Borbe Bunch

Click on EZRA....

2011-01-23T14:14:00.000-08:00

In this month of January, the Sanctity of LIFE is celebrated. Very fitting for our son EZRA.

Long overdue...

2010-01-17T08:51:00.000-08:00

I apologize for not updating our blog....for many of you as myself, Facebook has taken the front row seat, but for the many that still do blogging (which I always enjoy) I am taking time right now to update with the latest news and some pictures too.

Even now as I write, I am sitting in bed, by orders of my wonderful husband. I am in the last week of my 6th pregnancy and am needing to take it easy....something hard for me, but needed right now. I am so very thankful for the amazing help from my husband as he "mans the ship" and allows me to rest. So, with this gift of stillness, I decided to write...here we go.

I was glancing through the past posts on here and was amazed at how much the children have changed!! Time just marches on and one day turns into another, the children maturing, growing and changing all the while. I marvel at how fast it happens and even though I tell myself that these days, this season of "baby land" will soon pass...I am never ready for how quickly it truly does.

Just yesterday we celebrated Eliana's 7th birthday. She is becoming a lovely young lady, showing beautiful signs of loving the Lord and desiring to serve Him with her life. I am honored to be her mother and am daily reminded that she is a gift to our family. I am blessed.

Christmas time was a wonderful celebration with family. Both Edwin and I have been humbled to watch in amazement with the way God answered the desires of our hearts in specific and certain ways. God truly does desire to bless us and grant us even the small desires of our hearts. We enjoyed a fun time with our children in being able to gift them with some special things. I love to see thier faces as we re-read the wonderful story of how our Savior was born, watching Owen start to understand is a gift in itself.

Edwin has resumed his travling sub-contracting job, meaning that he is away on an average four days of the week, completing full time hours. The days he is home, he packs it full with loving on his family and teaching the children. The evenings he is away we miss him terribly, but we are so thankful for a good job as he provides for our family. We are thankful for moible to mobile phone plans!!

Here are some recent pictures of our Christmas holiday. Blessings dear friends.

the last few weeks....

2009-03-09T19:54:00.000-07:00

Obviously...life has taken over and blogging is not always top on the list :) This does not mean that I don't want to update...so tonight I chose to show some pictures of the last couple months...life in the Borbe home.

Valentine Day morning...heart pancakes made by daddy

Wearing daddy's hat

Ezra turns FOUR, mommy and daddy think back over the past four years...God has blessed us...

A visit with Hanne, Liz's friend from Bible School

A visit with the Hefner children, a missionary family with NTM serving in Africa...they were snowed in at our house, the kids loved every minute of it!

Eliana turns SIX...she is a blessing to us all

Mommy and her boy...

december photos

2009-01-04T20:08:00.000-08:00

Liz and her sister Melissa, home for a furlough from missions work overseas...it was wondeful gift and a great visit...

Boston met his Auntie for the first time!

A tree ornament made with Nana

Christmas cookie time

Owen on Ezzy's stander, he loves a free ride!

The hat says it all :)

Christmas morning...

Borbe Bunch

2008-11-24T18:16:00.000-08:00

the latest update...

2008-10-16T13:22:00.000-07:00

I have written about the Bergman family here...this update has come from my sister Melissa as they have been in touch directly with Joanna and family.
Keep praying...

my heart is breaking....

2008-09-30T19:04:00.000-07:00

Please be in prayer for Joanna and her family....here is the most recent news of our dear sister in the Lord...
Thank you for praying.

(further testing has revealed that the tumor is cancerous)

Dear Friends & Family,
Although we find it very hard to understand God's ways, we cling to the fact that He Love's us and has our best in mind. The results of Joanna's tumor came back today showing that it is an aggressive malignant tumor, grade 4 (highest). We are still in shock trying to process what we've been told. They would like to begin radiation and chemotherapy soon, however, the doctor still gave her only 1-2 years to live. They expect the cancer will continue to grow back. We are praying for a miracle!
Thanks for your prayer,
Curtis for Joanna, Natalie, Reuben and Kaylie

Praise God!!!!

2008-09-19T06:01:00.001-07:00

Here is an email from Curtis Bergman, Joanna's husband....
Thanks for all your prayers, God is good....continue to lift them up, as she recovers!

Praise the Lord, Joanna came through the surgery well! It was a long surgery (8 hours), at 6:00pm she went into recovery, and we talked to the doctor. He was pleased with how things went. She responded well to questions during and after the surgery which is a good sign as far as brain damage goes. She knew my name, that's good! The doctor said he got about 90% of the tumor which is good. If he had tried to get all of it their would likely be major brain damage as the tumor has fingers in the surrounding tissue. The initial test from pathology was good, showing a benign tumor however the doctor was very hesitant to say that it is all benign until they test more pieces of it. It will be a few weeks before we know the final word on what it is and whether more treatment is required. For now Joanna is recovery in ICU for at least a day, and she might be able to leave the hospital Monday or Tuesday. She is very weak and probably won't be up for visits on Saturday. We are thanking God for the outcome of todays surgery! We have all be comforted and encouraged to know how many are praying her, thanks
God is good!
Curtis for Joanna

Please be in prayer....

2008-09-19T06:01:00.000-07:00

We are requesting that you uplift a dear family before the Lord today....Joanna Bergman is the sister in law to Liz's sister Melissa and just days ago found out that she has a tumor the size of an orange in her brain, the cause of very painful headaches she has been having these past weeks. She is undergoing surgery today, the 19th, it will last 5-7 hours and is a very serious surgery. This precious family is a beautiful picture of trust in God's will and an outstanding testimony of faith in a good God, that has thier family in His hands....still they need prayer, for peace and comfort during this time. Joanna is the young mommy to three precious children and wife to Curtis, who in all his email updates we have received, has always given God glory in the midst of this trial, he is being strong for his family, but still needs his brother and sisters in the Lord to be in prayer....let us lift the whole Bergman family before the Lord, boldly coming before Him on behalf of this sweet family.

Here is a picture of Joanna enjoying her children....pray she will heal and be able to continue enjoying the gifts God has blessed her with....she is a sweet mommy to her little ones, a true picture of love and devotion...

a quick update....

2008-09-05T05:55:00.001-07:00

Summer has been a fun filled time for our family. We are adjusting well to being a family of seven...the saying is so true, "never a dull moment!" we love it and thank you for your prayers for our family as we continue to raise our precious gifts from the Lord.

