So, Jill wrote everyone's favorite blog last time... so I apologize for how short this one will most likely be. We decided that she is a good blogger, because she writes like she talks (and I don't). We are in Arkansas now, and we are having fun with the family! We always say that Jill favors my Jammama, so we'll let you be the judge of that.

We have been hanging out with our two nephews this week, Benjamin (left) and William (right). They are keeping us all pretty busy. Before Jill and I knew that we were having little Olivia, my family used to say that Sanders only made boys! I guess we proved them wrong. Hah! We also put William in an OU jacket before anyone saw, even though he is wearing a Bama shirt underneath.

Oh, and speaking of babies... I changed my first diaper, and it was... what's the word... AWFUL! Our little niece, Averie, had a nasty, brown diaper last week and I got suckered into changing it. I don't know how it happened, but it was more practice than I ever wanted!

Our good news of the week is that Jill and I are getting a bigger apartment!! Yea!!! We now have a one-bedroom (You might be saying, How is that a bigger apartment???) and we are moving into it next week! I think we have about 450 sq. feet now, instead of 350! Wow, we can only go up from here... =)

Thanks for tuning in...

Christmas Break Part 1

Part one of our Christmas break occurs in Oklahoma. We had a great time getting to see our friends and family. We had a Scentsy party on Monday. Scentsy is my new job! I now sell wickless candle warmers and room sprays! It is my new business that will keep me busy and hopefully bring in extra money!

Tuesday, we drove to Norman and visited our small group. It was so great to see everyone and be connected once again. Truman was extra excited to see us! We have really missed our small group :(. We spent the night with some of our best friends Andrew and Andrea. It was just like old times...only we slept in their living room instead of next door!

Wednesday, we went to some of our favorite places in Norman that we've missed. Some friends from River (and Kaylyn!) threw us a baby shower! Olivia is very spoiled! We are so blessed to get so many fun things and see our friends!

Thursday and Friday we spent time with family and friends. Way too much fun to go into details!

Saturday was the world's largest family reunion! Haha! We drove down to Elmore City to spend the day with about 50 Harmans! We ate all day, played with the kids, and played dirty santa! This year was a little different because it actually didn't get too dirty! I'm convince I got the best gift!!! BJ will enjoy washing our car because of the gift he go!! Fun, fun!

Sunday was a day of church! We went to Council Road in the morning and River Church at night. Both are such great churches. We also got the pleasure of hanging out with the Estep's and went to our favorite Asian restaurant.

Monday and Tuesday was more fun...except I have to mention the WONDERFUl dinner that my cousin Lindsey cooked for us. We went over to her adorable, new house to eat chicken spaghetti. I told her that I would recognize her on this blog because she very well might be our biggest blogger fan! She claims she reads it everyday at work!!!! So thanks Lindsey...for both the great dinner and supporting us!!!

Wednesday was our Oklahoma Christmas day! We began the day with going over to Grandma Junes and Pa's! Nobody does it like Franks' Christmas. We eat, of course...open presents, and then play bingo! There are always great prizes like toilet paper, Braum's cards, and lotto scratch off (which nobody ever wins!) It has been a tradition now, and will hopefully continue to be! We are so blessed to have everyone there this year considering they told my grandpa that he only had 2 months to live (several months ago!!!)...he's the stongest man I know! After that, we went to my parents to do Fournier Christmas. It is always a party over there!! Kids just add so much to every minute!! Free entertainment! Again, it was a blessing to have everyone there!

I'll wrap this up with Christmas Eve. We spent 6 hours driving from Oklahoma City to Fayetteville. Now, it nomally only takes 3 1/2 hours...but we decided to drive through a blizzard. I'll pretty much leave it at that. But it was the craziest day. I'm just glad I have such an awesome husband who is great at driving (and teaching driving!) But...we made it to Fayetteville and will now do Part 2 of Christmas break! Stay tuned...I'm sure there will be some great stories!

Awayo's Story

In the remote corners of the earth, people groups have existed for generations. They live in fear of the spirits. They die without hope. This is Awayo's story...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PfNCemTs-k

Did we leave you hanging?!

