The Jeffcoaches.....Amor y Vida

She's here.....

2010-04-11T19:44:00.001-07:00

World, meet Elliana Corine Wiesen. Trent and Nat were blessed with this little bean three weeks ago and we are all so excited! I got to meet her this weekend, she is looking a little less shocked by her entrance into life outside the womb, and her face has already changed a bit. She is adorable, and Trent and Nat are totally enamored by her. It's pretty cool. Just thought I would introduce you. :)

It's been a while

2010-02-28T20:41:00.000-08:00

Hi all! February is drawing to a close and it has been a while (months) since I've checked in with everyone. Just a brief update....David finished his Psych rotation this Friday and starts his sixth and final two month rotation tomorrow. He will finish strong with his internal medicine rotation, (notoriously one of the most demanding rotations timewise) and he gets to start tomorrow off by being on overnight call (26hr shift). We would appreciate your prayers as we head into the next two months of David's schooling, the long hours get taxing. Please pray that we can keep our eyes looking onward and upward toward our Maker as we charge through the next two months.

I am continuing on with the PA program and have really been enjoying my time in the family practice clinics I am working in. It has been really cool for me to get a taste of what David's days are like as I too put in long days in the clinic. We are beginning to speak the same language, but find ourselves with the new challenge of needing to purposely separate ourselves from medicine and our schooling. Prayers for that balance are much appreciated as well. I have included some photos from our Hume Lake trip over Christmas for y'all to check out.

Love David and Krichele

Family snow shoe hike

Jeffcoach/Rieswig women

Jeffcoach/Reiswig men

David and I took the trail 90's on a ride through the mountains. It was lovely and romantic until I managed to flood my engine in the first 10 minutes of riding. This photo was taken while waiting for David to return with the truck. I am convinced my next go out will turn out better :)

***Hello everyone. David here. I just wanted to chime in and send my regards. Krichele is right, I am heading into two difficult months of my third year. The best part, they are the last two until the year is over! Hard to believe that the time is going by so fast for us. We are already planning for the next step of life: where we will live, where I will do residency, will we buy a home, what type of job with Krichele pursue after graduation, etc. In the short term I know that after completing third year I will take off six weeks to study for the second portion of my US Medical Licensing Exam and attend a million weddings. That's right, one million friends will be tying the knot in May/June. After I eat the last piece of wedding cake I will begin my fourth and FINAL year of med school. During this year I will be spending months at other institutions "auditioning" for residency programs in General Surgery. So Krichele and I will be out and about all over California. At some point I need to sit down and relate the process of how I decided surgery was the right choice for me. But for now, I am off to bed to rest up for my long day tomorrow. Cheers and blessings from Sacramento! David

A thought for the New Year

2010-01-03T13:09:00.000-08:00

Excerpt from Oswald Chambers, "My Utmost for His Highest".

Will you go without knowing?
"He went out, not knowing whither he went." - Hebrews 11:8

One of the difficulties in Christian work is this question - "What do you expect to do?" You do not know what you are going to do; the only thing you know is that God knows what He is doing. Continually revise your attitude towards God and see if it is a going out of everything, trusting in God entirely. It is this attitude that keeps you in perpetual wonder - you do not know what God is going to do next. Each morning you wake it is to be a "going out", building confidence in God. "Take no thought for your life,....nor yet for your body" - take no thought for the things for which you did take thought before you "went out".

Have you been asking God what He is going to do? He will never tell you. God does not tell you what He is going to do; He reveals to you Who He is. Do you believe in a miracle-working God, and will you go out in surrender to Him until you are not surprised an atom at anything he does?

