A Snow Story

Here we are, the weekend of Christmas 2006. Our family has been reflecting over the past year as we walked through a difficult trial with our dear friends, the Snow Family – Curtis-38, Melissa-37, Elizabeth-14, Marilyn-11, Abigail-10, Emily-9, Anna-7, Molly-3 and Isaac-1.

The Snows moved to our little town of Neosho (Missouri) a little over 3 years ago. We met them through the home schooling group we are all a part of, the Advanced Training Institute. Chiree began teaching violin to three of the Snow girls in 2003. Each week Chiree would come home and share with me all the things she learned from Melissa about childrearing. She would stay a long time after teaching just to talk with Melissa. Because our family is small with only Nathan and Chiree, it was a blessing for her to be a part of a large family and watch how they trained and educated. After Chiree helped care for her great-grandma for 19 months and was with her when she died, she shared with Melissa that since she had witnessed a death, she would love to witness a birth. Melissa told her that she could come to the next birth she had, which happened a little over a year later.

Chiree and I were called in the middle of the night of November 18^th, 2005, and both of us watched the miracle of Isaac David’s birth in the guest bedroom of the Snow home. There were six Snow Angels, and now there was a Snow Man! It was such a special happening and we were honored to be there for it. Little did we know that just two weeks later Curtis would again call us in the middle of the night asking us to come to the emergency room. Melissa had experienced a bad headache the evening before and had become incoherent, so Curtis insisted they get to the hospital. Within two hours the test revealed that Melissa had either experienced a stroke or had a brain tumor. It was determined later that day that is was a brain tumor and the biopsy revealed that it was inoperable. December 2005 was very difficult as Melissa continually had seizures and by the time she came home for Christmas, she was a very different looking mommy to her children with no hair and she had begun to swell, which has continued throughout the year.

We helped to care for the family, along with Melissa’s parents and sister that came from Ohio to stay through March. January- June was filled with doctors' appointments for chemo and radiation. Many people helped in many ways, including 4 nursing moms that pumped their milk for 3 months in order for us to give Isaac a good start in life with nourishing food and several churches brought meals for the whole year. Chiree and Leanna Wilkins home schooled the girls that semester. I headed up a team of 11 godly, efficient young ladies from the ages of 16-24 that volunteered to be nannies taking one-week shifts. It was a full time job caring for 6 little girls and a newborn, 24/7, and each one of the nannies grew to love the Snow children. There is a bond with all of them and many special memories during that time.

Melissa’s parents and sister returned for the summer months to help with the family. Chiree and I continued to help them and spend time with the children. By September, the Snow family truly needed to be a family without any people being around. We all understood how they longed for it to be like it used to be. I know it was hard, but it was worth it to them to have their family alone after having others live with them for nine months straight. Melissa wanted to begin doing the home schooling herself and really tried to when she would have an hour or two without pain. We continued to come over and visit or bring the children to our home for special activities, but we did not assert ourselves as we had done before when we were the ones in charge. We knew how important it was for Melissa to feel like she was the mother of her children and the keeper of her home.

In November the Snows came to our home to celebrate Isaac’s first birthday. His first year had gone quickly, but at the same time, it seemed like ten years wrapped up in one. The girls had so much fun shopping for him and getting to buy BOY toys! There were no pink gifts or dolls for him to open, which was what they were accustomed to for each of their birthdays. Isaac was the center of all our attention and it was a wonderful evening of celebration, even though Melissa was totally exhausted.

Now it is Christmas weekend. Curtis was in the hospital Thursday night and Friday morning with symptoms of a heart attack. After thorough testing, it was diagnosed as extreme stress. (Just 3 years ago, he spent 11 days in ICU with 50 blood clots that passed through his lungs. It was a miracle that he lived through that. His own health has been a concern to us.) Curtis is the Director for Teen Challenge for our area, so he is a much respected missionary throughout the state. Melissa and the children always traveled with him in the past sharing the ministry with churches each weekend.

