Romania Prayer Request 9

Please pray for safety as we travel,
for great conversations on the way home,
and that our students may never be the same after this trip!

To God be the glory!

His,

Romania Prayer Request 8

Please pray that God is glorified through our efforts and that the Romanian people with whom we are working will be encouraged by the gift of the playground, but also that they would know the truth of God's greatest Gift, His Son!

His,

May 2012 Newsletter

May 2012 Newsletter

To see this newsletter on the Scribd website, click the link at the top of the post :)

If you would like to become a part of our support team, please click here

If you have any questions, or if you would like to receive our newsletters in hard copy, please shoot us an e-mail at hossandkatylin{at}gmail{dot}com

His,

Romania Prayer Request 7

Please pray for productivity and that God would bless the work of our hands!

Please also keep our small group leaders in your prayers. Pray that they would take advantage of every opportunity to have crucial conversations with our students and that they would love well!

His,

Romania Prayer Request 6

Please pray for Danine today!
She is heading up our relational ministries - VBS and sports ministry to the local Romanian children!
Pray that she would lean on the Lord and that our students would listen well and respect her leadership!

His,

Romania Prayer Request 5

Please pray for good attitudes and perseverance today!

His,

Romania Prayer Request 4

Please pray for our contractor, Eric today!
Pray that God would give him wisdom and clarity as he directs our students in the construction of the playground!
The school where we are working has NEVER had a playground before, and our prayer is that this would be a lasting blessing for this community!

His,

Romania Prayer Request 3

Please pray for the playground construction and for the VBS with the Romanian school-aged children!

His,

Romania Prayer Request 2

Please pray for our small group leaders. We have 12 adults who will be paired with five or six students each to lead them through our time in Romania. Please pray for wisdom and that they would take advantage of opportunities to love on their students!

Please pray for good rest and preparation for work!

His,

Romania Prayer Request 1

Please pray for safety as we travel and for hearts that are open to what God wants to do in and through us!

His,

Romania Prayer Requests

My husband, Austin, and I work for Youth for Christ Military Youth Ministry through an organization called Club Beyond. (you can read my other posts about our work for more information). What that basically means is Austin is a youth pastor for the children of military personnel who are stationed in Heidelberg, Germany. We hold weekly outreach Clubs, weekly discipleship Bible Studies (like youth group), fun special events, a high school winter camp called Winter Blitz, a middle school camp over Spring Break called Adventure Camp, and a high school service project in the summer.

This year, our service project is in Romania! We leave a week from tomorrow, and we are super excited! We are taking 44 students from our community (Heidelberg), and we will be meeting up with about 300 other military teens from all over Europe (to see where Club Beyond is, click here)! It's going to be an incredible trip!!!

For ten days, I will post a specific prayer request here on the blog, and we would greatly appreciate your prayers!

If you have any questions, please feel free to comment here or shoot me an e-mail at hossandkatylin{at}gmail{dot}com

Happy Thursday!

March 2012 Newsletter

March 2012 Newsletter

To see this newsletter on the Scribd website, click the link at the top of the post :)

If you would like to become a part of our support team, please click here

If you have any questions, or if you would like to receive our newsletters in hard copy, please shoot us an e-mail at hossandkatylin{at}gmail{dot}com

His,

He is Risen!

(I know it's long, but there's an AWESOME freestyle/poem/speech in the middle of this incredible song!)

Christ is Risen
by Matt Maher

Lyrics:

Let no one caught in sin remain
Inside the lie of inward shame
But fix our eyes upon the cross
And run to Him who showed great love
And bled for us
Freely You've bled for us

Christ is risen from the dead
Trampling over death by death
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave
Christ is risen from the dead
We are one with Him again
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave

Beneath the weight of all our sin
You bowed to none but heaven's will
No scheme of hell, no scoffer's crown
No burden great can hold You down
In strength You reign
Forever let Your church proclaim

O death, where is your sting?
O hell, where is your victory?
O church, come stand in the light
The glory of God has defeated the night

O death, where is your sting?
O hell, where is your victory?
O church, come stand in the light
Our God is not dead
He's alive! He's alive!
He is risen indeed!

