Clay Pots ~ The Past 6 Weeks

In the past 6 weeks we have slept in our own bed about 5 times. But we are grateful to be able to say that our suitcases are stored away for now and we plan on being home for awhile! In our last e-mail, we told you that we were going on a camping trip, and that our family would be taking time to try to deal with things that have happened to us as a family in the past few years. We talked about the highs and lows in the tribe and about our feelings and/or struggles concerning them. It was a much needed time in the quietness of nature to talk and pray. We made lists of all the good things that have happened in the past 4 years and all of the bad things. We asked God to help us focus on the good and to trust Him with the bad. It was a great time to get to understand our children and ourselves a little bit better. And we thank God for giving us seasons of refreshing, and the assurance that He will never leave us or forsake us.

The kids voiced that although they are loving the States, they are anxious and excited to return to home (the tribe) in a year’s time. Jason too is enjoying being here immensely, but misses his friends and desires to continue the task of discipleship. I, however, am still struggling with choosing contentment and joy when faced with returning to the tribe. Honestly and selfishly. I truly enjoy and love my culture here in the States. I love convenience, shopping, and lots of people speaking English! I love not being watched through my windows. I love wearing pants and jewelry. I love being clean and wearing new clothes. I love my husband not having to be pulled in a million different directions. I love being able to know when I go outside I won't be followed and touched. I love having a doctor and dentist to take my kids to. I love running out of groceries and running to the store at any time I want to. And I love going on a date with my husband and having the chance to actually miss my kids!

So can you pray for me? Pray that I will trust God to give me the grace and strength when I need it. Pray that I will enjoy this year instead of getting anxious when I think of having to go back. I can say without a doubt that I know God wants us to go back to the tribe and finish well, but I don’t want to go back and just survive… I want to thrive.

Thank you for being gracious with us as we have been traveling, healing, and ignoring e-mails. We felt that we needed to take this summer to re-gain our footing. And we are excited as fall approaches (what happened to the summer?!) in order to be more involved in your lives!

Here are some of the highlights of the past 6 weeks that we thought you might enjoy seeing…

We got the incredible privilege to attend the wedding of our friends in Northern Ireland, Tim and Vivienne (Eakin) Price, and while there we celebrated our 11th Wedding Anniversary with a stopover in Paris!

Malachi’s 4th Birthday!

Getting to spend a weekend with Uncle Jonathan (who isn’t very good at arm wrestling)

When we went camping all the kids were sooo excited to see their machetes again and be able to do what they miss the most….climb trees, cut trees, and make fires

More fishing of course

We got to go to the EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) show in Oshkosh, the biggest air show in the world! Our to-be-pilot, Micah, was in awe of everything. There was a plane landing or taking off every 8 seconds!!

Clay Pots ~ Healing

The new one!

Have you ever noticed that things break down in three's? Our van, our laptop, and another thing all gave us problems in one week. It has been one of those stretching times for us as we trust God to provide for our physical needs and not allow ourselves to worry. We didn’t do too good of a job of it this past week, but as always, God has started to intervene despite our lack of faith. When our first van started pouring fluid all over the driveway, our family prayed around the dinner table for God to provide for us. We need a reliable vehicle for all the traveling we do. That night we went on a bike ride. We went to a used car dealership thinking that it would be closed for the night. But it was still open. (He normally would have closed two hours earlier, but had to finish something up) Well, in the lot was a van of same make and model as the one with fluid problems, but it looked a lot newer and nicer for a good price, $4,000.00. So yesterday we picked it up praying that God would provide the money for it. That afternoon our church dropped off a $1,000.00 check. Also, this past weekend someone gave us $600.00, and to top it off the man from whom we had bought the first van gave us all our $ back, $1000.00. So within 24 hours God provided for over half of the vehicle! And we know He will continue to provide for the rest because we have already seen him pay off our medical bills from all those surgeries.

Also, this next week our family of 5 will be leaving for a 2 week primitive camping trip up north. We ask that you pray for our family as we go. In many ways, we all are still dealing with and processing all that happened to us while living in the tribe. Our children have been through alot in the past years. As a first response it is easy to say we are okay and doing fine; but we have come to realize in the past weeks, that we are struggling and need some emotional and spiritual rest. Kellie has actually had panic attacks when she thinks about going back to the tribe and I have been dealing with high emotions as well. We want to take this time camping to pray and talk as a family. We are going to make lists of what we have seen or gone through and take time to talk to God about those things. So we ask that, as you think of it, you pray for our family. Pray that we will heal completely in this next year so that we can finish well.