The five kiddos...

Ezzy is babysitting Boston...

This is what we call, "the lineup" of the three boys in their seats :)

eight years...

2008-08-12T14:08:00.000-07:00

Eight years ago, my love and I said our forever vows to each other...written with love and excitment, looking to the future, wondering what God had planned for us as we became one...little did we know ALL that God would teach us, all that He would bring us through, all that He would ask of us, the many blessings we would experience...I thank God for you, for blessing me with a best friend, to walk hand in hand through this journey called life.

Happy Eight Years...I pray for many more, as we continue by grace alone...which God supplies. You are an amazing husband, how blessed I am...thank you for all you do for our family...

I love you.

*** Love, Me ***

The past few days, enjoying Boston...

2008-07-24T08:57:00.000-07:00

We have felt the outpouring of love and prayers by our family and friends, near and far....thank you to all who have so lovingly been excited as we welcomed our newest son. What a JOY and blessing! I wanted to share some pictures of our family enjoying and loving on our precious son, Boston Jude. We celebrated Daddy's birthday too. We love you all and again thank you for your comments and notes to us!

New Family Pictures

2008-07-22T08:09:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of the newest family pictures

We would like you to meet....

2008-07-18T07:36:00.000-07:00

Boston Jude Borbe

Birthday: July 17, 2008 8:30am
7 Pounds 3 Ounces 19.5 inches long
*More pictures of little Boston, go here*

He is a JOY and doing great! He came out with strong, loud lungs...ready to nurse and be loved on by his family. Thank you for your prayers for his birthday.
God is good and we praise Him for the blessing of a healthy son.

How about some pictures??

2008-06-19T12:19:00.000-07:00

So, I apologize for the lack of blogging lately!!! Due to rain slowing down our evening softball plans, I now have some "free" time to download pictures and share them with you!!

MUCH love to you all...we are all getting VERY excited to welcome our new little man to our Borbe Bunch!! Mommy is feeling good, blessed to have the privilege of being the only one to hold baby boy...though I very willing to share the "holding" privilege with his loving family...soon, in four weeks is the planned day to welcome our new son...please pray with us, as I will have a C-Section on July 17th.

So here you have it....the past weeks through pictures.... :)

MOTHER'S DAY:

Gabby turns SEVEN!

The girls are playing softball on the same team...

30 Weeks along...a very active baby!

Four weeks away will be his birthday...

pictures to share :)

2008-04-30T12:07:00.000-07:00

A Red Sox fan...

Bible time with daddy...

Spring flowers for Mamma...

In this pic I am 25 Weeks along...I am now 28 weeks along...time is flying by :)

Ballerina Bread Maker...

Being treated like a queen by my girls after hosting dinner, they are so sweet and would spoil me like this if I requested every night :) They love to rub lotion all over my growing belly...I am so blessed...daddy's in the kitchen cleaning up!

A great apple peeler :)

The girls are getting better at their kitchen cutting skills...here we are making an apple pie for dessert.

Updates and Pictures

2008-04-30T11:38:00.001-07:00

Life is whizzing by, full of blessings and LIFE...here are a few pictures to re-cap what has been happening here in Borbe Bunch land :)

My friend from Bible School, Debi, came for a fun visit. She met all my children for the first time. I met her youngest, Ella Marie for the first time. What fun our visit was!

Eliana Marie and Ella Marie...Ellie was thrilled to play with a baby girl, especially one with almost the same name as her. :)

Ezra Cross was named after a dear friend and mentor to Edwin, Dennis Cross. We were thrilled and blessed to host them for dinner and a fun visit a few weeks ago. Here Dennis and Ezzy "hang out" for a bit before they leave.

Here is the whole gang, together for a picture!

I have taught myself how to crochet...here is my first finished product...a baby hat. I kinda learned as I went, once it was done, the color was a bit girlie, so I added some flowers I crocheted and then gave it to one of my friend's little girls.

My not so willing "model" for the hat :)

A better picture

It's A......

2008-03-17T14:16:00.000-07:00

Here you have it, we found out by ultrasound that our new precious bundle, due in July, will be a....

We are thrilled and so thankful to the Lord for a healthy pregnancy so far. At first we weren't going to find out if the baby was a boy or girl...we have every time thus far and after Prego Mamma convinced Daddy that she needed to know in order to "get ready" (the planner in me :) coming out); we read the ultrasound results, from the sealed envelope, together as a family later that night after the ultrasound. It was a fun evening for our family!
***A couple more tid bits***
Gabby, our oldest was the one to read the results of the ultrasound to the fam, it was after viewing the ultrasound together on DVD copied for us by our Doc...this little Guy is considered our "tiebreaker" :) Too fun...

bragging rights...

2008-02-15T04:55:00.000-08:00

I would like to share a link to Ezra's blog...where you will hear his beautiful voice, CRYING, for those of you who know Ezzy, know that this is HUGE and a true gift from God...recently Ezzy has been crying to communicate when he is cold, in pain, or something startled him...hearing him cry, makes us all cry...something so simple and something so "normal" takes on a whole new meaning when you have waited THREE years to experience it...we are thankful for the continued blessings of raising our sweet son...

Birthday Bash times TWO!!!

2008-02-05T09:10:00.001-08:00

So here are the long awaited Birthday pictures of Ellie and Ezra's birthday!
Hope you enjoy!

Let the Nations Rejoice...

2008-02-02T06:03:00.000-08:00

More than 150 Dinangat People show up for the first bible teaching in their own language!

Edwin's sister and brother in law are NTM missionaries in Papua New Guinea. We have talked of them before. We are excited to write that they have now started the Bible teaching in the tribal language of where they live! They have been learning the heart language of the people there for years now. This past week they were ready in their preperation to start teaching the good news of Creation and in the weeks to come, they will build upon a foundation of truth, that will lead them in their understanding and Lord willing heart acceptance of Christ as their SAVIOR!
Here is an email update they just sent us! To GOD be the glory!

Dear Praying Friends,
5 down, 65 to go!
There are a total of 70 lessons in this first phase of teaching, 70 lessons chronologically bringing the hearers from before creation and up through the ascension of Christ, and Lord willing to a place where they will humbly and excitedly be able to say, YES! This is true! God, my Maker has loved me since before time began, and the blood of His Son is the Full payment for my sin!

