Andrew

Happy Birthday Andrew!

A thletic

N oble

D etermined

R andom

E nthusiastic

W onderful

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go" Joshua 1:9

Widgets

Hurray! I finally have our CD sound clips embedded on our family store. The more I learn about websites and design, the more I realize how MUCH I have yet to learn!

In my quest to find an audio player to embed on our site, I've come across several widgets that are a great way to share music. Therefore, since I no longer need our previous player, I've adapted it with complete full-length songs from a variety of our recordings.

If you enjoy the music on our player, you are more than welcome to grab the widget and add it to your blog or site.

We only ask that you also post our handy Button:

<center><a href="http://wissmanns.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" title="Wissman Family Journal"><img alt="Wissmann Family Journal" src="http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k58/BethLW/Button-2-1.jpg" /></a></center>

"I will give You thanks in the great assembly;

I will praise You among many people."

Psalm 35:18

Lil' Darling

:: Precious little [grand]daughter ::

:: Perfectly and wonderfully made ::

:: From fingertip to tiny toes ::

:: We never tire of watching you ::

:: Our heritage from the Lord ::

:: We love to share the happy news ::

:: Priceless sound ::

:: Time with Daddy ::

:: Peaceful sleep ::

:: Our cup of joy is overflowing ::

Many thanks to Anna Rehm for these pictures! Our family is greatly looking forward to meeting our precious Joanna Praise when we return home from our tour on March 10th. Until then, we're LOVING the technology of email, Skype, and photo texting! We're thrilled to know that both mommy and baby are doing really well!

"I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Marvelous are Your works,

And that my soul knows very well."

Psalm 139:14

It's a Girl!

It's with great joy and thankfulness that we announce the arrival of our new little blessing --

Joanna Praise Wissmann

born to Josiah and Abi

February 24th at 5:08pm

7lbs 10oz

And she is enjoying a restful day with her new daddy and mommy!

More pictures to come!

Sound Clips

Finally! Soundclips! Many of you have been asking for audio clips of our music recordings. Understandably so -- we always like to preview music before purchasing it! While I'm still trying to work out the html quirks to get the clips embedded on our website, you can now hear short 'sample' clips from many of our CDs on this handy player. It will be permanently located on the right-hand border of our blog. And will hopefully be added to our website store soon!

Day on the Beach

Last Saturday morning we awoke to the gentle, pattering of rain on our bus roof. Usually this is a fun, cozy way to start the day -- but not on Saturday! This was our one day we'd planned to spend on the beach with some good friends from Nebraska. We checked the forecast [20% chance of showers] and headed to the coast. Thankfully, the weather report we'd read must have been incorrect, because it turned out to be a lovely day of sunshine and fun on the beach.

It never ceases to amaze me how creative and detailed our Creator was as He designed this world. From the crashing waves to the delicate designs on each seashell. And the tiny footprints of a seagull walking across the white sand. How great is our God!

And we did manage to catch some fun pictures of the day --

Alaythia led the younger ones in the adventure of building sand creations and deep craters!

A romantic walk down the beach

Can anyone say "coated in sand"!?!?

This was the first Charissa remembered visiting the beach. She LOVED it and spent literally hours letting the waves cover her toes and hauling sand back and forth along the shoreline.

Racing the tide back and forth

Time for walking and chatting

And ADVENTURE!

Our friends rented wet suits, so the 'middle ones' spent hours jumping waves and having a blast in the salty water. They even came close to a pair of dolphins!

Smiles!

It was an extremely memorable day -- and we're left with sunny faces as proof!

Sing to the LORD a new song,

And His praise from the ends of the earth,

You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,

You coastlands and you inhabitants of them!

Isaiah 42:10

Josiah

Happy Birthday Josiah!

J oyful

O bedient

S acrificial

I nitiator

A ttentive

H appy

For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him."

1 Chron 16:9

A Special Evening

Finally -- I have internet once again! And with oodles of pictures and updates to post. It's been a very full week here in Florida. Most of last week was spent on the eastern coast sharing at churches and senior groups --sometimes twice a day.

We were especially encouraged by our morning concerts for several county senior groups. While we greatly enjoy being in churches and fellowshipping with other believers, we also count it a privilege to share for a wider audience where a large percentage are un-churched. We pray many seeds were planted for the gospel!

But in addition to sharing at these events, we had a pleasant surprise! One of the senior groups gave us a gift certificate to the "Cracker Barrel" restaurant. Now, many of you have been asking what everyday life is like for our family. Well, one of the quirks of having a large family is that we rarely, rarely go out to eat. So this was actually the first time most of us had ever been to the Cracker Barrel restaurant. It was a very special evening!

