koorsen's chronicles

So Long!

2010-09-30T20:59:00.000-04:00

Goodbye summer! We will miss you.

Monkey see...

2010-09-28T21:35:00.000-04:00

Monkey do!

Stuck!

2010-09-27T22:24:00.001-04:00

A couple of weeks ago we had a situation on our hands. Ben had just left for work, and the girls were playing on their slide. Well, we had to call Daddy back home. Check out the video.

Silly girl. Thankfully we there was no hacking involved. Ben just walked in, slabbed some lotion on her and that was it. I had tried and tried. but due to a knee injury was unable to get the right position with the right amount of strength. Now we have great footage and photos that may embarrass her for the rest of her life!

Twin Update

2010-09-26T20:34:00.000-04:00

Realizing that the past few post have been about Philemon, and feeling like a horrible mother, I am now going to bombard you with photos and videos and those wonderful toddler sayings! Enjoy!

"I have a wedgie!"

"I don't wanna hair cut. I wanna hair cut. I don't wanna hair cut, I scared"

Check back tomorrow for some more photos and I'll be posting some very funny videos.

Giggles

2010-09-25T22:13:00.000-04:00

He likes to giggle a lot!

Found!

2010-08-23T11:56:00.000-04:00

We found our Flip camera today! Our other computer only let it upload a few videos in the beginning then rejected it for some reason. Now that we have a newer computer we plugged it in today to see if it would work. Low and behold we've uploaded videos of the girls from 2008! So here's a blast from the past. Hope you enjoy some old videos of the girls!

Aidan

2010-07-15T21:49:00.000-04:00

My sister Rachel had her baby early, at 36 weeks. Aidan Lewis was born a week ago today, weighing in at 4lbs and 4 oz, 17 inches long. Little guy is still in the NICU. Please be praying for him and his mom and dad. They are very exhausted and really want their baby home with them.

2 2 2

2010-07-13T20:55:00.000-04:00

The number 2 has been on my mind lately, especially when we are out with the kids. We hear things like, "How old are they" and "Oh, they're twins" (we get that all the time). The quickest way to answer would be, " Two 2 year olds, and a 2 month old."

Can't believe it. Philemon is two months old, and his sisters will be 2 1/2 very soon.

Don't Blink, Don't Blink, Don't Blink!

One month and 30 years

2010-07-09T21:21:00.000-04:00

On June 7th, Ben turned 30 years old. That same day, Philemon turned one month. Thanking God for these two blessings and praying for many more months and years to come.

Safe and sound

2010-05-12T10:42:00.000-04:00

After spending 48 hours in the hospital everyone is home safe and sound. Philemon spent the first day in the NICU but was released with a clean bill of health.

Mercedes and Ava were really excited to meet their little brother for the first time. They are very helpful at home now and when they play it always has something to do with baby stuff.

Philemon so far seems to be an easy baby. He only cries when hungry or when we change his diaper. He likes to look around and sleep. Last night Bethany only had to feed him once in the middle of the night.

Bethany is enjoying having a big family. She is also doing considerably well recovering from her C-section. There is still a lot of pain but she is much more mobile than last time.

Philemon Benjamin Koorsen!

2010-05-08T11:51:00.001-04:00

We went in at 9am for a routine ultra-sound and found that his amniotic fluid was really low. Five hours later still at the hospital Bethany was admitted. We agreed that they needed to go in and get him out. So at 8:06pm little Philly was born. He is 8 lbs 6oz and 20.5 inches long. He is eating well from mom and seems pretty strong.

He has a little heart arithmea so he is staying in the NICU for constant monitoring. We are glad to have the privilege of being his parents. Some people are still unsure as to how his name is pronounced, so here is a link to hear how to pronounce it. Philemon

Cravings

2010-02-10T15:45:00.000-05:00

So I (Bethany) am 28 weeks and have been craving food, lots and lots of food. It seems that the cravings usually are of things that I cannot have. For example:

Spicy Tuna Roll! Please and Thank You! However, for those of you who don't know, sushi is a no no for preggos!

Another wonderful yummy, which I don't have a picture for, is Kendallville Pizza Hut. Give me one of everything on the menu! Please and Thank You again. However, we are now at least 2 hours away from that wonderful place, not to mention we would probably go in debt buying the whole menu.

Thankfully I have been able to calm some of the demandings from little junior here at home. Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches. I haven't eaten one of these since I was in India in 1998. Let's just say I didn't have a pleasant experience with them, every day, for lunch. Chili dogs. Brownies. Deli sandwiches, don't worry, I heat the meat up. Lets just say I'm pregnant with a boy, whose father is a junk food junkie. I can blame it on him, right?!

However, pregnancy is going well, and I'm getting bigger by the minute! I will post belly pictures soon, for all of you who like that sort of thing.

