Two Trips

I just returned from a weeklong trip to North Carolina to visit my dear friend Melissa and her family. It was refreshing and relaxing, not to mention a treat to get away from -20 temperatures and enjoy some winter sunshine in the lower 48! We shopped, took our little ones to the playground, visited Melissa's sister in Raleigh, and went to the Billy Graham library in Charlotte (which I would highly recommend visiting!). Overall it was a great treat!
Justin is gearing up for the regions tournament for wrestling, to be held in Kodiak. He leaves tomorrow. They will fly straight from Kenai to Kodiak and be gone for 4 days. After this weekend, there is only one more wrestling tournament, the State Tournament, and then the season is over. I am pretty sure that both of us underestimated how time-consuming this coaching job would be for Justin, but I know that we have both enjoyed being a part of the wrestling season this year!
Our process of contacting churches is continuing. We are asking churches to take a look at our information packet and decide whether they'd like to hear a presentation from us. We feel like things are moving slowly, but the level of support we are raising is slowly but surely rising! I don't know why we're surprised at God's provision! He is so faithful. We'll show a ticker on each new post that lets you know what level of support we're at, so you can be in the know...I'm still figuring out blogging (I am NOT computer savvy!) so it may appear in a strange spot on the blog!
WE ARE CURRENTLY AT ABOUT 18.5 PERCENT!

Back to work!

The sunset on Christmas day, from Kenai bluff
Merry Christmas!
A moose in our backyard!


So far I have been posting about once a month; here's to hoping that it will be more like every other week from now on! It's marked on my calendar: UPDATE BLOG, and you all know that if it's on the calendar, it's going to happen. :)
We had an awesome Christmas! We spent Christmas morning together as a family and our friend Scott got to come and spend the weekend with us too. After church we headed over to my parent's house. For those of you who don't know the Mese family, there are 12 of us, and it makes for quite a crowd when we get together! We spent the day eating and playing boardgames that got very exciting at points! Ha. I love spending time with family.
Over Christmas break we spent a lot of time on support raising projects. Finally mailing out our support letter, (what's the word for procrastination in conjunction with honest to goodness busyness?) contacting churches through phone calls and email, and putting packets together to mail out to familiarize people with Victory were just a few of the things we did. On Sunday, the 8th, Justin presented our ministry to the congregation at Calvary Baptist church, our home church. We are planning to hopefully travel to several churches around the state and share our ministry with them as well.
We know that we've got an uphill climb, financially speaking, to reach our goal by the end of May, but we also know that God is in control. I hope you realize that I don't say that in a cavalier kind of way. It is rather a scary thing that we're doing, it is quite uncomfortable at times, and there are moments when Justin and I look at each other and think "what are we doing?" But we know exactly what we're doing because it's exactly what we are certain God wants us to do. It's actually quite comforting to know that at the end of the day, if we have worked our hardest at what we know to be the work that is cut out for us, we can then relax in God's capable hands and let him do the REAL work. It thrills us to anticipate the exciting ways that God will move our lives toward this ministry at Victory.
We had the awesome chance to drive up to Victory and the Valley a couple of weekends ago and visit some of our friends at camp, admire the beautiful winter look of Victory peak and surrounding areas, and celebrate the new year's coming with the youth group at Glacier View, the church in Victory's community. We also stayed a night with our friends the Engles and had a little too much fun playing Fruit Ninja on the Kinect. :)
Not long after we came home, Norah came down with a nasty double ear infection. She fought it for a few days with a fever that just wouldn't let up and when we finally got her on antibiotics, she had bad reactions to both kinds we tried. I am so thankful that she's now feeling better and back to playing and running around again!
So far, January has been either very cold (-20 degrees or so), or very snowy, but thankfully not both of those at once. I'll see if I can get some good pictures that will show you just how much snow we've gotten around here!

Oh December!

