Celebrating Chiree's 30th Birthday

A 30th birthday is special...

and it certainly was for Chiree!

What a blessing it was for her to get to celebrate it with the inmates in the PAL barracks at the McPherson Penitentiary in Newport, Arkansas, along with two godly women–Nancy Leigh DeMoss (Revive Our Hearts) and Stacey Smith (Prison to Purpose).

Chiree has been doing ministry with Stacey since 2005 and has been apart of the Bible-based program in prison, PAL, filming training sessions for Prison to Purpose. These inmates enjoy having Chiree come to teach in the barracks and to video their training sessions. Because she also is part of the Revive Our Heart's video team, Chiree works alongside Nancy in ministry, too.

Nancy's visit to the prison on December 23rd was a Christmas surprise to them. These inmates listen to her on her daily radio program, Revive Our Hearts. They also read many of her books, as well as watch the videos of True Woman conferences. Because of all these things, they have grown to love Nancy and the incredible Bible teaching they receive from her. Needless to say, they were elated with her surprise visit and to have her teach the Word of God to them personally.

While there, Nancy and Chiree did some piano/violin duets so that the inmates could sing Christmas carols. Nancy gave a wonderful message on Zachariah's prophecy from Luke chapter one and shared many other encouraging truths from God's Word throughout the day.

In between the morning and afternoon teaching sessions of Nancy's, she had Chiree come to the front of the PAL barracks where the inmates sang "Happy Birthday" and presented her with a fun card. Then the inmates took turns sharing how Chiree had blessed and encouraged their hearts. These inmates just don't realize how much they bless her life, as well. For so long she has wanted to celebrate her birthday with the PAL program, so this year, that wish came true!

None of this ministry opportunity would have ever taken place had it not been for how God brought Stacey Smith into Chiree's life in 2005. This was soon after Stacey had gotten out of prison at McPherson following a 12-year sentence. From that time forward, Stacey has invested into Chiree's life spiritually that has been life-changing to her. The two of them have worked together almost daily with Prison to Purpose and have traveled for speaking engagements all over the United States, Dominican Republic, and Haiti. Truly, God has done a marvelous thing in their friendship!

Chiree, Stacey and Jennifer
 heading to a Haitian church

We returned home on the afternoon of her birthday in time to celebrate it and Christmas Eve with Granny and Papa Bollinger, Grandma Mitchell, a widow friend Deanna, Jimmy and me. Following dinner and birthday cake we attended Neosho's Calvary Baptist Candlelight and Communion Service.

Since Chiree had been to Haiti for a week in the middle of December with Stacey and the Prison to Purpose team, they had visited many horrific prisons there and also trained Haitians for prison ministry. She found out about the great need for Bibles for the Haitian inmates, so as a surprise for her birthday from many of her friends and extended family, they sent money to her for Bibles. She was so blessed as she opened the envelopes with the money enclosed and also letters that shared how the Bible had changed their lives.

Over $400 was given, which will be enough for the Gideons to provide over 100 Bibles in Creole for a prison in Haiti! 

We are looking forward to seeing how the Lord works in Chiree's life in 2014. One thing is for sure: God will be faithful to her. He will be her portion and her hope!

Great is thy faithfulness. 
The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; 
therefore will I hope in Him. 
Lamentations 3:23, 24

70 Years of Marriage!

A Treasured Testimony of 

Love and Commitment

My dear, dear in-laws 

celebrated their 70th 

wedding anniversary today!

Jim and June Bollinger
1943

Mom and Dad
Mid-1960's

September 28th and 29th was the 
weekend for the big celebration 
of this very special anniversary! 
Mid-afternoon on Saturday, 
we began with fellowship time, 

followed by a time of honoring 

Mom and Dad.

Truly a precious moment

Total enjoyment!

We all enjoyed celebrating the 70 years
of God's blessings on our parents' lives.

"The is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes."
Psalm 118:23

It was sweet to watch Mom and Dad 
cut their cake and serve it to each other.

Patty read the testimonies of love
 for Mom and Dad written by her and her siblings.

Nat was our emcee and added the props
 to go along with the testimonies.

