We have moved!!

In more ways than one we have moved but you can keep up with us at: www.thestrazfamily.wordpress.com

Look forward to seeing you there!
Jenn

Recent Happenings

So much has been swirling in my head and I have been wanting to write on our blog, but I really just haven't had the time.  The Lord has really blessed me the last two weekends with getting to reconnect with old college friends, celebrating their birthdays and weddings.   It has been so sweet.  At times it has left me with a sense of discontentment with our fellowship in College Station but then encouraged me to keep pressing on with the relationships He has given me here, especially in our home group.  

I don't think I have written much on here about our home group, but this fall Mark and I were allowed to start a home group in our home.   We don't have a lot space but the couples in our home group have been gracious with that.  They are all young couples and all seem to really want to have deeper fellowship in this next season of life... the transition from college to work (not always the most fun transition).  It has been a blessing to get to meet with them each week and be encouraged by them.  I am so thankful that we have a home group to be a part of.  

This past two weeks, Mark has been in Kenya with Compassion International.  He really had a great trip, and came away with a lot of respect for how Compassion functions.  Also, he got to a lot of fruit from their ministry and see how it was impacting the people there to get out of poverty and follow Jesus.  He said he really enjoyed the Kenyans he met and ranked it in one of his top favorite cultures.

Compassion has three main ministries.  One is called the Child Survival Program and this is for pregnant moms to I think children under the age of 5.  They started this ministry because 25,000 children under the age of 5 die everyday from preventable diseases.  I read some where today that 9 million children die a year. Mark said that a lot of moms and children come out of poverty through this program and the children in most cases do not need to be sponsored because of all this ministry has taught them.   Their next ministry is the child sponsorship program, which is what we are all probably most familiar with.  Their third is a Leadership Development program which sends the sponsored kids to college and requires them to stay in their country after college to impact their country.   Lately, Mark has been reading and learning a lot about poverty (and sharing some of that knowledge with me).  From what he saw at Compassion, it seems that they are doing an awesome job a holistically meeting needs in impoverished countries.  They seek to teach people how to get out of poverty and keep the gospel as a top priority.   Also they do all of their ministry through local churches in these countries so the churches take responsibility for the spiritual growth of the children.  In country, the organization is run by nationals / not foreigners so it meets the needs of that region of the world.   There really are so many great things about this organization.  

Well there is a quick update on us.  Hopefully, I will be more faithful to write about what is going on here!  

16 Months

I can't believe it!!   She is 16 months old and I haven't really written much about her lately.

1. She is super fun and funny.   Mark and I have so much fun watching her dance, and sing and do all sorts of goofy things.
2. She loves to talk and you never really understand her but she is certain she is telling you something.
3. She has about 25 words that Mark and I can translate for you.
4. She is learning her Animal sounds!
5. She loves Apple Juice.   I am not a big fan of juice because of all of the sugar so its a treat for her.  Sadly when we pull up to Sonic she asks for appy ju.
6. She is determined and a fit thrower.  Yikes.  But, we know God will use these traits for good in her life.

Well here are some videos of the cutie that I took using my phone.  

I think this one is her animal sounds.

I think this one is her dancing!

The last one is of her saying Happy Birthday to her Aunt Kathy!

Finished One More...

This week I finished Radical by David Platt.   This book was a great refresher on what a believer's life purpose should be and different ways to live "radically."   I love the testimony of his own life and his churches life in regards to materialism.   He talks about how he had been living the American Dream - a nice house, two nice cars, two kids and some dogs.   Nothing seemed to terribly wrong with his life, but he says that he had a "blind spot" in his life.   That blind spot was materialism.  

As he began to look at his own life, he also saw how his church was living the same way and how the church budget reflected that.  They weren't set on giving till it hurts or serving and loving the poor.   They were set on living the nice, quiet life that they were entitled to.   This is why he titles the book Radical, because what he presents as how Christians should live is radically different than how they do live.  

