here we go again...

Right now I am tired.. not physically, but emotionally as we pack all our stuff up once again. As we support raise we move from place to place.. but now it is official that we are Nomads. Often we feel like the Israelites wandering through the desert trusting God for their provisions.
The good news is that we are going to warmth and sunshine next.. I can't help but miss my roots in sunny southern california. It will be nice to be "home" again.

Please pray for us as we continue to adjust to the missionary lifestyle and that we would meet our next goal of 60% by Feb. 9th.

in love,
Joy

the past month

ok ok I know its been a LONG time..

A lot of time has gone by since I last wrote. We traveled to Maryland where we had a lot of fun catching up with people and, for me, meeting new people and friends of Chris... or as they may call him "Ricky." The picture to the right is the church where Chris attended for a number of years... and where the picture is being taken from is our little old house where we have stayed the past 4 weeks. It is about 100 years old it think.

A highlight was going on a date to the baltimore aquarium.. they have a dolphin show and I just love dolphins! I could watch them all day and hope someday to swim with them. There also was some tropical fish that were sooo beautiful. The picture doesn't do it justice.

The past month has been both rewarding as well as a time that has really tested our faith. While we remain optimistic we had a few days in Maryland when it just seemed like we are behind.. and like we won't make our goals. They were days when we felt like... "are we doing everything right..." "saying things clearly enough,..." or even "are we praying enough?" We realized that those are not really the right questions. God has HIS own timing and he will provide when He decides. And while it doesn't hurt to pray harder or more often, we realize we simply just need to be patient and have faith. Sometimes it hard, but we feel ourselves and our marriage growing in the process.

The past week has involved LOTS of traveling (from MD back to OH) and me being sick. I am on antibiotics for an infection, and I also got a cold more recently(I spend the majority of my day yesterday laying around in bed) :( We also had a fender bender last week which didn't make either our necks/backs feel too good either. We are both feeling good right now and are enjoying being by family once again. We had a good time a few nights ago babysitting Caleb, Chris' nephew, and enjoyed making a fort, watching kids movies, and playing with trucks. Caleb is very fun and very talkative. He always has a word to say about everything which tends to make us all giggle. Sam, Caleb's brother, is almost 7 months now and is a very happy and laidback baby. Chris and I look forward to having our own someday.

While we have been here snow flurries have been falling outside which has given us prime opportunity to use the fireplace. I love fireplaces! They give you such a warm feeling inside and just make you feel "at home," which is a nice feeling since we are moving around everywhere.

Hopefully, now that Chris has the wii and tv and family to keep him busy I will get the chance to write a bit more often.

love to all of you and we hope you have a great Thanksgiving!

Now it is time for my version on the camping trip!

Chris and I usually go camping once or twice every summer, but this summer we were not able to go. We tried to go on his own a couple times, but the weather got bad.

So Friday morning we packed up our gear and warm clothes and headed out to Mt. Hood National Forest to Lost Lake. As we drove there we went through vineyard and many apple orchards that led into forests of changing leaves. It was a beautiful drive!

We arrived and pitched our tent, and gathered LOTS of firewood from neighboring sites. Also because it was the end of the season, we were given free firewood from the guy at the "general store." This was great because it was actually dry wood. We proceeded to walk the trail/boardwalk around the lake, which was beautiful and enjoyable. Not too steep, just a lovely hike despite some mud.

We build a fire to keep us warm and cook our hamburger patties we had brought. They turned out yummy.. but I was pretty hungry by that point. We headed to bed around 11-ish and I tossed and turned and the ground was COLD and making me cold and I couldn't move much in my sleeping bag. We eventually, after some frustration, I gathered all my stuff, put on Chris' coveralls, and headed to the car to sleep. That is when I realized I had to go to the bathroom, so I walked down the road to the bathroom by myself if the dark. I think this was about 1230. (the picture to the right is the moon over the lake).
I survived and put the heater on in the car for 15 minutes and then finally was able to sleep. At 5, a flashlight coming through the window made jump.. it was Chris who said he was now cold and wanted to go back to the place on the trail where you could see Mt. Hood. I figured it would warm me up to move so still wearing 2 shirts, a sweatshirt, and chris' heavy coveralls we headed down the trail. (we think we may have found the nintendo/super mario mushroom you see at the left).

despite the cold, it actually ended up being very gorgeous site! It was perfectly clear and mt. hood was COVERED in snow. It made for some nice shots. Overall, the scenery made up for the sleepless cold night. We came back to have breakfast and hot chocolate (see picture above.. yes, that is me appearing all frumpy and Chris is wearing my coat) before heading back home for warm showers and a nap.

