"But Seek First His Kingdom And His Righteousness."

HAPPY 2010 !!!

2010-01-02T09:27:00.000-08:00

It is a new year and it is time to write a new post on my Blog.
Donzel and I are back in the USA since the end of October 09. There haven't been many big chances yet but here are some pictures of what we have been doing.
Hmmm... I am not sure if I should write in English or auf Deutsch. Anyway, a picture says more than a thousand words so I go with that :-)

Addition at the Woomert's Home:

That project has kept us busy and is very exciting too. And there is still a lot of work to do.

Since the beginning of December, Donzel has gotten a job. We are very thankful to God for that. Although, if you are two people and you have one car and you live in northern Idaho you have a problem. So we went and looked for another car. This is what we ended up with.

We had a wonderful Christmas with friends and lots of good food. People asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I said, we need a house. So Tivoli made a nice cute little house and gave it to me for Christmas. That was so sweet. However, we are still looking for our own place. Right now we are house sitting for a family and we take care of their hoses while they are gone.

That's about it.
We wish you a Happy New Year 2010 and God's rich blessing. He is the same in the past in the present and in the future.

Markus

Fires and Headaches

2009-10-13T09:54:00.000-07:00

So, I haven't been feeling well lately; a sore throat, headache and sniffy nose are the complaints. And I was complaining a bit. Partly because now we are packing up to leave Switzerland and I don't enjoy that at all....the packing OR the leaving.

Emmi and Franz have been wonderful to both Markus and I the past couple months. There probably isn't much I can think of that they haven't done for us. To leave them and know that there are likely years between now and the next visit is hard. Hard for them and for us. They love their son very much and they love me too. But, they know that we have a common Father and He loves us much more than we love each other. In the end, we give thanks for the past 5 months and praise Him for the time we have had.

There are a lot of unknowns for Markus and I ----- where we will live long term, what work Markus will be able to find, when we might have children, if God will call us to a mission field overseas, if we will go to a Bible school. We do have confidence in this:

...that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6

Oh, about the headaches and fires? Markus and I went for a walk this afternoon and stopped at the neighbor's house because the whole family was standing outside looking at something. The "something" that they were watching was the house across the valley, which was on fire. We could see very dark smoke coming from the third story windows and then after a little while some flames from the second story window. The family lost their barn to a fire earlier this summer and I think it was quite hard for them to see another building burning, especially a home.

I was thinking about it later on, how this puts my little headache in perspective....Nothing compared to a burning home. From a distance the damage didn't look so terrible, but you know many things that were treasured are ruined; things that can't be replaced. I hope that if anything like that ever happens to me I'll remember where my real treasures are.

There we go. Wasn't that hard was it??????????

2009-09-02T04:35:00.000-07:00

It is about 3 x 2 inches big, 1/32 thick and made of plastic. It is amazing what this means for some people. They do almost everything to get it. Spend hours on the Internet and download forms which they fill out with no end of trouble, make phone calls, drive to places, talk to lots of different people and write checks like mad. And then they wait and wait and wait and wait. And wait. And hope for THE DAY. A day like the 2nd of September 2009. The door bell rings. Ding, dong (it could also sound like; bim bam, or drringgg it doesn't matter at all how it sound like for this story. So don't worry about it. You can just pick one you like. Best might be when you imagine one that sounds very typical for a door bell so you don't confuse it with the clock which is hanging at the wall in the living room. As I said, it doesn't matter). Anyway, outside is the postman, asking for some money, for he has a package for me. Then I also need to sign twice and he scans at lot of bar codes (takes him forever) and then I get a little box. And there it is. That tiny little thing some people are so crazy about. Actually people just like me.
Anyway, now I have it too and you all can be jealous of me, hihhihihihihihihi.

I'm very thankful that God watched over the whole process.

Markus

PS: If you don't know what I am talking about; it is the Green Card!

I love my brother....

2009-04-07T10:36:00.001-07:00

He's special, what else can I say?

The license to work!

2009-03-31T21:03:00.000-07:00

It is time for another little post on our blog. I would say I am a big step closer to my Green Card. On Wednesday March 25th I got my "Employment Authorization Card"!!! This card allows me to take a job and earn money (and pay taxes...).
Anyway, I am very happy about it and I hope to get my Green Card soon too. The work card does not give me permission for traveling. Obviously God has a little different plan than we do. I am excited to see what happens next.

Skiing!

2009-02-16T20:27:00.000-08:00

This year hasn't been what most people would refer to as "epic", but we've gotten several good ski days in.
Markus has gotten to experience Schweitzer in all it's glory.....i.e. clouds, fog, rain, heavy fog, snow and low cloud banks. Schweitzer is known for several things, fantastic views of lake Pend Oreille (pronounced Ponderay) and the surrounding mountain ranges, unpredictable snowfall and fog. Sometimes you actually bring your camera and it turns out to be a really nice day.
Here are a few selections of the 08-09 season.