Suppose God is the God you know Him to be when you are nearest Him - what an impertinence worry is! Let the attitude of the life be a continual "going out" in dependence upon God, and your life will have an ineffable charm about it which is a satisfaction to Jesus.
-Oswald Chambers

I found this writing for January 2nd from Oswald Chambers, "My Utmost for His Highest" to be both challenging, and comforting. I mostly found myself hanging on the concept that God is not so much concerned that we know what is going to happen, but he is incredibly concerned that we know Who He is. And knowing WHO God is, His very character, is of the utmost concern to us; since it is that knowledge which equips us to handle the What here on earth. But, the seemingly ever present human struggle for control over our lives hinders us from "going out" with a goal to know God. Instead, we go out cautiously, needing to know everything so that we may, to the best of our abilities, control every outcome. I was encouraged by this writing to "go out" with a new perspective. To make trusting in God my main focus as I "go out" into this new year, and to find Who He is as I learn to let go of the What.

May God bless you this new year as you continue to journey with Him.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

2009-12-30T19:33:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas to all.....and to all a good night! (Yup, just thought this picture warranted a post all of it's own, there will be more to follow).

Seasons change

2009-10-04T09:58:00.000-07:00

Hi friends! Fall has officially arrived here in Sacramento, and we have welcomed it with open arms. Summer left us with one last weekend of over 100 degree weather about a week ago, and we have been relishing in 70-80 degree temperatures since. David and I are eagerly awaiting the fall colors to begin setting in, in the city of trees.

I never thought I would be one for seasons, as my hometown averages a one degree change over an entire year, but when weather reaches extremes, you find yourself welcoming change.

The seasons of life look different for us now as well. I have transitioned into the physicians assitant program here at UC Davis and David is working his way through his surgery rotation. I think we have found this new season to be challenging for many reasons, but we are peace as God leads us through it. We are eager to see what Fall brings. :)

Los Dodgers

2009-07-30T21:01:00.000-07:00

Soooo.....my Father is awesome. As long as I can remember my Dad has loved the Dodgers. One of my sweetest childhood memories is going downstairs when I couldn't sleep and laying on the couch next to Dad while he watched the Dodgers. Vin Scully, the announcer for the Dodgers, was gifted with the most amazingly soothing voice that would put me right to sleep. My Dad's love for the Dodgers has not wained, on the contrary, it has grown with their unbeatable record this season and their addition of Manny Ramirez.

A few months back my Dad took my Mom to a Dodgers game, but he really splurged and got box seats. Box seats at the Dodgers means that you get to go down near the field during batting practice to hopefully be the lucky one that a player gives a ball to. It also means you are close enough to see some of their faces, the Dodger's guest services people are remarkably nice to you, and you get a wrist band that allows you all you can eat from a special restaurant for the entire game. If you know the Wiesen family, all you can eat hits close to the heart. My parents had such a blast, that my Dad decided he wanted to take each of his kids on special date to Dodgers Box seat games. This last Friday I got to cash in on my game with Dad and it was awesome!

We started the day out with an old fashioned surfing safari. We knew there was a large south coming in, so we headed south to see what we could see. We paddled out at County Line and Leo Carrillo and had a great time. It was a little much for me, but we still had a blast! Below is a not so good photo of Leo Carrillo.

When my Dad took my Mom to her Dodger's game, they had time to kill so they found this funky little nail place where they got pedicures. This has become a tradition of a Dodger's game experience with Dad. The following pictures are of Dad and the Jones' getting pedicures.

We ended up getting a ball during batting practice, this is also an integral part of the whole experience.

During the game, Manny Ramirez tossed a ball into the crowd, I looked up to see it coming straight at my head, Dad stood up and reached for it, caught it and landed in my lap. We both got a ball as a souvenir!

Yep, awesome trip. I have phenomenal parents!

Road Trip and Rest

2009-05-24T22:15:00.000-07:00

A month and a half ago, David and I got to take a five day excursion to Bend and Portland. It was a much needed break, we got to spend time with the wonderful Jacques family, Adam Suza and the great outdoors. We also got to check out Multinomah Biblical Seminary which was a phenomenal experience. It was beautiful and we definitely felt it warranted a blog posting.

This is Mount Shasta just before crossing the California/Oregon boarder. Apparently it is not every day that you get to see it so clearly. We made the most of the photo opportunities.