We are so sorry that we haven't updated our blog in forever! I wonder how many people actually noticed that it has been a month! haha. Well, lots of praises are to be given!

We're having a baby girl! We have gotten to see her (in an ultrasound) twice! She is perfect! I think that she is going to be a gymnast, like her mama! Her little legs were stretching over her head! She also yawned really big. She is so cute! We are so blessed that everything is going so well...and that we have insurance for Olivia (her name!), BJ, and me!

Next on the agenda...is it cold in Waukesha?! Lets say, YES! It has been snowing since Monday night! We've gotten a foot of snow and it's 27 degrees. They are predicting more snow, and a low of -4 tomorrow. Any takers on visiting us?!

Last, we have made it through our first semester! We have gone from Genesis all the way through 2 Chronicles. It has been fast and furious...but amazing. It's so awesome to see God's faithfulness to the nation of Israel, even though they constantly turned their backs on them. He is so faithful and keeps His promises!!

We will be traveling home to Arkansas and Oklahoma tomorrow! I am so glad that it is finally here! I have been really homesick. Please pray that our travel will be safe, especially with all of the snow around here. We love you guys and would love to hear from you...especially if you'd like to see us while we're home! We'll be in Oklahoma from Dec. 14-24, and Arkansas from Dec. 24-Jan. 4ish.

Don't read, unless you want your toes stepped on...

I start this blog with a caution. I labeled it "Don't read, unless you want your toes stepped on" because it definitely stepped on my toes. So if you read it, I have pre-warned you!

"When He saw the crowds, He felt compassion for them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." (Matthew 9:36)

We had a speaker in chapel today who did the whole new tribes training several years ago. They never ended up going overseas, but ended up right here in Milwaukee pastoring a church. God really got ahold of their hearts about the 99 sheep. Most of us know about the parable of the shepherd having a hundred sheep. One of his sheeps get lost, and he goes out to look for it...even though he still has his 99.

This speaker told us his day to day service was catering to the 99. He told us his job was dealing with this and that, and the seats being "uncomfortable", and such and such. He hardly even had time for the one, because he was catering to the 99.

They have recently been challenged to reach out to the "one" in Milwaukee. There are 600,000 people in Milwaukee and 200,000 are in some sort of religious involvement. That's 4 out of 6 people in Milwaukee that are un-churched. Anyways, they have an incredible story of what God has already been doing in their lives.

As we listened to this chapel service, our toes were definitely stepped on. Most of the people that we are in contact every day are the 99. We are praying that God will give us opportunities to serve the 1. Please pray for us that God will give us opportunities like that! I pray that other people will catch on to this too! Hopefully this has stepped on your feet (if you've made it this far in the blog!) Who are we trying to reach? The 99? or the 1?

I will leave with some lyrics that have been over played on K-Love, but reflect this message perfectly:

"All those people going somewhere,

Why have I never cared?

Give me your eyes for just one second

Give me your eyes so I can see

Everything that I keep missing

Give me your love for humanity

Give me your arms for the broken hearted

Ones that are far beyond my reach.

Give me your heart for the ones forgotten

Give me your eyes so I can see...

So give me a second chance

To see the way you see the people all along"

-Brandon Heath "Give me your eyes"

Boy or Girl????

Well, these videos pretty much speak for themselves! Hope you enjoy! And remember, it's not absolute, it's only an experiment. The real results will be on here November 13th...get excited!

4 Years of Training?!

When we tell most people that we will be training for 4 whole years so that we can be missionaries, they mostly say (or at least are thinking), "4 years?! That seems ridiculous. Why 4 years?"

So, here we are in the midst of those 4 years: studying the word of God for the next 2 years, then learning how to adjust to and learn the culture of a tribal group where no one has gone before (following 2 years). Here in America, we insist that our pastors have some sort of Masters in biblical studies, theology, etc. That is 2-4 years after their 4 years of undergrad. So, if we want the Bible taught to us accurately from such a scholarly person, why shouldn't the unreached tribal groups of the world get the same caliber Bible teaching? Shouldn't they hear the gospel in their language in a way they can understand (from people who know the Bible)?

Big gulps, huh? Welp, see ya later...

Fall is finally here...

This is at our local hangout Brady St.