Now we are gearing up for weeks of traveling. We head to Lynden this week and then next week it is off to Ohio and then on to Maryland. Starting next sunday we have 4 sunday presentations in a row which is great!

As always, thanks for your support and prayers.

love,
Joy

Go Team.

Time keeps on going, and we keep working hard to find churches and individuals to support our ministry. We are racking up the minutes calling and following up. The bad new is we have had 3 churches say a polite "no thanks." The good news is that we have had a good response from 3 as well. ( 1 of which was are speaking at a few weeks. ) We just ask for continued prayer that God will nudge other churches to get involved.
Some days are tiring but the good thing is both Chris and I are goal-oriented.
GO TEAM KONOP!

As for other things we are up to: well, Chris took a look under the hood of the cars and realized some minor work needs to be done, so our "day off" will most likely be spend fixing them; well chris will be fixing and I will be watching.


As you saw on Chris' blog we also were able to go on a lovely hike which ended up being very long, but beautiful. We both were sore the following day.. we must be out of shape.
At one point Chris stopped to take a picture. He sat at the edge of the waterfall pointing the camera over the side to get a perfect picture. Well, it made me nervous and I was getting tired so I decided to take short break on the log.

Last week I was able to attend a women's dinner out
with ladies from church. It was encouraging to here a
testimony of how one woman saw God's faithfulness in her life even though there were many tragedies and mistakes. During that night one of the women talked to me and found out that I wasn't going to go to the retreat and insisted I go offering to pay for it... so it looks like I will be skipping away for a couple of nights in a couples weeks.

In Chris spare time he has also been trying to solve a rubix cube (he found it at the reunion)... he has been sitting here for a while twisting and turning it with no luck. After while he throws it down and then later he can't resist the temptation again. He is persistant!

The rest of our time is spent reading or watching the discover channel these day finding out about what Bear Griles newest adventures are and what the dirty job is today.

I hope this gives you a quick update on our lives.

in love,
Joy

last 2 weeks...

Tomorrow we move into our new place. We are excited to have a more permanent home to live rather than moving around from place to place.

The last week we were graciously hosted by Charlie and Brooke Granade who is our "Next Generation" Pastor.

This past weekend we took a break from writing letters and calling to head to Long Beach on the Washington Coast. It was lovely! While it was too cool to go in the water, we had a nice long walk along the Boardwalk and through the long grasses.

Along the walk there were numerous sculpures carves from logs. One of my favorites was one of dolphins... I love dolphins!

After we were in Idaho, we drove to Colorado to visit family and friends and also have a family reunion. It was a great time to see people! We enjoyed visiting Garden of the gods and Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs and spent a fun night going with the nieces and nephews down a big twisty water slide at a hotel.

Then we headed to Estes Park YMCA. We had nights of playing Bingo, Bon fires, picnics, and also drove through Rocky Mountain National Park. A special time was family devotions.. everyone did a great job! We also all played "keep away" in the pool which everyone enjoyed.

I have way more pictures so maybe later I will add some more and comment on them... it dinner time...

We hope you all are doing well!

love,

Joy

Here we go.....

Well, we did it! While Chris and I are very tired, but we have a newsletter redesigned and written. Now we are sent out to do ministry partnership.

Our plans are to spend 6 weeks in Vancouver/Portland area, then 6 weeks in Ohio/Maryland area, and finally about 6 weeks in California. If you know of anyone who might be interested in hearing about our ministry or would like to be on our mailing list please let me know. We need all the help we can get:)

Tomorrow, we head out to Colorado, very early in the morning. We will see friends and then family at a reunion next week. I get to meet Chris' friends from Moody that I have heard about, so that will being fun.