This is my handsome husband with his road face on.

Another shot of Shasta from the backside.

We got to stay two nights at "La Casa De Jacques". It was fabulous, we just love them.

More road faces, we spent plenty of time driving.

My one shot of Portland city, yep, it's a brick wall.

David and I decided to make the most of the Columbia River Gorge and did the Eagle Creek Trail hike. It was amazingly beautiful. I think I drove David nuts as I stopped at every other curve to snap a photo. It is a truly unique trail though, as most of it is cut right into the mountain side. You will see in some other shots that the way the trail is carved.

This is Tunnel Falls, where the trail actually goes into the mountain side and you walk behind the falls. It is spectacular! (I know your all thinking how spectacular my outfit is also, but please hold your comments to yourself)

Can you see David?

Tunnel Falls is behind us.

This is the house David lived in when he was six years old while his Dad went to the Biblical Seminary.

We ate at this great Italian food place, and this is what my left overs were sent home in.

Easter with the Wiesens

2009-04-12T19:45:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter! We drove out to Palo Alto on Saturday night and got to celebrate our dear friend/kind of sister in law, Tiffany's birthday, and Easter the following day. (Tiffany is Natale's sister in law, but the Foleys, both Dave and Tiff and Cindy and Steve have become dear friends of ours.) We had an awesome night with loads of laughs and encouraging words for Tiff on her birthday. David and I were reflecting on that night and discussing how cool it is to be in part of a body of believers, and that we got to celebrate Tiffany with words of encouragement for our sister in Christ.

Today, we went to church at Abundant Life Christian Fellowship, which was incredible! We got to be part of a congregation of believers that had the privilege of being present while people started their new lives in Christ today! There is nothing sweeter, and God's word is living and active!

We later headed over to celebrate Easter with Trent and Natalie's group of college kids that they work with at their fiend's Steve and Laurie's house. The photo below is taken in the Steve and Laurie's back yard.

The following two photos represent what a trooper Cody is, being the only unmarried Wiesen. He is a great sport, as we point and laugh. :)

This is the "FoWies", or the Foley's and the Wiesens. Natalie's mom, Cindy, coined the term at Trent and Nat's wedding, and it lives on.

Steve and Laurie breed seeing eye dogs. They happened to have a litter of ten pups that were a week away from being placed. Few things are cuter than puppies, it is so cool that God decided to have us all start out life small and cute.

The Girls

David was just reminded of how much he wants a dog.

The brothers

Me, Dad and puppies

To The Uniroom We Go!

2009-04-02T21:37:00.000-07:00

Hi friends! So....we are officially moved into our new place! We call it the Uniroom, the Box or the Bungalow, and I am sure it will acquire many more endearing titles as the next couple of years progress. Why would we leave our beloved 5109 you may ask? Well, sometimes God provides in funny ways....funny, small, boxy ways. :)

It all began when dear friends of ours, the Gates family, moved into a bit larger house that happened to have a studio in the back yard. Since they are amazing people who are medical (Bob is a surgeon) and missions minded, they truly understand the importance of keeping loans at a minimum. In the interest of helping us out, they made us an offer we couldn't refuse! And now they are stuck with us in their back yard; they are truly amazing, giving people! The week of moving was a process to say the least since we had to sort through everything and get rid of what ever we couldn't fit or stash in someone else's garage. But, by the grace of God, we are finally in (save a few boxes still in David's car).

We love our little uniroom and are blessed to get to live so near to the Gates family. We get two full years of just gleaning as much wisdom from them as we possibly can, it has already been a treat to live more in community with them.

So here are a few pictures, it pretty much captures it all. But please don't be intimidated by the small size, visitors are more than welcome!

Update

2009-02-28T23:11:00.000-08:00

Boring title I know, but thats just what this is, an update. I tend to have this idea that blogs need to consist of this really amazing story, but sometimes, I just want to tell you about our life. So here is the update.