I think every one of us faces this same temptation day in day out, despite how much money we make.   Whether it is in spending an excessive amount of money on ourselves or coveting those who do, the heart is still the same.   It's about us and not about the gospel.   I have definitely wrestled with my fair share of materialism in the last year, wanting to fit in church or having nice stuff to impress people or feeling insecure because I don't.   This book has been encouraging for me to remember that what my life is about is the gospel and however God wants me to live it out.  

I love the examples he gives of his church living out the gospel.  They are all over place, serving in so many different ways and countries.   It is truly awesome!   The church hasn't pushed ministry upon their members, their members have joyfully sought opportunities to give and serve.   So encouraging.    They as a church committed to take in any child who went into foster care in Birmingham.  Amazing and challenging.   The church has begun to give until it hurts.  They are giving their lives to all sorts of people in Birmingham and beyond.  

This book has really opened my eyes to my lack of compassion for poverty stricken areas of the world and shown me that I can be a part of helping.   I look forward to what God has in store for me in this.  I want my eyes to constantly be open to the needs in this world and not set on what I think I need.   I hope you pick up of a copy of this book.   It will be refreshing and challenging.  

Sacred Influence

Yay!  I finished a book.   It is an accomplishment for me because I still have 3 other books that I am reading right now.  It takes a lot for me not quit on a book and pick up something else.   I just finished Scared Influence.   It is by far my favorite book for wives.   If a wife reads no other book on how to relate to her husband, she should read this one.

I read a book last fall called Created to be His Help Meet.  This book really focused on the wife respecting her husband, but I think it leaves out some really valuable tips on how to respect your husband and yourself at the same time.   This is where Sacred Influence hits it on the nail.  He explains how confronting your husband respectfully is good for everyone.  It is written by Gary Thomas who also wrote Sacred Marriage, another great marriage book.   Yes, it is written by a man, but that is what I find powerful about it;  it gives a man's perspective on a wife's role.

He hits all kinds of topics for wives and he speaks to all kinds of marriages and stages of marriages.  I really appreciate this when he discusses moms staying at home and working away from the home.   He explains that both compromise in different areas.  Stay at home moms compromise a lot financially while working moms may compromise in taking care of the home or spending as my time with the family.  He brought up good points to both ways, which really gave me a healthy perspective on staying at home.

He also addresses how to respectfully address your husband in different types of situations.   This was so beneficial for me.   I am a non confrontational person.  I hate it, but I learned that I need it and especially in marriage.   I really didn't know how to respectfully confront Mark, so it either just got stuffed inside and then exploded one day or I just rudely blurted it out - which never helps the situation.   I am still learning and still growing in this, but I really appreciate that he shares how to do that.

So, for me this is a must keep and a must reread.

Oh ya, the whole premise of the book is that a wife is created to be the single greatest in her husband's life.  Such an high calling and a great encouragement.

The Cat is Out of the Bag

So we found out some really great news on Sunday, after trying for about 9 months, we are pregnant!  Typically each month I go through the I think I am pregnant because my body acts a little funky but then I am not disappointment.   Well, this time we didn't go through it!  It is neat how the timing is perfect.   We didn't want to get pregnant before China because who wants to fly on an airplane pregnant and with a toddler for 30 hours.  Not me... if you know my stories about airplanes and my last pregnancy you would really understand why.

So I am not sure how far along I am.  Those things are always so confusing but my approximate due date is April 29.  Long ways off!  Liza was actually due May 3rd, so they will (Lord willing) be almost exactly 2 years apart.

I am feeling pretty good.  I have a little nausea and faintness.  Sometimes I am just super hungry, but I am trying to watch what I eat and exercise through this trimester.   I didn't do that well with Liza because I just got swept away with how tough morning sickness and the tiredness was.   Now that I know how hard it can be, I am going to try to fight through it.   Also, I am going to eat protein for breakfast, which should help a little with the morning sickness.