Others joined in on the testimony time...
niece, Nancy, and her husband Jerry,
son-in-law, Don,
granddaughter, Chiree,
 daughter-in-law, Ann
close, close friend, Jacqueline

Granddaughter, Belinda, wrote a
beautiful and very moving poem
especially for her grandparents.
(See poem at the end of this post.)

Dad had written out his and Mom's testimony
of how and when they came to trust Christ
as their Savior...so very special to all of us
as we heard him read it to us.

(Here is an excerpt of his testimony.
You can read all of it at the end of this post.)

Jim & June Bollinger - Salvation Testimony from Nathan Bollinger on Vimeo.



Making memories with family portraits...

God gave six incredible children to Mom and Dad!
Launny, Kay, Jimmy, Connie, Patty, Kenny

This is just one of many fun 
"stair-step" pictures of the six kids.

It wouldn't be a Bollinger family picture
without their fun natures showing through!

We six spouses are so very blessed
to be a part of this fantastic family.

"All Because Two People Fell in Love..."
There are now 62 people in the Bollinger Clan!
(And... 47 of the 62 were able 
to be at this celebration!)

"And God blessed them, and God said unto them, 
Be fruitful and multiply..."
Genesis 1:22

"Grandchildren Galore"
There are 14 grandchildren,
20 great grandchildren and
3 great, great grandchildren.

"Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord..."
Psalm 127:3

 Launny's Clan
Jo
Belinda, Nate,
Ian, Cade, Sam,
Jessie, Kolton, Trevor
Christy (Lenny, Leandra, Allie)

Launny's Clan had fun 
pretending like they were 
 the"Black Sheep."

Kay Cade's Clan
Dean
Gary, Kathy 
Kym, Kinzlee (Jordan)
(Mark, Lara, Alec and Sara)

Jimmy's Clan
Ann, Chiree,
Nathan, Katie, Caleb

Connie Boeckenstedt's Clan
Don (Kara)
(Kevin, Julie, Ryan, Justin and Zoe)

Patty Diliberto's Clan
Nat
Matthew, Avery (Amy and baby girl within)
Nathan, Natalie, Christine, Jacob
Stephen, Elisabeth, Charlie, Emilia
Daniel, Robyn, James, Nonie

Kenny's Clan
Kathy, Kory
Kellen, Terryn, McKenna

FIVE GENERATIONS
Kolton and Cade became the first two
great, great grandchildren to Mom and Dad.

FIVE GENERATIONS!
Kinzlee became the third
great, great grandchild to Mom and Dad.

Mom and her devoted daughters,
Kay, Patty and Connie

Launny's daughters, Belinda and Christy...
always loved and cared for by Jo!

Our time of honoring Mom and Dad was 
followed by a DELICIOUS Italian meal 
cooked by Don, Kenny, Kellen, 
Kory, and Connie.
SO GOOD!

The entire room was filled with the aroma
of Don's fabulous spaghetti sauce with 
meatballs, Italian sausage and pepperoni, 
along with tortellini.

Wish everyone could taste how delicious this was!

Cooks, Don and Kellen, thinking it though...

Cook, Kenny, enjoying the festivities

After dinner was more fellowship time
with neighbors, friends and extended family.

Tim and Holly
Dave and Wendy
James and (Tammy--can't see her)
(Alma--can't see her either or...
 Phil, Patty, and Virgina Johnson)
So glad these friends could come!

Many of us had yet to meet Kathy (great gal!), 
wife to nephew, Danny Loy Barks.

My mother, Elaine Mitchell (right), is always
included in the Bollinger gatherings.
She and Aunt Doris (and Aunt Marie)
were glad to see one another again.

What a wonderful surprise to have Jacqueline
and Avery Regier arrive for this celebration 
with their children, Tatiana and Tobias.
Jacqueline, her sister, Penny and their parents,
Jim and Darlene Ireland, pretty much adopted 
Mom and Dad as their own parents 
way back in the 1970's.

Friends and relatives traveled from east to west...
Belinda and Nate from Southeast Missouri
and Dean (and Kay) from Colorado.

