Old Truck and New Car

During the summer Grandpa worked hard to get his 1929 Model A Truck back on the road. Then he proudly escorted his children and grandchildren on short country drives. Ned's brother Mark and son Luke accompany him in this picture.

The Guam Farnsworths were thrilled to take a spin themselves, all except for Ned's gear-shifting, that is.

As of yesterday we are the proud owners of a 1998 Ford Taurus. This will be a big help in our personal and ministry travel. And we won't have to take the carseats in and out, yahoo! Praise the Lord with us for His provision!

A Rainy Day at the Beach

Last Saturday some of PIBCers spent a rainy day at Gab Gab Beach on the Naval Base courtesy of our friends May and Tony. We had a wonderful time. Thanks, May and Tony! Ned helped Hiob to "cook" the meat on the grill.

The kids enjoyed their snacks.

We stayed away from a coral snake who came near shore looking for food.

Everyone had a great time being "beach bums."

The rain provided only one way of getting soaked; the kids discovered another way very quickly!

This week May has not been feeling well. Please pray for her. Thank you; we will keep you posted.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Many of you probably know that Ned loves The Wizard of Oz and the song "Over the Rainbow." We rose early on Monday morning to take Joel and Amelia to get their shots, and a beautiful sight bid us "Good morning." A full rainbow! That was the start to a good day, and both children did very well receiving their shots: Joel four and Amelia two. OUCH! But we are glad that they are up-to-date with their immunizations now. God is good!

Here's to Good Friends!

Perhaps you remember the slogan of the retro beer commercial, "Here's to good friends, the night is kinda special. . . ." God has blessed us with so many special friends here at Pacific Islands Bible College. It really feels like home to be back this time. Here are some pictures of some of our Guam friends.

Amelia has really warmed up to people. Here she sings at our staff hymn sing with Brad and Cheryl Boydston. They lend us fun movies like "Shrek."

Joyce Owen is one of the most fun persons I have ever met. Her husband Dave is PIBC's president; she works at a local nursery school. She won over Joel "lickety split" with her fun demeanor.

Micah Nrirachemoi, son of PIBC's Dean of Men, is one of Joel and Amelia's best friends. Amelia calls him "Cai-cah."

Anne Stinnette loves to hold children. Anne is a librarian at a local school and will be leaving Guam at the end of September for her husband Steve to receive a corneal transplant. Steve has been serving as PIBC's campus director, and he will be missed. Looking on is Karin Schulz, office manager for PIBC. Her husband Jens has stepped up as the new campus director. Please pray for him in this new position.

We enjoy serving as part of Liebenzell Micronesia. We missionaries recently gathered for fellowship and business meetings. Marisol and the children were at the house for nap time when this picture was taken.

Feliz Primer Aniversario

Happy Anniversary to Marisol's brother Wilo and sister-in-law Gisela. We were honored to be able to attend their wedding last August in Ecuador before coming to Guam. We wish you many more years of happiness together. God bless you.

Feliz Aniversario para el hermano y la cuñada de Marisol, Wilo y Gisela. Tuvimos el privilegio de acompañarles el año pasado antes de venir a Guam. Les deseamos muchos años más de felicidad. Dios les bendiga.

Grandkids 101

Here Grandma is looking at the family photo that we children gave her and Grandpa for their 50th wedding anniversary on August 3. Joel and my brother Mark's daughter Abigail are beaming for the camera with Grandma. Joel was her shadow for the summer. He especially liked feeding the birds with her.

Amelia loved spending time with Grandpa. He bounced her on his knee, he read her stories, and he got down on the floor to play with her. Whenever we couldn't find her anyplace else, we knew she was in Grandpa's bedroom. Joel and Amelia don't have much time to be grandchildren, and they really made the most of it this summer.

Star Gazing in New York

In July I spent two days in New York City with my college friend Bill. We packed a bunch of enjoyable activities into two day. We "met" William Shakespeare during our walk in Central Park.

I posed with the Monument to Balzac by Auguste Rodin at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Alas, "The Persistence of Memory" by Salvador Dalí was on loan. I've always wanted to see that. Next time!

Bill and I went to see the new play by Terrence McNally, "Deuce." In the play a pair of tennis champions reunite for an awards ceremony and reminisce about life, love, and their experience as doubles partners. It was fun meeting actress Marian Seldes after the play. I had seen her previously in the ill-fated "Annie" sequel, "Annie 2: Miss Hannigan's Revenge," which closed following its Washington, D.C. tryout in 1990. A charming, gifted and gracious person indeed who took time to speak to each person waiting to meet her.

The other tennis player was played by none other than Angela Lansbury, a winner of four Tony Awards but more recent years involved more in television work. I have many good memories of my ritual of watching "Murder, She Wrote" with my parents after Sunday evening church. At 81, she still knows how to maintain the attention of her audiences. Bravo, Angela! Welcome back to Broadway!

