Hope in the Valley

We didn't realize when we came home, in a swirl of bittersweet emotion of anticipation, of seeing our family at such an important time of year as Christmas, and frustration ,by the circumstances of being forced to leave Russia because of visa problems, that God was blessing us.

We spent precious time with both of our families and enjoyed the chaos of having the Broberg Clan all together for Christmas. The day after Christmas, Mark's father, David Broberg, suddenly. passed away due to an aneurysm. We walked through pain and heartache we have never felt before but praised God for His mercy in having us here and allowing us to have such a beautiful Christmas memory. Our purpose seemed clear, we were meant to be here.

Not only were we here, but we had planned on living with David and Jean while home. So, again, our purpose was confirmed and we hoped to be a comfort to her during this time of adjustment to living without David. In my mind I thought I was there for her, but now I know she was there for me...to show me how to live in God's grace and joy everyday, even in great heartache, excepting and acknowledging the sovereignty of God in all things.

Last week I lost my mom. A few days after enjoying a wonderful Easter celebration with my parents, my mom got very sick and so we rushed her into the ER. The diagnosis was pancreatitis, which at the time didn't seem to be life threatening. After a couple of days we were told that her case was very serious and on her third day she was put on sedation to be intubated (respiratory support) which meant lots of tubes down her throat and nose. Little did I know that, that would be the last time I would be able to converse with my mom, even through her struggled breathing. I was in constant conversation with God arguing that it would be too much for us to lose another parent, another grandparent, another person out of our already disjointed life, but 3 days later, after haunting reminiscent scenes of updates from doctors, hospital hallways, and serious conference room talks, I was saying goodbye again to a parent. I never thought I could go through the pain of losing someone I have loved, learned from, and needed as much as a parent, but as I walked through this nightmare again, I realized the ironic cruel yet sweet way God had prepared me in our first loss to accept His sovereignty in good and bad, having faith for a miracle and grace to trust Him even in death.

My mom was a fun loving, joy! She always took time to speak life into me with passion, inspiring me to do more then I ever thought possible. She cheered me on in all I did, as my biggest fan. She was my friend, confidant, and personal prayer warrior.

When I was little I was very sick with asthma and spent a lot of time in the hospital. I would cry to my mom about not being able to run and play with the other kids because I couldn't breathe. My mom, being a new Christian then, was ready to put her faith in action and prayed healing over me. The next day before she went to work I was showing signs of an asthma attack. In the midst of her doubt she felt the Holy Spirit telling her that I was His and He was in control. As she left that day she released me into His hands once again in prayer, and fear and doubt left her. When she returned home I was running and playing outside with my friends and I have never had another asthma attack. I was healed through a prayer spoken in faith by my mom.

Mark's father, David, and my mother, Mary, spent their lives passing on faith in Jesus, not just to us but to everyone they could, in words and by example. A son has lost his father and now must be the baton carrier of faith for his own sons. A daughter has lost her mother, and I too have been given the baton of faith to pass on to our children. I am running to win the prize.

Job, in the midst of great loss and pain said, "Though he slay me yet will I hope in him. " I may never understand, but in the river of tears and at the center of my pain I too say, though you slay me I will trust and hope in you, Lord. This life is a blink compared to eternity so I will continue to have faith to move mountains like mom taught me and rejoice in the thought of my mom enjoying her prize.

Just a short video showing some of the things we have been up to recently.

Created and Posted by our team mate, Steve Hayes

season of growth

Well I know that I have been neglectful in my communication but then I got slapped into reality and out of my lazy summer lifestyle! It was a very, well...sometimes lazy, sometimes busy, a little lonely, and always pensive for me. It seems that when I think I am being lazy that God is always prodding me on in showing me new things that need to be done in my life. Just like the house is never organized but always in a state of being organized over and over again, so my life is always being reflected on, the good and bad in me fighting for position...cleaning house inside of me is tough. Oh I am so thankful for grace.

I wanted to show you what was growing in my garden/yard all spring and summer. I had more pictures but.. these will have to do.
Krasnodar has the right climate and land to grow lots of produce! So we enjoy the wealth of fruit and veggies in the summer months. I had fun trying my hand at growing a garden and to my surprise it turned out pretty good. Although, it is September we are still harvesting some things in the garden. Next year I will try my hand at some other types of vegetables.






My boys enjoy their freedom to play outside and I enjoy the ability to say, "boys go outside and wrestle, not in the house!" they run around and have a lot of creative play time. I love to listen to them make believe and discover new things! Every insect and animal that they find is a treasure! To my advantage I am not too skweemish when it comes to that kind of stuff, I enjoy helping them capture an occasional lizard.
We are blessed to have such a great haven in our yard! I love to see the clematis growing and the grapevines and ivy that go wild in the summer months. We have lots of fruit trees in our yard and we enjoy being able to go outside to grab a snack off the tree.













My, Noah is a big help with keeping up with the grass cutting. Mark is so ecstatic about this.

I love Peonies and am so glad I have them in my yard in the spring, I want to plant some tulips, daffodils and lily of the valley for next spring.

As we anticipate the winter I am enjoying the cool down of fall. I am thankful for the constant growth and cleaning that takes place in every season of my life. I know that He loves me and that his discipline is out of love for me.
We appreciate your constant prayers and want you to be assured that we feel we are here, 'for such a time as this' what good is a life if not spent for Christ?

my teenager!