David took his last final of medical school yesterday. Yep, last final! He is now an MSIII! (pending results of his finals of course). He will spending the next 6 weeks studying for Step 1 Boards and moving us into our new home, but no more classes for him.

I am still chugging away at school, but only have three more weeks left of this quarter and then a small break while we move to our new home, then I begin my practicum. I will be working with the California Department of Public Health on their obesity prevention plan for California. I'm pretty stoked on it and looking forward to learning the practical side of public health.

In other news, David and I decided to have a "date day" this weekend, instead of just a date night so that we could celebrate his being done with school properly. We went for a bike ride on the American River parkway for the first time since we have lived in Sacramento, (which by the way is so sad, because that trail is amazing). And like every time I get on a bike, I wonder why I don't make time to do it more often. I was off in one of those wondering enjoying the scenery and being surrounded entirely by nature, when a rather sharp turn loomed in the distance. I noticed that it looked a bit precarious, but somehow that didn't translate into me slowing down. I took the turn far faster than I should have and went down hard. Yep, full superwoman dive into the dirt and gravel, hands scraped up, body hurting so bad I didn't want to move, one foot still clipped in. It was amazing. I managed to bust my front tire while I was at it and we were 10 miles away from our car. Brilliant. Thankfully a rider stopped and donated a tube to our cause and we were able to get home just fine. I am left with band aids on my palms and the most serious bruise on my hip ever, but just fine, which is awesome.

So that's the update, a little bit of life over the past couple of weeks for the Jeffcoaches. Love you all!

Whoa!!!!!

2009-02-12T12:47:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I don't have any pictures to graphically show my excitement, but if I did, it would be one of me with my arms thrown high in the air and dancing and jumping up and down. Get the picture? So why the jubilee you may ask? I got accepted to PA school! Yeah, what the heck huh? God is so crazy good and I am just beside myself with excitement. Thank you all for your continued prayer support and I ask that you would keep it coming. David and I would greatly appreciate prayer as we enter into another two years of both of us being in intensive schooling and the reality that at the end of those two years, we will be responsible to use the gifts of our education for His Kingdom. We need lots of prayer. Thanks for your support!

much love,
the Jeffcoach fam

Good stuff....

2009-01-29T12:37:00.000-08:00

"Christians should never suffer the voice of praise and thanksgiving to cease in the church of the redeemed." _ Mathew Henry

Mr. Henry's commentary on Psalm 54:7 struck me today. Saul was in pursuit of David's life when David, a man after God's own heart composed this Psalm. He expresses his distress in the evil state of man, and then ends his Psalm with a statement of deliverance.

"For he has delivered me from all my troubles, and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes." Psalm 54:7

David's statement is one of past tense although he his writing from the center of the fire of persecution. David writes this statement in praise because the fact that God had promised was enough, and his current situation could not undermine the truth of God's promise. Let us remember that He is faithful, and we ought to never stop praising Him, because His promise is enough.

Feliz Navidad, Feliz Año y Pura Vida

2009-01-11T11:12:00.000-08:00

HAPPY 2009! I love new years, it's always a sweet time of reflection and anticipation for what the new year will bring. Unfortunately, I was not able to get Christmas cards out again this year, so a blog update will have to suffice.

David and I both finished up what proved to be the toughest stretch of schooling yet, and found ourselves on the other side, reminded that we are only here because God put us here, and reliance on him is critical. It was hard but good and by the time break rolled around we were ready for it. I was finished a few days before David and my sister came up to visit. She and I got to spend a couple of days in San Fransisco with my friend Angel. We were able to meet up with Trent and Natalie on the way. It was an awesome time to get caught up on life and just relax a bit. Below are a couple of shots of that trip.

I got back the day before David took his last final. We had Christmas dinner with some friends after he finished, then headed south to spend some time with the Jeffcoaches. It was great to see them, everyone was home that weekend and we were able to relax and enjoy family. The following are a couple of pictures from our time in Visalia.