Fresh Air

2010-01-26T11:56:00.000-05:00

The temperature was almost 50 degrees on Sunday. Ben's mother

and sister came down from Northern Indiana to watch the girls while

we went to a church in Southern Indiana for the day.

So, their grandma and aunt took them outside for some sunlight and

fresh air. They probably haven't played outside in over a month.

They went for a walk, picked up pine cones and sticks, and rode

their bike.

Ben's sister Kaylyn took pictures of the girls. She did a pretty good

job. Her photography class in high school is paying off.

Mercedes and Ava really liked having them here. This was the first

time ever that we spent 24 hours away from them.

Check out this cutie! Here eyes are so blue.

Ava's smile make you want to squeeze her cheeks!

Mercedes first picture

2010-01-26T11:38:00.000-05:00

As soon as the girls woke up this morning they started to color. I

walked into the room to find Mercedes drawing flowers. I was

quite impressed.

She drew a bed of flowers. The bigger round end is the flower head.

The smaller end is the grass at the stem of the flower. Not to shabby!

They love to color

2010-01-26T11:30:00.000-05:00

Ever since they got their new table from Bethany's mom they don't

go a day without it.

Mercedes is still undetermined as to if she will be a righty or a lefty.

She eats most of the time with her left and colors most of the time

with her right.

Ava really gets into it. She learned that when you press down really

hard with the crayon then the color is darker.

Fun in the snow

2010-01-16T16:06:00.001-05:00

The girls really like the snow. Bethany and Mercedes ganged up on Ava with a snowball fight. Then we tried to catch snow flakes on our tongue.

Picture of the Day

2010-01-15T14:43:00.000-05:00

When all else fails, use a piece of plywood to shovel your driveway!

One of our girls put Noah's ark at the bottom of the "sea".

Maybe they aren't understanding the story quite right?

Mercedes likes to borrow Bethany eye-mask for when it's not in use.

Which picture do you like best? Leave a comment and let us know!

Movin' up

2010-01-15T14:36:00.001-05:00

The girls have gained a big interest recently in doing what mommy and daddy do around the house. One of these things is changing diapers. Ava really tries to put diapers on her stuffed animals. She gets out the wipes and diapers then just focuses intently on putting them on. Mercedes tried to put diapers on her little people toys and on a barn silo.

Ben went out to snow blow the driveway and when he came back in we found Mercedes trying to put on his boots. So we helped her and they fit perfect. No snow was going to get her feet wet. The girls are just movin' up in this world faster than we can anticipate.

...is it morning yet?

2010-01-05T16:41:00.002-05:00

Lately Ava has been learning to open doors. She hasn't really mastered it yet so we have not thought much about it. We have not discouraged this or even set any rules with her or Mercedes about opening doors. So this morning we heard the girls bedroom door handle turning as we were laying in bed. We just waited to see what would happen. Well...after hearing their door slam open we hear our door handle turning. Then they burst into our room and climb in bed with us. We felt like we don't have babies anymore. So when do babies become kids? I think that we are starting to experience that transition.

No Wheat or Egg or...

2010-01-04T10:13:00.005-05:00

Mercedes has been a sensitive eater ever since she was born. When we introduced new foods she often broke out in a rash. This caused us to be very careful with her diet. She was tested for food allergies when she was just over one and we found that she is allergic to wheat, eggs and nuts. Since then we also have discovered that her eczema breaks out when she eats acidic foods like tomatoes, apples and oranges.

We are learning to be very creative in making her food. Yesterday she ate burritos with corn tortillas. We also made her some special bread. It doesn't taste like wheat based bread but she doesn't know the difference. Bethany also made her some special chocolate chip cookies. Very tasty!

Top: A gluten and egg free bread.
Middle: Mercedes eating a yummy burrito
Bottom: Bethany made Mercedes some wheat and egg free chocolate chip cookies. Even Ava likes them and she knows the difference.

New Year/ New Milestones

2010-01-03T21:44:00.005-05:00

Ava quick, check out the picture
in this potty book!

Pottery Barn magazine's are good
bathroom readers.

I have to pee but I'm going to wait
until I get off of the potty.

We are looking forward to the new year ahead. With one kid on the way and two in potty training we are hoping that we will only have to wipe one butt coming May. Ava is very interested in the potty chair and will sit for long periods of time. Mercedes on the other hand has less patience, a little less interest, and she can't seem to stop scratching her eczema on her legs when she sits on the potty chair. Don't know how we are going to handle that one, but we are open to input from others.

2010-01-02T21:22:00.003-05:00

The worlds tallest Christmas
"tree" at Memorial Circle in downtown
Indy.

I think this is the Indiana capitol building.

