This year has been a GRAND ADVENTURE. A life that happens
when you surrender to Jesus.
We hit 2015 running, having just moved into a new house. We
had to leave our beloved Fruit house of 4 years, because the landlords wanted
to sell. It was bitter sweet… on one hand, we were excited about the new
adventure; on the other hand, we did not want to say goodbye to our home.
January
started with what became our last trip to the Beukers Family Beach house of 60
years, for Noah’s 16th Birthday. We made many memories that will
last many generations. Back in Fresno, Carah acted in her first full length
musical, “Legally Blonde” with her longtime friend Ethan Rij. Noah was
finishing up his soccer season and Carah was in the middle of her club
volleyball season and finishing up her school basketball season.
Our lives took an incredible turn when we met 3 other local
missionaries. One missionary takes inner-city kids on tours to see colleges and
we were given an incredible opportunity to take our kids and go to UC Berkeley.
Another missionary family, lived in the heart of one of the most impoverished
and violent parts of Fresno and we were grafted into their family and received
great missionary training through Kairos and Perspectives. The last missionary,
has really embraced and mentored us. He runs the Fresno School of Missions and
fully empowers us to do God’s will. These experiences changed our perspective
of ourselves and how we see the world.
In February,
we started a youth outreach open gym night in Easton and close to 50 students
would show up on Friday nights. We were on our 3rd year of running
RAW’s Real Talk Bible Study and many young men were coming to know Jesus. By
the end of the month, one of those young men, Bubba, came to live with us.
Another adventure that grew our family to look more like Jesus. We learned how
to love in a situation that was hard and unfamiliar. We understood what AGAPE
love means in a way we never did before.
By March, our family was in full swing with sports and school and church. Elijah was engulfed in his last college semester as a freshman. Noah was running track and playing baseball. Carah was in the midst of her Model and Talent training.. Bill finished coaching soccer and started coaching track at the Middle School Carah attends. We celebrated Easter with new friends, our godsons, some of our Bible Study kids and neighbor. A picture of the reason why we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
By March, our family was in full swing with sports and school and church. Elijah was engulfed in his last college semester as a freshman. Noah was running track and playing baseball. Carah was in the midst of her Model and Talent training.. Bill finished coaching soccer and started coaching track at the Middle School Carah attends. We celebrated Easter with new friends, our godsons, some of our Bible Study kids and neighbor. A picture of the reason why we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
By the time April hit, we had another unexpected guest come to live with us, Rob. Rob was one of the first young men to attend our Bible Study 3 years ago. He had some issues with his family and was kicked out of his house. We also had a short term guest, who was displaced when his family lost their home. So our family of 5 was now a family of 8. It was never quiet in my house. LOL. Our home became a safe haven for many and often we would have up to 10 people at our table for dinner. Many times, Bill and I would sit back and thank God for opportunity to create a lasting legacy in the lives of our children and others.
In May,
Bubba went back home to live with his mom and our short term guest moved to his
new house. Noah was on his way to Valley in track and Carah finished up her
softball season. Elijah finished his first year in college and started training
with the football coaches at Reedley College for the following year. Both
Elijah and Noah went to prom with friends from Central High and had a blast!
June
was busy. Noah ran in the Valley Championship, the only student from his high
school, and got 11th place. (He was running with a sprained ACL, so
we were all pleased with the outcome). Carah graduated from 8th
grade and was valedictorian and won an award for highest achieving in math. Rob
also graduated from high school and was blessed by many people with gifts,
including senior portraits. We celebrated longtime friend Ryan Rij’s graduation
and (another actress in the making) Gracie Morrow’s too. We headed to the Bay
Area, were we were able to go to Bill’s lifelong friend, Kevin Baker’s wedding;
after a weekend at Morrow Bay for a football tourney. We got to spend time with
Bill’s family and godparents, and then headed up to Lake Tahoe for a family
vacation. We had Elijah, Rob, Noah, Carah and Ethan. We stayed in a house with
Bill’s sister and partner Rebecca and got the amazing privilege of meeting
their soon to be adopted daughter Minnie. Another family reunion in Sacramento,
and we were blessed to see Bill’s moms side of the family and back home to
Fresno. Once back we had the privilege of baptizing 4 young men, who made a
commitment to follow Jesus Christ.
