Hostetter Happenings!

Hello all! Here is an update on the Happy Hostetter Happenings from the past month:

After being in the states for a few weeks, baby and I are much better. Baby is very active and I am feeling great. I am convinced it is due to the prayers of the Saints. What a great encouragement it is to know that your prayers very likely saved our baby's life and possibly even my own.

We also have had the kids get check ups and they are healthy and growing well. We've been to the dentist and will be going to the eye doctor as well. We are very thankful for the medical help that we've been able to get while here.

My parents are a HUGE source of encouragement to us and it has been fun being part of some of their activities. They are busy w/ full time jobs and have several Bible studies throughout the week. Some in group settings as in the picture above. Some w/ individuals in person, Skype, and telephone. Mom and Dad are very organized and have great team work and often cook for many. These are just a few ways they serve God by helping others. What a great example! You may ask how they have time and energy to do all they do. My answer...with the help of the Holy Spirit that dwells in them.

With baby coming our travels have been confined to MO so we have been blessed to spend extra time w/ Churches like the Fulton Church of Christ and Warrensburg Church of Christ. In the picture Debbie Clubb is teaching the Sunday school class for the younger kids. It almost feels strange for me to not be doing the Sunday school class but it was so much fun seeing Debbie teach the little kids and am thankful for the tips I picked up by watching her. The other teachers in Fulton are great too so if you are in the area I highly recommend you coming, whatever age you may be!

God has blessed Jeremiah with many opportunities to encourage others by teaching, preaching in 4 different congregations, singing, showing a power point of our work, attending men's breakfasts, etc...  I love seeing my husbands zeal for the Lord and hearing him teach truth from the Scriptures.

Since being here we have been able to do some extra visiting. My Aunt Debbie with my cousin Alicia and her daughter Emma came to visit me from Oklahoma. I am blessed with wonderful and caring Aunties! Thanks to all the others who have come to Fayette to visit me, too! 

It has been really nice going to other people homes too! The kids and I have been to several play dates. It's always fun to talk about child rearing in the way of the Lord and get ideas and encouragement from other Christian mommies. 

Our family has gone to many peoples homes for yummy meals (that's why I gained 15 pounds in 3 weeks. haha!). The ladies at Fulton had a baby shower for baby Hostetter that was really nice. A big THANKS to all those who have hosted us!

Date Night! This doesn't happen very often so we were especially thankful to my parents for watching the kids for us. We went for dinner at the same place Jeremiah and I had our first date...which was the same day we were engaged! Then we went to a movie. A lovely time indeed.

I have also been busy homeschooling Hannah and taking her and Jonathan to swimming lessons right here in Fayette. 

Jonathan wasn't too interested in learning the techniques of swimming at first but instead wanted to just play in the water. After a few times he is really liking the extra tips and attention.

Here are some extra things to thank God for and also pray for:

- Due to the generosity of the Saints ALL of our plane tickets were fully covered. THANK YOU!!! It's amazing to me because the funds people gave us designated for plane tickets added up to almost the exact amount we needed, praise God!

- Due to the abrupt leaving of Cameroon, a lot of loose ends were left. Jeremiah has been keeping in touch with those in Cameroon through e-mail and phone calls, trying to sort things out and also to stay in contact. Please pray for things in our absence. 

- After baby arrives we need to work on a passport and visa for our new addition. And assuming baby is OK and delivery goes well we would like to do a little bit of traveling. Due to time we will not be able to see everyone/go everywhere we would like to. Pray for us to have the wisdom to decide which places we should go and the strength to do so.

We know you've all been praying and we greatly appreciate it! Thanks for reading!

New Short Video!

Hi Guys!

Here is a new video about our work in Cameroon- it is basically a super rapid fire condensation of what we would share if we came to visit with you- we will call it the 'trailer' of our ministry. Feel free to share this, as it gives an introduction and an outlook on our ministry. Also, any feedback and comments are appreciated.

Thanks!

In Christ,
Jeremiah

Our plans while in the US of A.

Greetings All!