We went downtown to the Circle Center in Indy two weeks before Christmas. The city was busy with a Colts game the following day. Cold, cold, cold! The girls really liked the people, lights, firetrucks and most of all the horse and carriages.

Thankful for health and new relationships

2009-12-08T21:34:00.006-05:00

The girls just waking up from a long nap

I thought about making two posts to update everyone on what has been going on since before Thanksgiving but what's the point of making two posts on the same day?

Update 1 - Thankful for our health
We have had the flu run through our home twice in two weeks. It all started when Ben's family came down for a feast the weekend before Thanksgiving. His brother was up puking all night. We thought we were in the clear until Bethany got sick for about a day and a half right before we left for our 4 day trip to Chicago to have Thanksgiving with her sister and brother-in-law.
While there Ava puked three times (two of them needed a bath) in the middle of the night. Ben stayed up with her. Then the next day he was up all night with the flu. Then everyone was good for the drive home.
After we got home Mercedes had the flu, thankfully no puking from her. Just the other! Then Ben had round two with "just the other" and then Bethany round 2 all over again. Somewhere in there Ava was eating an apple, coughed a few times and then just threw-up on the floor. She was back to laughing and playing in a minute, literally.

So we are thankful for our health again! When we get the flu we just want to die, it's awful.

Update 2 - Thankful for new relationships
This last Sunday, Nov. 6th (the day after Bethany's 2nd flu ended) we went to southern Indiana to meet a church and present our ministry to them in their evening service. It was a wonderful time! Everyone there was very generous, welcoming and more than willing to shower our kids with attention.
Ben shared about New Tribes Mission and their ministry of reaching tribal people with the gospel. He also talked about tribal church planting and showed a new NTM video called "AWAYO". Everything went well and we have already been invited back to have Ben preach in their morning service.
We are thankful for our new relationships with Lebanon Baptist Church in Midland, IN.

Ben teaching at a church in southern Indiana

Changing Season's

2009-11-23T13:59:00.003-05:00

"Wanna acorn?"

Mercedes loves leaves. She often has a handful when
we get into the van.

Fun with PlayDoh

It kinda looks like Mercedes is yelling at the referee.

We have begun our season of big meals and family gatherings. This past weekend we had Ben's family down for a big Thanksgiving feast. They left on Sunday and we leave on Tuesday early morning to Chicago for Bethany's family Thanksgiving feast. The plan is to stay home for Christmas and have some family here. But we know that early January we will be back to our home town for more family gatherings that were postponed.

We are busy with visiting different churches and sharing our ministry plans with them. It is interesting to see the different responses we get to some of the things we share. One of the big response triggers is about people in this world never hearing the gospel. Never having an opportunity to hear it because of their remoteness and not having churches, bibles, radio, tv and such at their leisure. It seems that a lot of Christians have never given this much thought.

We are encouraged to be able to help expand the reach of the gospel to these people even by telling believers about the need these people have to hear the gospel for the first time. Maybe some will not even think about helping us in our ministry but go themselves! That would be worth far more than any money in our pockets.

2009-11-06T14:28:00.002-05:00

Ben's Grandma Koorsen came for a visit.

The girls love their sidewalk chalk! They are
getting pointers from mom.

They really like to play with the leaves. We can't let
Mercedes play in them too long or her eczema will
break out.

This is what happens when Ben does Mercedes' hair.

Ava is a big cheese for the cameras.

We finally were able to get the internet at our house! We are about 100 yards from the closest router at the church. So when we sit at our dinning room table we can get a "very low" signal. The best thing about it is that it's FREE! That's right. Free internet access! It is neat to watch the God of creation take care of simple mundane needs.

We are doing good. We've settled into the house in Indy and have already begun many weekly events. The opportunities to spread the word about tribal missions are many. We will be taking every opportunity as they come.

The ultrasound was today. We are having just ONE baby this time. This was exciting and a relief too. We will be finding out the sex of the baby in about a month.

settled in

2009-10-30T15:40:00.003-04:00

Eye candy that God made for us to delight in!

We made it to Indianapolis safe and sound. We have not updated recently because we don't have internet at the house. So the local Panera Bread and I (Ben) have become good friends recently. We will be getting internet soon, so don't give up on us. We will be back in the blogging world soon.

Bethany and the girls are doing good. We were able to hear the new baby's heartbeat for the first time today. We are starting to get busy with social gatherings, bible studies, church presentations and opportunities to meet lots of people. We are seeing that our move to the big city could prove to be worth while.

We'll be posting again soon with new pictures and stories of what is happening in our lives.
- Ben

Moving Moving Moving

2009-09-24T22:04:00.003-04:00

Keep those Koorsens moving. Here we go again. We are moving this Sunday to Indianapolis. I'll try and make a very long story short.