Last pregnancy, we really wanted a boy - Mark especially, this one it is kind of whatever.  It is fun to hear how much Mark enjoys Liza.   He says he wouldn't mind if we had another one.  Me either.   She is a blast!   A boy almost sounds a little boring.  :)  But I know that once they are yours, it doesn't matter whether its a boy or girl.

So, there is the scoop!

The Life of a Wife Overseas

On our trip, one of the greatest things I learned was what the wife of a long term worker looks like.   I have seen the life of a single long term worker but it was quite different seeing what the wives experience.  This was probably a huge part of why the Lord had me go because I am so idealistic that I forget the challenges and the reality of situations.

Here are some things I learned about their lives:

1. Cleaning your house is a whole lot more work... forget the vacuum and pick up that mop and broom.  I hate to sweep and mop but when your floors are not carpet it is imperative that you do it multiple times a week.
2. China is not child proof.  America is.   There are not high chairs at restaurants, or car seats in taxis.  Most women (down South) carry their babies on them.  We were told that they rarely go out to eat with their children.  Also there are a lot of safety concerns around their house that we don't have normally.
3. Most everything is made from scratch.   If they want American food they may find some ingredients at the import store in their city or at another one 6 hours away but mostly they make everything from scratch - including tortillas.  
4. Grocery shopping is not stop.   They typical Chinese family goes to the market everyday for their food or maybe every couple of days.   They have grocery stores but they aren't like ours.  You typically don't by meat there and they are just now introducing fruits and vegetables into the stores but they are more expensive and not as fresh.  So you have to shop at the market for meat and veggies, at the grocery store for snacks and sauces, and at the import store for other items.  Also when you hubby or friend goes to the big city, you get them to pick up a few more items for you.  Plus if you have good support back home, you may get some goodies in the mail.  Wow!  That's a lot to coordinate.   I am so thankful for Wal-mart.
5. In the midst of crazy grocery shopping, you don't have a car so you have to hold your kids hands and the bags. Then walk, or take a taxi back come.  Crazy!
6. Your wash your laundry and then hang dry it.  Forget going free and clear with your detergent, you need all the help you can get with fresh scents.  Depending on where you live and the weather, you clothes can take a while to dry.  Also, food stains are really hard to get out because Chinese food is pretty greasy. 
7. Everyone wants to touch your kids.  For me, it didn't bother me too much, but I can see that if that was my daily life, it might really be hard.  
8. You need a house-helper.   The long term workers in West Africa that we met told us the same thing and now I got to see it first hand.  Yikes, I would drown in the midst of all of the housework they have. 
9. You can't buy your clothes there unless you are super small because the people are so small.
10. Making your home feel like home is a slow process and takes much longer than here.  We can hop over to Hobby Lobby and get what we need.  They have to hunt for it and typically redo it before they can use it.  

There are a lot more other challenging situations they face but probably the one that stuck out to me the most was that they don't have camps or VBS or preschools or MDO or Sunday school for the kids to go to.   This is not entirely all bad but one father told us that he would love to have a group come and do a VBS for their kids so that they could have some of those experiences.   The kids are doing great, healthy, cute, and very smart but I am sure it would bless them to get to have a week of fun like most kids here get to have.  

All in all,  I took away from this that 1) I can't complain about the amount of work I do here,  2) I need to get used to doing our house work in a timely fashion because it isn't going to get easier.   I admire these women and their resolve to bless their families even when it's challenging.   They make life look fun there and are truly being used in the lives of the people there.  

Already 3 of their 4 house helpers have put their faith in Jesus and have started a church.   They are from an unreached people group.  Tell me that's not amazing!  These women have demonstrated Christ to them consistently by graciously instructing their house-helpers.  The house-helpers are always surprised to find out that they won't be yelled at or possibly beaten by their bosses.  They are even more surprised to find out that the husbands don't beat their wives.  If that is their standard, just picture what an impact these families have made.  They are not perfect but truly Christ is seen in them.