Allison's self portrait

A message from Karl about Forgotten Children

This is a song inspired by a trip to the Central African Republic where we are now partnering with ICDI to drill wells to provide clean drinking water in villages there. The words at the beginning of the song are words I read while I was there and come straight from the Bible. It's as if God was looking at the same images I was seeing. His inspired Word communicated perfectly my thoughts and emotions at the time I was there..
Karl Moraski is the worship pastor at our church. You can visit ICDI for more information about this partnership.
The Central African Republic is a destitute country which gets very little aid from the US or any other country. In a country ravaged by disease, clean water gives their people a better chance of survival. Only about 15 percent of the population has clean drinking water. Unsafe water is the world's number one killer. Preventable water-related diseases are responsible for 80 percent of the sicknesses in the world.

Forgotten Children

Operation Christmas Child

This past weekend some of my sisters in Christ and I got to assist in an amazing ministry. We packed up and headed to Boone, NC, to volunteer for Samaritan's Purse. One of their ministries is Operation Christmas Child. This was such a heartwarming experience for me. The facility is amazing. This year alone they will process over 600,000 shoe boxes full of gifts for children all over the world. Our day the boxes we assisted on were going to Jamaica, India and Brazil. Boxes are received from all over the country. Our job was to inspect every box and pack them to be shipped. There are some items that can't pass through customs, so these items had to be removed. Because of many generous donations we were able to replace these items with other gifts. As I inspected each box my heart was overwhelmed at how blessed we are that our children have what they need. Most boxes contained things such as toothpaste, soap underwear toys, school supplies and hard candy. Imagine not having such basic things for your child. For some children this will be the only gifts they receive. The staff pray throughout the day for each and every child that will be receiving the boxes. They especially pray that each child might get a glimpse of Christ and the love that He has for each one of them. As an added surprise for us Franklin Graham showed up! He came to pray with us as we prepared the boxes. He is am amazing man who has made such a difference in our world. Read more about Operation Christmas Child on their website. If this is something your church has participated in but you haven't gotten involved, I encourage you to check it out.

Nicole Mullen

Nicole Mullen is just so amazing with her music and her love for Africa. She was actually born and raised in Cincinnati, a place I lived for a short time. Mullen established a mentor group for girls called “The Baby Girls Club”. She and her husband, David Mullen, are youth leaders in their local church, tutor inner-city youth, and participate in Across America summer camp for inner city youth. Mullen is also active with the International Needs Network Ghana, an organization that works to free Trokosi slaves in Ghana. I have always had a heart for the people of Africa and I know if I ever felt led to missions outside of the US this is where I would go. We have just fallen in love with her and her music. She has four children and now lives in Tn. You can check out her website at Nicole Mullen.

Nicole C. Mullen-Redeemer

The Mina Project

A few weeks ago our church decided to really step up. Pastor Mike told the parable of the talents, Mathew 25:14-30. In this parable a man goes on a journey and entrusts his property to his servants. They were all given talents according to their ability. The man given five talents immediately put his money to work and gained five more. The man with two talents also gained two more, but the one who was given one talent dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. After the master returned he was pleased with the first two of his servants. When the last servant said that he was afraid and he has buried his money, the master replied, "You wicked lazy servant."
Mike then proceeded to distribute $35,000 to the congregation. Each person would receive an envelope containing anywhere from $10-$500 and written instructions. You couldn't give it back to the church, you couldn't spend it on yourself, and it must be used by Christmas. We were all amazed! He has such a heart for the community. Imagine what could happen if everyone doubled the money they received and reached out to our community.
We are in the process of growing our money with plans to help a family for Christmas. After listening to the parable it was clear that God wants us to grow that money.
You can read some amazing stories on our website Mina Project

Pablo Picasso

Picasso was born along the southern coast of Spain . Although during his baptism he was given ten names, he signs his painting with just one...Picasso. He began experimenting with a style of painting that reduces images to geometric shapes, sharp edges, and angles. In this style, called Cubism, noses sometimes look like cones, and eyes like triangles. By drawing the human face this way, Picasso was able to show us views from the front and the side at the same time.

Allison loves Picasso. In her art class they got to draw their own rendition of Picasso. Here is her picture.

Wow! It is December!

We are busy trying to wrap things up for the year. We have one more week of school and then we are on break until January. Everyone is progressing well. It just seems that I never get everything accomplished that I have planned.
The 3 older kids are in the process of watching How to become a Superstar Student by Tim McGee. He has taught for many years at Worland High School in Wyoming. This is a course that instructs high school students in how to improve basic study skills and develop a true love of learning. The goal in education is to teach a love them how to learn. This is better achieved when the student has the confidence and the tools needed to succeed. More to come after they have completed the series.
Math is probably the most successful subject in our home right now. Everyone is doing well. Jonathan loves numbers much more than letters. He is about to finish his K Math book and will be moving on to the 1st grade book. I have to say it again.... I love Teaching Textbooks! It is allowing everyone to be successful and learn.
My goals for the week are to wrap up everything in all subjects. They have many exams to take that will put them at a good stopping point.
We are all looking forward to some down time. Although it will still be a busy month. The 2 older kids still have classes in the co op until Dec. 18th. But it will still be a much lighter load.
Christmas is such a wonderful time. My goal is to make sure we all remember why we celebrate. I never want to lose sight of our Savior in this busy time.