Neat facts about the lake: With a surface area of 148 square miles, it is 65 miles (105 km) long, and 1,150 feet (350 m) deep in some regions, making it the fifth deepest in the United States!!

A Happy New Year 2009

2009-01-12T12:43:00.000-08:00

We wish you all a blessed new year 2009. Might God be with you and show you his ways.

I know it has been a VERY long time since I posted last. That's not because I don't like you but it's because I don't like to write...
Well, I guess I at least try to upload some pictures more often. They are more interesting anyway.

Anyway, we are doing very well and are so happy to be married.

See you.

PS. If anybody has a Green Card you don't need anymore I would be happy to have it ;-)

Ooops....

2008-09-24T13:33:00.000-07:00

Is it September already? Really? That's amazing how fast the time goes, hmmm, and also what is going on in my life. I let you guess what happend almost 4 weeks ago.
Later I will take a little more time to tell you what's going on and give you some nice pictures too, ok?
Thanks for looking by.

See you soon. Markus

The license to marry!

2008-07-29T09:45:00.000-07:00

Jjjjuuuddiiiiihhhhuuiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!! (this is Swiss German...)

I HAVE IT !!! On Monday the 28th I got a big letter. My passport improved with a K-1 visa. This is so great, I have to look at it again and again and still can hardly believe it.

No one can stop me now. I am authorized to get married, so you better watch out when I come! I know no mercy. Well there is hope for some girls, actually all except for one. "DONZEL B. WOOMERT" this is for whom my visa is for. When I come and find her there will be no escape for her. Without hesitation I will pour all my love over her I have saved in my lonesomeness. And I will never stop.

Donzel, I love you! See you SOON :-)))

Markus

Summer Party Time!

2008-07-21T17:08:00.000-07:00

Three girls....

Good friends...

Hot weather...

15 Sponges...

8 Buckets of water...

1 Hose...

Add those together and you get a WATER FIGHT!!! Yeeehaw!

Happy Birthday Tibs! You are *Tibberific*!!!!! :-)

July 17th 2008

2008-07-20T01:57:00.000-07:00

This is a date we were waiting for for a VERY long time. As you know this day has passed already and I want to tell you why that was a special day.

About 1 a half months ago I got a letter for an appointment at that day. An appointment for an interview at the US Embassy in Bern, CH. I was not excited for the interview itself but that was the last step and the deciding step about if I get my K-1 Visa or not. To give you a picture of our situation: We have been waiting for this visa for more than 10 months and we haven't seen us for almost 8 months :-0

So I went to the embassy last Thursday morning. 9:30 am was my date. So I was there with a lot of documents and letters and other stuff they told me to bring with me. Security must be very important for them, I had to go through 2 security checks before I could go to where I was supposed to go. I remembered form my last visit at the embassy 2 years ago that waiting is what you do most when you go there. And that was very true. I didn't have to wait too long, maybe 15 min. , until I could talk to a man the first time. He wanted all my documents and checked if I had everything with me that they want. I did except of one document from the military. I had something abut it was not exactly what they want and of course that doesn't work. He didn't seem to be too worried about that and moved on. After perhaps 5 min. he told me I can go and sit down until he put everything in his computer and then he would call me again for the interview. So I sat down to the other about 30 people who were waiting there already...

It was BORING!!! waiting waiting waiting waiting..... waiting waiting waiting..... There was a TV that showed a women soccer game... From time to time you heard a voice through a speaker calling a name. I never understood any of the names but somebody always did, got up and went to the window, talked for a couple minutes and then left. More people came sat down and did the same as I did; WAITING. I don't know how long I was sitting on that chair, I guess 1 a half hours. And then I heard something that sounded very similar to my name so I got up and got to window #10.

The same man talked to me again, in English of course. He was very friendly. He told me that everything is all right with my documents and the missing document from the military I can just mail to them when I have it. I don't need to come here again. Then his college came to interview me. I expected a long interview with many questions. So I was really surprised when he told me it was over after maybe 4 questions. I wanted to ask him some questions about what I need to do after we are married but he didn't seem to be willing for answering my questions. He gave me a little information sheet and then said goodbye.

That was all! I grabbed my stuff and left the Embassy. It was almost 12 pm! I went to a friend in Bern for lunch and then to the office from the military. I asked the man there to give me that document but he said that doesn't go so quickly. So gave him all the information he needed and left.

That was my day in Bern. It takes time for me to realize what is going on. I AM GOING TO AMERICA SOON !!! CRAZY.

