God! I am in your hands!

“God! I am in your hands! What you say will happen! Nothing baffles you!"  (A Nigerian prayer)

Since I have come home to Michigan for summer break I have realized what fast-paced lives my parents and brother have been living. I have been home for a week and the days and hours have flown by. Yet God fills each one of our hearts with peace and perseverance to move on – to tackle each day’s to-do list. Whether running errands, going to work, going to high school, cleaning, speaking at churches, corresponding with people, having devotions, or teaching kids to drive. God is sovereign.

Dad is working part time at Lakeland Hospital and walk-in clinic. On his days off he is over in Chicago helping his parents get their house ready to be put on the market in July. SO PLEASE PRAY THAT THE HOUSE WILL BE REPAIRED AND EMPTIED BY THEN!

Mom loves being a stay-at-home mom. A few of the things she does are helping her family excel  -whether that is prepping herself for talks that that she will share at different gatherings, making sure everything is packed and in the car for each trip, working in correspondence between churches and people from Kenya, making sure her kids are where they need to be.  THANK GOD FOR THE THREE MONTHS OF HAVING US ALL TOGETHER THIS SUMMER.

Rebecca is about to finish up her freshman year at Wheaton College. PLEASE PRAY FOR HER TO BRING GOOD CLOSURE TO HER CLASSES AND FRIENDSHIPS AT SCHOOL, AND TO FIND JOBS THAT WILL PAY WELL THIS SUMMER AND GIVE HER ENOUGH HOURS TO WORK.

I (Julia)  successfully finished my freshman year of college at Indiana Wesleyan University. One step closer to nursing school in January 2015, Yea!! I am enjoying living with my family again and am excited that I will be living with them for 4 months, which is the longest period of time since my sophomore year of high school! I will be babysitting this summer and taking two online summer classes. PLEASE PRAY FOR ME THAT I WILL HAVE GOOD TIME MANAGEMENT DISCERNMENT.

Joel is finishing up his sophomore year of high school at St. Joseph public schools. He has been quite busy with all his classes and schoolwork. He has loved getting his drivers permit and driving for hours on our trips. PLEASE PRAY THAT HE WILL HAVE GOOD CLOSURE WITH HIS SCHOOL FRIENDS AND THAT HE WILL BE READY AND PREPARED TO RETURN TO KENYA AND BOARDING SCHOOL IN AUGUST.  He will be working odd jobs and doing volunteer work this summer.

A few glimpses into what the Spriegel clan has been up to since our last family update.

Rebecca and a group of her theater friends (the one on the left and with the white sweater)

First week of March I went on a winter backpacking trip (the one in the red and black hat) 

My family came and visited me at IWU to celebrate March Birthdays!

Mom went to Nebraska to visit her dad

On my parents' Virginia trip (Joel's Spring break) they spoke at a college and church and enjoyed a hike in a state park in West Virginia 

Mom spoke at a Christian Working Woman conference in the Chicago area

Cousin Bethany’s wedding in Nebraska

Joel and Rebecca dying Easter eggs

Enjoying a Selah concert at Moody

Speaking at a partner church - Moddersville Reformed church in Falmouth, Michigan

As days have flown by. I try to slow down and remember God’s grace and power to get us through each week and I know full well that He will continue to carry all of us on. Whether it is a quick ping pong game between my dad and me or my brother and me, a quick bike ride that turns into an hour long one with my brother, or a Selah concert at Moody, or a busy moment, I try to treasure each moment realizing it is a blessing from God and I won’t get to spend time with my family again after this summer for a long time. I calculated exactly how many days I had left with them here in the States. The staggering amount came out to 117 days on April 30^th. “God! I am in your hands! What you say will happen! Nothing baffles you!"