Curtis’ mother arrived on Thursday afternoon and Melissa’s parents will be here soon. Both families are already grieving over losses this past year. In February Curtis’ father died. A month later his grandmother died. In March Melissa’s sister-in-law was diagnosed with cancer and died in April. This fall Curtis’ grandfather died. So, you can see that many other stresses have been a part of their year. Through it all, Curtis and Melissa have been such a precious example of full trust in the Lord. What a testimony they have been to all of us!!

If you would like to read Melissa’s journal, it can be found at www.caringbridge.org. After you click on the “visit” at the top right, you write in melissasnow on the second page under site name.

Please pray for this dear family and for Melissa to be out of pain. She is very peaceful and has a beautiful smile on her face, even through her pain. How blessed we are to know the Lord will be their constant source of strength in the upcoming days as He has faithfully been this whole year!

Christmas Thoughts

His Birth and Our New Birth

"Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ’God with us’ —Matthew 1:23

His Birth in History. ". . . that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God ( Luke 1:35 ). Jesus Christ was born into this world, not from it. He did not emerge out of history; He came into history from the outside. Jesus Christ is not the best human being the human race can boast of— He is a Being for whom the human race can take no credit at all. He is not man becoming God, but God Incarnate— God coming into human flesh from outside it. His life is the highest and the holiest entering through the most humble of doors. Our Lord’s birth was an advent— the appearance of God in human form.

His Birth in Me. "My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you . . ." (Galatians 4:19 ). Just as our Lord came into human history from outside it, He must also come into me from outside. Have I allowed my personal human life to become a "Bethlehem" for the Son of God? I cannot enter the realm of the kingdom of God unless I am born again from above by a birth totally unlike physical birth. "You must be born again" ( John 3:7 ). This is not a command, but a fact based on the authority of God. The evidence of the new birth is that I yield myself so completely to God that "Christ is formed" in me. And once "Christ is formed" in me, His nature immediately begins to work through me.

God Evident in the Flesh. This is what is made so profoundly possible for you and for me through the redemption of man by Jesus Christ.

- My Utmost for His Highest December 25 -

Weddings...

The past few months have been filled with shooting wedding videos for some awesome couples! It has been a blessing to be a part of each of these couples' lives on their special day and to see them make this important covenant before the Lord. Now we are beginning the process of editing these weddings.

Photography compliments of Heather Johnson
Amanda Brymer & Ann Bollinger

DSL Upgrade!

Well friends, I just wanted to update you all as to what type of DSL package we are using and the speeds that we are getting here in Neosho, MO! We had SBC change our package from the "Pro" to the "Elite"!!! It was about a $7 more per month charge but wow it sure made a big difference.


The download speeds went from 2.7mbits to 5.4mbits and upload speeds went up from 384kbps to 768kbps!!! We are able to download 500MB in around 11mins. Anywho that is the Bollinger Clan tech update for today!

Other than the slow DSL we are all doing fine and keeping busy and enjoying this beautiful summer that the Lord has provided for us.

Bollingers

Photojournalism??

Today was an eventful day in which I was able to use my newly acquired skill of photojournalism. It is always nice to have a camera at hand, for you never know what you will see!

In our little town it seems as though the friendly duck decided to hatch her ducklings under a furniture store sign. Poor little things! One of them was found half baked in the sun until someone rescued it.

The scene became even more exciting as some of the ducklings tried to jump up the curb to get back to their nest. They were unsuccessful and their mother proceeded to relocate them.

She started by checking the traffic on the road. Then she led her little ducklings down the road to our city park.

Hopefully, this is where they found their new home. Be careful the next time you are driving and always watch for duck crossings. :-)

2006 Winter Greetings from the Bollingers

It was great to hear from so many of you at Christmas! February seems to be our best month to catch up from the busyness of the summer, fall and holiday season. So, here we are writing our yearly letter. This past year we have had opportunities to learn, balance our time, serve others, and fellowship with our many friends and family. We have enjoyed opening our home to various ministry opportunities and the people involved in them.

