In Memory of Grandma Kuntz

Many of my childhood memories of Grandma and Grandpa take me back to their house in Huntington where our family would often gather for some of the most memorable dinners and of course Grandpa’s homemade Ice cream. My favorite memory, is the time that Grandma had me come and spend a week at their house, JUST me. I remember waking up every morning that week and stumbling into the kitchen to a huge smile from Grandma, and being carried along to my seat at the kitchen table by nothing more than the smell of coffee, and eggs and bacon. We would sit and talk, and then Grandpa and I would usually go out and do something like run errands, go fishing, or even head to the farm.

Grandma ALWAYS had a sparkle in her eye, and I can still hear her voice singing Amazing Grace above the rest of the congregation like an angel, it’s no wonder that is one my of my favorite hymns today. Her laughter traveled through a room lifting spirits as she would delight in watching her grandchildren and great grandchildren play and have fun.

As a young adult, three of my close friends and I came out for rodeo week and stayed in grandma’s basement. One night we stayed up till 2 or 3 in the morning laughing and having a grand time, and I was terrified that we were keeping grandma awake because we were laughing so hard. The next morning I apologized for being so noisy and asked if we kept her awake. She replied, “No, you didn’t keep me awake, I was sitting up here in my chair laughing with you…”

Grandma is one of my hero’s, not for anything specific that she did, but for who she was. A woman who was devoted to loving her husband, A mother that loved having her children around the table for a good night of cards and telling jokes and stories, and a grandmother that loved her grandchildren and great grandchildren and wanted them to know the Lord like she did.

Grandma has helped teach me the value of family and the importance of training up our children to know the Lord. We have been blessed to have such a wonderful woman in our lives and her memory will always be part of me. 

As I end, something Grandma used to say is bouncing around in my mind; As she and Grandpa would playfully argue about what happened, or what was said, grandma would say: “Well, I oughta know, I was there…” Grandma, just so you know, that tradition has carried on in our family…….. thank you for your love, thank you for your wisdom, and thank you for your Godly example.

With Love,

Chris John

Good Quotes

I am a  huge fan of good quotes, they say a lot in just a few words, and they tend to stick with you. The following two quotes are ones that I like very much. The first one was said to me by a friend several years ago, and the second one pertains to our current experience of raising the funds for our time in Nicaragua.

1. "God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called" (Personal Friend)
2. "God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supplies."(J. Hudson Taylor)


Both of these quotes continue to ring in my head as we grow closer each day to our time in Nicaragua. Today we spent some time down at the post office filling out paperwork to get the boys passports coming. It was a very neat step for me in the process as it began to dawn on me that I was going to take my whole family out of the country to join friends in a missions field that so desperately needs help. Although I have already been there and know what they are going to experience in terms of atmosphere, food and culture, what God is going to do in their lives is something that is yet to be seen. I know that this experience will leave a lasting mark on their minds and hearts, and hopefully as the boys grow up, they will always remember the time they went to Nicaragua to join God in His work there. It would be my prayer that this particular event will open their hearts to the poor, the hungry, the orphaned, the sick and lonely.........Thank you God for the opportunity you are giving us. And thanks to all of you who continue to pray and support us financially. I know I say it every time I post, but God continues to bless us through friends and family like you, and the blessings have been amazing!! We serve a great and mighty God who never lacks in supplies!!


God Bless, The Kuntz's


Isaiah 6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" (NIV)

NICARAGUA Update

 Our March team left today for Nicaragua and have arrived safely this evening. They will spend the next week working in the communities of El Porvinere and Ameya. I am very excited for what they will experience this week as they get to spend time working in the same communities we will visit while we are there in August. Please continue to keep us in prayer as we continue to plan for our trip. Passports for the kids and the appropriate shots are next on our list, but the excitement builds a little each day! Thank you for supporting us, we are almost half way there!!!

NICARAGUA UPDATE

WOW, once again I was blown away today when I opened the mail and received yet an another amazing gift of support for our trip.  God is doing some pretty cool things in preparing us for this trip, the most amazing thing to date is the outpouring of generosity from friends and family. Thank you everyone for helping make this trip possible and for investing not only in us, but more importantly in the people of Nicaragua and the communities we will be serving. Keep following along to see what God does next!!