We thank God for every one of you and how He has uses each of you in our lives,

His Clay Pots,
Jason, Kellie, Micah, Sophia, and Malachi Knapp

Clay Pots ~ Memorable Moments

Grandma, Aunt Whitney, and Mommy taking Sophia to the American Girl doll store in Chicago for her 7th Birthday (June 7th)!

Jen Knievel/Knapp, our new sister-in-law getting baptized

Going on the paddle boats with Grandpa.

Malachi’s First Fish with Uncle Kyle (Pederson)

All dressed up for Jeremy and Jen Knapp’s wedding!

The Bride with flower girl and ring bearers!

The kids did awesome in the wedding except for the end of the ceremony when Malachi all of a sudden burst into tears because he realized that “his” aunt Jen was going to marry Uncle Jeremy instead of him. She promised to still love him though, so it was a ‘happily-ever-after’ for everyone, even Malachi.

The Bride & Groom!

Thank you, Jeremy and Jen, for glorifying God through your wedding and for displaying the wonderful picture of Christ and the church. It was a neat time, as a family, to have Jason perform the ceremony, Jen Pederson singing in the wedding, and to have Kyle and the kids all stand up in it. The wedding ceremony was a memorable experience; and no, not because of the tornados and sirens going off during the wedding, but because of the incredible picture of Christ’s servant hood displayed within marriage.

4 Generations

God answered our prayers in keeping our Grandparents healthy so that we could see them again!

Not to gross you out or anything but just in case any of you E.R. fans want a look at the incision on Kellie’s arm where the melanoma was.

For her 30th birthday, Jason surprised Kellie with a night out with her “old” high school friends whom she hasn’t seen in a very long time!

Gone Fishing!

These are just some of our highlights from the past couple of months. Jason’s sister and brother-in-law, Kyle and Jen Pederson and their son Noah, returned to Papua New Guinea just a few days ago. Jeremy and his new bride, Jen, will be living in Waukesha until they go on with the missionary training in Missouri with New Tribes Mission in January. Kellie’s brother, Jonathan, hopes to visit us next month from California; and Kellie’s sister, Whitney, will be returning to college in Chicago this fall. For us, we will be hanging tight here in Waukesha close to our churches and enjoying the summer with more fishing and camping. We would love to share with your church or small group some time this fall or winter…so please give us a call or drop us a line!

His Clay Pots,
Jason, Kellie, Micah, Sophia, and Malachi Knapp

(cracked) Clay Pots ~ Kellie

For as unpleasant as all the doctors appointments and surgeries have been, things have gone really well. We are praising God for his faithfulness and constant watch-care over our lives. We are also praising God for competent doctors and wonderful medical facilities here in the States. I wanted to update you all on how Kellie is doing right now.

Kellie went in on Wednesday and the doctor removed some more skin from around the area on her right arm where they had previously found the melanoma cancer. It was quite a large cut, and he had to go pretty deep, but was able to bring it all together and stitch it up. So she will only have a line scar across her whole arm instead of a huge round area. We are thankful that this cancer was caught in the earliest stage it could be, thus there will be no need for further treatments or procedures. She is unable to type until they remove her stitches (in about a couple weeks) so wants me to apologize for her lack of communication with any of you who might have written lately.

She went to the dentist the following day and will be getting a filling and a cap put on in the next couple of weeks, God has provided our family with a dentist who does all of this for free…what a blessing! Also her colonoscopy went well, she will be going for follow up appointments and taking some medications to take care of some minor problems. So all in all, she is doing well, and we are just glad that God has allowed us to be able to get these things done and “out of the way with” before summer sets in. We are greatly anticipating going camping and fishing with the kids and enjoying some of these long malaria-free Wisconsin summer nights.

We want to thank you all for all your prayers and concern for us. We truly feel loved and accepted by the body of Christ. You all truly are our brothers and sister in Christ.

Please continue to pray for our co-workers, the Williamsons and the Mankins. Williamsons have had their first language and culture evaluation and they are progressing very well. Pray that the language continues to come quickly for them. You can read their updates at www.handsandfeet.net. Also, Chad and Janeene Mankins (and kiddos) should have arrived in Madang. Pray for them as they re-adjust to PNG life and prepare to return to the tribe. Read their updates at www.reachestotheskies.com. And finally, please continue to pray for the Tobo believers, that they would grow in grace and in the knowledge of their God and Savior Jesus Christ, and that the gospel will spread through them to those around them.

In Christ,
Jason for the Knapp family (Wedding pictures will be coming soon!)