Our precious Uncle Jack went home to be with the Lord in March. We miss him so much and his godly wisdom. Granny Bollinger had a serious bout with her heart in August, for which we praise God that she has recovered well. Later that month, Jim had his worst episode in 20 years with his inner ear problem, which had him flat on his back for several days. It took a few weeks before the dizziness really subsided. Grandpa Bollinger experienced some health issues in December, but he is much better now and back enjoying his golfing and woodworking. Four of our dear friends have faced cancer during 2005, all of them teaching us how faithful God is as the Great Physician, who continues to care for these dear ones. Through all of these things, our prayer life has been strengthened and we have been reminded of how temporary this life really is. We truly must make each day count for eternity.

Nathan and Chiree were busy throughout the year working with ministries and corporate video work. They produced videos of Bible clubs in the public schools, Child Evangelism teaching tools videos for summer Bible clubs, and highlight videos from their month in Oklahoma City working with "Operation Salt and Light" summer Bible clubs. Their corporate work with Precious Moments, the Swift National 2005 Convention, wedding cinematography and various local business needs kept them busy and provided them the funds to work with various ministry/video needs.

We raised a litter of Labradoodles again last spring. They became a part of our family for their first 8 weeks until they flew to their new homes all over the United States. We often thank our $25 dog, Polly, for her contribution to the economy of our household. We laugh that she has made more money than any single cow of ours ever did! (See www.bollingerdoodles.com to view a 2-minute video of our puppies. Be sure to turn up your speakers for the background music.)

For the fall semester, my niece, Rachel Dellinger, lived with my mother while she attended college here. It was fun to watch grandma (age 81) and granddaughter (age 18) mesh their lifestyles together!

We had a big reunion of the Bollinger Clan in September when Jim’s niece, Natalie Diliberto, married Nathan Senger in a beautiful wedding ceremony at Topeka Bible Church. It is always such an encouragement to see two dedicated young people make lasting vows and begin their new lives as man and wife serving the Lord together!

On November 18th, Chiree and I were invited to the home birth of Isaac David Snow. After having 6 lovely daughters, Curtis and Melissa Snow had their first son. Little did we know that two weeks later Chiree and I would help take care of little Isaac and his older sisters when Melissa was suddenly diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer. This dear family has truly blessed our lives as we watch them daily trust the Lord for His provision and healing. In January, Chiree took over the home schooling the 5 oldest girls. (You can read Melissa’s story at www.caringbridge.org, site name: melissasnow.)

One of the most life-changing things that we are involved with began in November working with a new ministry called “From Prison to Purpose". This ministry helps families of prisoners to understand the needs of prisoners when they are released and to help churches come alongside in meeting those needs. Being a part of this ministry has allowed us to meet paroled prisoners and also to go into the only women’s prison in Arkansas. This prison has an intense program, which involves leading these women to the Lord and then discipling them. It is called the PAL Program (Principles in Application for Life). “From Prison to Purpose” ministry has greatly impacted our lives and we look forward to seeing how the Lord is going to use it. The promotional video sharing about the ministry contains testimonies of several women prisoners in the PAL program and also of several leaders in the prison. Several have expressed an interest in this video. We will let you know when it is completed and available for viewing on-line.

Many of our relatives were able to be together during the holidays. All the Bollingers that live in the area joined my sister’s family, the Dellingers from Denver, during Christmas at Grandma Mitchell’s. We are always grateful for time with our extended family and for the blessing of making great memories together!

To our friends and family nearby---we cherish our times with you. And to our friends and family further away, thank you for keeping in touch by phone, mail or e-mail. All of you are dear to us! May the Lord bless you with all He desires for your lives.

Jim, Ann, Nathan and Chiree

P.S. For those who missed our Winter 2005 Greeting, it can be read at: http://www.cnook.net

First Post!

Ok, we thought we would start a blog for our family, so here is our first post!

Shot this photo at my grandparents' house!
There were tons of birds eating on my grandpa's feeder. I just happened to fire one when these two birds started fighting! :)

Nathan







Canon Rebel XT with 70-200mm f4.0 lens