What a whirlwind trip the last 10 days have been! Now that the "dust has settled," we are looking to try and make the most of the time while we are here. Here's what we are planning to do while we are here:

1. Have a Baby. That one is kind of obvious, but we are looking forward to our third child. Until his/her arrival, we will, as a family, be in the mid-Missouri area, within an hour of the hospital at all times, as Brittney has short labors. When Hostetter 3 comes around, we will need to get Passports, Tickets, Vaccines, and Visas. 
2. Rest Up. Brittney's medical problems, and our family's general ill health is partly from our immune systems being weak. Even though we have mosquito screens on all windows, filter all the water we drink, and are careful about what and where we eat, the pathogens in Cameroon are too many and are too foreign to our systems. To get back in good health, and be able to get back to work at 100% in Cameroon, we have to take time to rest. That's not easy for us- especially me (Jeremiah), but we will try our best not to overdo it while here so that we can be effective when we get back. 
3. Work on Articles for Cameroon. Many times, I am so busy while in Cameroon that it is difficult to find time to sit down and write articles or lessons to give out over there. As we will be having a bit more free time, I hope to use some of that time to do some writing. The last article I wrote ended up being shared as far wide as Cameroon, Ghana, Montana, and India, so this is a worthwhile use of time. 
4. Planning. Being away from Cameroon gives us a chance to have some perspective and review what we are doing and what we would like to do- to work on planning for the year to come. 
5. Encouraging visits with you all. Until the baby comes, we will be here in Missouri, and the vicinity, sharing about our work, spending time with you, and seeking to be an encouragement to you all. We would be blessed to be able to visit you in your home, to share a meal together, or just "hang out." Time with spiritually minded people is always an encouragement to us. 
6. Travelling to share. I (Jeremiah) will be available to travel and share, whether it is in your home, a breakfast club, at your school... I will share, anywhere- on a train, in a plane, on a boat, with a goat, in the dark, at the park, if your near or if you're far, it doesn't matter where you are, I will share anywhere! (The kids like Dr. Seuss). Seriously though, I would love to come, share our powerpoint or over coffee talk about what God has been doing in Cameroon, some of the challenges we have been facing, and what some of our plans are for the future. 

These are a few of the things on our To-Do List while we are here. There are a couple of ways we could use your involvement. 

1- As always, pray. Please keep us in your prayers over the next 15 weeks. It makes a big difference. While we can't see the hand of God physically, and we don't have divine revolution to know which events were direct answers to prayers, we do know that amazing things have happened when people have been praying for us... the fact that we are here in the United States at all is a perfect example. If you pray for us, it's not just sending nice thoughts our way- you are petitioning the most powerful being in space and time for assistance, and He is listening with a sympathetic ear. 

2- If Brittney and the baby are healthy and strong, we will want to do some travelling and visiting as a family.To do this, we will need a vehicle. Some good friends lent us a pickup truck, so that I and one of the kids can go ahead and start visiting during this time when Brittney isn't real mobile. It is a single cab truck though, so if we are going to make it anywhere as a family, we would need a means of transportation. If anyone has any ideas of a vehicle that we could use while we are here, we would be really appreciative. We would put some miles on it, but would have our own insurance, would take very good care of it, and return it sparkling clean with a full tank of gas. :) We aren't picky- we have used a Geo Metro without Air-conditioning to tour the United States before, an Oldsmobile and Ford Focus... anything with 5 seatbelts would be great. We are looking for anything in the Missouri area first... as we have been offered a vehicle to use but it is in Virginia, and thus difficult to pick up. 

3- We would like to schedule our time here, to visit you all. If you want us to come and visit, please give us a call. We will try and call or email many of you, but don't hesitate to call and let us know when you would like to spend time. You are all very dear to us, and we would really like to have a chance to see you all while we are here. Because of the nature of our travels, we didn't have a lot of time to prepare this all beforehand, so it is this week that we are working on when we can meet up. 

We would love to hear from you all, whether to set something up to get together, or for any other queries. 

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Email Us (hostetterministries@yahoo.com)

Call Us: 660-248-5252 or Jeremiah's Cell 660-281-6223

God bless you all, and we hope to see you soon!