For now, the foundation is being laid. I can’t tell you what a mind-blowing week it has been for us, and what a privilege it is to be able to witness first hand the God movement that is taking place here! Already, their world view has been challenged, and they see that what they have believed in the past is not consistent with what the Bible teaches. Already, the people are putting two and two together, realizing that what they have been taught is not true. And they are letting go. I have never seen what a real field “white unto harvest” looks like before, but now I can tell you that it is something beautiful beyond words.

The people are truly astounded at the teaching, and in particular, hearing the Word of God read out loud for the first time ever in their own language! When it was time for the first Scripture reading, you could have heard a pin drop. When the passage was done, it was like a gazillion bees buzzing, everyone was talking at once, smiling, shaking their heads, some just put their heads down. Let me quit babbling here, and give you a few quotes we heard this week, I think that will paint the best picture for you:

Heard from different Dinangats this week:

"We always wondered what you were going to teach us. Now we see you are giving us the whole story, from beginning to end, that we never knew!”

“I’m not even working these days. I am just sitting and thinking about all this. We’ve rationed out our food so it can last many days so I don’t have to go to the garden. I can just sit and think about all this big talk.”

“ I used to think that God and all the spirits (angels) were equal in power, now I know that God CREATED the angels"

All Glory and Honor Be Unto Him! Please keep praying. We know God is hearing the prayers for this group from all over the world, and we want to keep filling His ears on behalf of their precious souls!

Your hands and feet in PNG,

Jeremiah and April, Jordan, Judah and Alayna

Jeremiah Markley Reading The First Scripture in Dinangat History!!

BIG celebrations!!!

2008-02-01T06:35:00.000-08:00

I have yet to download and then share some of our PARTY pics from the month of January!! We celebrated Ellie's 5th and Ezra's 3rd BIRTHDAYS!!! So....stay tuned pictures will follow shortly...maybe during nap/rest time for the kiddos!! :)
LOVE to you all!

changes...

2008-01-29T05:26:00.000-08:00

I wrote about the changes God has brought our way....if you are interested in reading.

MUCH love to you all. Friends and family from AROUND the world, how blessed we are!

It's tradition...

2007-12-30T12:39:00.000-08:00

I love hearing of other families traditions that they enjoy during the Christmas season...one that I have done now for years is giving the kiddos new PJs on Christmas Eve and then having them wear them to bed...so that in the morning, they look extra cute!

Another tradition that I did as a little girl growing up is to make a birthday cake for Jesus and sing to Him. We enjoy this celebration every year. This year in the picture, the girl's friend Solomon enjoyed this tradition along with them...our boys were being held my adults out of the camera's view.

A Christmas Update...

2007-12-30T12:03:00.000-08:00

Even though the weather outside on Christmas was far from the New England weather Edwin and I adore, we had a WONDERFUL day celebrating the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. The afternoon drew to an end and Happy Birthday Jesus was sung around a cake made for Him.
In the morning hours, cinnamon rolls were enjoyed as we exchanged gifts purchased with that special person in mind. It was a special time in the morning with just us Borbes. Later on that day, Nana and Papa and another family came for the festivities at our home. Games played, hugs given, yummy food eaten, even a phone call from Papua New Guinea...all in all, it was a great day....though FAMILY far far away were thought about and prayed for, being greatly missed.
We tried to capture some of our Christmas fun to share with you...
May you all have a Happy New Year reflecting on ALL God has and continues to do in your life!

Indeed...Ezra IS a precious gift.

Gabby singing....

2007-12-21T21:17:00.000-08:00

Our little Gabby Grace sang her first solo in our church Kid's Choir Christmas play. We are so proud!

A Big ONE Year Old Boy!

2007-11-15T08:33:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that our baby is now ONE!!! We had a wonderful celebration with friends and family on Owen's FIRST Birthday. Here are a few pictures of the HAPPY day!
The morning of Owen's Big Day...waffles for breakfast.

Mommy made a big number ONE to celebrate.

We thank you Lord for the blessing of Owen's precious life. Give us wisdom in raising him according to your Word, may he grow up to love and serve you all the days of his life.

happy owen...cheering for dadda

2007-11-05T19:51:00.000-08:00

Recovering well...

2007-11-01T13:34:00.000-07:00

Ezzy is recovering well and we are thankful...you can read more here if you are interested...thanks for your prayers, God is good!

Fall time is a fun time....

2007-10-16T07:36:00.000-07:00

A wonderful talk with a wonderful woman...

2007-10-02T19:18:00.000-07:00

I just enjoyed the privilege of chatting on the phone with Edwin's older sister, April in Papua New Guinea. The Markleys are NTM missionaries in PNG. They are on a break from their tribal location right now, so with that comes a tremendous gift of hearing their voices! They have updated their web page, so I wanted to share that with you.
This picture just warms my heart!
April is so sweet and full of so much love.

Feeling the love....

2007-08-29T13:08:00.000-07:00

Many thanks for those of you who have "stopped by" to take a glimpse into our lives! I finally figured out how to put a video on, (I know not hard :) but a big thing for me!) And so I decided to put this one on...cause it is simply how it is at our home...you can often find daddy playing and singing and of course the girls dancing...when Gabby asked to dance with Ezzy, I delightfully agreed.
My dear friend all the way in a TRIBE, downloaded this video and had a fun "visit" with our Bunch :) There will be more, but I don't want to over do it...
It is just so fun to share a piece of "us" with you all...hopefully soon our family overseas will be in a location where they can watch too...we are SO blessed to have this technology!
Thanks God.

Dancing with the Ez Man...

2007-08-22T09:48:00.001-07:00

Ellie the Red Sox Fan!

2007-08-22T08:49:00.000-07:00

While daddy was away in Mexico on a missions trip a couple of weeks ago, Ellie greatly missed her daddy. So, she requested to wear his Red Sox cap to bed...so off she went to sleep in her nightgown and daddy's cap.
She was a bit excited, to say the least!

Garden time with Papa...

2007-08-22T08:36:00.000-07:00

New pics to share...

2007-08-08T20:59:00.000-07:00

A big boy...

2007-07-12T16:22:00.000-07:00

Owen loves to sit and play! He is laughing at his big sis Gabby. He is already 8 months old, hard to believe! We are so blessed!