Today, we had a send off with a lovely lunch. Our managers, or counselors, prayed for each of and ours gave us a verse. Phil. 1:6 I was a nice end, yet sad as we have made lots of friends and now we must part ways and head around the world. It will be interesting to see how God leads in each of our lives. (The picture to the left is Brian and Heather, friends we met at our classes. They are headed to Indonesia).

Right now, we are finishing packing up for the long drive tomorrow morning. We are also watching the olympics. I have enjoyed watching swimming and gymnastics. What amazing athletes!

So here we go...

working hard at MAF

This week has been busier than the rest. They have us writing a 20 minute presentation, and practicing it over and over... but you should be excited, it is pretty good. Boy I'm tired! Tired of homework and tired of coughing.

I went to the doctor yesterday after some prodding from Chris. I have had this for almost 2 weeks now. They didn't say much only that I most likely have a virus that is sitting in my airway or chest. I will have to fight it off on my own. So I still have a barking cough that sounds quite horrible.

We are still waiting on the apartments to be completed. They are waiting on a final permit, but got the ok to begin decorating and furnishing. They look very beautiful, unfortunately they will be done just in time for us to leave.

Also, we are still waiting on hearing from the Africa Director. We are trying our best to be patient!

Well, Chris is suggesting we need to go over our "mission committee" questions. We have a mock mission board asking us questions tomorrow and will tell what we do well and what we need to improve on.

Well its off to bed.... yawn...

good night!

Security training, support raising, and rafting

Sorry I haven't written, it seems as if life has been a whirlwind of activity.

My mom came to visit this past weekend which was a nice change of pace. It was nice to get away and also see some different walls as we were able to hang out at the hotel, just relax, enjoy the pool and good breakfast.

The past few days were nerve-wracking as we went through scenarios of what it would be like to be in hostage or even government detainment situations. We learned what to say and not say as well as what to expect and how to handle ourselves. While difficult at times, it was empowering and great to learn what I could do and appropriate measures to take. I am very relieved right now that I didn't have to "perform" in front of the class.

We are also in the process of still waiting for the MAF apartments to be completed. It appears that final touches are being put in place. We are hoping for the end of the week. We are still graciously being hosted by the DYK family.

Well, I guess our assignment for now is East Democratic Republic of Congo. Honestly, we are struggling a bit with this assignment as we personally do not feel it fits us very well. We are trying to remain open and are praying that God would help direct us and the regional director.

Other than that, we are making good friends and enjoying being with like-minded people. I have a bit of a hacking cough that is annoying but otherwise we are doing quite well. Tomorrow, we start learning how to raise support. Be prepared:)

We have found that the thing to do here (or the only thing) is to go rafting, which we have done twice now. It was fun. This past trip was especially exciting as our host family had 2 rafts one of which had a hole in it. Due to some circumstances, Chris ended up in the newer raft with my mom and I was in the broken raft with our host mom. Because there was soooo much water in it we could hardly steer it. Apparently we were quite the sight as we bounced back and forth, went in circles, ran into trees and shrubs twice, and ran over a large log that pretty much made the small hole quite large. Thankfully we made it to the the side where we were supposed to get out in time!

Anyways, thanks to all you who are praying for us. We appreciate it.

For those of you who want our current address it is:

Chris and Joy Konop

PO Box 47

Nampa, ID 83653

With love,

Joy

Day 3 of Candidacy

We are a few days into "candidacy" for MAF. So far we have learned about the areas they serve and how they support their missionaries overseas and the challenges there are. We spent a session as a group (about 35 people) going over our expectations and fears that we each have and sharing them. It was nice to see I am not the only one not so thrilled about creepy crawly things, and being far away from family and friends.

For the last few weeks my stomach has not felt right and then this past weekend it was really not well. Lots of bloating, and ... I won't go into detail. I am very thankful the past couple days my stomach has settled down quite a lot, and I am feeling about 90% better. I am not sure, but my guess is that with all the changes my body got a little stressed? I can use all the prayer I can get.. hint.. hint.

Other than that we are doing well. Currently we are staying with a host family with hopes that the MAF apartments will be finished and ready to move into in a couple weeks. Our family is great and we are very thankful! They let us borrow some bikes and were able to go on a lovely bike ride. Last week chris snapped these shots on a walk. While HOT, it is beautiful here.

time with family

Today is our final day visiting Chris' family here in Springboro, Ohio. Yesterday, we took some "family pictures" and Chris got to practice his photographer skills.

