I came upon this article a little while ago and thought it made for very interesting reading. I especially enjoyed the part on what makes an organization functional or disfunctional.
http://www.redeemer-fortwayne.org/pdf/ItsTime.pdf

Jacob's Birthday

There's not a lot of news to report here in Fort Wayne. Without a vehicle, there are not a lot of opportunities to see the town.

Yesterday was Jacob's 3rd birthday. We walked him over to the seminary to get a present from the co-op. We arrived just before they closed (they close at noon on Wednesdays and it takes short legs a long time to walk 1.5 miles). We didn't have a lot of time to shop, but were blessed to find a Little People video. Jacob was very excited to find this little treasure, as he has been watching his Little People Discovery video on an endless loop since we moved here. It is his favorite! Everyone was happy to find a new Little People video as we were all getting tired of the same old songs.

Summer has joined a local group called CHAT (Christian Homeschool Association for Teenagers), and has participated in a service event through the Salvation Army and gone to game night (we let her stay out until 11:30PM!). She will be attending a pool party with them this Friday. We are very appreciative of the other parents who have been willing to pick her up and bring her home. She is working on getting some babysitting jobs, so she can pay for ballroom dancing class this fall with the CHAT group. The class is being taught at a studio just outside our subdivision, so Summer can ride her bike there and not have to cross any busy streets!

Caitlin and Tyler are mailing their registration for Kevin Hildebrands Children's Choir today.

Since schools around here have already begun, the kids are seeing more and more children walking around the neighborhood in the afternoons. They must have been hiding inside during the summer because we only met a few, but now they are making many new friends right here in our neighborhood.

The seminary co-op has met a huge need for our family. It is estimated that a smaller family could meet about 75% of its food budget through the food co-op. Even though we are a large family, we have been able to stretch the items from the co-op and eat nutritiously without needing to get to a grocery store. (Don's dad did buy us pizza and milk when he was here, so I can't say it's been 100%, but nearly).
We encourage everyone to give to the co-op whenever possible as this is what keeps seminary families fed! Many people are blessed by it.

The SWA (Seminary Wives Association) has been a big help to Corinne as she struggles to adjust to this new community. They have helped with rides to the co-op and fellowship. She was even able to attend a knitting night at Starbucks thanks to some friendly ladies who invited her and picked her up.

Overall, it has been a challenge to live in a city without being able to go anywhere, but also a blessing that we don't NEED to go anywhere. We continue to rely on the Lord and know that He will provide transportation to us in His timing, and He will never leave us in need.

We invite you to subscribe to our mailing list; you can make a one time donation of any amount, or sign up to give $10 per month. Every little bit helps and we are grateful to all who have blessed us.

Van repair update

I just wanted to keep everyone posted on our vehicle situation. God has seen fit not to provide us with one just yet.
The repair shop called yesterday to inform us that the van is ready. We had known that it would cost $2400 to fix. We had two weeks to mull over this situation while they worked on it. We had decided (in our own wisdom) to use a credit card to pay the bill.
Our rationale was that we really need a vehicle; there are no churches within walking distance, we can't keeping hitching rides every time we need to travel more than a mile, or when we need to carry something, and we will have to travel to visit the churches that are supporting us.
We found out yesterday that two Michigan churches have adopted our family, and we are looking forward to learning more about them. We thank God for them.
But, we just begged everyone we know to give money so that we could move to Fort Wayne and get settled in. We were too proud to ask for more; to admit that we can not do this alone.
I hitched a ride to the garage where are van is located, got dropped off, ready to pay with credit, only to find out that they don't take Discover.
I had no other way to pay, and now, I was stuck there with no ride home.
The mechanic on duty took pity on me and drove me home, but the other problem still loomed. We need our van and don't have a way to pay for it.
But, we prayed and concluded that God was giving us a lesson in humility. We can not do this alone. We thought that once we arrived here, Don could get a job and he would take classes during the day, work evenings and weekends, and study when he could. This plan is highly UN-recommended. The course load and the hours required for study are so intense that to also carry the burden of full-time employment is too much for any man.
Summer has interviewed for two and taken on one babysitting job to help cover the cost of a few activities that she would like to participate in. I am learning to cook creatively so that we eat only what the food co-op provides. Don has applied for work study, scholarships, financial aid, and more. We are doing everything that we can, but if we could do it all ourselves then we wouldn't need God and we wouldn't need you.
So, as usual, God is teaching us something. It seems He is usually speaking to us, we just often fail to pay attention to what He is telling us.
We need to be patient, and wait on God to provide.
Today, Geri and Steve Johnson from Trinity Lutheran in Reed City came by the house and delivered many blessings, including five back packs filled with school supplies for the kids, yummy baked goods (which we don't get a lot of from the co-op), and a wonderful financial blessing raised during VBS week. We are very grateful and I am reminded: I will trust in God and His people, not in the credit card company to get us through this situation.
Corinne Johnson

Beating the Heat

Although there have been some challenges here at the seminary (like having no vehicle for the past week - it is difficult to walk or bike everywhere when the humidity is so high that you sweat just standing around).
We have been blessed by the seminary family that has rented us there home. Because they are on vicarage and plan to return in one year, they left many things here at the house for us to use; like the lawnmower, and their pool.
With no where to go, and the overwhelming heat, the kids have been spending a lot of time in the pool. It has been a huge blessing.

First Week Adventures

We arrived here without any glitches. Got the truck unloaded with help from the moving committee here. The house is just right for us.

Three families came to help us move in (that made for a total of 21 people – we love big families)

Two of the families that came are homeschoolers – YAY!

The day after we moved in, the people across the street put out a printer stand and entertainment center by the road –FREE! = just what we needed since we had limited space in the moving truck, and left many things behind. Here one day, and we’re already finding treasures in the trash!

Wednesday night we visited the local Lutheran church for their free dinner. A flyer was passed out inviting us to worship with “Pastor” Debra.

We visited St. Michaels church on Friday for their outdoor praise concert (this is the church where Jim and Anne’s son is the school principal). Everywhere we go, people know the Smiths. Even a random family in the park, said “Oh, Reed City. You probably know Jim and Anne Smith.” Or “My parents went to school with Jim” or “I just saw Jim at Kohls last Friday.”

On the way home from the concert, the van died on the side of highway 69. We were towed to a shop and just found out this morning that we will need $2400 in repairs and it will take at least a week.

So, we are homebound at least that long. The seminary is only 1.5 miles away, and we do have to cross one busy road (7 lanes of traffic), but we did walk over there the other day and it is not too bad.

The family that we are renting from left their pool for us to use – and it has been wonderful in the 98 degree and 90% humidity. The kids have been in the water more than out of it.

Please pray for the situation with the van. We still have a loan out on it, so we really have no choice but to get it fixed since we will owe the loan anyway and have no other means of transportation. We have also put our motorhome up for sale, and would appreciate prayers concerning that decision.

We are working on a fundraising newsletter that will go out this week!

Please pray about using the donation and subscription buttons on this page to help out with the many expenses associated with life at the seminary.