Thanks for coming by to visit with the Vans! We are thankful for good health, great kids, and an Amazing Savior in Jesus Christ!
ERICA: excelling at guitar, played allstar baseball with the boys and held her own, started 7th grade, enjoys shopping with Cori, and hanging out with her friends! We have a true pre teen on our hands!
FAMILY: Our family participated in our church’s local mission trip named “Seek the City”. This was a meaningful time of fun and ministry, as we all sought the welfare of the city of Charlotte, and learned the blessing of serving.
FAMILY: We have the privilege of having Amy’s mom and dad (Rick/Dawn Boutieller) and my dad (Richard VanDusen) living within 10 miles of our home. It’s both enjoyable and “adventuresome” to have our parents close by, after living away from them for so long. Learning to lean on Jesus.
CORI/JOEL: left on June 26 for Nicaragua, for a three week adventure. See Cori’s blog here. Language school in the old town of Grenada, working with kids in a poor barrio school in Grenada, and traveling around the country sharing the Good News of Christ’s love with a local drama team. ”Life changing” would be too simple a phrase to describe it. Both kids exhibited their gifts of leadership, service, and love to each person they met and interacted with.
Cori has a “latina heart”, and desires to vocationally serve somewhere in the Spanish speaking world. That’s what you get for sending your kids away on missions trips: God calling them to service. Awesome.
JOEL: one word to describe him – “GINORMOUS”. He now stands at about 6’3″, and is a fine young man. He’s switched his “first love” from baseball to basketball, and we are enjoying watching him play. Youth group and friends round out his spare time.
CORI: Graduates from high school this June, as Cori has coined it “The beginning of the end of the beginning…” Our prayer is for God to use her zest for life and adventure, and love for people to serve Him and His Son. She’s looking to attend a Bible institute in Argentina next year to combine her two loves: español and the Bible.
AMY: had a bout with “vertigo” in July (seriously). Who can blame her, having to spin in so many circles to keep up with the family: taxi driver, teacher, super mom, youth leader. I’d be dizzy too.
STEVE: celebrated 15 years of full time employment with Billy and Franklin Graham. Traveled to India for first time. Still enjoys teaching Sunday School to high schoolers.
We all have facebook accounts (except for Erica), so stop by and visit. I hope to be more active on my blog this year. But why would anyone care about what I have to think?
Our prayer for you and your family comes from I Peter 1:8,9 – “Though you have not seen Him (Jesus), you love Him, and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him, and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith: the salvation of your souls!”
Merry Christmas,
Steve for the Van’s