After our time in Visalia, we headed down to Santa Barbara to spend some a few days there, before the whole Wiesen family headed to Costa Rica for 10 days. We flew out of LAX on Christmas night and spent our first day driving to Guanacauste. We arrived at "The Rancho" that evening and spent the rest of the time relaxing by the pool, surfing our brains out and enjoying family.

This is David now taking over the post:

Highlights from Costa Rica:

A large family with three new-ish members all living in one room together and sharing in the community that only family can create.
Waves...eight days in a row of predominantly off shore winds, consistent waist to overhead waves, warm water, sunshine and the hoots and hollers of joy from brothers and sisters and fathers as we all got great rides.
Settlers of Catan: A board game that was played many a time between the morning surf session and the evening surf session while waiting out the hottest part of the day. There were moments of joy and moments of strife around that table. Jesse never saw victory while his wife when undefeated. It was wild.
The pool: Beautiful infinity pool (seen above) where we launched Jesse 8ft out of the water and caught it on camera (I'll try and post the picture if I can get ahold of it). Also the sight of "The Big Mistake". The Big Mistake was when Jesse and I decided to through Trent in the pool one evening. We were successfull but Trent split his shin wide open on a pool step and bled like gang-busters. It cost him the last day of surfing. Next time I'll pack a stitch kit. Sorry Trent.
Dreaming about the future: Ma and Pa Wiesen have property where we were and one afternoon we all went walking on the property and dreamed about the home they will build one day. They hope to settle down there in the near future. On that walk we found a 5ft boa constrictor. It was awesome!

It was a great trip with much needed relaxation for the wife and I. We are back at it again here in Sacramento and the memories of relaxing by the pool are sheding off of us like the tan from our burt shoulders. Praise God for the opportunity to get to know our brothers and sisters better and to rejuvinate for the tasks ahead. I'll be finishing my second year at the end of next month and taking boards in April. Krichele has started a new quarter as she slogs through the MPH program. We are excited about 2009 and the blessings and challenges the Lord will bring during this year.

God bless,
Yearning for warm water,
The Jeffcoaches

Finnished......big sigh....

2008-12-13T14:30:00.000-08:00

Eeee Gads, what a finals week. One would think that after spending the majority of my last 24 hours at computer writing a final paper, the last thing I would want to do is type, but it just feels nice to be processing thoughts that are not associated with maternal malnutrition and fetal development.

So it's finally finished for me, and I get a real Christmas break this year. David and I will be spending a few days in Visalia, a few in Goleta and then we are off with the whole Wiesen fam to Costa Rica for 10 days. We can't wait for the break, I think we both are aching for it more than ever this year. Thank you for all your prayers over the year, (I know we are blessed to have many of you praying for us), please continue to keep us in your prayers as David works hard to finish strong. We will update on how our adventures go for Christmas break, God bless and Merry Christmas!

Its about time I wrote something myself...

2008-11-16T17:53:00.000-08:00

Hello blogsphere! It has been a long time in coming but I am finally writing my own entry. Please bear with me as I learn this new art of blogging. Having read many blogs myself I've learned some key principles that I hope to incorporate in my blog posts: 1) More pictures than text 2)Picture captions and 3) Better less with detail than more without. So, I will do my best to not make this a 30 page summary of what I've eaten/seen/thought/played/done over the past few weeks.

This is my wife. Many of you know and love her as do I and lets admit it...this photo is awesome. I only felt it appropriate to post a picture of her first seeing as though she is my right hand partner in crime. This block of medical school has been especially difficult for me and Krichele deserves all the credit for getting me through. I know I've passed three of the five courses and am waiting for the results of the other two to come in. Prayer appreciated.