Viewing the Titanic...swimming in the summer sun

2007-07-07T09:04:00.000-07:00

We, as a family had a wonderful few days away enjoying some of Liz's parent's time share vacation, that they so graciously shared with us! Thanks Mom and Dad! :)
Here we are in front of the Titanic museum. It was very educational and very sobering all at the same time. They had real artifacts from the famous ship and walked you through the whole sinking of the ship.

The girls LOVE to swim, so enjoying time in the pool was a blast!
We are so thankful for a fun family time. God you are so good! :)

A GREAT Daddy...

2007-06-21T19:15:00.000-07:00

Better late...than never, right??

I write this post to express my deep thankfulness of the wonderful daddy the Lord has blessed my children with. I love you my sweet hubby and praise God for the daddy HE is shaping you into every day...a daddy that gives "daddy trains" down the stairs to bed, a daddy that plays on the floor (barbies :) with his girls, a daddy that works hard and provides for our needs, a daddy that lovingly massages Ezzy's legs and arms, a daddy that reads the Bible and uses the wisdom found there to teach our children, a daddy that is silly and swims in the kiddy pool, a daddy that makes heart shaped pancakes, a daddy that loves the Lord and loves his family...we are all blessed...thank you for being, YOU.

Picture of the day...

2007-05-31T18:03:00.000-07:00

Here is Cowgirl Ellie. She put this little outfit together after seeing "Donkey Tales" performed by our kids choir at church. She galloped away on her "horse" singing all the way...It was a great musical play that acted out stories in the Bible where a donkey was used to do great things for God. Really cute.

(Now you can see my fridge COVERED with Prayer Cards of all our friends and family, along with letter magnets...what would a fridge be without them?? :)

Can you tell they are father and son???

2007-05-24T20:17:00.000-07:00

I love this picture! Ezzy is looking more and more like his daddy every day. I am so blessed to be the mother to Ezra. We thank you Lord for the treasure and gift he is to our family!

Busy past weeks....

2007-05-20T12:20:00.001-07:00

When you have a friend from another country email and ask if you are doing OK, I think it is high time to update the blog and let you all know that we are doing just fine! :) THANKS for your love and concern Hanie! A bout of sickness has sweep and is still "sweeping" through our family. Mostly a head cold, but with so many under our roof, it can be hard to shake from the household! We have had some fun times these last few weeks despite our colds.....Mother's Day was a true blessing, with the opportunity to enjoy the day with my mom and hear my little sister's voice online from PNG, (even if only for a moment :). We have been enjoying beautiful weather here mid west and loving all the kiddy pool fun that comes along with that! My dad for Mother's Day planted some beautiful flowers in my front yard for me to enjoy. Now I must remind myself, among all the morning duties to water my precious flowers....you see, I am not the best at the "green thumb", but am trying really hard dad!!! :) He is quite the gardener! My hubbie planted our veggie garden and is also taking on a big home improvement project of putting in a new bath tub...with jets! :) I am so very proud of him in his endeavour....thanks Lovey! He has been studying all about hooking it all up...I am so thankful!

My beautiful mom and I on Mother's Day in front of my new garden!

OH, another thing...Ellie hurt her elbow and needed to wear a splint for a few days 2 weeks ago! I told you...we have been busy!!! :)

My HARD working man!

Yesterday, Ellie was a flower girl. She was just precious and absolutely beautiful! I was a bit teary helping her into her dress, which was a mini wedding gown in my book, a bit hard on the mommy heart, and she is ONLY four years old! I had fun getting her all dolled up and doing her hair! Sweet memories for sure.

So, with this very quick update, I have lots of pictures to share with you...hope you enjoy!

(Tomorrow is a big day yet again, as Gabs is turning SIX!!! Actually six years ago on this very day...I was in labor...wow, the memories rush back! Pics to follow of her big day tomorrow!)

Patriots BOY!

2007-05-10T16:30:00.000-07:00

Today Owen wore his Patriots shirt today for Daddy. Owen is now already SIX months old! Hard to believe...time sure does fly by...when you are having fun! :) We are so very blessed and thank God for the blessing of a full, joyful life HE has given us!

Thank you GOD for all your blessings!

A sweet spring day for scooters...

2007-05-01T13:04:00.000-07:00

A Family Picture

2007-04-12T13:46:00.000-07:00

Hoping you all enjoyed a wonderful Easter Day in celebration of Christ's POWER over death!

God is good and we praise Him for a victorious day celebrating His goodness towards us. We are so very blessed and praise Him for our precious family!

Take me out to the ball game...

2007-03-23T13:05:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, "Daddy Day" :) meaning that Daddy is home on a day off, we got a call from the church secretary and a man that Edwin had just met earlier that week had some college baseball tickets he wanted to give him; he called the church looking for Edwin. So Edwin got off the phone and said "wanna go to a baseball game??" It was a bit windy, but a nice day to get out. The game was 1.5 hrs. away, so we were on the road in no time! It was fun to get to enjoy this outing as a family. We only stayed for an hour; it was just too windy, warm in the sun, but getting a bit chilly for the kiddos...and mommy! :)

God is good and we love how we are so blessed to be able to enjoy family time. This was both boys first baseball game! A fun day was ended with pizza at Incredible Pizza.

Thanking God for an amazing time away...

2007-03-15T20:27:00.000-07:00

We were blessed for the opportunity to attend the Memorial service for Olivia, a beautiful daughter of the King, who is now praising Him forever more....
Please continue to pray for the Waldens. We thank God for the hugs we were able to give them in their time of sadness. We were blessed by their testimony to God's grace and comfort during this time. They are a precious family and we love them dearly.

We did have a time of rejoicing at the hotel the first night of Ezzy's "free" legs!
We celebrated by eating cheesecake, the girls and daddy going for a late night swim, and the boys chilling with mommy near the pool.

Thank you for your prayers for Ezzy's surgery and for our trip.

and the casts are OFF.....

2007-03-15T20:15:00.000-07:00

Ezzy is SMILING while waiting patiently to have his casts removed! I think he KNEW why he was there! We brought his puppy from home to cuddle him as he was waiting. :) All the kiddos hanging out with Ez Man while he awaited for the nurses to take him back to the surgery room.
Ezzy in his cutie little hosptial gown, that is WAY too big :)
Mommy giving him snuggles before he goes in for surgery to remove his casts- Hip Hip Hooray!!!

