From Rich and Carmi

The year 2007 was a year of blessing for both Carmi and I. Especially for Carmi.

As many of you know, after Carmi and I got married we continued to live in the studio apt on Capitol Hill in Seattle. In Dec 2006 we made the choice to move to Auburn to be closer to our church in Kent. The rent and utilities was going to be higher, but I felt it was time to leave Capitol Hill and to have a larger place to stay-Carmi had more than sacrificed living in a small studio. Just before we had to move out we were able to find a townhouse style apt with a garage at a very reasonable rate. At the time the expenses would be tight, but we trusted the Lord was in the move, especially how everything came into place, even with some challenges. Those who have seen the apt know it s a real blessing-thank you Lord!

In June 2006 Carmi was diagnosed with breast cancer. In October 2006 she had a mastectomy. She did not have any chemotherapy, radiation, or hormonal therapy-just the surgery. Just a few months ago Carmi had another MRI and she is still cancer free. Praise God! A mastectomy may seem so terrible to some, but those who have battled breast cancer will say that Carmi is absolutely blessed to only have a mastectomy and not go through all the other therapy. I love Carmi just as much regardless of the kind of surgery she has had.

Some of you know I have volunteered my time for years in ministry. This has caused fiances to be tight for some time. In 2007 I started receiving a small salary from Victory Life Center (our church). For the last few months the salary has increased. But we can say that at the end of 2007 we have been blessed financially. Yes, we have had extra bills because of Carmi's surgery and ongoing tests, large dental bills, an accident to pay for, and more, but Praise God, with even all of these, we actually have been able to pay off some bills.

Another blessing is that my son Joshua finished a tour of duty in Iraq and is now safely back at Camp Pendleton in San Diego. We were able to spend some great time with him a month after he got back.

Just recently my mom passed away. This can be seen as bad news, but overall it is not bad news to me because mom is no longer suffering from emphysema. And Joshua was able to attend the funeral.

Overall 2007 has been a year of blessing for Carmi and I in our marriage. We still have our challenges at times since our personalities are so different. But this year, we feel as if we have overcome many hurdles, have some great breakthroughs, and are more in love with each other than ever before. The refiner's fire has been purifying our characters, both of us are looking more like Jesus. I absolutely know beyond a shadow of a doubt I am a better person because of Carmi in my life.

There are a couple of other blessings I want to share. One of them is my friend Larry. Because of having my responsibilities at the church, I had to work some long hours to maintain my web business and fulfill pastoral duties. There was a point where I was having to decide to end my web business and lose an income source. However, Larry has jumped in to help me out and now he does 2/3 of the work and I do a 1/3. So, I am blessed and we are able to bless Larry. Larry was a pill and heroin addict for many years. We saw Larry get clean from drugs, then go back into them, and come out at the other side. He now has been clean for the last 3 years and doing excellent. After all those years of drug use, his brain is still functionally well enough for him to do a great job at web design-praise God! And the neat part of all this is that he is able to help out with the web work and do evangelism in the Oakland/San Francisco area.

One more blessing. A few months ago a gentleman named Greg got delivered from drugs-yes delivered. I have known Greg for several years. Greg has been a heroin and cocaine addict. In the past we helped him kick heroin, get housing, and help stay on track, but he chose to go back to the drugs. He loved Jesus, but the drugs were more important to him than Jesus. However, a few months ago he attended an Encounter Weekend at the church. During the last class of the Encounter we pray for people to be filled with Holy Spirit and to be renewed in their walk with the Lord. Greg had a powerful encounter with the Lord. He had a revelation of the destructiveness of the sin he was involved in and as he cried out to God, the desire for drugs, alcohol, and smoking completely left him. He hates these items with a passion. After knowing and working with Greg for years, I can say he is delivered. Greg has become a witnessing machine. He loves sharing Jesus with people. We have people coming to church because of Greg. As an outreach/street pastor I cannot think of a greater blessing than to have than seeing someone who you have discipled to get to the other side and whole-heartedly wanting to make other disciples. I know spiritual grand kids are on the way.

How about adding your picture to our web site? As many of you know, Rich is a webmaster and he has added technology to this site so that you can add your picture to our web site in just a few minutes. Check it out-Click Here!