Krichele's Birthday
Back at the begining of this month my wonderful wife turned 25! In keeping with Jeffcoach tradition we took time out of schedules for a weekend getaway. I decided to go rustic for this years trip and try out some of our new camping gear. We packed the trusty Subi and headed for the Sanoma coast. As fate would have it that weekend was slated for rain, rain and more rain.
The rain was so strong that we were forced to set up shop in the back of the Subi. I did not intend to spend a romantic weekend away sleeping in the back of a station wagon so we aborted rustic and headed for comfort.
This is the hotel we found right on the rocky coast tucked up next to the forest. It was beautiful. It was the first time I'd ever stayed in a room that had a hot-tub in the living room. We were living large.
When the rain let up for a couple of hours we headed outdoors. This is the view from the front of the hotel.
Yes, my wife is incredibly good looking. Although, this photo kind of makes Krichele look like a Ukrainian mail-order bride. I love it.
After a day of R&R, sitting in the hot-tub and reading we headed home. Back to Sacramento and all its glory. To use the left over food we pulled over on some cliff along Highway 1 and made ourselves some bacon and eggs for breakfast.
It was a gorgeous day and Krichele kept saying how it reminded her of Puff the Magic Dragon. I don't remember that movie and couldn't relate. You can be the judge.
All in all, the weekend was just what we needed. In the hubbub of school we often find ourselves spread thin and missing each other. Weekends like this are what keeps us going. Krichele has been working very hard in her MPH program and I am continually impressed by her endurance and determination. The Lord has blessed her with a sharp mind and she is doing excellent.

Global Missions Health Conference
Krichele and I just returned today from Louisville, Kentucky where we attended the long anticipated Global Missions Health Conference. As most of you know, our desire is to head out to the medical mission field after we finish our blasted studies. This conference was water to the soul. I was on cloud nine the whole time. It was the first time in my life that I was surrounded by ~3,000 like minded men and women. Everywhere I turned there were amazing people with so much knowledge and experience to learn from. Doctors and health professionals from all over the the US and the world unite to share ideas, strategies and encouragement with each other. There were 84 breakout sessions to choose from, 4 headlining speakers, and 160 organizations presenting booths related to global health. Krichele was also blessed. It seemed like everyhwere we turned there were people discussing community medicine and public health. She was able to learn a lot of practical applications for her studies.

Some new heroes:

Dr. John Patrick- http://www.johnpatrick.ca/
Dr. Rick Donlon- http://www.christcommunityhealth.org/
Dr. David Thompson- http://www.cmda.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Dr_David_Thompson_FACS_FWACS
Admiral Ziemer- http://www.fightingmalaria.gov/news/bio_ziemer.html

Thoughts that I will be chewing on for a while:

How do you keep evangelism and humanitarianism ballanced?
The Good News is not good news unless it is good news.
How do you become an excellent physician without sacrificing being an excellent husband and father?
Is my calling to be a Family Practice Doc or a Surgeon?

One of the talks was given by Dr. Rick Donlon and he challenged everyone who wants to do missions to actually go where the Word has not been spread. This is the map of where the Gospel is needed most. Krichele and I feel strongly that God will send us to one of the red places.
It is an exciting time in both of our lives right now. There was much to be learned at the conference but in the here and now we will be working hard at finishing school. The conference had lots of opportunities for rotations overseas that we could do during my fourth year. There were also fantastic Christian residency programs there that I will have to read more about. Like I mentioned earlier, I am still grappling with the decision of what to specialize in. Programs like the Pan-African Association of Christian Surgeons caught my attention. They train African surgeons to reach their own people and fill a huge need in Africa. But, there are just as many other opportunities for Family Practice docs out there. I would appreciate any prayer on this topic. Third year will be a time for me to actually try out all the different specialties. The conference also reunited us with some of our best friends, Joel and Melissa Watson.
Joel is in his third year of med school in Oklahoma and has just decided he wants to pursue family practice medicine. They are both determined to make it to the mission field full time. We were fortunate to stay in the same house at the conference and spent many hours discussing thoughts, struggles, and the vision that we have to do medicine for the Lord. They are a breath of fresh air for Krichele and I. Joel and I, both being competitive (strange huh?) played mass amounts of pool. It was a blast.

Well, that is all from the Jeffcoaches for now. Tomorrow I begin a new block studying blood and the musculoskeletal system. Onward and upward.