Ezzy sporting his new braces, ready to "hit the road".
Isn't he super CUTE??!!! :)

Please be in prayer

2007-02-28T09:50:00.000-08:00

We would like to ask you to lift up our dear friends, the Waldens, in prayer. They need prayer for comfort and peace as last night their youngest of five children, Olivia went to be home with the Lord. Olivia, who was 18 years old, had been battling brain cancer for months and is now without pain and resting in the presence of her Savior. This wonderful truth gives peace to the family, but the loss of their precious daughter is still painful. Please pray for the great Comforter to wrap His loving arms around them and give them wisdom in the final plans they need to make.

We love this dear family so very much and met them through out New Tribes Mission training. They were always such an encouragement and true friends to us. Olivia would babysit Gabby for us years ago. She always had a smile on her precious face and a laugh in her eye. She is greatly missed. Please pray for her family during this time. Thank you.

Ellie loving on Owen

2007-02-08T19:51:00.000-08:00

Snuggles before bed...

S-U-P-E-R EZZY!

2007-02-01T07:54:00.000-08:00

Here is our SUPER little guy! Gabby got this "superman" cape a few years ago when attending a friend's birthday party. This cape has given many hours of super hero fun....the other night, we decided to give Ez Man a try with the cape. He looks like a real super hero, huh? :)

In our eyes, he is a super hero because of GOD, Ezzy's life is a true example of God's GOODNESS and GRACE!

Our little Superman is now TWO and we PRAISE God for the gift of Ezzy's precious life.

Our Niece (and Cousin) Alayna Joy Markley!!

2007-01-22T06:47:00.000-08:00

Alayna Joy Markley Born January 22, 2007 at 4:05 am 8 lbs. 13 oz 19 ¾” long April had a really restless night not able to get to sleep, then at 12:30 we understood why. Her water broke and an hour later the contractions hit hard. Praise the Lord that even though my parents aren’t here yet (they will get here on Wednesday), there were some friends with New Tribes staying in town who offered to watch the boys. So we headed to the hospital ready for a long night, but less than 4 hours later we greeted our precious daughter for the first time. The delivery was monumentally fast and she managed to get herself wound up in the umbilical cord in the process. It was wrapped around her shoulders keeping her from proceeding down the birth canal, and I had to prematurely cut the cord. We are praising the Lord that overall Alayna is doing great, even though she had a rough time a couple months ago. Thank you all so much for your prayers, and support on our behalf. We are so grateful for all of you!

Angels rejoicing....

2007-01-20T18:32:00.000-08:00

Dear praying friends,

We have an update to share with you about a wonderful day! Enjoy reading and praise God for the salvation of precious souls!

The email is as follows:

January 16th will forever be marked in history as the birth of the Tobo church! Tuesday, Jason taught on the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. There were many people that came, more than what we were expecting. A large group of people left immediately after the teaching to go get dressed in their traditional clothes to show support for the cargo cult. Yet others stayed around just silently sitting and talking. 2 groups of men formed around Jason and Chad as they pelted each of them with questions. Some were having a hard time believing that Jesus washed ALL their sins away...if they were to sin again how would they stay righteous before God? Others had worked all their lives to gain God's favor and didn't want to be told that all those years of "works" were for naught. And yet others still didn't want to let go of the Cargo Cult and were looking for some way they could follow both.Jason and Chad took the rest of the afternoon going to different houses and asking questions and seeing where people are at. We don't know how many are saved, but we do know that there are brothers and sisters in Christ here now. We know of at least 4-5 families who have put their faith in Jesus alone, and we haven't been able to talk to everyone yet. Tragically, there are some who clearly have rejected, and that saddens our hearts. So we ask you to continue to pray as people are still struggling to choose. God is working in people's hearts!We are VERY excited to tell you that not only did Alis and his family stay back from going to the Cargo Cult meetings; but they are now believers in Jesus Christ! After the teaching on Wednesday, Alis was just sitting there crying, so Jason went to him and just sat with him for a while, and Alis said, "Thank you Jesus." Jason asked, "What are you thankful for?" And Alis said, "I am no longer afraid that I will go to hell, Jesus' blood saved me." Alis is our land owner. To say he has been nothing but a frustration to our team would be an understatement. If we could have picked one person whom we didn't think would get saved it would have been him!:-) Thank God that our thoughts are not His!!!! Alis is very much like a Peter in that he speaks often without thinking first; but there is a definite change in his life these past few days. And we also know that as the Holy Spirit works in his life that others will see the change. In the last week or so, we have been noticing a change in his personality going from a very angry man to almost quiet and humble. Isn't God awesome?!!!!As God shows us who He has chosen to be His church here in Tobo, we will be sure to share it with you.Thank you again for your prayers, it is because of your prayers that many of these people have trusted in Jesus as their Savior. In a way the work is just beginning! We have babies in Christ. Pray that God would work through us to disciple these new Christians so that they can someday soon reach the rest of Tobo!

His Clay Pots,
Jason, Kellie, Micah, Sophia, and Malachi Knapp

Prayer for missionaries about to PREACH the GOSPEL for the FIRST time!

2007-01-14T09:43:00.000-08:00

We received this e-mail from Edwin's sister April Markley and would ask you to PRAY for the precious souls of the Lengbati Tribe in Papua New Guinea! To GOD be the glory!

The following is from the Knapp family:

We were told this week that the followers of the Cargo Cult will be leaving to go to another village on Monday for a "holy day" on Tuesday and Wednesday. They are going in order to worship their leader, do the required rituals, and wait for the cargo (i.e. the bread which perishes) they think is coming. They will be coming back on Thursday and Friday.
Jason went down to our neighbors house and saw that he had his bark loin cloth drying outside on the grass.......
Jason: "I see that you have your bark outside. Are you planning on going? I see you at the teaching ever day and I know you are struggling in your heart, is this the decision you are struggling about?"
Alis: "Yes, I am struggling greatly. On the one hand I am scared of all the other men who want me to keep on believing in this Cargo Cult. But I am also afraid of God who sees all, and I know that if I go and put that loin cloth on and follow them this week, I will be choosing eternity in hell. My insides are split in two. "

So, in light of the facts, we have decided that instead of teaching the gospel next week, we are going to go ahead and present Christ's Arrest this Monday and then His death, burial, and resurrection this Tuesday morning!!!! This is different than what our last update said. Our reasoning for this is that we do not want to "feed our pearls to swine". They will just trample it underfoot, and are not coming for the true bread of life, but for the bread that perishes. And for those who have made the decision to stay back and listen to God's Talk, we feel that they are ready to hear the power of the message: the Gospel of Christ.