Our school...it sits on the top of a huge hill...it's kind of scary!

This is my big belly at 13 weeks!

High today of 50. I think that's cold, but I better get out and enjoy it before it's 50 below zero! Which I think is coming soon...blah. Not much has changed since our last blog. I've (Jill) been sick for almost 2 weeks now. It changes every day what it is, or adds something. Part of it is still morning sickness, part of it is a viral infection that is lingering. It's pretty miserable. I'm at week 13 now, so hopefully the morning sickness leaves soon! Please pray!!

BJ started work doing behind the wheels for driver's ed! He has had so many funny stories. My favorite is the guy who asked what the difference was between the two pedals! YIKES!! He had to use the emergency break on the kid! He starts teaching a class tomorrow and will teach it for all 3 weeks. I'm so excited for him!

Classes have been going well! Old Testament History just started on Friday. Our teacher is really dynamic, so I think it will be really good. It is starting to get pretty busy though. We have several papers due each week...and tests (yuck). I thought I was finished with tests, except giving them out to my 5th graders.

We are looking forward to a couple of visitors!! My parents are coming up in 2 weeks, and BJ's parents are coming the last weekend in October! We are so excited, we're homesick :( That's all we have on the schedule so far (hint, hint). If anyone else wants to come...just let us know!!!

Here are a couple of pictures that we've taken recently...so you don't forget what we look like! Please leave us comments or send us emails! We really miss all of you and would love to hear from you!!

Big Week!

Well, last week a lot happened... here goes...



We went to the doctor for Jill's pregnancy check-up and got to hear our little baby's heartbeat! And no, we don't know the sex yet, even though my mom keeps calling it a boy. Hah, we'll see. It was so cool to hear the heartbeat! We are so excited--God is faithful. Well, Jill has been sick for about a week with who knows what--the nose and throat nastiness with a little bit of fever (and don't forget the morning sickness). Hopefully, she is almost through with that though. Thankfully, my mom came up to baby us for the weekend! Well, God has been really good to us...



God has provided our first monthly supporter! It is so awesome to see that God always provides for his people, and even when we are not expecting it. Here we are one month into training and a ways away from going overseas, and people are already giving... beyond their means, and of their own free will-- like the Macedonians in 2 Corinthians 8. Good stuff!



Here are some prayer points:



Pray that our baby keeps growing and staying healthy.

Pray that we can get Jill health insurance soon.

Pray that we let our light shine...so people will glorify the Father in heaven.





BJ and Jill
"...willing to go anywhere, at anytime, to do anything for Jesus."

Update...

So, we haven't updated our blog in forever. I guess you could say that we've been busy! A lot has happened since we bought our books! We just finished one group of classes. They were all really interesting. My favorite class was Bibliology. We talked about how the Bible is 100% inspired by God, written by His prophets to give us truth. Also, we talked about the Canon of the bible, which is what books are in the bible and why. All of the classes really get us digging into the word and seeing how consistent everything is! It really shows me that the Bible is so true and powerful...why is it so hard for some people to take?

Next subject! As most of you know (sorry Hailey)...I am 10 weeks pregnant! Morning sickness has not been the best. It's actually been pretty rough. I've sort of learned the routine now that helps a lot, but every few days, it won't matter what I do. But the good news, is I should only have a couple more weeks. I had my first doctors appointment and it was so sweet. BJ and I got to see the little sweet bundle of joy and its heartbeat! My next appointment is Sept. 29. I think we will get to hear the heartbeat. God is so good! This baby is a miracle!!

Last, we both got jobs! BJ is a driver's ed instructor! He will get his first class in October! He will be the most fun teacher! He takes his certification test tomorrow...be praying for him! Also, pray for me and my job! I've been babysitting 4 kids and it's been a little bit of a struggle! Enough said!

Please be praying for us for school, work, health, and building community! We love and miss everyone!

Buying Books?

So, Jill and I thought that when we graduated from college over a year ago that we would never have to buy text books again... think again! We bought our books today for our first semester of classes, but at about the price of one book at OU or U of A. =)
We are getting excited to start classes this week and to start our 2-year study of the Bible! I'd say that is a good way to start preparing to go overseas--studying the Word for 2 years.