David

Life Lately

2008-10-20T23:21:00.000-07:00

Hey friends, here is a brief photo journalistic recap of the last few weeks of life for the Jeffcoaches. The first photos and most recent are from a good bye dessert for our dear friend Krysta. Krysta has been a massive part of both mine and David's life during college and through out the last few years. She left as of Monday for San Jose, Costa Rica where she has committed for a minimum of three years to full time misson work with Students International. Yeah, she's amazing. We will surely miss her.

The following Photos are from a trip to apple hill with my dear friends Jess and Craigy-poo. We are fortunate to get to see those guys periodically through out the year because Craig's brother plays football for UC Davis and they are frequenting the games this season.

This final photo is from one of many exciting date nights to come. In our attempt to not be boring, David and I have decided to take turns planning date night. We switch off every week and traditionally, the planner keeps the date a secret from the other. David planned first, and I was provided few clues as to what the date would be. The photo below is from King's Skate in Sacramento, the oldest, modern skate rink on the west coast. Most other Friday night patrons of King's Skate are 13 years old and younger and the arcade games were old as dirt. We got thoroughly destroyed at the ball roll game by a ten year old who rightfully won all our tickets and we marveled at the fact that they were still playing all our favorite songs from when we were 13 at the skate rink. We had a blast and it was nothing short of hilarious.

Ever changing

2008-10-02T14:57:00.000-07:00

This life, therefore, is not righteousness but growth in righteousness
not health but healing
not being but becoming
not rest but exercise.
We are not yet what we shall be, but we are growing toward it
The process is not yet finished, but it is going on
This is not the end but it is the road
All does not yet gleam in glory but all is being purified
--Martin Luther

If your reading this Mel, I pulled it off your facebook page. Thanks for the inspiration :) I kind of can't help but say "Amen" after reading this. Sometimes it's hard to remember that "we are becoming" and the "process is not yet finnished, but is going on" when it seems as though each day presents another stinking growth experience. It can be tiring. But if we are truly living for His glory, this life will be exercise until the day we get to go home. Praise Him for that, for a purpose that is beyond ourselves and a hope of becoming better. The Lord is about making beauty from ashes not lives of ease and comfort. And His ways work, because he is good all the time.

Whoa Life......

2008-09-21T19:50:00.001-07:00

Well, I have officially made it through my first quarter of the MPH program at UC Davis and David is in the middle of his 4th block of Medical School. That means that he has two more blocks after this until he takes his step one boards, (ie. a disgustingly difficult test in which he must recall what he has learned in the last two years and regurgitate the information during a painfully long standardized test, which largely determines who considers him for residency).

The last month has been nothing short of craziness and full of fun times and family. Two weeks ago, we got to celebrate David's brother Daniel and his lady Stephanie as they dove head first into marriage and life together. It was a blast to be with the Jeffcoach family and celebrate at Daniel and Steph's beautiful wedding. The two of them started their life off together with a hilarious choreographed first dance, which blew everyone away, Daniel's brothers looking at each other, shocked that he could dance.

I am in the middle of a two week break from classes, which has been glorious! This week we have had the privilege of filling our house with friends from Bible study and class and this weekend the whole Wiesen clan made it to Sac-Town! It was quite a feat to get the Santa Barbarians to visit the valley, but we all had a phenomenal time. We watched Cody play in a couple of water polo games in a tournament in Stockton, had a massive abalone fry on Friday night complete with a classic Wiesen laugh till you can't anymore dinner. We were blessed with a new camera this weekend, since I lost mine this summer, so here are some shots from this weekend.