Please be on your knees, we NEED your prayers!!!! Pray for the ones "on the fence", pray for the ones who stay back, and pray for fellow Brothers and Sisters to be added to the family of Christ in the next 48 hours.

We ask that you pass this e-mail on to as many people as you can and ask them to pray for the Tobo people. If they would like more information and background send them to our web page. http://www.claypots.org/

His Clay Pots,
Jason, Kellie, Micah, Sophia, & Malachi Knapp

A NEW Year before us!

2007-01-01T21:54:00.001-08:00

We apologize for not writing sooner and for being "away" for so long!

There has been much happening among our Borbe BUNCH :)

We REJOICE in the excitment of a NEW year ahead of us. We enjoyed a JOYOUS Christmas with friends and family. We marvel at God's goodness and would like to share with you some things He is doing and continues to do in our lives!

We recently returned from a trip to Children's Hosital where Ezra had surgery on his feet. Some of you may know that he has been wearing casts since mid August in preperation of this foot surgery. He was wearing casts to position his feet to be ready to undergo this surgery which was to correct his bones and "loosen" up the tendon cords in his heels. Pins were placed near his ankles to keep his feet in the correct position. He did very well during the surgery; it was once he "woke up" that the extreme pain set in. It took the nurses a while to figure out a good medication to put him on for his pain, but we soon saw that the love of family is what was the best medicine after all. :) We went to St. Louis as a family and desired to involve the girls and Owen in the whole event. It proved to be a very wise decision on daddy's part, since Ezzy ended up needing to stay one night in the hospital. Daddy stayed the night with him, while mommy stayed with the other kiddos at the hotel. Ezra reacted and calmed down once he was surrounded by his siblings and mommy and daddy. It warmed our hearts to see him "melt" and relax once his parents took over his care. :) Once he was stable enough, we decided to discharge him and keep him one night at our hotel, which was minutes away from the hospital. This way if in the middle of the night his pain was unmanageable, the hospital care was minutes away at our aid. Ezra did great and actually feel sound asleep in his car seat on the drive to the hotel, among the craziness of his sisters! Family love really IS the best medicine, along with MANY prayers for him!!! So he is now in casts healing and will continue to wear them for a while until his feet are fully healed. He will then start major therapy to strengthen his weak leg and foot muscles.

We do ask you continue to pray for a speedy recovery and for wisdom as his parents in caring for him while he is in pain; it is very hard to watch him suffer; we continue to entrust our precious son to the GREAT physician!!! We look forward to holding sweet Ezzy without casts and teaching him to walk! We KNOW God has plans and we await to see what God will do with these little guys feet! We know God has the power to heal him and give him the ability to walk. We often sing a song that talks of God using Peter to heal a lame man and how the man went leaping and praising God....we love making Ezzy dance at that part of the song. We pray that one day for him to dance on his own!

We rest in God's wisdom and His perfect plan...

God has also given us many wonderful opportunities to share with our girls the true meaning of Christmas. It has been a joy to see them so excited to talk of Jesus and how we celebrate His birth during this time of year. We hosted a lunch on Christmas day and had a birthday cake for Jesus, a tradition that Liz did growing up. It was a very packed and fun filled day.

We rejoice with Edwin's sister, April and praise God for a healthy pregnancy thus far and breathe a bit easier now that she has entered the "safe zone" in her pregnancy!!! :) We thank God for His perfect wisdom and for His perfect grace given towards the Markleys. He is a good God and has used them to picture true trust and faith in the power of God!

Here is a blog that they have started to read updates and enjoy some prego pics of April, super cute!!!

We send our LOVE and hugs to you all!

Happy JOYOUS New Year to you! Rejoice in ALL God so lovingly has in store for you this coming year!!!

In His LOVE,

The Borbe Bunch

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-15T10:04:00.000-08:00

We wish you all a VERY Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Love,

The Borbe Bunch

Mary and a Wiseman

2006-12-15T09:58:00.000-08:00

The girls were part of a live Nativity scene during our children's choir program. It was very cute and they had fun dressing up!

Ho Ho Ho....Merry Christmas!

2006-12-15T09:53:00.000-08:00

Ready, set.....SLIDE!

2006-12-08T14:52:00.000-08:00

These are some pictures from our sledding fun at Nana and Papa's house. It was Ezra's first time sliding. We think he loved it! :)

A Markley Family Update

2006-12-03T19:28:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to update you all in regards to Edwin's sister, April Markley. I apologize for not getting an update out sooner.
I do want to say THANK YOU all for the amazing support of prayer on the Markley's behalf and for our family as well. You have all been so kind and thoughtful in your emails and comments about the situation our family is going through.
We have recieved an email from April, praising the Lord that she is doing very well and that things seem to be healing! We serve a POWERFUL God! The doctors there in Australia have told her that she does need to stay near a large hospital that is equipped for an early delivery, since she is still as risk of that happening. For her to go back to Papua New Guinea before she has the baby, is out of the question. The main question that needed to be answered was whether or not she would be able to travel back to the states for the remaining time of her pregnancy. She has been cleared by the doctors to travel home to the states, but due to the extra financial need, they have chosen, through much prayer, that they are to stay in Cairns Australia for the remaining months of April's pregnancy. To tell you the truth, both Edwin and I were bummed to hear that they are not coming home, but THRILLED that both mommy and baby are healthy and doing well!!! All praise to God!
We THANK you for your prayers for our family. It was an opportunity for us to commit our beloved family into God's mighty hand of protection. We would ask that you do continue to lift the Markley family up before the Lord; for the months ahead of being away from their fellow co-workers, for their two boys, Jordan and Judah, as life has quickly changed for them, for Jeremiah as he desires to continue to work on as much tribal translation work as possible, and of course, for dear April as she continues to homeschool the boys, her pregnancy as she grows their precious little one, and making their new living arrangements as homey as possible, especially with Christmas around the corner.
Thank you and God bless you!

Let it snow...let it snow...let it snow...