We've been in our home town trying to raise support for two years. During this time we've been aware of some obstacles to our support raising efforts. God provided an opportunity for us to move to a house and live for little cost. We'll be able to branch out to more people and churches and share our ministry with them.

Please keep us in your prayers during this transition. Bethany has been battling with her morning sickness and it's been difficult for her. This is a big move for the girls, and they will be leaving their best friends, our neighbors. Ben has been taking on a lot these days with the packing, moving details and picking up what Bethany hasn't been able to do. We covet your prayers.

If you would like our new address feel free to contact us via phone or email and we will get that to you.

Unexpected

2009-09-07T07:27:00.004-04:00

This past week we made some T-Shirts for Mercedes & Ava. Click on the pictures to see if you can read what they say.

They wore these shirts at church on Sunday and a few people didn't get the meaning. So for those of you who need a little help: We are expecting a baby! The little one should be arriving in May, and we will keep you updated on Bethany's progress.

All the earth...

2009-08-25T10:31:00.002-04:00

A Psalm for giving thanks. Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness!

Come into his presence with singing! Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!

For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.
(Psa 100:1-5)

Outside Fun

2009-07-10T08:38:00.005-04:00

Here are some pictures of the girls enjoying the outdoors a bit...

Mercedes smelling the flowers

Ava smelling flowers

Bikes

Ben said smile, and this is what she did!

Ava grinning

Visiting

2009-06-23T11:14:00.005-04:00

A couple of weeks ago we packed up and went to Chicago land to visit Eric & Rachel, and a doctor's appointment on the side. Mercedes and Ava love staying with Uncle Eric, Aunt Rachel and Lucky the dog. The girls have been talking up a storm lately and learning new words. They have been able to say Lucky's name, easy enough. Rachel has been dubbed "Tito", and Eric's name has yet to be said. Hopefully they'll say it any day now...

Lucky the dog

Aunt Tito and Bethany

The Unnamed Uncle with Ava

While in the area we all went to the Brookfield Zoo. Had a good time looking at the animals and hanging out. The girls had a chance to "chase" some geese around, they love geese.

The girls in their stroller at the zoo.

And during the crazy busy visit that we had, Rachel and Bethany made a cake for Rachel's Belated Birthday. I won't tell you how old she is. By the way she loves Charlie Brown.

Another Month

2009-06-15T17:36:00.003-04:00

There it went, flying by, never to return. I cannot believe how fast time goes when you are busy, busy, busy! And we have been very busy. Meetings, doctors, meetings, phone calls. Not to mention baby here, baby there, where is baby?, there's baby, where's the other baby?, and trying to keep the house in somewhat of an order. Exhaustion is understatement. But alas, we are alive and God's grace continues to abound! Here are some recent pictures of the girls enjoying the lovely weather.

Mercedes

Mercedes watching the geese

Ava makes the best goose sound, ever!

All dressed up.

Mommy Zoo Day

2009-05-12T21:22:00.005-04:00

Happy Belated Mother's Day to all you Mothers!

Last Mother's Day was my first and the girls were just 2 months old. To be honest I ( Bethany) only remember one thing about it: Ben made me pancakes. My lack of memory is probably due to the sleepless nights and the recent move from Missouri. Not a great Mother's Day to be remembered.

This Mother's Day was a memorable one. I will store it in my rusty brain as long as I can. We decided to celebrate at the zoo! I love the zoo and the girls are really getting into liking animals, so we thought it would be a good combination. We all had a blast! Here are some pictures...

Ava and a shirt eating goat

Mercedes and a goat

Duck Pond

Mommy and her girls

Daddy and his girls

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger

2009-04-29T15:47:00.004-04:00

As the past month has gone by we feel like we just sat in the house and watched it go by. Three of the four weeks in April we were sick. Mostly Bethany and the twins but even Ben was sick for a few days. Now, Bethany and Mercedes are going for another round.

In the time between sicknesses:
- We have been able to take a trip to Chicago to get a check up for Bethany. She is doing better! There is still a ways to go but the light is getting bigger for us.
- We were also able to have a small group meeting to present our ministry to some missions minded folks. It was a good time and we hope that it was helpful to them.
- The girls were able to master climbing on and off of the couch. We have to put a little box next to the couch because they are not tall enough to get up on their own.
- Bethany and Ben's sister-in-law planned and executed a scavenger hunt birthday party for Ben's mom. She turned 50! We surprised her at the end of the scavenger hunt with a dinner at a Japanese restaurant. The cake Bethany made was awesome! It looked like sushi.

We are geared up again to keep pressing on with our partnership development (support raising /partner raising). Our plans are to move to Florida to the NTM Head Quarters in September. But this is dependent on if we can raise the recommended support that NTM requires of us. We are currently at 22%. Please pray that we can stay focused and be a blessing to those who want to hear about our ministry with NTM. If you are interested you can email us at: ben_koorsen@ntm.org.