My daughter is 13 today! Not too long ago, we put in a home DVD of Haillie when she was 2. We were shocked at how much we had forgotten about that sweet mouse talking little girl! I remember when she was first born how overwhelmed I felt with the responsibility of taking care of this new life that demanded so much of my attention! What a job it was to keep her fed and changed and provide comfort and safety for her. Phew! It was more than I had anticipated! During the first week of life as I sat holding her and looking at her features and how perfect God had made her, I realized that this little baby had a soul that would live for eternity and she would need spiritual nurturing too, and at that moment I started crying and praying that God would give me the wisdom for this task he had entrusted to me. Now 13 years later, I am still asking for Gods wisdom for this task of "romancing" her to Christ, through our example of our own spiritual journeys. We are so thankful for Haillie, she loves truth and desires all that is real! She is creative, loving, assertive, conscientious, and compassionate! She loves God and searches for truth and to hear His voice. She is chasing Him...and I am watching and cheering her on, as I see the longing for her true love... Jesus. Keep chasing Him, Haillie, he will catch you in his arms, and nothing else will satisfy you.

Jonahs cowboy birthday

In honor of our beloved country of origin we had a cowboy birthday party for Jonah, (who is now 7) with all the favorite American fixin's , grilled hamburgers and hotdogs and settlers baked beans! The young cowpokes enjoyed our tribute to the pride of America and well... I enjoyed the priviledge of creating a fun party with the help of my tried and true side kicks, Haillie and Noah. After years of studying under my expertise... my older pups help me out with all the preparations, which makes the whole thing much easier for me and fun for them too.Mark helped me make this lasso game.




























The kids brought there swim gear and we played a few water games. The weather was perfect for this.









Noah helped make this squirt gun game. Here they are ganging up on the bad guys.




















The cake was made by Noah, with Haillie's help and decorated by me, also with Haillie's help (that cake decorating class she had is sure paying off!). It was a horse for the birthday cowpoke who only has a very uncooperative Labrador.
















He got more gifts then he should have. Most came from his generous siblings that gave him some of their own things plus bought him new things!




















This is Jose, who is wanted for stealing candy! The cowpokes are ready and very willing to retrieve the candy! I gotta say I enjoy creating these pinatas, how sad when I don't have reason anymore. Ya, I know Jose is smoking!...I do not promote smoking but, doesn't the cigarette make him look bad??.. he is a bad cowboy... and we did hit him with a stick!




















Here is a picture of the candy stuffers. He was very heavy! I love this tradition! I will have to pass it on to my Russian friends:)



















Well the end to a great day! Give the kids candy and send them home just as the sugar is hitting there systems. As for our kids?? We just locked them outside until bed time:)
Yep! that is our life, full of creating together and enjoying the simple life
Jonah, we love you! You are a fun loving, sensitive, compassionate, passionate, little boy that keeps us smiling mostly because if we aren't you make us!

noah

My boy turns 11 today! I just can't hold onto time, I would like to sometimes, just to savor it. This year Noah has really taken off in his reading. I find him at night and in the morning reading his bible or some great book. I am so thankful for Noah! He is witty and clever, compassionate, loving, adventurous, God-fearing, tough, tolerant, and obedient. Some fun info about him is that he is very clumsy but seems to always land on his feet. I remember one time when he was 2, we were walking through the mall and he walked right through 1 of those advertisement displays that was sitting in the middle of the hall, the cardboard insert lay on the floor and he just got up and kept going! Everyone around were very amused with that. Just recently while we were in Hungary ice skating, if you can imagine Noah traveling as fast as he can and doing flips and getting up while bystanders stood in disbelief laughing. My favorite quote from him was when he was 4 and said, after we had just read out of our bible story book about Moses, "Mom, pray for my ears." Me: "Why, do they hurt??", Noah: "No, I just can't hear God talking to me." He has always been so sensitive towards God and towards others. Always willing to give the best to someone else, to share what he has, to help when someone is in need. One more story. When he was in 1st grade, the teacher said at one of our parent-teacher meetings, "When I imagine Jesus as a kid, I think of Noah."!!! Wow, that will be hard to live up to but a good goal for all of us:) He of course is not Jesus and can get into some good arguments with his siblings but in the end they are best friends, what more could I ask for!
For his birthday we had these boys from school over. It was a sleep over and so it got pretty rowdy at times. Mark played Dragon Raid with them. This is a christian, discipleship, role playing game that makes them work as a team. They loved it and Mark got to share with them in the game about prayer.

Angel of Grozny

I just finished this book after having to put it down several times because the content was so disturbing. It is a vivid and raw portrayal of the effects of the Russian-Chechen war along with the fear, propaganda, injustices, and innocent victims. It confirms all we have heard and experienced here, (Russia) but truth in print proves to be more disturbing. I encourage you to read this, it will help you understand life in Russia and the forgotten children who are victims of the on going Chechen-Russian conflict.
The author is a jounalist and so I understand that sensationalism is a part of the job, but most of what she writes is just pure facts of what she has experienced. I found that she has been accurate in here description of Russia. In the end she let's you draw your own opinions and shows the injustices and ugliness on both sides.
It is an excellent book and I am more passionate then ever about our efforts to reach these children and forever changed by their stories. We have to give hope to the hopeless.