A Few Pics

Welcome to Morton!

The School Garden

A little bit of SUN in Washington :) 

Up the road

Downtown Morton

Downtown Morton

Downtown Morton

Downtown Morton 

The school

The police/fire station

Riffe Lake near Mossyrock (about 5-10 min away) 

Riffe Lake closer to the dam

OUR GOD IS AMAZING!!

Beautiful!!!

Washington

Today I am sitting on my kitchen counter looking out the window to our beautiful downtown with sunshine and mountains. I think I have found my favorite spot in the whole apartment. With several layers I am quite comfy here.


I arrived in our little town of Morton late on Saturday evening. We have a nice apartment, not too big, but I think spacious enough for the two of us. Matt took me on a tour of the town after unpacking some on Sunday afternoon. We have several places to purchase food whether it be the grocery stores or the small restaurants in town. The nearest target is 1 1/2 hours away! Longer stops now and less often :) Morton also has two gas stations, a movie theater, resale stores and more. There are lots and I mean lots of trucks...mainly loggers that pass right down second street to pass by our place. I love it, it makes the town seem like it is busling with people.



What have I been doing? Well for the most part I have been cleaning and putting things away. Karen, the kids and my mom came on Tuesday and then I went to see them and bring my mom to the airport on Wednesday. I love that they are now within driving distance. Just over an hour :) Today I have been updating my resume and hoping to get it out there (into the town) next week so I can start working soon.



How is Matt's job? From what he tells me it is going well. He helps out in Kindergarden through 5th grades with Reading and Math. They have a program they do with reading in 1st through 5th that he does quite often throughout the day. I think it is called Read Naturally? I could be wrong though. Tonight will be his first teen center night and he is helping Dan set it up. I think he is really going to like it, it may be more of a challenge than he realizes, I'm not sure though.


For now that is all I have, but we appreciate your continued intrest in our lives as well as your prayers.


Love, Grace, and Peace


Kathy Beth Zoerhof

Married and Moving

What's Happened: It has been almost two weeks since Matt and I got married on August 29. The wedding went great thanks to all our family and friends. My old roomate and friend natalie took the pictures and they turned out fabulously...at least the ones we've seen so far. Matt and I went up to Frankfort, MI for our honeymoon. It was gorgeous up there. We went to the Sleeping Bear Dunes, Mackinac Island, and just around Frankfort area.

Where we're Headed: Matt has accepted a position with Americore in Washington (the state). He will be working with at-risk kids in a small timber town school. He will be tutoring, mentoring and just helping the students with whatever needs to be done. Matt will also help out at their after school program for teens on some evenings and Saturdays. Right now he is on his way there, while I am packing up my life and helping out my parents with their packing. I hope to be out there the last week of September. Once I am out there I hope to find a position where I can have an impact on the community. I trust that God will lead me in the right direction. I plan to take whatever position I can find to start and then if that is not my top choice of work I may continue to look for another job. I know in whatever I do I can make an impact in God's kingdom. I ask for your continued prayers as I job search and in the adjustment to married life and a new location.

A little thought: Time is precious. God has really shown me especially as Matt was saying his good-byes that we should really treasure the time we have with our loved ones. They impart so much into our lives and I think it is really when you leave that you realize how much people mean to you. I hope for those of you that are not leaving that you take time to think on how much those around you have impacted your life. I see this too with my Grandparents, as they age I realize now is the time to spend with them, to hear their stories for way too soon they will be rejoicing in Heaven. This makes me sad, but I also am excited because when that day comes for me, I hope that those I leave behind will see the greatness of where I am...with our heavenly father there is no greater place. And while I still have time on this earth, even the little time it is, I hope that I will be able to devote my life completely to God and spend valuable time with him each day and share that love and value to others.

God Bless,

Kathy Beth Zoerhof

Home Again in Michigan!

Well, I have been home for about two weeks now. The time just flies. I have been getting things ready for the wedding. Also, as many of you know my parents are still in the process of moving and I too expect to move hopefully to the West coast after the wedding. So I have been helping my mom go through and clean up some things as well as do some of my own cleanup etc. I so much stuff after 23 years. I guess I can be called a pack rat :) at least it is all organized though.

So what's next. I am going to try to find a job both here part time to bring in a little extra cash and then one on the west coast :) Also, I will be finishing up/the never ending planning for my (and Matt's) wedding.

Prayer request: that I will be able to stay focused during these next few months, and that I won't let God fall to the way side.

God bless you all!

Kathy Beth Miersma

Graduate of DTS Equip

DTS Equip is coming to a close. Saturday I leave St. Croix to go back home...mixed emotions.

I have had a great time here and have met some amazing people that are working in the mission throughout the Caribbean.