Into the Jungle

2008-07-27T22:39:00.000-07:00

We weren't sure what we were going to do for the last summer break of our lives. We looked into India, Africa and ended up in Costa Rica. God opened the door for us to go back to the jungle to serve where David's family has worked every other summer with Students International since David was a wee little one. I had heard tons about Shiroles and the jungle adventures that had taken place there on past Jeffcoach trips and I was excited to be a part of such an important part of David's past

The jungle was incredible on all fronts. First of all, the lush valley that we were in was absolutley beautiful, and it blew my mind to hear that the valley floor and the peaks surrounding it are full of small villages full of people. It made me want to just start walking and see who I would find. The missionaries there, Curtis and Cathy were another amazing aspect of the trip. I had the opportunity to be Cathy's shadow and watch and learn as she loved on the people around her. I learned a ton from her, and was super blessed to watch her do life. Getting to hang with the inlaws was another wonderful blessing.

I had a chance to get to know the one they call "T", and I was blessed to do so. I also got to hang with my Pop-in-law which is always a blast. David and I are sure we both ended up with the best in-law situation possible. We have nothing but good times when we visit both families, God is good. Another incredible aspect of the trip was the Texans and Indianans. We got to know a whole team of wonderful people that we had never met before and serve along side of them. God moved in our work, but even more in the group and individual lives. What a breath of fresh air for our souls.

Honduras.....a snap shot into the future

2008-03-24T20:35:00.000-07:00

God is good all the time. David and I were excited to go to Honduras, but life kept us running up until the moment we left. (Literally, David finished a final the day and packed in an hour, I got off work at 3:30pm and we left at 7) After a long night of travel, it finally began to sink in after we had our first meal of pureed beans and plantains.

David and I had a feeling we were locked in from our first date where we shared our similar visions for medical missions. But people can say what ever they want, this was the first time we had the opportunity to live our shared vision together. What a sweet adventure it was to get a snap shot of what God has called us to. It's fun to feel the life that floods your veins when you are doing what you were created to do.

We were blessed to be surrounded by phenomenal people the whole time. Truly humbling to sit at the feet of physicians who love the Lord like Dr. Brent Hambrek and Dr. Darilyn Falk and absorb the what they have to say. How fortunate are we to get to stand on the shoulders of giants? We also had the incredible blessing of meeting our African twins who live in Oklahoma. Joel and Melissa Watson were like a breath of fresh air from the moment we met them. They are in their second year of medical school at Oklahoma State and can't wait till the dreaded 8 years are exhausted and they can bring their training and the gospel to the nations. How sweet to share your life with someone who needs no explanation because they are living it too. No explaining necessary, but vision, encouragement and shared passion. God is good like that. Just when you begin feeling dry and thirsty, he reminds you just how real he is, and refreshes your vision. As my amazing husband always reminds me....God is good all the time.

The Watsons and the Jeffcoaches after a day well spent

Oliver Jr. and David

Standing on the shoulders of giants

2007-09-05T15:55:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple more pictures, I would add more to these if I could figure out how to resize to make them come out clear. Maybe someday I'll figure out how to work computers well.

2007-08-22T14:48:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics from the big day. We were blessed with the best wedding I have ever been to......but then again, I may be biased ;). There are few things sweeeter than living every part of life with your best friend........

SacTown.....home sweet home

2007-08-16T17:09:00.000-07:00

Well, this summer flew by in a blurr. David and I graduated, wed, honeymooned in Mexico, Hume and the high sierras, moved, and started medical school (well, he's the one actually in class :) over the course of the last two and a half months. We were headed to New Orleans until we got a call from the UC Davis secretary during the second week of our honeymoon offering David a spot in the UC Davis class of 2011, set to begin two and a half weeks from when we received the call. We could not be in a better place than Hume Lake to make such a huge life decision. After much prayer, we felt that God was leading us to UC Davis. So here we are in SacTown, and God has totally blessed our decision. We have our first little apartment just a few minutes walk from the medical center and we are just getting settled in. David started classes last Monday and I have been getting moved in, working on my application to PA school and getting aquinted with Sacramento.
Although the Pacific is three hours away from Sac, this city holds exciting opportunities for us. This seems to be the land of medicine, as there are medical clinics and facilities all over the city. David and I are excited about the opportunities that this place holds to become well trained in our respective fields.