Mercedes and Ava in the sun

Bethany's sushi cake for Ben's Mom

Chillin on the couch

Mercedes like to sport the shades

Ava observing the bubbles

Fun in the Sun (cont. from Pictures, Pictures, Pictures)

2009-03-14T23:17:00.004-04:00

We had a nice day about a week ago so we all went outside to enjoy the setting sun.

Ava on the left, Mercedes on the right.

Mercedes loves to pick up anything from the ground

Ava wasn't too fond of the prickly grass

What do I do with my hands?

What's this?

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures

2009-03-14T23:01:00.002-04:00

Ava

Mercedes

Fishy Face

What?

Basking in the sunlight

...Where We Stop No One Knows

2009-03-14T22:18:00.003-04:00

(continuation from previous post)

Third: Ben took a trip to Sanford Florida to check out the U.S. Headquarters and get a feel for what he will be doing when we move down there. Bethany was alone with the girls, for the second time, for about 3 days. They survived, but not without tears shed, heads bumped and tired little ones. Ben had a really good time and it was very helpful for him to visualize his ministry surroundings. If you have any questions about our ministry or his trip feel free to contact us.

Here are some pictures from his trip...

Doug showing Ben the office

An outside view of Headquarters

Some pictures in the lobby

The lobby

Fourth: Bethany's health has been an on going issue. She is continuing to see the Doctor in Chicago and we believe this is helping little by little. She still tires easily and housework falls by the way side. We really wanted a dishwasher when we moved back from school because we knew how much help it would be for us, unfortunately there is none in our apartment. So we have been praying and asking God to provide a dishwasher. God is so good. We have a dishwasher arriving Tuesday. He provided the means and we got it for a really good deal! So this is going to be a HUGE help to Bethany and we are very excited about it.

As you can tell these past couple of weeks have been busy for our little family. Thanks for keeping us in your prayers, they are a blessing. I will add another post of just pictures of the girls, because we know you really want to see how adorable they are! : )

Round and Round We Go...

2009-03-13T21:59:00.004-04:00

These past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of many things. To write about all of them now would take too much time (time: a measurable period during which an action, process, or condition exists or continue - in other words something we have very little of). So we will break down the happenings in different segments. As I'm writing this, I'm realizing I'm taking more time to explain what I'm going to do, than doing it...oops!

First: Walking! Yes, we did post earlier that Mercedes was the pro walker and Ava the casual. Now they are both pros and there is no sign of them stopping!!! Here are some pictures of them walking...

Ava using her tongue to help keep her balance

Mercedes likes to keep her hands up

Second: Sickness. Have you heard of this awful bug going around that causes some terrible stomach issues, head cold, fever, ache all over? Well, we had it, then it went away, now parts of it have returned. Mercedes seems to be suffering with the head cold, Ava a little running nose and Bethany stomach issues. I will spare you pictures of us being sick, I'm sure no one wants to see that.

I will leave that for now. The continuation of the saga will return tomorrow...

Winnie the Pooh Birthday Cake

2009-02-24T14:22:00.003-05:00

Because the cake was so awesome I thought that it needed it's own blog post. (Yes I am bragging about my wife's cake.) It was Bethany's first time making a fondant cake and she nailed it!

Look out Martha, there's new competition in town.

Mercedes and Ava are one!

2009-02-24T13:53:00.003-05:00

On February 22nd our girls turned one year old. It is hard to believe that they are one already. It is true what people say, "they grow up so fast". We are watching them become more creative and smarter everyday.

Mercedes is a full time walker now. She loves walking just to practice her balance and speed. She walked for 10 minutes straight the other day for no apparent reason.

Ava is a casual walker. If you bait her or if there is nothing to get to right away then she will walk. Ava is starting to get more aggressive with it though. Ava does love to climb which makes up for the walking.

We had their birthday party at Ben's Aunt and Uncle's house the other day. They had a lot of fun. Mercedes loves opening the presents and Ava loves to inspect each one for defects. They are a good team! Bethany (along with Ben and his sister in-law Ashley) made a Winnie-the-Pooh cake. It was a challenge but it turned out awesome. We couldn't believe that we actually made it. Ben made the Pooh, Bethany made the Piglet and Ashley made the Bee's.

New trans what?

2009-02-04T21:14:00.007-05:00

I was talking to someone the other day about missions. When they asked what mission organization Bethany and I were with I said, “New Tribes Mission”. “New Trans what?” they said. I do mumble sometimes but it was obvious that they had never heard of New Tribes Mission.

There are not many missions that go to the unreached people on this earth to share the gospel. And as far as I know there is only one mission that goes to the unreached to plant New Testament churches. NTM!