Prayer

• We are still looking for a church to get plugged into up here in Wisconsin (pronounced wis - CANN - sin), so pray that we are led to the right one.
• Pray that BJ can find a good job (good pay and a good schedule).
• Pray that we would study the Word hard and know it well, so that we can teach it to people who have never heard!

-BJill

First Week in Waukesha!

Michelle, BJ, and I rolled out of Norman on Monday and drove 11 hours to Troy, IL (thanks Aunt Becky!) We woke up the next day and drove 6 more to land in Waukesha, WI. It's a little different from Oklahoma here. They claim it is hot here...and it's 78! Crazy!! I think you will notice in the picture that I have a jacket and a blanket on!!

We moved into our 360 square feet apartment, and it seemed smaller than we even thought! We thought "how is all of our stuff going to fit??!?!?" But, with all the help of several people, it looks like a home. We had to be creative and create a living room and bedroom all in the same room. But, I actually like it.

Most of you know that we usually have crazy stories that happen to us...so here is ours for the week! We met a couple that has been showing us around and have been so nice! They wanted to take us to this restaurant called "The Safe House". We get there (mention: the only entrance is through this ally in downtown Milwaukee) and have to wait in line like for a ride. Our "turn" comes and we enter into this small room. They ask if anyone knows the password, to whisper it in her ear and we may enter in. None of us know...so we had to waddle like penguins for 10 seconds and the door would open. When we entered the next room, everyone was cheering, because they had seen us on a tv screen waddling like penguins! BJ and I were thinking....can we trust these nice new tribers showing us around anymore?? haha. But the restaurant was a spy theme. We were all agents wondering around looking for the password! We actually found it written in an article, and backwards on the ceiling...but I can't tell you....then we'd have to kill you! The night was really fun, and wierd! I don't think we'll ever forget our first trip into Milwaukee!

Please pray for us to find jobs. That is the main thing for the next couple of weeks before school starts. We miss you all and would love to hear from you!

"All my bags are pack, I'm ready to go..."

The Armageddon song is starting to come to mind. I can't believe that it's finally here. Everything in our apartment is all in boxes, piled high to the ceiling. We head out for good Monday. This will be our 3rd time to move in our 14 months of being married! I guess they say that when you are doing what the Lord wants for you to, you're not promised to be in the same location! It is starting to hit...and it's starting to get hard. Things usually don't hit BJ and me until afterwards, but it's kind of hard not to think about it when our whole lives are in boxes.

My family had a get-together for us to see everyone one more time (until Christmas). It was so nice. My family really is unique and special! BJ and I talk about how we, and most people, take for-granted how easy it is to call family up and all get together in a moments notice. It has been impossible to do with his side of the family...and I'm about to ruin it for my side! But I'm sad that we haven't taken advantage of that. For everyone (most everyone-Becky) to be within 20 miles of eachother is amazing.

While we are sad to move away, we are excited to be starting a new chapter in our lives that God is writing. Please remember our quote that we are living by...we encourage everyone to live by it:

"I am willing to go anywhere, at any time, to do anything for Jesus"
-Luther Wishard

Where in the world is "Jill and BJ"?!?!?!

We love our small group! Last night was our last small group with the Boxwood group (for a while). They decided to throw us a 10 year old birthday party at Perfect Swing! It was so us!! We wore party hats, ate surprisingly yummy pizza (Thanks Esteps), rode go-karts, bumper karts, and played a mean game of ghetto golf! It's been such a blessing to find a group that we really connect with and can have so much fun. Watch out Waukesha, because you have big shoes to fill!! I could go on forever...but picture are worth a thousand words!

You wanted it...NOW YOU'VE GOT ITTTT!

BJ says since this is our first post, we have to keep it short :(

Welcome to our blog! We have had several, okay lots, of requests to start a blog!! So here it is! It is still under construction, but we plan to update it frequently while we are in training with New Tribes Mission. I'm sure some of you cannot live without hearing about our crazy life stories, so please keep checking back!

The *Vagabonds,
BJill

*A person on a trip of indeterminate destination and/or length of time; a wanderer who has no established residence or visible means of support