A little side note: On Saturday, 2 days later, I received the letter from the military already... I am getting more and more excited!

It's time to look for a flight :-)

Markus

Two Rafts, Eight Kids, Hot Weather . . .

2008-06-12T19:13:00.000-07:00

And a totally fun river.

The rafts were slightly unequal, a Sturdy, Competent Self-Bailer and a Little Raft. Shelly and I were in the SCSB, with Skye as our valiant captain, and Ster and Josh as our oarsmen.
Tal, Thom and Forrest were in the LR ahead of the rest of us, leading the charge!
Fortunately we managed to make it under the bridge, and wave at the driver before a calamity struck.

The LR was zipping along, smoothly cresting and falling, taunting the large rapids, practically daring them to . . . . .

Uh oh! Flip her!

Sterling caught a glimpse of the raft just as it tipped, and shouted “OH NO! They tipped over!” Right then we went into the chain of rapids that had done the dastardly deed; a particularly mean beast was the runner up, and at one point all you could see was a wall of water looming over the five of us.

Tal managed to swim to shore, and we picked him up and then tried to catch Forrest and Thom who were holding onto the raft. We never did really catch them; they managed to beach the boat and we landed nearby. They were so cold! Fortunately the three river rats had wet suits on. We stood around in the sun for a while, letting Thomas and Austin get warmed up again. Austin had lost his paddle and our Valiant Captain told Shelly since she was acting Lieutenant, it was HER job to find the paddle. Our Intrepid Lieutenant spotted it . . . in some weeds . . . on the other side of the river.

About half way down, Steve met us and we gave him the little raft that flipped, and let him take Austin and Tallis, and the rest of us went on down the river. You thought the first part of this story was exciting? HA! We conquered the Hole in The Wall, AND the Eileen Dam.

Eileen used to cross the river as nearly all good dams do, and someone blew up one of her ends, so you must make about three really sharp hairpin turns in quick succession, and there are some huge rapids. As we pushed and shoved our way around the 2nd pin, cresting one of the larger piles of water, Josh fell out! But he was a good guy and hung onto the raft rope AND his paddle!! The Hole in The Wall, was almost completely cover with water, amazing! Next time we go, the river will be lower, so we can gauge the level of hmmmm, water dropage? :-)

And at BA Beach we hailed our driver just hopping out of the truck. The Moyie was so high, we made it down in record time. In spite of the river's best efforts, we all crawled out to meet him; wet, extremely cold and happy to be on dry land!

EURO 2008

2008-06-09T05:23:00.000-07:00

Hopp Schwiiz, Hopp Schwiiz !!!

Right now in Switzerland and Austria is the European cup 2008 going. Switzerland is in BIG excitement. The Swiss team is not very good compared with other teams from Europe. But since we are the organizer we are qualified for the games. Many cars on the road have the Swiss flag on the roof. When you go shopping you see that nice red-white sign everywhere. In the news paper it's all about EURO 08. People try to get a last ticket for one of the games. The TV at home is not good enough to watch the game so they go to see it on a huge screen in town. There is actually not enough room for all the fans. And all the shops and hotels are happy and think they can make a lot of money out of this event. In preparation for this the government commended that we have to be friendly and told us even how we can do that. So we are all well prepared and friendly, provided with beer and chips and hopefully with a fist class ticket for the opening game.

And then, the day has come. The big day for which everyone was waiting for; 7th of June 2008, 18:00, the start of the fist game, Switzerland against Czechia. Hopp Schwiiz, hopp Schwiiz... More than 40'000 people are watching the game live in the stadium. And there they go. 22 young men running on the field like crazy.
I was surprised form the Swiss team how well they played. Switzerland has some very good chances to score. They play definitively better than Czechia. But no goal yet. And then minute 42, a foul against Switzerland. Alex Frei is injured! NOOOOO not him. Hi is the captain of the team and the best player, the one who is supposed to score :-0 It looks rather bad. He can't play anymore. He hobbles off the field and the game goes on. But no one scored the first half. Second half; there is much hope for the Swiss team to win. Hopp Schwiiz!!! And then... pause for breath ... minute 71. Toooooooor!!!! Eins zu Null für Tschechien. That's no good. Hopp Schwiiz! Go and score, you are supposed to win have you forgotten? Poor guys, they give their best and play very well but do NOT score the entire game :-( We lost the game and the points. 2 more games to to play with probable less chances to win. When we lose again, we are out.
They analyzed the game and all the people from the TV, news paper, the players and other "smart" people agree that Switzerland played better than Czechia. Well done, Switzerland. But, wait a second, didn't you just say Czechia won the game? Why didn't Switzerland win since they played better? No easier question than this; They didn't score!