We also saw the musical "110 in the Shade" by the composers of "The Fantasticks" (Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones), the show I performed in during my Houghton years. "110 in the Shade" centers around the loveless life of a spinster named Lizzie who gets to know herself and the world around her better during the course of the show. Audra McDonald delivered a winning performance with splendid singing and remarkable acting. If you ever get a chance to see her, don't pass up the opportunity.

Thanks, Bill, for a wonderful time. I always cherish the time that we get to spend together.

A Week in Liebenzell USA Land

We spent a delightful week in Schooley's Mountain, New Jersey at the Liebenzell Mission USA Missionary Conference. It was great seeing our neighbor Melissa Heck again and other Guam friends (Steve Stinnette in background)!

Here is a picture of all of the Liebenzell USA missionaries who participated in the conference.

These are our colleagues from Pacific Islands Bible College and one of our students, Happiness Lodge, front row, right side. He completed an internship during his summer in the USA!

These are our dear friends who work with Liebenzell Mission in Ecuador. I can't tell you how good it was for us to reconnect with them, including the Sick family at the right hand side. They previously worked in Yap, Micronesia, and will be heading to Ecuador in early October. Please pray for their adjustment to a new field.

Ned's parents attended Mission Day on Saturday, June 23. His beautiful Mom poses with beautiful Marisol, two very special ladies!

This time we missionaries received a special treat, a three-hour tour of Manhattan on the Circle Line Cruise (no "Gilligan's Island" jokes please!). Marisol, Joel and Amelia had never been to New York before and enjoyed seeing the Statue of Liberty and the rest of the sites.

Marisol enjoys a free moment with Becky Williams, who works with her family in Lita, Ecuador. Currently the Williamses are in Virginia on home assignment.

We spent time with John and Margaret Thompson at the bonfire on Wednesday night of the conference. The Thompson previously served as Liebenzell missionaries and now serve at the headquarters in New Jersey. John is a graduate of Houghton College and likes to trade Houghton stories with Ned, also a Houghton graduate.

Here Amelia meets a horse for the first time. She did not want to "saddle up." She felt safer in Melissa's arms.

The Liebenzell USA children enjoy a quiet afternoon watching "Madegascar."

We were so blessed to have Robertson McQuillken was our speaker for the conference. A former missionary to Japan as well as president of Columbia International University in South Carolina, Dr. McQuillken related his experiences on the mission field as well as leaving the presidency of Columbia to care for his wife Muriel who suffered with Alzheimer's Disease.

Thomas and Friends

This is the first of a series of retro posts to show you what we did during our time in the USA. Two days after we arrived in PA we went to the Stasburg Railroad in Lancaster County to ride Thomas the Tank Engine. Joel had an early birthday present, and Amelia enjoyed herself, too. So did Mamá and Daddy!

From Thailand to Guam

The Pacific Islands Bible College missions teams are back. On Thursday evening we special time together as the participants shared what God did among them during their time in Thailand. It ended up being an inspiring night for all of us!

Here the English as a Second Language team (Ethel, Stella, Twinsanne, and Elilai) relates how God used them in the lives of the elementary school students that they taught. After class their teacher desks would be swarmed by children who wanted to get to know them better. This, of course, provided many opportunities to share their testimonies and the gospel message.

The College Evangelism Team (Smileen, Jayleen, Joel and Kalvin) worked alongside the Thai Campus Crusade for Christ staff, building relationships with students on two Thai campuses and using that as a springboard to share the gospel. All of them had exciting experiences to share, and we hope that this enthusiasm for missions can be passed on to the rest of our students when they return in two weeks. Please pray that their joy in serving the Lord is contagious!

Swinging in the Sun

Before going to PA in June we bought a swingset that was on sale at KMart. On Thursday Ektor, one of Ned's students from PIBC, came over for lunch and helped us set it up afterwards. No matter how easy they say it is to set up in ads, it took us a couple of hours to do it. It was a very sunny, sweaty job! Thanks for your help, Ektor. We couldn't have done it without you.

As you can see, Joel and Amelia already love playing on it. Here they are with Jayleen, recently back from the missions trip to Thailand, and Marisol.

Back Home in Guam

We survived the LONG trip back to Guam, which began at 1:00 am on Tuesday, August 7, 2007, when we packed the van to take the trip to Philadelphia National Airport. Thanks to Felix Montás for driving and to Carlos Encarnación for the use of his van. Our first flight took off from Philly at 5:30 am to Houston, followed by subsequent flights from Houston to Honolulu and from Honolulu to Guam. Highlights included traveling with our friend and neighbor Melissa Heck; comsuming lots of airline food; and watching in-flight movies, not seen in their entirety, of course, with two young children to look after (March of the Penguins, Spiderman 3, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and Pride). We arrived in Guam at 5:35 pm on Wednesday, August 8, 2007.

Joel and Amelia both did very well on the trip and slept a good amount of the way. Thanks for your prayers. We are happy to be back and are taking part in meetings and preparations for the new school year. Now if only we could get our bodies to cooperate in light of the 14 hour time difference.

Within the next couple of days we will be posting a review of our summer activities. Please stay tuned to a blog near you. We would love to hear from you!