It's Christmas time! What?? How did that happen?
Time flies when you're having fun, I guess! This month has included lots of traveling as Justin has had several wrestling trips to go on. On one trip to Wasilla I got to go as the girls' chaperone and so it turned into a weekend trip with the girls, with a very scary ride home on treacherous roads, pouring rain (that's right, rain in December in Alaska!), and high winds. Justin got to put all his driving skills to the test that night! We didn't get home till 3am but we were both wide awake from watching the road so closely!
We have had several power outages this month. The weather on the Kenai Peninsula has been tempestuous and indecisive all month, and we've been seeing the results! Last Sunday was crazy. Justin took the dogs to the empty lot at the end of our road for a run. Right after he left the power went out. The Trailblazer ended up getting high centered in deep snow. We called our friend Lindy to let her know we'd be late to youth group (my dad came with his vehicle and a tow strap to pull the Trailblazer out) and ask her if she could start youth group for us. She said yes, but then called back a few minutes later to tell us she would be late because there was a big car accident on the road into town and both lanes were closed for a while. It was just one thing after another! Everyone got to youth group eventually, the electricity came back on, and it was a good night.
We are finally getting support letters, combined with Christmas cards, out in the mail, so if you want one and didn't end up on the list, please let me know! You can email me at super_lyn_z@hotmail.com or find either me or Justin on facebook.
We are looking forward to Christmas break, some time to relax and spend together, and to the fun youth and church events that are on the horizon for the next couple of weeks!
We hope you and your families have a wonderful and special Christmas this year. Don't forget what really matters: loving others the way Christ loves you and living in that love; not just at Christmastime but all year long!
Some prayer requests you can keep in mind for us this month:

-Prioritizing our time correctly as far as support raising duties
-Safety for the girls and abundant patience for us in parenting (yesterday we found Norah all the way at the top of a flight of stairs; she does NOT know how to go down them correctly!)
-Travel safeties for Justin and I as we travel for wrestling and hockey
-A focus on what really matters- keeping Christ's perspective during this busy time of year!

Thanksgiving break and more

How was your Thanksgiving? Our was great! My family was partially out of town for hockey games, so we had our own little Thanksgiving with my remaining siblings, my brother and his wife, and our sweet friend Lindy. Thanksgiving break for us included a Thanksgiving morning football-in-the-snow game for Justin, skyping with Justin's parents Steve and Brenda, a hockey game for me, a youth group event of Mission Impossible which was super fun, and a couple of long naps for Justin which I think were much needed! :)
We met with our Pastor, Phil Reemtsma, on Saturday, and talked about our support raising timeframe, and brainstormed some ideas. We also printed our support letter, which is also our thank-you for the summer (I know. So late... so bad.) only to have Evie get ahold of it and draw her own "letter" on the master copy. So that will need to be re-printed and copied to mail out. Simple things, it seems like, but they seem to take monumental effort these days!
Norah took her first steps yesterday! She has been drawing up her courage, I think, over the last couple of weeks. Yesterday she started striking out on her own and she is now attempting little trips all over the house. They usually only last 3 or 4 steps but she's getting there! If you're a parent you know that this is pretty exciting stuff!

Here are some ways you could pray for our family right now:
-For us to know the right churches and people to contact about joining our support base; overall discernment and wisdom, as we truthfully don't always know what we're doing!
-Peace about the future (this one comes from Lynsey) :)
-That even though we've got several areas of work & ministry right now, we could give 100% to them all

A Week in the Life - And an Update!