That's life. When you don't score you don't win. So, what is it that we can win in our life? Is it money, honor, time, health, friends, property, position, war...? All people try to win. And each one has his own way how he will score. Some ways are not very effective, some are unfair, some are never ending, some are hopeless, some are very hard and some are complicated. From some people you have to say; "Look at him, he won." "he plays better than others." "This is how you do it."
The problem is, there are rules of the game. These rules tell you exactly how you can score and what doesn't count. On the soccer field there is the referee who makes sure everyone plays after to rules. If you don't, like we did, you get the yellow card. We got 3 in one game :-( So when you try to score a goal with your own rules the referee tells you NO, and it doesn't count. If you want to win you have to play after his rules.
The same applies for our life. When you want to win life you have to play after his rules. Who is HE? Who is the real referee of life? The Bible gives us a clear answer on this question. "And the heavens proclaim his righteousness, for God himself is judge." Psalm 50:6 God is the true and only referee. And by him there is only one way to score. "Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6 Only when we believe in Jesus Christ we can win. There is NO option, none! Some people think when they live a good life they could win the game. But did Switzerland win???
Believe it or not, but when you don't score without foul you can't win ever. I'm not a big soccer fan so I am not sad about that game. But I do care a LOT about myself, you can call me selfish, and I want to win life. This is not "just" a game, it is about life and dead! There is not team which helps you to win, only you. There is a great book that tells you everything you need to know about life, it is The Bible. The author is God himself.

"Thank you LORD."

The right way!

2008-06-01T10:14:00.000-07:00

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." Psalm 23:4

At the moment I feel like I'm walking through a dark valley. I am on the way but I don't see where I am going really. And is dark so that I don't see the end of this part of my way. Maybe I have to walk like this for many miles still and perhaps I am almost there. Sometimes the trail is very rough, and I don't see where I go and suddenly I find myself flat on the ground. That hurts! It takes time to recover and doesn't make the way shorter. Sometimes I ask if this is my right way to go. Who could I ask, where can I get help from? I feel lonely, no one else is going the same path with me.
Really ? How do I know when it is dark? Why did I fall only once so far? And why was I able to get up by "myself" ? Why have I not lost the way? Why have I hope and faith that I go the right direction? Where do I get the energy to keep on going?
Because of Psalm 23. Because I am really NOT alone. God is with me on this trail. And he knows exactly where it is going. He knows how much further and how steep it is. I can't see this but thank God I can read it in my Bible. He loves me and cares for me. Nothing and no one can separate me from his love, Rom 8:38-39.
Do I really believe this? Yes, I want to. And what can be better than being with God? What is better, to wait alone at the end until God is through the dark valley or to walk together with God through the valley and learn who he is and grow in faith?
The way to heaven is not that wide, smooth, easy freeway on which most people go. But it is narrow and not many people find it, Matt. 7:14.

"But he who stands firm to the end will be saved." Matt. 10:22

THE letter !!!

2008-05-14T03:39:00.000-07:00

"Markus, there is a thick letter for you in the mail today. It is from Bern - Amer-ikan - E- e-mm bass--i. Must be the one you are waiting for." YES! No doubts it is THE letter. It is not just joy I felt when I read through it but also tribulation. Why? Well, what do you think was in the letter? More forms to fill out and more paperwork I have to do. I got a Step-by-Step-Manual: First do this immediately or we won't do anything else for you. Pay the fee CHF 114.10. Second do that, then third this and Fourth this.

And then when you are done with all of that we will arrange an appointment for an interview with you. And please sign this paper: "I fully realize that no assurance can be given whether a fiance visa will be issued to me." (really encouraging)

Anyway, I have to go on and try to get all those 12 different documents together they are asking for. Fortunately a car ran me over two months ago and I am not able to go to work still. So I have the time to do all this.

Americans have different passport photo than Europeans. No problem for Swiss people. You find several photo companies which can print you exactly what you need. So I went to get 4 photos, kein Problem. It was also not a problem for the company to charge me CHF 40 for these :-0

What can I say, Paul already knew that this would happen; "But those who marry will face many troubles in this life." 1. Corinthians 7:28 :-)

GOD is in charge!

# 1

2008-04-18T11:32:00.000-07:00

Hello invisible world. It is nice to meet you. I have heard a LOT about you already and now get the chance to meet you in , hmm...person???, the nothing. I would not say that I am a good writer so don't expect too much from me. But there is still hope, I am not alone. Actually if I was, I would not have started this blog. But we need some time to get started and right now we have many other important things to take care of.
It is nice that you took the time to say HELLO. I hope to see you again soon. Keep yourself stable.

Bye.