Gotta love those rocking chairs!

We had fun browsing their gift shop while we waited for our meal.

Hannah likes to discover wacky lollipops ever since the Musical!

But yes, I prefer the Jelly Bellys!

[smile]

We loved the feel of the ol'time general store.

As we were browsing, I had the opportunity to visit with one of the restaurant staff who had many questions about our family. It was a great opportunity to share Jesus Christ. In visiting with her, I learned that she was a believer and endeavoring to raise her two daughters to love the Lord. We had a great conversation. As we left, she gave me a huge hug and said, "This is no accident. God ordained that we should meet like this! Thank you!"

A good reminder that wherever we go, we are testifying of Christ!

Smiles!

As you can tell by the big smiles, it was a memorable family evening!

Thank you, Titusville seniors!

Announcement Coming Soon!

With the due date of baby Wissmann just around the corner, we're eager as can be to meet this new little person! Although we're scheduled to be on the road for another three weeks, Abi's due date is rapidly approaching -- tomorrow, February 16th! I'm sure they'd appreciate prayers for a safe and healthy arrival. We look forward to keeping you updated in the coming days!

Winter Wonderland!?

This morning we woke up in a winter wonderland with a beautiful, wet snow covering everything in sight. A very unusual sight for the warm, sunny south! It's amazing how quickly our surroundings can be transformed!

We've been in South Carolina for almost 2 weeks now. Enjoying the fellowship and friendships here. We're thankful to all be healthy again, and for the rich evenings of music and ministry that we've had.

And now this weekend is the Gospel Express Prison Crusade. We'd been looking forward to this weekend as the hours in each prison are a special privilege. Time to share the gospel with men and women who are especially seeking. And encouraging our brothers and sisters behind bars.

But yesterday, halfway through our weekend of ministry, everything suddenly screeched to a halt. South Carolina is not used to snow. And especially not the 4 inches that quickly accumulated. All Friday evening and Saturday services and one-on-one opportunities were cancelled. Our family was grateful to have an afternoon service yesterday, so we were still able to enter and had a rich, sweet service from 1 - 3:30 in the afternoon. But most of the prison were unable to allow the teams to continue as scheduled.

Please do pray for the inmates this weekend as they really look forward to this crusade every year. May the Lord give extra grace and encouragement to them. Pray that our final service tomorrow will have extra impact. The Lord can do mighty things and bring glory to His name in the midst of all these changes to our plans. May we be in tune with HIS plans!

As one brother challenged us this morning -- Did we wish we'd been more whole-hearted and bold during the few, short hours we were behind bars on Thursday?! We little suspected that our opportunities would be abruptly canceled. How often we think we'll have another day, another hour. Would we have done things differently if we'd have known?!

And how about in view of eternity?! If our life is abruptly cut short of our expectations, will we have wished we'd lived differently? A sobering thought in light of this weekend's events.

Covered in snow!

Several of you have been asking what a typical day is like for our family on the bus. I mentioned this to several of my siblings and they just laughed...."Typical"!?!

But even if each day isn't very 'typical', it is unique and full of interesting and practical challenges. Having 12 people living in 360 square feet has its challenges -- although, without Bethany and Andrew traveling with us, we almost feel like a small family! The bus is quite spacious on this trip [although, in case you're wondering....we'd always rather have the added company of our whole family than the added space in the bus]!!

Right now Hannah has been working with Bethany's spare camera and mega-zoom lens. This makes taking pictures in the bus rather challenging, but we'll be working to put a 'life on the road' dialog together. Many thanks to everyone who has been upholding us in your prayers!

"For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,

And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud,

That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater,

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;

It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please,

And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."

Isaiah 55:10:11

Happy Little People

I was sitting here looking over some of the pictures Hannah has captured during our trip thus far. And I came across a collection of photos that really made me smile...

During our We Care Prison Crusade, we had two evenings where the younger children couldn't join us in the prison services. So Elizabeth took on the task of keeping them happy and busy in our hotel room for the afternoon/evenings. Keeping several younger children content in a hotel room for hours on end requires a little extra creativity. And we returned to find Elizabeth was up to the task.

After Monday night's service, we discovered their handiwork....our whole family in 8-inch 'cut-outs'! And complete with handwritten notes sharing what the little ones most appreciate about each of us. So sweet!

:: Daddy & Mommy, Rachel & Ruth ::

:: Josiah and Abi ::

Notice the cute little baby, too!

:: Dan & Bethany ::

:: Andrew and Kori ::

[notice the 'muscle bumps' on Andrew's arms!]

The younger ones

We're so grateful for our family!

"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!"

Psalm 133:1