Mom and Dad with Dad's sister,
Marie, on the left, and sister-in-law, 
Doris, on the right
Mom's niece, Verna and 
nephew, Danny, both in the center,
the six Bollinger kids
Dad's four nephews on the back
with his niece, Nancy, in the center back

Dad's niece, Nancy Stone, and her husband, Jerry,
her daughter, Stephanie with husband, 
Kent Zimmerman, their twins, Zachary and Zoey,
and Dad's sister, Marie Birk

Dad's nephews: 
Brian (and Sherry)
 Art and his wife, Joyce
Scott and his wife, Kim
and daughter, Bethany
Guy and his wife, Karen
Dad's sister-in-law, Doris

Dad, Marie, Mom and Doris

Mom's niece, Verna, and her hubby, Lyle...
Lots of wonderful memories have been 
made with them through the years.

Mom's nephew, Danny Loy, and his wife, Kathy...
The cousins like reminiscing about the fun
they had as kids when they were with Danny Loy!

Dad enjoying his brother's four sons

All of these men carry the "Bollinger" name!

Sunday morning began with brunch, 
followed by a family church service.

Launny helped with
the fried 'tators.

Kay did a great job cooking 
the scrumptuous brunch:
scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, 
green chile, sausage, bacon...

Patty and Connie baked 
delicious sweet breads and 
coffee cakes to go with 
the fruit, coffee and juice. 

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed 
the meal and time of fellowship!

Nat led us all in a time of scripture reading
and beautiful worship in song.

An excerpt from the Bollinger family choir...
"I Will Sing of the Mercies of the Lord Forever"
--thy faithfulness to all generations!

Dad often shares how much he is blessed 
by hearing the gospel in church, so
Jimmy shared that precious gospel 
during our church service 
and the importance of the 
Word of God in our lives.

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, 
for it is the power of God unto salvation
 to everyone that believeth."
Romans 1:16

Nathan followed his dad with a challenge
to himself and his generation of obedience to 
God's truths and living out the godly heritage 
of the Bollinger family.

Bollinger gatherings wouldn't be complete

without lots of sweet children!

James had fun mimicking his dad, Daniel.

We prayed for safety for all traveling to and from 
the celebration and during all our activities. 
The only accident during the weekend was
James' forehead cut when he ran into the 
sharp edge of one of the counters. OUCH!
What a brave little guy he was!
Thank you, Lord, for taking care of him!

Terryn loves the role of mommy 
to McKenna and getting to hold 
Nonie and Emilia.

Trevor is a fun uncle 
for his nephew, Cade.

Happy Mommies and Happy Babies!
Katie and Caleb
Robyn and Nonie 
Kym and Kinzlee

Kolton knows how to make his 
Great-Grandpa Launny pose!

Gary and his girls...
his grandma,
his mama,
his daughter,
his granddaughter

Zoey is Grandpa Jerry's sweetie-pie!

Elisabeth and Stephen enjoyed "Table Time"
with their little ones, Charlie and Amelia.

Zachary loves his Great-Grandma Marie!

Trevor, Ian and Sam...
Busy little guy, Cade, 
kept them hoppin' all weekend!

Papou Nat and Yiayia Patty
getting to hold Emilia and Nonie...
two of their seven grandchildren!

All the years of babysitting others' babies
 and now Kathy gets to babysit her 
sweet little granddaughter, Kinzlee.

Avery rode by herself with her daddy, 
Matthew, all the way from Denver, Colorado,  
since her mommy, Amy, needed to stay home  
as she will soon deliver a baby sister to Avery.

Nephew Caleb liked being included 
in his Aunt Chiree's video work.

Grandma Kathy loves helping 
to care for her first grandchild, 
sweet McKenna Rae.

What happens when crawling babies 
are put on the floor??
They move quickly!!!!

These five babies are the 
newest additions 
to the Bollinger Clan.

McKenna Rae Bollinger 12-11-12
Emilia Grace Osborne 1-26-13 
Caleb Elias Bollinger 3-13-13
Wenona Mishelle Diliberto 12-2-12
Kinzlee Jordan Long 8-15-13

Cousins Nathan Bollinger and Nathan Senger 
taking care of their little guys, Caleb and Jacob

Cousin Kellen, 
admiring Cousin Kinzlee

Mom with her daughter, Patty
granddaughter, Natalie 
great-granddaughter, Christine

Mom with great granddaughter, Jessie,
and great, great grandson, Kolton

It is a tradition when we are at 
Mom and Dad's house for Dad to make 
his famous "Bollinger Popcorn."
So, bags of Dad's popcorn were given 
out to everyone who attended 
this wonderful celebration.