Happy Resurrection Day!

Why Good Friday Really is Good!

Happy Good Friday everyone!

I know it seems odd that someone would say that Good Friday is "happy," but really, the only reason anyone can have true joy is because they know the truth about Good Friday!

I'm loving YouTube lately, and I thought I'd share the following video - it's a very powerful performance painting set to an amazing song! (Oh the Glory of it All by the David Crowder Band)

Here's the Video:


(If you've never seen this video before - be sure to watch the whole thing, there's a little bit of a twist!)

Here's the lyrics to the song:
Oh the Glory of it All - David Crowder Band

At the start
He was there, He was there
In the end,
He’ll be there, He’ll be there

And After all our hands have wrought
He forgives

Oh the Glory of it all is:
He came here
For the rescue of us all
that we may live
for the glory of it all
for the glory of it all

All is lost
find Him there, find Him there
After night
Dawn is there, Dawn is there

After all falls apart
He repairs He repairs

Oh the Glory of it all is:
He came here
for the rescue of us all
that we may live
for the glory of it all

oh He is here
for redemption from the fall
that we may live
for the glory of it all
oh the glory of it all
the glory of it all
oh the glory of it all

After night
comes the light
dawn is here
dawn is here
it’s a new day
it’s a new day
everything will change
things will never be the same
we will never be the same
we will never be the same
we will never be the same
we will never be the same

Oh, The glory of it all is
You came here
for the rescue of us all
that we may live
for the glory of it all

Oh You are here
with redemption for us all
that we may live
for the glory of it all
for the glory of it all
oh the glory of it all

Praise the Lord! May we never be the same!

Praying that you have a blessed Easter weekend!

~ My Husband Rocks! ~ He was made for this!

Click here to read about why I started MHR Fridays!

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I love getting to serve the Lord every day with my very best friend! It has been such a wild, crazy, roller coaster ride to get to this point, but I am so thankful that God has given me someone so amazing to face the ups and downs with!

This week I had a fabulous moment of "Austin is so good at his job!"

We hold Club every Monday afternoon for Middle School students and Monday evening for High School students. This week was Austin's turn to give the talk, and his topic was sin and Easter. I was able to video tape a chunk of it:



People are often very resistant to this topic, and Austin was speaking to a pretty tough crowd on Monday evening, but as I was standing there listening to him clearly communicate the Gospel message and the hope and joy of Easter, my heart was so full! It hit me, once again, that God obviously knew what He was doing (He always does) when He put us here and when He put us together!

I may be a little biased (just slightly), but I think Austin is so naturally gifted in speaking and interacting with our students! I LOVE watching him be used by God!

My husband rocks! <3

Hope you all have a fantastic Friday, and a wonderful weekend!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am the only person who has the ability to add blogs to the MHR blogroll. If you are a MHR blogger, and have not been added to the blogroll, plase comment or e-mail me at katylinvw{at}yahoo{dot}com and I will gladly add you to our little group!!!

(if you would like to add the MHR Fridays button to your sidebar, use this code ).

<a href="http://honestandlasting.blogspot.com/2008/06/my-husband-rocks-friday.html"><img src="http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn135/katylinvw/mosaicmhrf.jpg"/></a>

If you're not a blogger, but still want the world to know about your amazing husband (or wife, or husband to be, or wife to be, etc.) leave a shout-out in the form of a comment! If you're unable to comment, e-mail me at katylinvw [at] yahoo [dot] com and I'll add your shout out to this post!

As always, on Fridays Union 28 will refund your shipping on any order of two or more items if you mention the great adventure and ~my husband rocks! Fridays~ in the "how did you hear about us?" section of your order form, so run on over there and check them out, too! Thank you Union 28!

Maundy Thursday

I had honestly never heard of this holiday until we began working in Ecumenical ministry. It is not a holiday that was ever observed in the churches I attended growing up. And even after hearing about it, I really had no idea what the holiday was or what it was for, so today I Googled it.