2006-12-03T19:03:00.000-08:00

Well, as many know, our little town has been hit by what we from the east would call, a good "north-east-a". It started a few days ago, the temp. dropping quite low and then the snow came. Needless to say, the girls have been absolutely thrilled with their answered prayers for snow! To tell you the truth, mommy, did NOT want any snow, basically I was looking forward to a normal midwest kind of winter...which is very little snow, if any at all. But once I awoke to the shrills of my girls excitment because of everything in sight being covered in snow, all I could do was smile and help them get dressed for some good 'ol snow playing!

Seeing the snow did remind me of my growing up years, being from New England, childhood memories flooded my mind of playing endless hours outside with my brother and sister. We used to go zipping down a HUGE pile of snow into our backyard (it was accumulated for us by dad who when snowblowing the driveway would blow the snow into a giant mountian for us to slide down). Then there were the tunnels we would make with mom, you see snow storms would bring amounts of snow that would pile up to be taller than me, as a kid, that was super fun!

Now, as a mommy, I have the joy of helping my kiddos into their snow gear, wiping up puddles of melted snow, and my favorite part, kissing rosy red cheeks! :) It has been fun as a family to have some time together enjoying God's beautiful creation of sparkly white snow. I wanted to share some pictures with you all of our "winter wonderland".

Much to be THANKFUL for...

2006-11-24T21:20:00.000-08:00

We have so much to be thankful for. God is good and we THANK Him for a wonderful day of enjoying friends and family. We send LOVE and PRAYERS to the family and friends who are miles away. Know we LOVE you all and THANK God for each and every one of you!!!

Love,

The Borbe Bunch

Update on Markley Family

2006-11-21T12:58:00.000-08:00

Thank you to all who have been praying for our precious family. We have recieved an update email from them thanking everyone for praying and letting us know that April has been released from the hospital there in Cairns and they are all together as a family. They are enjoying being together after such a quick rush to Australia.

They will wait a week there near the hospital and then meet with the doctors to discuss whether or not they should fly home to the states to deliver the baby. Our hearts LONG for them to come home, but we KNOW that God is in control and has a perfect plan, even though we do not know it yet. So, for now, we wait a bit longer before we know the next step for them. Please continue to pray for them. For rest and peace in what lies ahead for them. Please keep Jordan and Judah in your prayers, it can be hard to be so young and all of a sudden have so much change. We personally KNOW the power of prayer and the peace that comes directly from God during a stressful and scary time as a family, because of fellow believers praying...brother and sisters in Christ praying when you are too weary to pray yourselves. Love to you all.

Thank you again for your prayers!

PLEASE PRAY!

2006-11-19T08:18:00.000-08:00

We ask you to pray for our family, Edwin's older sister, April and her husband Jeremiah and two sons, Jordan and Judah. April and Jeremiah are missionaries with New Tribes Mission and are working among the Dinagant tribal people of Papua New Guinea. April is 29 weeks pregnant and within the last 24 hours has had to pack up the family and leave their tribal location by emergency medical transportation, a small plane, by orders of the Mission doctor there in PNG.

After viewing an ultrasound along with other signs of complications, April along with her family are now in Cains, Australia at a hospital awaiting instructions from the doctor as to what she should do. The baby IS FINE and healthy and April is doing OK. She called us last night from Australia and sounded very peaceful knowing that God is in control of her health and the baby's. They need to make a descision as to whether or not she will be able to travel back to PNG and continue in her pregnancy there, stay in Australia, (which is equipped with all the medical equipment needed for mom and baby) or fly home to America and be near a large hospital ready and equipped to care for the baby if born early.
The reason for April's sudden trip to Australia is due to the lack of emergency medical equipment in PNG. She is for now settled in at the hospital there in Cains. April's placenta is detaching and with that comes decisions, as I wrote, in regards to what they should do for both Mom and Baby's safety and for the family as a whole.

We LOVE them all so very much and our hearts long for them to come home, to be near us so that we can help with the boys and help in any other ways possible. We want them near to support and love on them. But, God has them miles away from us during this time, to grow us in our faith, to entrust their family to His precious HAND in complete control of the situation.

Please PRAY for wisdom in decision making and for guidance in the doctor's advice to them. They are great examples of TRUST in God and we praise Him that they cling to God for strength. Join us in uplifting them before the Lord during this time. As soon as we know any more in regards to their plans, we will let you all know.

Thank you for your prayers for the Markley family.

My boys...

2006-11-18T12:40:00.000-08:00

My boys...so sweet and such a priceless picture.

My heart is so blessed and happy with the sight of my "men" all together. I praise God for His many blessings and for His grace towards us in the privilege of raising our two sons. We have greatly enjoyed our first week with little Owen and pray for many more together as a family. We do thank God for every precious moment we have together. God is good and GREATLY to be PRAISED. So take time to PRAISE HIM today for ALL He has done...the blessing of family and the blessing of HIS SON, Jesus, who paid our price for sin and made a way for salvation.

I thank you Father for my sons, but also for the precious life of your son, Jesus.

The girls will often end their prayers with..."but most of all, thank you for Jesus..." they have learned this precious truth by the example of their daddy praying that way.

May we never loose sight of thankfulness towards our Father God for the blessing of HIS SON...

Enjoy your families today and give lots of hugs...

Proud Brother and Sisters

2006-11-18T12:26:00.000-08:00

We LOVE seeing Ez man and Owen together.....melts our hearts!
Gabby LOVES her little brother....she really can't get enough holding time!

Ellie, dressed as a princess for the day :) loves to snuggle "the new baby". She still calls him that, she has to get used to his name, I guess! :)

Owen is so tiny, he fits inside Ellie's baby doll carrier! She thinks this is pretty cool! :)

Going home...

2006-11-11T20:03:00.000-08:00

We are home!

2006-11-11T19:55:00.000-08:00

What a blessing to bring our little guy HOME!!! He is doing great! We wanted to show you a picture of him with his eyes wide open...and YES, we think he looks like his big sister Ellie :) (Many have asked and commented on him looking Ellie, we agree!) Time will tell if he will have blond hair too. He looks a lot like Ellie when she was born!! God is GOOD, we are enjoying our sweet

Owen Joshua!!

Nothing is better than a NEW Baby Brother!