So, what happened the end of week 5. Our outreach week is over and God blessed me with the opportunity to meet a woman and pray for her. Last week Wednesday, I went into town with a few people from the group. When we got to Frederiksted we saw a man sitting on a bench looking out at the ocean. The other two people felt they should go speak with him, but I felt I should wait. I began praying for them and then about 3-5 minutes later a woman came and sat at a bench nearby. I felt compelled to pray for her. So I went over and asked if I could pray for her, she asked me a little about what I was doing and about YWAM in general, then I prayed for her day and strength (she worked at the bank and was on a break). By the end of my prayer she was in tears, which was an encouragement to me that I was speaking into her life. We were able to exchange emails and we both felt blessed by our encounter. Isn't God so awesome! Then on friday we did a pizza/dessert party for a group of guys that comes to the base for basketball every week. Not very many showed up, but it was a good time of fellowship together with those that did come.

Graduation Week. This week we had Jim Isom come and share about discipling people from difficult backgrounds. Topics covered finding vision and creating joy, shame and guilt, alcohol/substance abuse, as well as people sexual/religious/other addictions. It has been a great week, Jim is a great speaker and really speaks from experience.

Tonight we had our Graduation dinner and ceremony and then tomorrow is a wrap up day.

Thanks again to all for your prayer support.

Love in Christ,

Kathy b Miersma

Outreach

Week 4 complete and onto Week 5!

WEEK 4
We had Jeff Wilke and Kim Hunt come and speak to us as well as having Jeremy West speak. We covered topics that included: small groups, one-on-ones, conflict management and resolution, crisis management, working a classroom, setting up an outreach, being recharged-staying healthy in life and in ministry, and culture shock. It was a lot of information last week. I found crisis management very interesting and how important it is that in the case of someone dying, that you consider the culture they are from.

Last week was very busy for me. I had a book report due on the Leadership Paradox. It was a great book about being a servant leader. On Tuesday, Annie and I presented on Championing Young People, a YWAM foundational value. It went great! On Thursday, I was in charge of preparing worship. We meditated on Psalm 37 and we listened to a few songs. One of my new favorite songs is Yearn by Shane & Shane.

WEEK 5
This week has been very exhausting and it is only Tuesday. Tonight I presented on another YWAM value, Having a biblical worldview. The presentation went great...Thank you Annie! Yesterday we started our week of outreach here in St. Croix. We did prayer driving (praying/interceeding while driving around the island) and then we did some group praying in Fredericksted. Then in the afternoon we split into two groups. One group went to Mombisue (spelling unknown) and then the group I went with felt we needed to interceed on behalf of Contessa Nadia Farber that lives in a castle on the east side. All we know is that she is an older lady that bought her title and sometimes lives here in St. Croix. We will see throughout the week if we are to do anything more than pray for her. On friday we hope to have an evening event with some guys from the community that come to the base for basketball, your prayers for this evening that hearts and ears will be open to hearing what we have to say to them.

Next week we have Jim Isom coming to speak to us. Friday is graduation and then Home again :) The time here has just flown by, I can't believe I am almost done. God is amazing and has really been giving me more confidence in the area of leadership and discipleship.

Thank you all for your prayers!

Love, Kathy

Week 3 DTS Equip

So what is DTS Equip all about...

To provide a resource-rich environment where DTS staff and leaders are equipped in character, skills and Spirit, so that DTS students and programs worldwide may benefit and develop according to their individual and corporate callings.

So if this is for DTS staff and leaders then why am I here...

I am in the program because I feel that the skills and topics that are taught in the DTS Equip can be used and applied to everyday discipleship and leadership wherever God calls me (and Matt too :))

Week 2 Overview:

Last week was filled with a bunch of different topics. We went over many documents that are a basic part of all YWAM as well as ones that clarify the topics a DTS program should cover. I found this information interesting, because it was neat to see how my leaders of my DTS put the topics together into the different weeks and some of the reasons they may have done certain things. It also reminded me of what I had learned.

We also had teachings last week about creating a mission statement for a DTS program, Implicational Thinking, Discipleship-getting at the belief systems of ourselves and others, Spiritual Authority and Servant Leadership. All of these were great topics that I still have so much to go over and just think about to even start applying them.

Week 3

This week we have Sarah Lanier speaking to us about Differences/Varieties. She is the author of "Foreign to Familiar" a book about the differences between hot and cold cultures. So far she has been sharing about Personality difference. The difference between Extroverts versus Introverts and the difference between Sensing personalities (left brain) verses Intuitive personalities (right brain). Later this week she will be sharing more about differences in Culture and in Style. I am excited to hear what else she has to say.

Thank you all for you prayer support!

Love, Kathy