This is why our ministry of Mobilization with NTM among the local church is so important. People in the church need to hear of NTM and go as missionaries so that the great commission can be fulfilled among ALL the people of the earth!

2009-01-22T21:39:00.002-05:00

This picture is well over a year old now. It was taken while we were at the Missionary Training Center for NTM. We are with our good friends Aaron and Natalie on the left. We miss our friends. We had many good times with them.

Our friends in the middle are Don and Janet. They have been missionaries with NTM for over 50 years! They went to Thailand back in 1952 or '54 (I can't remember which one). They were there for 52 or 54 years.

If you look closely Don and Janet are holding a copy of the first and only complete translation of the bible in a tribal language that NTM has reached. They were the ones that did the translation. Talking with them about the people they reached is just amazing. What God is doing among those people wouldn't be happening if it weren't for the obedience of Don, Janet and all the people that helped them in those 50 something years.

Winter life

2009-01-21T20:18:00.008-05:00

For some the dead of winter can be depressing. But if you think about it the winter months (for us mid-westerner's) is a time of preparation for the life of the spring. We haven't seen a winter in Indiana like this in a while. Over the past couple of weeks we probably have about ten inches of snow.
We all are fighting a little cold right now but not losing much sleep over it. Bethany has been slowly feeling an increase in energy and stamina. But the other day we went out and did some shopping along with having people over for dinner and that wiped her out for the next couple of days.
Partnership development has been picking up a little. Not the financial support but meeting with people and spreading around some information about New Tribes Mission. We still have a long way to go. Truly God knows and he is the source for every aspect of our lives.
Mercedes and Ava are doing good. They don't get out much because of the cold weather. Today Mercedes took her first steps. Three in a row. Ava took a couple as well but it wasn't her first. They are 11 months old now.
Hope that this update is helpful to keep people in the loop as to what we are doing.
Ava is a cute cubs fan.

Mercedes likes to crawl really fast with the hat over her eyes.

Mercedes is a professional gift opener.

Winter snow from our bedroom view.

Ava napping.

Mercedes napping.

Juggling

2009-01-01T21:52:00.006-05:00

Ever since we have had the twins we have received a lot of different comments about "what it must be like" to have two at the same time. Well, let me show you. The following is a sequence of shots with both Ava and Mercedes trying to get me to pick them up at the same time. (This happens all the time by the way. Especially when they are really fussy, tired and teething.)

Merry Christmas

2008-12-26T20:33:00.006-05:00

I thought that I would just say Merry Christmas to everyone who reads our blog. I hope that everyone was able to remember or discover the significance of this holiday. It is truly beyond the scope of our minds to be able to grasp the work of God in coming to earth. But there are aspects of this biblical/historical truth that are good to reflect on.

One that continues to amaze me year after year is that the eternal Son of God freely chose to lock himself into a human body for the rest of eternity. He was physically born into this world. He lived and died in a physical body. He resurrected in a physical body and ascended to heaven and is currently seated at the right hand of the Father in a glorified physical body. Prior to all of this he existed in eternity past as spirit. From what I understand so far of scripture, Jesus Christ will remain in his present body forever. He loves us so much that he permanently identified himself with us for all eternity.

Enough, about what I think.
If you want to see what the 12 days of Christmas looks like Papua New Guinea style click this link: http://www.ntm.org/news/8667

A Year

2008-12-19T10:39:00.003-05:00

No I'm not pregnant again, it's a photo from Christmas last year.

This is what those two little ones look like this Christmas.

I cannot believe how much can change in a year.

December Update

2008-12-16T09:12:00.005-05:00

Well, here is an update as to what we've been doing lately. The past two months have been non-stop and I don't think it will slow down until after the new year.

The girls are getting bigger and faster. They can very easily stand up to anything and are getting pretty good at walking along furniture. Mercedes is sick right now but that doesn't slow her down much. They are getting to like their little push car but can't steer it yet. They are growing and developing well and Bethany pretty much does house work and takes care of them.

I (Ben) have been working on Partnership Development in the spare moments that are free. Right now I am making a brochure of our family and future ministry to give to people who are interested in partnering with us. We are at about 13% of what we need financially to reach our recommended support level. If you or anyone you know is interested in hearing about reaching tribal people with the gospel then just let us know and we can help you in whatever way is of interest.

Bethany has been to see a specialist doctor in Chicago twice now. We will be going back soon for her check up and we are hoping for a good report and the next step. We are praying that this doctor would be able to help her so that we can go to a tribe someday and do church planting. This doctor has helped friends of ours, so there is a little hope in him. We are ultimately trusting in God for her health and our future.

Here are some recent pictures of the girls. They are going to be ten months old on the 22nd.

