A big boy...

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

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...

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...

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???

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....

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!

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...

A Family Picture

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...

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...

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.....

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

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

Snuggles before bed...

S-U-P-E-R EZZY!

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!!

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....

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!

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!

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!

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

Love,

The Borbe Bunch