Oh dear. I see that it's been about a month and a half since our last entry. In the effort of an excuse let me tell you what's been happening with the Hostetters. (And how busy we are!)
Here is a typical week in our life lately:

Sunday- Lynsey goes either to hockey practice or to church early for worship team practice and stays for both morning services. In the evening Evie goes to Cubbies, Justin and Lynsey and Norah go to direct Youth Group at church.
Monday- Justin leaves the house at 7:15 to make an early morning visit to the chiropractor before work (last night he noticed that one of his ribs is sticking out further than it should, which is a little disturbing.) Lynsey goes grocery shopping, takes Evie to play at Grammie's house, and comes home to compose this blog. Justin goes to wrestling practice. In the evening we go to our awesome friends the Titus's house for Monday night football and hanging out with friends. Most weeks Lynsey has hockey practice this evening so Justin watches the girls while at Monday night football.
Tuesday- This is our quiet day. Laundry day for Lynsey, so she gets to be home all day. Justin has wrestling practice. Most Tuesday evenings we have a few friends over to play Dominion (if you don't know this game, you should! We love it!).
Wednesday- Lynsey goes to Solid Rock Bible Camp to do childcare for a ladies' luncheon. That evening Lynsey goes to worship team practice, Justin goes to wrestling practice, and church in the evening.
Thursday- Lynsey goes to College Heights Baptist Church to do childcare for a Bible study/quilting day. (Doesn't this woman have her own kids already?) Justin goes to wrestling practice, Lynsey and Norah go to a baby shower, Evie goes to be babysat at church.
Friday- Lynsey takes the girls to a mom's group at the Kenai Rec center. Justin goes to Nikiski high school to coach at the wrestling meet.
Saturday- The second day of the wrestling meet. Weigh-ins are at 7am. (Nikiski High is 40 minutes away from our house.) Poor Justin goes, and Lynsey and the girls sleep in and join him at the meet later. :)
And that, dear friends, is what a week in our life looks like currently! Add to that all of life's miscellaneous details and we are busy, busy. But I'll bet you also know what that's like.
Here is the exciting news!!
We were able to meet with Joel Ruisch, the director of Victory Bible camp, and talk and set our goal for what we'll need to raise monthly to live at Victory. Our estimated living expenses when we move to Victory Bible camp will be $3330 per month. This seems like a lot to raise every month, and while we have not much faith in ourselves, we have complete faith in God!
To be honest, raising support has been a bit of a foreign concept for me. Justin, who grew up around the idea, has found it simple to accept that to work as missionaries, this has to be part of our life. Maybe it was the good old Western American values that I was raised on, perhaps it is that I have issues with pride- but I've always felt that asking folks for money was the ultimate taboo. You just don't do it! That was several years ago. Through the past few years and an experience of trying to raise support to do a 6-month internship at Victory in 2007 (in which the support raising did not go well), I have learned a lot and begun to have a change of heart towards the concept. I believe that sending us to Victory was part of God's plan to do a huge work in my heart- a work of trust and belief in a God who provides, as well as many other things.

Justin and I have been reading through a book called Funding Your Ministry which we've found to be very valuable already. We like the author's down to earth viewpoint, and we are drinking in all that God's word has to say on the subject of money and missionary support-and it says a lot! It's becoming clear to us that raising support can be a ministry in itself. Giving money is an exercise in showing God's grace and a heart of generosity, and I know that personally I love being able to help people in this way. As Justin wisely explained to me, we're giving friends an opportunity to show Jesus to us so that we can do the same for others.
Justin and I have been learning so much and God is continuing a work in our hearts and lives. We're so thankful for that!