Today, October 4th, the actual day 
of their 70th anniversary...

Mom and Dad enjoyed "rockin' together"

before eating their anniversary meal

of fried catfish and hushpuppies.

WE LOVE YOU, Mom and Dad!

Sunday, October 6th

Cornerstone Bible Church families 
presented Mom and Dad with a basket
full of cards and a dozen red roses. 
Everyone loves this very special couple!

The Neosho Daily News
October 6, 2013

Perfect Love
by Belinda Bollinger

I think it's all right to say, I come from good stock
A lot of unique things thrown into one big pot.

Seventy years ago two people said, "I love you" 
That many years shared - known by very few.

God made sure nothing was left to guess
To make it, He would have to be their guest.

And, oh, how their life has shined
With blessing after blessing, and more to find.

I've heard it said we're all cut from the same cloth
Truth is, by the blood we have all been bought.

By grace we have been set free
So true, that shows on our family tree.

Abraham was told his descendants would out-number the stars
And this family He made will not miss that by far.

Our numbers and years grow and grow 
And we are scattered to and fro.

But we remain always together in our hearts
With love and devotion never to part.

I have been told family is forever
With roots so deep and branches so many 
our family tree no one can severe. 

With five generations and counting our numbers are many
And seeming no end to talent and gifts, if any.

We all know our greatest gift is heaven
Yet many earthly blessings to us have been given.

So, to you both we lift a glass
To memories made as through this life we pass.

For you both being our heroes  give God praise
Thank you for guidance through life's crazy maze.

Our house built on rock instead of sand
For good choices made, You had a hand.

From humble beginnings in immeasurable riches
With God always keeping it between the ditches.

And knowing Your love will last through eternity
Is as perfect as love can be.
~~~~~

Our Testimony

(Written in September 2013 by Jim Bollinger, Sr.)

In December of 1970, Patty and Kenny went to Christmas Camp at IdRaHaJe. They came back from camp and were really fired up. I was sitting on the couch with Mom when they shared the gospel with us and told us they had gotten saved.  Right then is when I trusted the LORD as my Savior. Mom left to go into the kitchen to get something out of the oven and then came back into the living room. Later, she told me that she trusted the LORD as her Savior then, too.

Before Patty and Kenny shared the gospel with us, I knew the facts of the gospel that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead. What I had heard most of my life was that I had to be good to be saved. Now I understood that Christ died and paid for my sins and all I had to do was receive the payment Christ had made for my sins! It was so enlightening to me to see it that way. When I understood the gospel, I realized that I was saved and I was excited like Patty and Kenny were. I still can’t believe God would save a wretch like me! You make that decision just one time. If you truly trust Christ, you are saved.

After I made that decision, my life then began to change…a little here and a little  there. We began attending Youth Ranch with Patty and Kenny, a Bible study for teenagers taught by Yankee Arnold every Thursday night. Soon afterwards, Yankee started Colorado Bible Church and we began attending church there. The gospel was always given. (Hearing the gospel at church is a blessing to my heart!)

I had never learned the Bible at other churches I had attended before I was saved. After we began attending Youth Ranch and Colorado Bible Church, I started reading my Bible. I don’t know how many times I have read through it. The Bible just never gets old to me. My favorite book in the Bible is John. I like John. Mom says that is her favorite book, too. Mom’s favorite verse is John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  My favorite verse is Philippians 4:13 – “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.”

In August of 1974, four years after we trusted the Lord as our Savior, Mom and I packed up our things and drove to Hollywood, Florida, for me to attend Florida Bible College for one semester. That semester of being taught the Bible was over my head and intense, but I learned a lot while I was there.

Mom and I are now both 87 years old.  We have been married for 70 years and saved for 43 years. We are so thankful that all the immediate family has come to know the Lord as their Savior. That is God’s greatest blessing to us!

Jim and June Bollinger