots of poison ivy. It was a pretty walk. Angie and I were roommates at Grace College in Indiana where I attended from 98-00. We were the boring roommates who always studied for our Biology degrees. She and John took off back to Ohio the same day we left for Goshen, Indiana;where we stayed a night with Jodi and her kids Leah and Luke. We missed her husband, Duane as he was out of town. Jodi was one of my other roomates at Grace. I met Leah 3 years ago or so when I was in Indiana for another roommate, Amber's, wedding but hadn't met Luke yet (or seen Leah all grown up!) so it was fun to see them.

The next day we left for Iowa to my Uncle Dave and Aunt Kathy's house. I have 3 cousins from Iowa, 2 of which are married and live nearby. However, all 3 cousins were around because of Memorial Day weekend so I got to see all of them. Here's a pic of us: Gretchen, me, Heidi, Christy, and Dawn. I'm the oldest so I get to be tallest, isn't that how that works? :) Heidi and Christy are pregnant and due this summer/fall. Heidi is having baby #5 (Levi, Asher, Lilly, Violet, and baby) and Christy is having baby #2 (Ariel & baby).

Here's a pic of all the 2nd cousins. Ariel wasn't happy about being in a picture so Christy is helping out... Getting 8 kids ages 5 and under in a picture is quite an undertaking, hence the lack of kids looking and smiling at the camera. They're still cute though. This is: Ariel (Christy) and Lilly in the back.

Front is: Asher, Jesiah holding Adalaya, Gweny, and Levi holding Violet.

Here's Uncle Dave and Aunt Kathy on the left. After eating Aunt Kathy's amazing cinnamon rolls for breakfast, we headed on to Minneapolis to stay with my Uncle Fred and Aunt Betty again. They win for hosting us the most times over the last year - yeah! Your rewards are in heaven; I don't have anything fun to give you... :) We saw my grandma there again and also saw my Uncle Darrell and Aunt Jeannie. Here's all of them at Fred and Betty's and a pic too of my cousin Fred and his girlfriend, Barbara. He's impossible to photograph so I have to get candid shots to get anything. Finally, here's me with Fred and Betty. The next night we were scheduled to stay with friends Ralph and Shari in Bismark, North Dakota. However, as we got on the road, the kids and I were sick and Jesiah had a nasty fever. We stopped in and ate supper with Ralph and Shari so got to see them a short time. Then we then hit the road again and just drove the whole way back to Montana, getting back late that night. Sleeping in one's own bed after a month away is a great treat! Fortunately, we are all healed up again, feeling great so we are practicing getting our "land legs" back on again after a month on the road. It is nice to be back in Montana again for awhile, but I'm so thankful for all the great connections while on the road. Thanks to everyone who hosted us, fed us, and shared their time with us this trip!

So what's up for June? So far I've been spending my time catching up on paperwork from while I was away. Hopefully I'll be through all my old piles by the end of the week. Next on my to-do list is getting a study plan together for learning grammar and starting on Bislama (the trade language in Vanuatu). I also need to go back through all my boxes from moving here from Boise last year and get rid of more things I'm realizing I don't need. We are having a garage sale the end of the month so that will be a great time to trim down more. I also have lots of paperwork still to do for moving overseas - banking stuff, insurance stuff, social security stuff, Australia student visa, a will and burial info to Biblical Minstries Worldwide to name a few. I'm also catching up with friends and supporters here in Montana. The very end of the month, I am looking forward to a short family get-away my mom has planned to the Black Hills (South Dakota). Just 8 short weeks until I fly to California and then on to Vanuatu - wow, look at the time go! Thanks for your prayers for faithfulness, provision, and grace as the time draws near.

June newsletter

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May and team time

Here are some pics from the front end of the trip out to Michigan. Click on each tab for each subject area. Within each tab are several pictures so click on each to see them and the text going along with them.

Michigan is beautiful! Check these out! This is at a state park near the Jones' house.

Our last major road trip

I've officially left Boise behind... for a long while. We drove over the weekend to Blackfoot, ID and presented at a church there. It is a church pastored by Justin, a fellow BMW missionary, supported by his wife, Heather. We stayed with the family of Lesli, a friend of Hought and Gretch from Bible school. They were super hospitable and it was great getting to know them. Sunday evening we got to Bozeman to stay with lovely Lindsey again (our faithful friend at just the right point on I94). We got to see friends Josh and Lisa as well, always a treat! :) From there, we took off for Miles City and spent 2 day unpacking and repacking, filing paperwork from the last 3 months of being away, and preparing to be away another month. We also got to hang out with my parents. Three cheers for my AMAZING mom who fixed us all our meals for those 2 days so we didn't have to buy groceries or spend time cooking. You're awesome, mom! :)



We figured on 2 days being plenty to do everything, but it was quite crazy to make the turn-around so fast. We packed up the car Thursday morning (May 1) for our last major road trip, Lord-willing. Please check the schedule to the right to see where we are when, but this trip includes stops in: Fargo, North Dakota; Minneapolis, Minnesota (to see aunts, uncles, grandma, and some friends); Waukesha, Wisconsin (to see friends of Hought and Gretch who are instructors with New Tribes Mission); Lansing, Michigan (to hang out with teammates Amber and Brad and their kids Zoe and Piper, do some planning and team-building for about 3 weeks, then go to a wedding with friends of Houghton and Gretchen). On the way back we'll be stopping at my friend Jodi's in Goshen, Indiana (a roommate from Grace College in Indiana where I got my undergrad degree). We'll go from there to Mount Vernon, Iowa to see Aunt Kathy, Uncle Dave, and 3 cousins (and their families). Then back to Minneapolis for a night and over to Bismark, North Dakota to stay with family friends Ralph and Shari. Finally, we'll be back in Miles City as of the 29th, Lord-willing. As we stop and see people, I'll post pictures here in this post. Sorry it's boring words for now, but I promise I'll add pics when I have a chance. :) I'm not sure what our internet will be from here on out, so be patient. I hope to be getting out my newsletter in the next week or so too so watch for that. Thanks for praying for us as we travel with 3 kids now - for safety, patience, grace, rest, and opportunities to share our faith and ministry. Much love to you all!

On the road

We are now pretty officially on the road. After a celebration with some friends and family on the 4th, we headed out for Minnesota. Sunday we presented at the Faltynski's church in Deluth, MN and enjoyed spending the weekend with them. They are friends who used to youth pastor at our sending church in Miles City, MT. They have 2 children, Winter (6) and Creedon (3) (and another on the way), who were great entertainment for Jesiah. They of course fought a lot too, but got some great learning opportunities in sharing. Here is Winter reading me a Dr. Seuss book. :) Brian and Laura Faltynski were very gracious and hospitable to us and allowed us a great time of fellowship with them and in their church body. The church was also very gracious with many very encouraging people thanking us for coming and joining with our team in prayer.

Monday we headed to Minneapolis where my parents had spent the weekend with my grandma and several of my aunts and uncles. We got to see everyone that evening before my parents headed back to Montana and we are now staying the week at my Aunt Betty and Uncle Fred's house in Eden Prairie, a suburb of Minneapolis. We are trying to rest and battle colds and sinus stuff so we can be well for Pre-Field training in Georgia next week! Yesterday we went to Round Lake park and enjoyed the outdoors a bit. Today we are presenting to some of my grandma's friends at her apartment building. I'll post some family pictures here later this week.

Saturday we leave for Georgia and get to meet up with the rest of Team Vanuatu! Thanks for your prayers for our safety, health and protection!