A September update

It has been a month since our last blog post! I have been slacking! Or we have just been very busy. Perhaps a little of both. :)
We moved into our new rental house and I immediately entrenched myself in the project of painting everything, which I am now seeing will take much longer than I thought since I have no more than a 2-hour window in the day to paint while both girls are napping. :)
Last weekend we went to Wasilla to pick up our new Trailblazer (well, new to us anyways). We were in need of a bigger vehicle that has 4-wheel drive and God blessed us with the right one at the right time and we are thankful!
We are settling into what will be the routine of our daily lives this winter. Justin has started teaching Title 1 at Redoubt Elementary and has been asked to coach Kenai High School's wrestling team this winter. The season will start in October and it's an exciting opportunity for Justin to continue to be a part of a sport that he loves. I have been getting into sports as well by joining a women's hockey league. It's mostly played for fun and I know I will enjoy it immensely.
Evie started her first dance classes last week and sat in the corner with a frown on her face the entire time. It was a little dismaying but I know she just takes a while to warm up to new people and new places (as some of you may already know), so I'm not too worried and plan to let her enjoy dance as soon as she feels comfortable.
Norah is crawling and trying to pull up on things, as well as quietly exploring corners of the house and making messes with whatever she can get her hands on. She is keeping mommy on her toes as she scours the floor for anything small enough to choke on! We were in the ER on Sunday night/early Monday morning with Norah with a scary sickness. We weren't able to determine the cause and it resolved itself on its own, but it shook Justin and I up and we don't care to repeat the experience! Pray for Norah to stay well.
Youth Group starts on Sunday, as does AWANA for our church and Cubbies for Evie. We are going to try some new things with the Youth Group this year and we're excited to start up!
While we are enjoying our lives and ministry here in Kenai, we are are always looking ahead to Victory Bible Camp and our ministry there. We are waiting to begin raising full-time support, trying to get our feet under us and a budget/goal set. We are really just new to the process and we're praying for clarity and direction from God. Today I'll write follow up letters/thank yous to our supporters from the summer.
Ways you can pray for the Hostetters and Victory Ministries right now:
-For our support raising to have a solid start; for us to trust in God rather than ourselves during this phase
-For youth group & AWANA of Calvary Baptist Church to have an impact on Kenai's youth this winter
-For Victory Bible Camp to continue to grow through its numerous recent changes, to build meaningful relationships with churches and people, and to be a blessing to everyone who attends a conference or retreat or is on staff this winter.

An ending and a beginning!

Wow, it's been a while since our last post! The last couple of weeks have been crazy in a good way.
Family camp went really well and I think the families that came really enjoyed themselves. Justin and I had never experienced family camp before and I can now say that if I wasn't already at camp, I would want to come to family camp! The families got to make their own schedules and choose to participate in whichever camp activities they wanted. Victory offered boating and swimming, horse rides, glacier tours, a bonfire at the river, rock wall climbing, a video scavenger hunt, and lots of other family friendly games and activities. It was definitely a more laid back week for the staff which was a welcome rest from the busyness of regular camp!
On August 7th we headed back to Kenai and had a very smooth 5-hour drive home. Then the day got crazy as we took everything we own out of storage and moved it to our house in one day!
Our rental house needs a little TLC. The last renters apparently didn't take good care of the house so it needs a little help, but I think it'll be great for us and we'll enjoy spending a year there.

This summer at Victory was wonderful and God used it to confirm for us what we were already thinking about. We've decided to apply as full time staff at Victory and move there permanently. This is exactly where our passion is at and it's become evident to us over this summer that this is where God has been leading us to. Justin would be Program Director, and be responsible for overseeing many varied aspects of the Victory summer programs and staff; throughout the winter he would recruit summer staff, help with retreats and conferences, and work in any other way needed around camp. We love camp, we love Glacier View (the community that camp is located in) and we are so excited to be able watch God set this next phase of our ministry in place.
The next big thing will be raising support to get there! Victory Ministries requires its full time staff to raise missionary support to live on. Our goal would be to leave next May to go to camp and move there permanently. We will spend the fall, winter & spring setting up a support system among churches and friends. We're not exactly sure what all this entails or how to go about it, but we've got lots of resources and plans to meet with Victory Ministries' directors and talk about it. It is a huge leap of faith for both Justin and I but we feel that God's timing is perfect, and His timing is now! We'll keep updates on this blog about our lives over this winter, the support raising process, and what God is doing!
We are so thankful for all the support that came in over the summer. God provided exactly the right amount and I don't know why we were surprised! :)
School inservices start on Monday, so Justin will be going back to work. It's been wonderful to get back to our home church, Calvary Baptist, and see all the dear familiar faces there.
Keep reading! We're excited to see what happens!