Dear Family and Friends,
GREETINGS! From snowy Greenville, PA
Its been awhile since we’ve written, we wanted to give you an update on the Jaussen clan and send our warmest greetings to you and your family. The “life mobile” is ever changing and we love each phase of it, well almost . (We wouldn’t mind passing on the High School girls drama part!) Or and the aches and pains of getting older part isn’t so hot either. But the Lord has certainly blessed us and been with us through each step so we certainly can’t complain.
Our family at home continues to shrink . With only 6 children at home now, we feel like a small family! We will give you a quick run down from the top so you know what the gang is up to. We are in our 5th year serving at Crossroads Christian Fellowship here in Greenville. It has been a very good fit for us. We have seen new families join us on a regular basis and the gospel is having its effectual work in the lives of many, especially some men whose wives testify that they are different men now as a result of God blessing the preaching in their lives. We installed a baptistery this year and were blessed as our son Dan was the first person Todd baptized in it. Our church leadership continues to be a real blessing to Todd. He comes away from elders meetings rejoicing at the privilege of being surrounded by such godly men. As we anticipate the new year, we are not sure what effect the economy might have upon the church in our area with some men out of work, but we are looking to our gracious God to keep and provide. Todd had the chance to go fly fishing in Montana this year, always a highlight for him to catch up with our friends the Springers and to be in the Rockies again!!
Paul and Capria are still in Seattle, WA where Paul is writing his dissertation and Lord willing will finish in the spring. Then he will begin to apply for a position as an English professor. Capria continues to excel at her position at the Volkswagen dealership. They have been a part of a wonderful church family, which we met when we went to visit them in April. A highlight for them this year was having an organic garden. Caleb is working for Verizon in Pittsburgh and loving his job. He is consistently top in sales in his district. Abe graduated from IUP in August and is the assistant Manager at Abercrombie and Fitch in Monroeville, loving his job as well, hoping to manage his own store by March. He and Caleb share an apartment. Hannah is a junior at Clarion University loving her athletic training major. She has had a lot of field experience working with the football team, girls softball, wrestling, and basketball teams.
Daniel is a freshman at Slippery Rock University studying History Education wanting to teach high school. He’s having a lot of fun and has mastered the difficult level on Rock Band!! He brought the game home with him over Christmas break so the Jaussens have formed a band and it gets loud around here these days! Pete got 100% on the vocals for Eye of the Tiger and was thrilled!
Beka is a senior this year at Greenville HS and has had a very rough year. The first week of school, one of her best friends took her own life which has been an ongoing trauma for the senior class. Todd serves on the Pastoral Crisis Intervention team so was able to minister to many students at the school. It was a real opportunity for ministering as we know many of the kids, many have been to our home, and they were requesting to speak to Todd for prayer and encouragement. It also was a huge testimony to the staff and administration and we pray there will be eternal results from this experience. Some of Beka’s friends have begun attending our church occasionally as a result of this. It has been a rocky start to her senior year. She is leaning on God and trying to get on top of life, but sometimes its still a struggle. In March, my father passed away suddenly from complications of heart surgery. And in June, my grandmother of 94 years passed away. So Beka has had to deal with a lot of death this year. Plus the stress of deciding on college, future plans, etc. She is accepted at Slippery Rock Univ, for this fall and is excited about that, hoping to major in elementary education. She shadowed a first grade teacher at Steve’s school and loved it! A funny side story, I realized Beka had never seen an early elementary classroom. Having been home schooled until Grade 8, her idea of first grade is mom nursing a baby while trying to teach phonics to a 6 year old while a 4 year old is playing legos!!!. So when she got to see a class of 15 first graders and go through their typical day observing their teacher, she loved it!! Mary is a sophomore at GHS and is spending half a day at the career center working in their Day Care. She writes lesson plans and implements them for 15, 3-5 year olds. Mary is such a nurturer, the children love her! She is in high demand as a babysitter in our community too! She worked at Deer Park last summer in the gift shop. Grace is in 8th grade at GHS. She is in a rigorous academic track and is doing very well. She worked as a staff person for our summer Youth Program at Crossroads last summer, plus did some baby sitting. She is in a Forensics class this year which is pretty challenging and she is rising to the challenge. She’s joining the volleyball team in the spring. Seth loves athletics of all types (except wrestling, he says it’s a stinky sport!) He joined the 6th grade basketball team this year for the first time, and he loves hockey and soccer. He is in Math 24 and won 2nd place last year. He and Grace are in band too. Pete is our magician who is always amazing us with his tricks. He currently is into origami and makes amazing paper cranes, foxes, boxes, and even French fries in a container! Recently at Thanksgiving the big boys(Caleb and Dan) were shooting some squirrels in our back yard.( the acorn crop was huge this year so the squirrels are taking over). A highlight for Pete was to skin a squirrel. Pete loves the Pittsburgh Pirates and also LOVES fishing and he will soon be his daddy’s fly fishing partner. Last is Steve who is in second grade. Steve is following his Canadian roots by loving hockey! He’s hoping Santa brings him skates and pads for Christmas. Steve is wise beyond his years, and is an excellent student.. He is an avid Penguins, Steeler, and Pirates fan. Rounding out the roster is Jan, I went on a de-cluttering rampage this year. Not an easy task but I'm determined! Trying to keep life simpler, not easy with so many people to assist and support in their life pilgrimages. Loving every minute of it, even the days when I’m not on top of things. At those moments I usually grab one of my kids, give them a hug and look them in the eye and say I love you. That’s one of the best ways I know to stick with the basics. I am enjoying having the kids in school and getting support with their education. Its a lot less stressed for me, its still busy but in a different way than carrying the weight of their entire education. I am continuing my Silpada jewelry business now in my 3rd year. Who would have thought?, but I’m loving my part time job! One of the perks, besides helping with the family budget, is the girls and I get to deck ourselves in some awesome jewelry. How fun! I am involved with women’s ministry inside and outside of our church and I have a small accountability group I’m a part of . I’ve been reading Having a Mary Heart in Martha World as part of my devotions, keeping my heart centered on Christ and the one thing needful!
If you have been kind enough to read this far, you deserve an award! You receive the “True Friend of the Jaussens Award” I know I am verbose but its hard to capsulate 14 people’s lives into a couple sentences. Forgive me! Honestly, we do love hearing from many of you, we keep your photos on our wall, we think of you often, and our home is always open to you. Our heart prayer is that you will experience the love and presence of our Saviour in your life. Your humble servants, Todd and Jan and clan