Pictures

2008-11-17T20:59:00.002-05:00

Here are some photos of the girls reaching their milestones

Sitting up at 7 months

Can you see Mercedes' bottom teeth?

Mercedes crawling at 7 months

Ava's showing her bottom teeth

Ava crawling at 8 months

Flying

2008-10-23T22:07:00.003-04:00

Is it just me, or is time flying by? I have heard so many times that time goes by faster the older you get. Maybe it's because when we are younger we don't have as much "responsibilities" than when we are older and they are about a mile high. All this to say, blogging has taken a back burner. October has been such a busy month for us and the girls have reached huge milestones! So keep checking often as I'll be posting pictures upon pictures upon pictures! Here's a few to keep you until next time.

Partnership Development

2008-09-30T09:36:00.004-04:00

During our time here in Indiana before we begin our ministry with New Tribes Mission (NTM) we are involved in pre-field ministry called "Partnership Development". I will try to briefly explain what this is in this post.

We need partners in order to engage in full time ministry with NTM. As missionaries with NTM we are part of an organization that is seeking to plant churches among the world's unreached people groups. This is a very large task that NTM has been active in doing for over sixty years. These people are our some of our partners that are needed to reach the unreached. NTM plays a vital role in seeing this task carried out.

The Church is the other group of people that are vital partners in seeing this task carried out. As members of NTM we need local Churches and people in the church to partner with us so we can effectively serve with NTM to the unreached people of the world. The role of the Church in partnership is sending missionaries, praying for missionaries, finacially supporting missionaries, encouraging missionaries and anything else that is needed to reach these people with the gospel.

We are seeking to develop partners for this ministry. We are doing this by presenting our vision for ministry to local churches and individuals that are interested in seeing unreached people reached with the gospel. We are trusting the Lord to provide partners who will be committed to pray, give financially and encourage us in our service with NTM. If you or anyone you know may be interested in partnering with us we can be contacted by email at ben_koorsen@ntm.org. If you would like more information about NTM you can go to their website at www.ntm.org

Hopefull I have briefly and clearly explained our pre-field ministry of Partnership Development.

Short Term Missions Trip...in Pennsylvania?

2008-09-10T08:13:00.003-04:00

During October 9th-11th, Ben is going to be taking a group of people to the beautiful mountains of central Pennsylvania. The late missions institute of NTM in Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania has turned their campus into a retreat center for churches and church groups. The program is called "Wayumi" (why-you-me) and it is designed to provide people with what they would experience on a cross-cultural short term missions trip. The benefit of this, of course, would be that you don't even have to leave the country!

Here is an excerpt taken from the NTM Wayumi web page: "The Wayumi experience for church groups will give your church a bird’s eye view of the still unreached people of the world. It will open your eyes to what it takes to reach these tribes. It is a challenging and daunting job, but with God, all things are possible."

If you or anyone you know might be interested in attending this retreat just contact us by email at ben_koorsen@ntm.org and we will give you the information that you need. If you can't go at that time but would like to go another time, the retreat center is having an open group weekend. This weekend is November 14th-16th and you don't have to go with a church group. You can take your family or just go by yourself. To get more information go to their website at www.ntm.org/missiontrips/wayumi_retreat.

Chicago

2008-09-02T09:41:00.004-04:00

This past weekend we all packed up and headed to Chicago to visit my (Bethany) sister and brother-in-law. This was our first vacation as a family and we had a blast! While staying with Uncle Eric and Aunt Rachel they took us downtown and we all went sailing on Lake Michigan. Then we had lunch at Gino's East eating their famous deep dish pizza, which also happened to be the girls first time at a restaurant. The girls loved being with Uncle Eric and Aunt Rachel in the big windy city and we all are hoping to return very soon.

The Tall Ship Windy.

Us with Eric's parents, Eric & Rachel

Family photo on the ship
(Can you see the city in the background?)

Ava helping raise the sails.

Mercedes enjoying herself on the ship.

6 Months and counting

2008-08-25T08:58:00.003-04:00

The girls turned 6 months on Friday! It's so amazing how much they've grown in such a short amount of time. We are thanking God that He has continued to keep them healthy and strong. So far they've only had one cold, and a little jaundice issue in the beginning, but besides that perfect health! Praise God!

A few milestones that we have reached and are tackling are eating rice cereal (just this past week), drinking out of a sippy cup, sitting up by ourselves and getting more and more cute! Here's some new pictures of these milestones...