Here's what I came up with:

Maundy Thursday is observed during Holy Week on the Thursday before Easter. Also referred to as "Holy Thursday" or "Great Thursday" in some Christian denominations, Maundy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper when Jesus shared the Passover meal with his disciples on the night before he was crucified. In contrast to joyful Easter celebrations when Christians worship their resurrected Savior, Maundy Thursday services are typically more solemn occasions, marked by the shadow of Jesus' betrayal. While different denominations observe Maundy Thursday in their own distinct ways, two important biblical events are the primary focus of Maundy Thursday solemnizations:



Before the Passover meal, Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. By performing this lowly act of service, the Bible says in John 13:1 that Jesus "showed them the full extent of his love." By his example, Jesus demonstrated how Christians are to love one another through humble service. For this reason, many churches practice foot-washing ceremonies as a part of their Maundy Thursday services.



During the Passover meal, Jesus took bread and wine and asked his Father to bless it. He broke the bread into pieces, giving it to his disciples and said, "This is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." Then he took the cup of wine, shared it with his disciples and said, "This wine is the token of God's new covenant to save you--an agreement sealed with the blood I will pour out for you." These events recorded in Luke 22:19-20 describe the Last Supper and form the biblical basis for the practice of Communion. For this reason, many churches hold special Communion services as a part of their Maundy Thursday celebrations. Likewise, many congregations observe a traditional Passover Seder meal.

text source

After experiencing a Messianic Passover Seder with my PWOC group on Tuesday morning, this holiday holds a lot more meaning for me than it ever would have before! First of all, on Tuesday I learned that Passover and all of the symbolism it embodies, is not just full of meaning for Jewish people, but for all believers - who are grafted into Abraham's family. It is even commanded in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 5:7&8)! Crazy, right?

Sometimes I think that as "new covenant" believers, we discount the traditions and rich heritage of Judaism and dismiss it as "legalism" or "law" - which could not be further from the truth! The beauty and richness of many of the traditions and festivals of Judaism hold even more meaning for those of us who believe in Jesus as Messiah because the prophecies to which most of the symbolisms refer have been fulfilled in Christ! Praise the Lord!

All of that to say, although some people may observe Maundy Thursday as a rote, liturgical service simply because "that's what we do on the Thursday before Easter." I plan to celebrate this day - today and in the years to come - as a reminder of my Servant King who washed the feet of his disciples, observed the Passover in obedience to God, and gave Himself up as "our Passover Lamb," the perfect and final sacrifice for the sins of all humanity!

Praying that the traditions of Easter may have deep and lasting meaning for you this year and forever!

"Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Matthew 20:26-28

His,

Often imitated . . .

. . . but never duplicated.

That's right. I'm talking about the Chipotle burrito.


I have blogged about my love for all that is Chipotle on several occasions. Like the story of my elation over FINALLY getting a Chipotle in Iowa. (which was convenient when we lived in Iowa. Now that we live in Germany, not so much!) When we were giving thanks alphabetically, Chipotle made my "C" list. It even made the list of my top 5 loves!

So, there is no doubt that I love Chipotle; however, the last couple of times that we have been in the States, friends and family alike have been trying to convince me that there are other burrito joints that are just as good - if not better than the original - the burrito that has had my heart since I was just a teenager!

At this point I'm pretty sure we've tried them all, and I've got to say that a lot of them were pretty good.

Qdoba makes a mean queso sauce and in the summer time their mango salsa is to die for. They also have a loyalty card program which is a bit of a perk. And they're my parents' favorite of the many burrito options in their area.


Bullritos are the fan favorite in the Houston area. They have a fun ordering system where you check what you want on their printed bags (a lot like Which-Wich) and turn it in at the beginning of the line. They assemble it and at the end of the line the cashier calls your name, or whatever name you wrote on the bag during the ordering process - the boys have a lot of fun with this ;). One of their distinctions is a delicious Cilantro Ranch sauce. Yummmm!