July
hosted lots of fun with 4th of July memories, a trip to see Bon Qui
Qui with Ninon and Ethan (a birthday gift), and Carah going to summer camp for
the first time. Elijah turned 19, Bill turned 44 and I passed the 40 mark, at
41. Noah and Elijah were in full blown training for football and Rob was job
hunting.
August was incredible. Carah attended her LA Agents Showcase and was an extra in the movie “Victory by Submission.” Our well went dry and we were without water for almost a month. School started with Carah starting high school; Noah a junior; Elijah a sophomore in college; and Rob decided to take a semester off to work. Carah started cheerleading, Noah and Elijah started football; and Bill and I started working with Cen Cal Mentoring, mentoring at risk youth at a continuation school. We were given an amazing opportunity to go to Haiti/Congo on a mission’s trip with our RAW group and will start fundraising in 2016.
September hosted football games every Friday and Saturday; Carah auditioning for movies, commercials and modeling, See You at the Pole, 2 weddings and Rob getting a job at the SPCA. Car troubles, both cars died on us… being blessed by a new car. The big event was Carah getting her braces off after 4 years!
November
was Carah’s 14th birthday. WE saw some crazy phenomenon in the sky…
some said rocket, others said meteor, others said alien… we just saw WOW!!!
Carah and I volunteered at Winter Jam and got to meet some of the artists. We
were startled by the news that Rob was attacked and almost died. He had a stab
wound to his head, along with a fractured skull, a blood clot on his brain and
wounds to his face. Bill’s sister gave up her air miles to get him home, where
he would be safe and could heal. The startling news continued when I received a
phone call that one of our close homeschool family friend’s 11 year old son had
died. He was really close to Noah and the new shook us to the core. We
celebrated Koltyn’s life and were thankful we were blessed to know him. We
stayed home for Thanksgiving, since Noah’s football team made the playoffs. We
got to go to the Bay Area and partake in the annual Thanksgiving weekend
Stanford game with grandma and papa. We had only one car, as Elijah’s car broke
down and we were given a car, which was such a gift for not only our family,
but our ministry. I participated in the Old Town Clovis Flea Market for the
second year in a row with Joanne Castillo (one of my adopted moms) and my good
friend Rachel Morrow.
December was no different than the rest of the year… busy and adventurous. I was given a unique opportunity to help my friend decorate her house for the Annual Children’s Hospital Home tour. I got to go on the Home Tour with my surrogate mom, Joanne Castillo, and made awesome memories. Noah’s football team made it to the Valley Championship Game and we were so excited! After a very close game, we lost in the last 30 seconds of the game, when a ball was dropped on the 10 yard line, which would have won the game. It was very emotional, but we were so proud of all the young men for their character. Carah started on JV basketball. Rob was healing well and got a job at Big Potato Market, the local grocery store in our little country town. Noah and Carah went to Formal with their good friends, Ethan, Callie and Kameron. Noah got blessed and went to the Raider/Kansas City game with his good friend Marissa. Noah was awarded MVP, 1st Team running back, 1st Team lineman and Defensive Player of the Year. We all awaited the premiere of Star Wars, Episode 7, The Force Awakens. Our family is full on Star Wars geeks. We had a surprise Star Wars party for Carah and had a movie marathon to prepare us for #7. Elijah waited in line for 30 hours and was on the new about 4 times. We had a blast and the premiere was so exciting!!!
Now, as we close this amazing year of hope, renewal and adventure, our sights are set on the glorious journey that awaits us. We are so very THANKFUL for all the people who invested in our ministry with their time, gifts, and monthly support. One of our biggest supporters are Bill’s parents who make so much of this possible. They have given so much, so that we can, in turn, change people’s lives.
If you would like to
be part of this journey, there are many ways you can help:
- We are taking a group of 20 students on a mission trip and will be doing fundraisers throughout the year. Please keep your eyes open for ways to support these young people to experience a life changing opportunity to serve others.
- You can also volunteer on Friday nights, by just coming and playing basketball, dodgeball, board games or any other ideas you may have to give the youth a safe place to go on Friday nights.
- You can also volunteer on Wednesday nights by providing dinner, speaking to our youth, leading worship, or just come to build relationships and mentor.
- We also need help with transportation, getting students to and from events. We are saving for a 9 passenger van. If you would like to donate towards the purchase of the van, please let us know.
Thank you so much for partnering with us in life, prayer,
support and ministry
The Beukers Family
No comments:
Post a Comment