We've had a lot of fun together, and have had some time to recoup and regain some sleep lost during all the moving. While we are supposed to be reading a book entitled, "The Expert Expat" for MAF, it has been put on the backburner while we have been playing. Guess what we are doing on the flight home?

We played ladder golf and I must say I did pretty well....

Chris, known to his family as Ricky, loves his new nephew. Samuel is a good baby, and looks quite a bit like his uncle.

thoughts...

Thanks to Chris, packing is getting there and things are getting cleaner (as you can see on his blog). I am still working at the hospital up until we leave, which does not leave much time for me to go through stuff. It is sometimes overwhelming to come home and see all my homey things gone! I am emotionally trying to adjust to the idea of leaving and most of all: being a missionary.

Some days I feel like Jonah. I know what God is calling me to do, but I just want to run and hide. I don't want to face the reality. I feel inadequate.

Other days I am excited and feel like Paul or Moses. Those days I smile because I know the blessings ahead and the adventure and memories we will make. I have courage.

So what else is going on? Well... (as you can see from Chris' blog - he beats me to the news)

My brother Doug had a baby girl, #3 for them. Her name is Annaliese Hope and she weighed in at 9lb. 2oz. Because I was excited, and we weren't TOO far away (hour and half by plane) we flew there last weekend to see her. It was very special be a part of a family event. I cherish them even more as I know I have to leave.

We are also attempting to plan the next 6 months.... where we will be support raising, and for how long... and all the small details. So far we think after heading to Nampa and our family reunion in Colorado we may just come back to Vancouver and start here.

guess I better get back to the boxes...

Joy

Thanks Crosspointe...

I will very much miss my friends I have come to know this past year. Tonight, the ladies from church took me out to dinner to Cheesecake Factory to say "goodbye." I love our Church and it is very hard to leave such great people. They have been so supportive which has been such a huge blessing. It is nice to feel such love and be encouraged.

Sunshine!

This weekend has been absolutely beautiful! I just love it here when its sunny; it makes me so happy. I guess it is the california girl in me.

Over the weekend we were able to hike to the top of Multonomah Falls. It was such a great break from work and so beautiful. We were there when the sun was hitting the falls just right and a rainbow was across the falls. It was a great reminder of God's promises to His children. He is faithful.

Just a few miles from our our apartment is Vancouver Fort, and Pearson Airport. They have a great trail that takes you around the area and over to the River. It was nice to get some exercise and soak up more sun.

It sounds like this weekend has been all fun and games but not really. Aside from packing and saying some goodbyes, I am also trying to learn how to drive a stick-shift. We bought a new (well at least new to us) car. It is NOT automatic, which are the only kind I have ever driven. Chris decided it was high time I learned as most likely it will be a skill needed overseas. It has been quite the adventure as I sputter and clunk at stop signs. Chris is a good teacher and while I am far from perfect, I am getting better.

Here are some more pictures:

major changes

Hello all,

I figured it is about time to start my own blog as we are beginning to embark on a new life and now have the title: "missionaries." I'm sure I will have a lot on my mind!

We are beginning the first stages of moving(packing) and coming to terms with the reality of what lies ahead (well at least I am trying). In a short time my lovely apartment has gone from cozy to cluttered with boxes and stuff everywhere! We will be moving out of our apartment because for the next several months (6?) we will be traveling to gain "ministry partners." Not having a "home" will be an adjustment so please pray for me.

I also have to quit my maternity job. I am very very sad as I LOVE the people I work with and enjoy what I do. This has been a dream job for me. But I also know that God has great things in store for me and can use my love of people anywhere.

In the midst of all the Chaos, life is good. Chris is taking care of a lot of the details and packing, while I finish up my last few weeks of working.

I just have to mention, too, that Chris is great at surprises! Monday I ended up working late because of a crazy day at work. He offered to "cook" dinner. He surprised me with chinese food arranged onto plates. In the center of the table was beautiful pink tulips he had put into a vase along with a few candles lit for a special dinner. He scored lots of points.

thats all for now...

Joy