Most recently, we were introduced to Moe's in Charleston, SC. Moe's has a pretty wide selection with funny names like "The Homewrecker" and the "Joey Junior." They also do free chips and salsa with every order, and the location we went to had a soda machine that looked like it was straight out of an episode of Star Trek - complete with a touch screen and several different flavor variations for each soda option.


But I've got to say, while I'd never be one to turn down a burrito - any burrito (especially living in Germany where good Mexican food is VERY hard to come by), Chipotle is still my favorite. By a landslide! I don't know if it's just that it was my first burrito love, or the delicious combination of their steak and rice and salsa and sour cream and guacamole that no one else will every be able to fully duplicate!

Not that I haven't tried. I mean the closest Chipotle to us is in London, which is an eight hour drive, so it may as well be in the States with as often as we get there, so I've tried my hand at recreating Carnitas and Cilantro-Lime Rice, but it just isn't the same. There were rumors at one point that Chipotle may be opening a new location in Munich, which is much closer, but alas we have not seen any movement on that for awhile, so . . . We will have to make due with our homemade version and our memories of the real thing!

Do you have a food item or a restaurant that you have to struggle to do without? Or someplace you can't imagine moving away from?

Hope you're having a great week!

Shop at Amazon.com?

Hello Everyone!

Hope you are having a great week!

I have recently discovered the wonderful world of Amazon Associates. I have used it periodically when I do book reviews, but in the past couple of weeks Austin and I have been learning about all the ways that the program actually works. It's pretty awesome.

Hence, the beautiful new widget over there --------->

Under the dog tags in the sidebar.

One of the books catch your eye? Looking for some yummy, healthy freeze-dried fruit? How about some fragrant Senseo coffee pods? Just click on the image when it scrolls by and you'll be taken directly there! Have some shopping to do on Amazon.com for something you don't see there? Click any of the pictures, then navigate around as you normally would! Or, you can click HERE or HERE or HERE!


Happy shopping! :)

I am a bad blogger . . .

I love blogging.

I really do.

Well, I like the idea of blogging.

And I like trolling for "blog inspiration."

I just have no blogging groove.

But I do love this blog. I love everything about ~ My Husband Rocks! ~ Fridays, and I have a pretty amazing life, and TONS of stories to tell. I just need to get back on the horse.

Baby steps.

Awesome stuff from the past ten days:

*Spectacular 7 (minus 3 :( ) reunion Pancakes & Pajamas Party at our place was pretty fantastic. (The Spectacular Seven was the name of my small group at Winter Blitz).

*Getting to hang out with one of my favorite high school students, "K" for nearly the entire weekend :)

*Amazing prayer breakfast on post with a lot of wonderful officers and chaplains!

Some stuff I'm looking forward to, and that I might blog about in the future:

*Going to Colorado - We have our Youth For Christ MidWinter conference in Denver this week, so we fly tomorrow morning! Also super excited that we get to see family and friends who conveniently live very close by, and CRAZY excited about our extended layover to visit Mike & Julia in SC! :)

*The Whole30 - After we get home, Austin and I will be embarking on a nutritional adventure of epic proportions! Click here for all the details.

*The In-Laws are coming! And I'm super excited (really!)!!! Austin's parents are scheduled to come and visit us in May, and they already have plane tickets and passports, so it's really happening! We have a pretty awesome couple of weeks mapped out while they're here, and we are so excited for them to see where we live all the way across the ocean!

Well, that's life in a nutshell for now.

Later,

December 2011 Newsletter

December 2011 Newsletter

To see this newsletter on the Scribd website, click the link at the top of the post :)

If you would like to become a part of our support team, please visit www.yfc.org/give. There are several different ways to give which you can select by clicking on the appropriate link. When you get to the "Donation Information" section, please be sure that you select "VanWyk, Austin & Katy" from the "Designation" drop-down menu.

If you have any questions, or if you would like to receive our newsletters in hard copy, please shoot us an e-mail at hossandkatylin{at}gmail{dot}com

His,