Birthday blessings

Hello, everyone.

I just have a quick note today; yesterday was Sarah's 21st birthday. Sarah is our youngest daughter and we are celebrating with her on Sunday afternoon since she is in the middle of studying for finals this week.

Sarah reminded me that 10 years ago, on her 11th birthday, we were in language school in Musoma, Tanzania. It was a difficult time for Sarah. Tim and I were away at school a lot and she was left alone with an African housekeeper who barely spoke English. She was home schooled and had no friends; she did not even know how to communicate with the Swahili-speaking children who lived around us. At that time, she was very homesick for America and the life she knew before Africa.

She reminded me that it rained on that day and she asked if she could go out and play in the rain for her birthday present. I said, "yes", so she danced and laughed and played in the rain on her 11th birthday; her first one in Africa. She thoroughly enjoyed herself and we laughed together; it was a good memory.

It rained Thursday on her 21st birthday as well; she didn't dance in the rain but she WAS driving in the rain. She is no longer the frightened lonely little girl she was then; God has brought her a long way and we are thankful for His faithfulness.

Be blessed.
Joyce Jarvis

Every member important in the body

Hello, Friends.

Sorry, once again it's been a week since I last blogged; sometimes time seems to go so fast.

Last Wednesday evening I accidently rammed my foot into the leg of the couch and heard a loud pop and felt a sharp pain. When I pulled my foot from under the couch my middle toe on my right foot was lying across the top of the two toes on it's right; definitely a broken toe situation.

We decided we needed to go to the emergency room; even though we know they only tape it. We felt we needed to have it x-rayed since I am diabetic and have some problems with my feet anyway. Five hours later, at 3;30 am, we left the hospital with my toes taped together, I was wearing a protective shoe, and I was attempting to use a pair of crutches. I was also given a prescription for pain medicine.

I am able to walk around fine without the crutches as long as I wear the protective shoe which keeps my toes from moving or bending. However, I have to walk at an odd angle because of the shoe that is too big and it is causing me more pain in my knee than I am experiencing with my broken toe, I am also having pain in my hip because of the awkward way I walk now. This has to continue for about four weeks.

Well, all of this has reminded me of the scripture in I Corinthians 12:12-26; read it for yourself and I won't take time to preach my little sermonette here. Suffice it to say, that every member of the body is important and necessary and it's pain affects all other parts. I just want to remind you that this applies to the body of Christ; we are all part of each other and need each other; I have been painfully aware of the truth of this for the past week.

Tim and I want to thank all of you for being part of our "body of ministry in Tanzania"; we need all of you and each one of you are important to us. No matter what part you have in our ministry; know that you are loved and appreciated by us.

Blessings,
Joyce and Tim

Trip to Michigan

Hello, everyone
We left last Wednesday for Michigan; we had a Mission's convention at Traverse City with Living Hope Assembly of God. We had a wonderful time at a house meeting on Thursday night; our hostess, Marianne, was so gracious and the group that gathered at her home were wonderful mission's-minded people. It was a great evening!
The other reason we were in Michigan is that our niece was married on Saturday and Tim and I were Master/Mistress of Ceremony. It was a beautiful wedding. Our daughter, Sarah, traveled to Michigan with us and our oldest daughter, Jenn, traveled from Iowa and joined us; we have always been close to Wayne and Connie and our children have always been close as well.

It was wonderful to be together with our two daughters again; we have not been together since right before Christmas. We didn't get much sleep over those three days but we did a lot of catching up and it was well worth the effort; we did a lot of laughing and remembering.
I was reminded again as we parted ways on Sunday and Jenn headed back for Iowa that our children grow up and go their own way whether we are ready for it or not. I was also reminded of how far away we will be from them when we are in Africa but I know that God will give me special grace for that time.

Blessings,
Tim & Joyce Jarvis

Old dogs and new tricks

Dear Friends,
As I check my last entry, I realize that it has been more than a week since I my last update; I do apologize. Time passed quickly and I didn't even realize it; there's a sermon in there somewhere!
Tim and I have really been concentrating on getting back into our Swahili lessons; we have a computer program that we are using. We have definitely gotten rusty and forgotten some of what we knew before; so we are trying to faithfully do some work on it every day. The old saying, "use it or lose it" definitely applies to language skills! I am finding that the older I get the harder it is to make things "stick" in my memory. Please pray for us as we endeavor to learn more of the Swahili language so that we can better communicate with our Tanzanian friends this next term.
Last weekend we were in northwest Kansas at two different churches; we had good services and enjoyed the fellowship and hospitality of our two host pastors. We were also able to stop in for a brief visit with another Kansas pastor who took us on for support without ever personally speaking with us; we communicated via email. It would be great if everyone was as quick to respond to our request for support as this pastor.
He indicated that they were getting ready to start building a new church and he wanted God's blessing upon them and felt that one way to guarantee that was to be a mission's giving church; he has learned that God blesses those churches/individuals who have a heart for missions.
We have now reached the 70% mark for our monthly support; please pray that the final 30% comes in quickly.
Be blessed today!
Joyce