Thanks

Nicaragua Video

Hey everyone, this is a video I created last year following my first trip to Nicaragua. I had to edit out some parts for protection of others, but it should give you a pretty good idea what we are doing over there, and you will be introduced to someone special.

Enjoy!

Nicaragua 2012 Update

WOW, It's amazing to us how God works. So many of you are being so very generous and we Thank You for supporting us on this missions trip. We have heard from many who have committed to pray and from many who have chosen to support us financially as well. Thank you for your gifts, both prayer and financial. As we continue to get closer, I will continue to update the Blog, so stay tuned and watch to see just how Big our God is!!
God Bless

NICARAGUA 2012

As many of you may already know, We recently sent out a letter (more to come) letting you know what has been happening in our lives over the past year and what exciting new things are coming up for the Kuntz family. I have copied the letter below for those of you who might not have received one yet.

Hello Friends, We hope this letter finds you well and that you are enjoying the New Year so far.

            We wanted to give you a quick update on what has been happening here in the Kuntz home and share with you some exciting news. The boys are growing up fast. Tyler is now in the 6^th grade and is becoming a young man that is respectful and has huge potential. He loves to participate in the show choir and enjoys helping out at church with child check-in and the sound booth when able. Aiden is now in the 3^rd grade. He is proving to be quite the athlete by playing baseball and flag football and showing off some pretty impressive moves. Ethan is growing up so fast and is now in kindergarten. He loves to go to school to be with his friends, and is making big strides in his learning.

            Lisa is working as a Systems Analyst at ProFed, serves as the treasurer for Aiden’s Scout pack and at the church as a teacher for the younger kids. She is forever keeping us all on track, (and in line). J As many of you may already know, Chris joined Emmanuel Community Church in full-time ministry January of 2011. Since then Lisa and Chris have had the opportunity to travel to Israel to visit some of the places Christ walked, and Chris was able to make a trip to Nicaragua this past September to film a mission’s trip and to meet our sponsor child, Jose.           

            Over the past several months we have been praying and discussing the possibility for the whole family to go to Nicaragua on a family mission’s trip with the church in August of 2012. As it turned out Ethan and Chris were going to stay back while Lisa, Tyler and Aiden went on the trip. However, God was working again, and Food For The Hungry opened up more spots, now the WHOLE family gets to go!! Our desire is to teach the boys about God’s amazing love at a young age, and how there are people living in this world that are far less fortunate. All people matter to God, and therefore they matter to us. After prayer and consideration as to how it would impact our family, we signed the paper work and turned it in, expecting God to do great things through this experience. We are all very excited that we will not only be able to serve in another country, but that the boys will be able to meet Jose whom they pray for every night before bed. By making this decision, we are resting on God significantly for the resources to make it possible. The total cost for the family is $6,500, which includes our airfare, travel, food and lodging while in Nicaragua. While there, we will be serving in the community of El-Porvenir by providing VBS, and clean-up detail. However; the most important reason we will be there is to build relationships with the people of this and surrounding communities, and to share with them the Good News of Jesus Christ.

            We are asking you to join us by holding our family up in prayer, as we prepare for this trip, and as we travel to this impoverished country. We consider your prayers to be vital to the preparation and success of this trip. We are also asking you to be in prayer and consider helping to support us financially as well. We believe that this will have a huge impact on the people of El-Porvenir as well as our children. If you would like to join us as either a prayer partner or financial partner, please fill out the form below. We will be updating our progress on our blog as well as the trip when it comes around. For now we are asking that you keep us in prayer as we begin to raise support, and prepare for this exciting and life changing venture. (http://enteligentmoments.blogspot.com)

            We pray that your New Year is blessed.

Love, Chris, Lisa, Tyler, Aiden & Ethan

There is a little more to this letter that we would love to share with you. If you would like for us to send you a letter specifically, please let us know. There might already be one on it's way. :-)

We have already been blessed with prayer partners and financial gifts and we are well on our way to raising the needed resources. Currently we have been blessed with approx. $1,150. That is simply amazing. 

THANK YOU so much for giving in such a generous way!

Keep checking back for updates as they come out, or better yet, subscribe to the blog and stay up to date on our journey. Thanks and God Bless!!