Carol Anne Friesen

It’s hard to find the words to summarize what the last few weeks and months have been like for my husband Terry and I as we have sought to meet the challenges of leading well through necessary changes at Marsh Creek Church where he is the pastor as well as consider a surprising invitation to a new ministry at Palmyra Brethren in Christ Church. This church is located right next door to Hershey, about one hour from where we now live.

Over the course of our ministry years, invitations have come, been prayerfully considered, graciously declined, overwhelmingly accepted and cautiously explored. We have always sought to find God’s will as we desire to be faithful to His call on our lives.

We have to say though, that this has been the most difficult decision we’ve ever had to make. Maybe as we are getting older, the thought of moving is just more arduous, or the loss of relationships once again too heartbreaking to consider, or leaving family members behind just too much too bear. Whatever the case, this time we REALLY hope we are going to stay at this next place FOREVER!!! This is a running joke now in our family, as each time we arrive, love our new ministry assignment and declare that we are never moving again! Until one day, yet another Bishop calls and says, would you consider … and we start all over again!

So it was a few months back when former Bishop Craig Sider called and asked if we would consider being interviewed at Palmyra BIC church as they were in need of a Senior Pastor. Their former pastor Nate Yoder had led them very successfully for 8 years and under his leadership the congregation had grown to nearly 300 in attendance in two services on a Sunday morning, established a staff of 5 and they had recently purchased 30 acres of property for a new building program. Certainly it would be a wonderful opportunity. Nate had left to answer a call to become Bishop of the Atlantic Conference of the BIC, succeeding Craig.

Well, to make a long story short, through an exploration process that included scouting trips, casual visits, structured interviews, staff meetings, phone calls and emails we could see that things were lining up in an amazing way and this was indeed where God was leading us. While it was hard to believe that we could ever leave Marsh Creek, a church we had planted 15 years ago, left and been so blessed to come back to, the picture of God’s greater plan became clearer. We now realize that our gift mix as a couple is a great fit for what Palmyra needs next and for Marsh Creek this is a good transition time for a new leader to come in and take them into the next phase of their ministry. And while there is much more that could be written I did want to spend a little time telling all our friends and family in facebookland and beyond what has been happening with us. Sunday, June 21 will be our last Sunday at Marsh Creek Church and our move will take place as soon as we are able to sell our home and buy another one

Now perhaps some of my recent facebook posts will make more sense; the singing that was actually getting me through the crying, the praising when I was in disbelief, and the rainbow of joy in the midst of the storm. Through it all God has been extremely faithful and I can honestly say, answered our prayers for the best for Marsh Creek moving forward and for His perfect plan and will to be accomplished in our lives. We will always be grateful to our Bishop Nate for his help in this process and to former Bishop Craig for believing in us to extend the invitation.

So as once again we say our sad goodbyes and happy hellos, we go with our family motto clearly in focus ---

Only one life

T’will soon be past;

Only what’s done

For Christ will last.

On ‘The Great Adventure,’

Carol Anne and Terry Friesen

I had to cancel Kindermusik classes today due to the weather, but my front yard Sleddin' Hill was open!                    In my neighborhood it's the best place to be on a snowy ... or should I say slushy, icey, rainy day!

2009 started with some home improvements with my Kindermusik families in mind. A new screen door was installed, my classroom was painted, the carpets were cleaned and my new iPodtouch was set up. The best part came Wednesday January 14 when the mommies and children arrived to try it all out!

While I was recovering from a broken ankle in July 2007, I started knitting winter hats on a loom. It is very easy to do and no knitting experience is required. But what was I going to do with all the hats I was making? The answer came from a friend who was going to visit an orphanage in Moldova (part of the old Soviet Union). She said she could use thirteen hats to give to the children there who were part of a foster care program that takes children from the orphanage and places them in the home of a loving family from a local church.

When I went to the “Help the Children” website to find out more about this work, I was able to see the pictures of the children being helped by this program. I was touched by the story of Rita, a little girl about the same age as my granddaughter Bethany, who was orphaned, but then taken in by a widow named Klava as part of the foster care program.  I just happened to have a matching mother/daughter hat and scarf set that I thought would be perfect for them. So I packaged it all up with a special note explaining that it would be great if this could go to Rita and Klava.

You can imagine how happy I was to get the following picture back showing Rita and Klava wearing the hats and scarves and holding the note I had written. Plus the extra hat/scarf set I had tucked in was perfect for Klava’s biological daughter, Anna – amazing how it all worked out!

Rita

Since then many others have become involved in knitting hats including my husband’s mom with her church friends and even my 92 year old father. There are now men, women, teens and girls knitting hats, in the community, in my church and in Canada! With their help 1001 hats were donated to Marsh Creek Church for distribution with coats collected in a recent coat drive. And 1500 hats were sent to Moldova so that every child in the state run orphanages could have a hand knit hat. This was in partnership with “Summit Missions International” that regularly sends large containers with supplies to help the orphanages and foster care program that Rita and Klava are part of.

And I saved the best for last (drum roll please) . . .  Rita is now my sponsored foster child!

Through my partnership with her Foster Care Program I am donating a portion of the revenue generated through my Kindermusik, Baby Signs and Childcare Programs to Rita.

So when you register for my classes you can feel good not only about what you are doing for your child but also for a needy child in a faraway place.

It’s another good reason to attend my classes.

Because with Kindermusik . . . a good beginning never ends!

Here’s how things added up for us this year!

1 – new baby granddaughter – Meredith Edanne Baccile, born May 24, to daughter Tera-Lee and her husband Joe. Bethany became a big sister.

1 – new baby grandson – Cash Benedict Friesen, born August 28, to son TJ and his wife Ginger.

        Bauer became a big brother.

2 – acres of property around our home for Terry to drive his John Deere tractor

3 – trips to Chicago to visit our son and his family

4 – is the total number of grandchildren we now have

5 – weddings officiated by Terry – 4 with Marsh Creek Church couples, one with a niece in Canada

6 – trips to Canada to visit our parents and help complete the sale of Carol Anne’s Dad’s home as he has now moved into an Assisted Living Residence at age 92

49 – families served by Carol Anne’s at-home weekday ministry to families through Kindermusik and Baby Signs

60 – 45 gallon bags of leaves picked up this fall

108 – Marsh Creek Church families receiving this mailing

1000 - pounds of grass clippings bagged every week during the summer and taken to the nearby Amish farm

1001 – hand knit hats were donated to the Marsh Creek Church coat drive

1500 – hand knit hats were sent to Moldova, one for each child in the state run orphanages

Total Blessings – PRICELESS!