2006-11-10T08:18:00.000-08:00

Owen Joshua Borbe

2006-11-10T07:44:00.000-08:00

Owen Joshua Borbe

Born November 9th 7:24am

6lbs 14oz

20 inches long

"Perfect as can be" Everything went like clock-work. Thank you all for your prayers!

"But thou, O Lord art a shield about me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head. I was crying to the Lord with my voice, and He answered me from His holy mountain. I lay down and slept;I awoke, for the Lord sustains me." Psalm 3:3-5

Our FOURTH Bundle of Borbe is on the way...

2006-11-06T19:18:00.000-08:00

We are very excited to be welcoming our new brother on November 9th!

We look forward to snuggling and kissing him!!!
Please pray for the scheduled C-Section to go well. We KNOW God is in control and we REST in His GOODESS and GRACE!!!

We will keep you posted with a birth announcement and photos of our new Borbe as soon as we can!

Baking in the kitchen...

2006-10-24T09:32:00.000-07:00

We recently celebrated Papa's birthday. The kiddos showed Papa they love him by helping to bake Papa's favorite cake. Even Ezzy helped by holding the spacula until mommy needed it to scrap the bowl. We had fun together and of course the funnest part was licking the batter :)
Ezzy thought it was yummy, the girls were sure to share!

Silly Sisters at a Soccer Game!

2006-10-19T08:51:00.000-07:00

These are our "silly sisters" full of joy and laughs! We, as a family, enjoyed a fall day at Gabby's soccer game. Go Culligan Team!!

We are blessed by our girls and thank God for their love for life and JOY they live by most days! This pictures shows their silly side and love for each other. They are super fun!!

Another casting day with Ezzy...

2006-10-10T14:37:00.000-07:00

Last week Ezzy had new casts put on his little legs. Nana and the big sisters came for the trip and after being in the car for hours and then in the hospital for hours, we thought it would be a good idea to have a picnic lunch outside. So I looked up some fun parks to picnic at in St. Louis and found Turtle Playground. You got it, the girls are sitting inside a giant turtle's mouth! The whole park had huge turtles for the girls to climb all over. It was a hot day of 96 degrees, so we stayed for as long as we could stand :) It was a fun way to end our "casting day" with Ezzy man!

Wondering what the Borbes have been up to??

2006-09-14T21:49:00.000-07:00

Hello! Have you wondered where we have been and what has been going on?? How my sister's traveling went moving her family to another country?? Well click on their blog to find out :)

Thanks for stopping by...

We LOVE you all!

The Jacksons leave for Papua New Guinea tomorrow

2006-09-05T12:30:00.000-07:00

Liz's sister Melissa and her family (the Jacksons) will be leaving tomorrow for Papua New Guinea as missionaries with New Tribes Mission.
We LOVE you and TREASURE you all.....HUGS and KISSES to you all!!
Love, the Borbe Bunch :)

You are all GREATLY LOVED!!!

2006-09-05T12:28:00.000-07:00

Good Bye Jacksons....WE LOVE YOU!!!!!

2006-09-05T12:26:00.000-07:00

Some GIRL friend time!

2006-08-22T07:23:00.000-07:00

We have been having a GREAT time visiting with our dear friends the Moffits. They have two girls and so our two girls have been making fun memories together with them. Here we took some girl friend pics by the lake to treasure their FUN times together!
Ezzy mostly just chills with the mommys when we get together and play. He can only handle so much screaming and running about in dress up shoes! :)

We had a GREAT day at the ZOO!

2006-07-30T15:39:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun with our friends at the ZOO! This was Ezra's first time to a zoo....he did great, even in all the HEAT!!!
Can you see the Rhino in the back??!! :)

ZOO Day

2006-07-30T15:37:00.000-07:00

A day at the ZOO with friends

2006-07-30T15:35:00.000-07:00

Hello friends and family!

2006-07-21T19:46:00.000-07:00

Hi, I have just today started a blogsite for our little Ez man. So if you want, check it out at www.gift-from.blogspot.com and you can read past updates or check out future ones to come!
We LOVE you all and thank God for you!
Lizy for the bunch

HI Everyone!

2006-07-15T15:01:00.000-07:00

During our visit in New England many of you commented on how you like to see pics of the fam! We were happy to hear that, but want to KNOW when you visit, so....if you want to say HI, just hit the comments word below the pic and then you can say HI to us! It is just a fun way to "visit" through the world wide web!!!

We LOVE you and miss you all already!

A Great Family Vacation!

2006-07-14T19:58:00.000-07:00

We are now home and wanted to share some of our pictures with you from our vacation to NH and Maine. God is good and blessed us with safe travels all along the many miles of road! We are glad to be home and look back at our pictures with fond memories of special times spent with friends and family! We LOVE you all!

Enjoying a beautiful boat ride on Green Lake in Maine

2006-07-14T19:53:00.000-07:00

Borbes, Jacksons, and Uncle Dave

2006-07-14T19:52:00.000-07:00

Liz's brother Dave and sister Melissa in NH

2006-07-14T19:50:00.000-07:00

By the ocean in NH

2006-07-14T19:49:00.000-07:00

Family time in Plymoth, NH

2006-07-14T19:48:00.000-07:00

Nothing like good 'ol Dunkin Donuts!!!

2006-07-14T19:46:00.000-07:00

Our beautiful neice Olivia Joy Jackson!

2006-07-14T19:45:00.001-07:00

A fun visit with NH cousins

2006-07-14T19:45:00.000-07:00

Ezzy at therapy today, working hard to push his toy!

2006-06-20T20:10:00.000-07:00

Mommy and Ezzy at therapy

2006-06-20T20:09:00.000-07:00

Even the girls have fun at therapy

2006-06-20T20:08:00.000-07:00

Our three kiddos!

2006-06-20T20:00:00.000-07:00

We are so blessed to have happy kids! We praise God for the blessing each one of them are in our lives! They are each special and perfectly created by our Great God. We enjoy seeing them continue to grow into the little people God wants them to be.
Thank you God for our Gabby, Ellie and Ezzy!

Loving on her bubby!

2006-06-20T19:59:00.001-07:00

Fun cousin time!

2006-06-20T19:59:00.000-07:00

Fun time with family

2006-06-20T19:56:00.000-07:00

We had a blast with my brother, Carlos and his wife Sarah and their two, Carson and Sydney this past weekend! It took 10 trys to get this picture with almost all of us looking!! Fun times, fun times!