Jo

I've made a new friend the past few weeks. Her name is Jo, and she is my new sister-in-law. She is a blessing from the Lord and is becoming very dear to me. Today we spent the afternoon cooking together, and let me tell you, you can cover a lot of ground while cooking with someone and STILL run out of time for talking! We were deeply involved in making a Weinhardt family favorite of chicken schnitzel and spaetzle with gurken salat (cucumber salad) as a side, but we stopped often to catch our breath from laughing or paused to stand in amazement at the way God has personally touched our lives. It was a tremendous afternoon of non-stop chatter, and we left feeling as if we hadn't even gotten started yet!

Jo is from British Columbia, but she has spent most of her adult life serving the Lord around the world. She's taught school in Hungary and South Korea as well as Canada. She's served on mission trips in Rwanda, South Korea, Mongolia, and Thailand. She believes that God has called her to teach children, and I can attest that her relationship with children comes naturally and is a high priority in her life. She has allowed God to touch her life and heal hurts, and in turn, God is using her humble character to bless the lives of others.

Our family relationship has just begun, and our friendship and sisterhood is already forming strong ties. Peace and joy follow Jo, and I am drawn to spend time with her. In just the few occassions that we have shared together, I feel as if I am blessed and changed and loved. I'm thankful for her friendship and pray that God will continue to use her in the mighty ways that He already has! I love you, Jo, and I thank God for you!

(And she's got a great method of getting people to shiver and grow goosebumps with a silly little action game! The boys can't get enough of her and her games!)