Ava enjoying some cereal

Mercedes unsure of the new food

Mercedes on the left, Ava with the green sippy cup

Mercedes on the left, Ava on the right

Ava laying on Mercedes

Homemade Baby food

2008-08-14T22:14:00.004-04:00

The girls will be eating solids soon, so I (Bethany) have begun the process of making my very own baby food. So far we have green beans and peas all from Joyce Bachman's garden. Thanks Bachmans! I cook the veggies in our wonderful waterless cookware, which keeps most of the nutrients in the veggies, puree, then plop into ice cube trays to freeze. There are more items on our list to baby proof, like acorn squash, summer squash, apples and peaches. I'm sure there will be more to come. We are really excited about feeding them fresh foods, but we are dreading the mess to come! Some one gave us a good idea about how to feed the girls: feed them in the bathtub! All the mess will just stay in there, then we can hose them down after they are done. We'll probably need to install a garbage disposal for the tub drain, but isn't it worth it?! ;) Look for messy pictures to come.

Picture of the girls hanging out on our bed. Mercedes on the left, Ava on the right.

Over the hills and through the woods...

2008-08-11T09:26:00.006-04:00

...to Bethany's grandmother's house we went.

A few weekends ago we went to visit Bethany's grandmother. It was a good visit overall since it was the first time that Mercedes and Ava met great grandmother Fishel. Ava is named after her (Ava Marjorie). Grandma Fishel really enjoyed seeing the girls for the first time as well.

While we are home for the next year or so we really are trying to take advantage of the time and convenience of visiting family. We are planning on taking a trip to Chicago to see Bethany's sister and her husband soon. Bethany and her are really close and since it's only three hours away we will make a two or three day visit. Mercedes is named after Bethany's sister (Mercedes Rachel).

Family is something that has become and still is becoming a big part of our lives. We wish that all of our family was closer so that we could have more frequent visits, but they are spread out all over. Just in Indiana alone there are six different cities or town that our more immediate family lives. Then we have family in different states such as Tennessee, Colorado, Arizona, Iowa, and I think Texas too. There is even more extended family in many places just in New York State on Ben's side.

When we move to Florida and begin our ministry with New Tribes Mission it will be even harder and more expensive to see our family. We don't like this fact, but we see it as a worthy cost in order to help preach the gospel to people who don't have a chance to hear unless someone goes to them and tells them.

Praise be to God who sent his only son Jesus Christ from the glory of heaven in order that we might be saved from eternal damnation.

Blogging Slackers!

2008-07-13T21:40:00.003-04:00

Well, it's been about a month and a half since our last post. We are the official blogging slackers! The positive side is that you'll probably notice a reasonable difference in Ava and Mercedes.

Here's a brief overview of what has been happening in our lives this past month and a half:
- We found mold in our basement (see picture) . So we broke our lease and moved to an apartment above a garage. It's really nice (only four years old) and spacious. But there is 21 steps up to our apartment. Our neighbors are awesome. Sometimes they watch the girls so Bethany can get some stuff done or take a nap.
- We introduced the girls to a swimming pool and also a walker! Ava really likes the walker.
- Ben had a birthday! He turned 28 on June 7th.
- Ben has been doing some painting jobs on the side.
- We've been trying to build relationships with some people in our church. This has been a good learning experience. It's always good to see that people who are supportive of what your are doing in life actually know what your doing. There are a lot of really nice people in our church and we are so blessed to be a part of their lives.
- Oh yeah, Bethany has been making some really good Thai food. The picture is of Chicken Satay. The peanut sauce is awesome with sticky rice!

Here's some pictures to satisfy the curiosity of your mind (Ava with Bethany, Mercedes with Ben, Mercedes siting up pretty good in the swing, the mold from our basement)

tummy time

2008-05-23T16:09:00.004-04:00

The girls have started enjoying their tummy time lately, so we thought that we would share with you some of the fun. As you can tell, Ava is more excited about it than Mercedes is.

thumbs

2008-05-18T10:52:00.003-04:00

Ava and Mercedes found their thumbs this week! They are all about just sucking on those little things. Ava had been sucking on her middle and index finger last week and we think that she prefers those as opposed to her thumb.

Home at last!

2008-05-18T09:38:00.002-04:00

Our training at the Missionary Training Center in Missouri has finally come to an end. We have completed the four (almost four) year training with New Tribes Mission and are glad to come home to family and our church. We are now members of NTM and our current ministry is Partnership Development before we head off to our full time ministry. We'll keep you posted during the next year of this ministry.
We did it again, we moved into a place that we have never seen until we arrived with the moving truck. We are almost unpacked after 3 weeks and the girls are getting adjusted just fine. The house we are renting is not that old but it does need a lot of work. Our landlords are new at this so we are finding that we need to be patient with them as things continue to get fixed and replaced. The house is a cozy two bedroom with an open living/dinning/kitchen area. Having a washer/dryer and an actual shower in our own home feels like a luxury after two years of walking outside to the wash house to do laundry and take a shower. If you want an address or any of our new contact information just drop us an email at ben_koorsen@ntm.org