Trees!?!

More photos...
We rescued more than 75 trees and plants from the landfill.











Here's the crew digging and planting 35 trees!
Since we're just outside city limits- fireworks every night : )
Our dear friend Matt and Eddy get comfy at the kids table while visiting Western Frontiers YWAM base in Meteetsee, WY.

On the Road again... with Photos!

A few pics for your viewing pleasure : )
Our Welcome night at YWAM Salem- Eddy sporting Nigerian clothes, Jess in traditional Sudanese garb and Gunter,Eddy's Dad, Egyptian. (We were asked to bring an ethnic meal... Sudanese, Brazilian, Hawaiian... Sushi it is!)
Eddy and Gunter in Bush Park, Salem, OR.












On the Road- midway through Idaho.
Cody, WY... Home of Buffalo Bill, the Cody Rodeo, and Jeddy Team Geocachers!

On the road again!

WYOMING! Our roadtrip is underway and we're at our first pit stop- Cody, WY. We're staying with some of Eddy's friends, they have a large fifth wheel we now call home- for the week. We're keeping busy with their 5 kids, serving around their house and reconnecting with old friends. We'll post some photos soon of our time. Eddy's dad, Gunter, is here as well and he'll be staying in WY for a month. It's been fun seeing Eddy in his old stompin' ground and hearing testimonies from his time of ministering here from 2000-2003... the fruit continues!! I'm holidng out for a night at the Cody Rodeo, where Eddy spent every night of the summer praying and ministering to cowboys-- I'll have to russel up some high waisted wranglers and boots... I'm afraid flip flops and capris just won't do it.

The Evasive Green Card...

We arrived 30 minutes early, dressed appropriately and ready for any degree of questioning... Paid for almost 2 hours of parking- you never know how long things will take with the government! And... after about 15 minutes we were unlocking our car to head home- well spent parking money- argh... Eddy wrote down some info, gave his fingerprints and took some photos; that's it. Now we wait- best case scenario: They send us a green card- hip,hip, hooray!! Worst case: Within the next 2 months we have an interview. All in all however, the process has gone incredibly smoothly and quickly and we only expect that it will continue in the same manner. We praise God for the way that he has provided and taken care of us! Africa is still very much a go, now we start the visa process and roadtrip.

PHOTOS: Uncle Eddy and Auntie Jess taking care of our little nephew, Lakin, in Southern CA... Who knew a kid could eat so many? Truly frightening when he still wears daipers...

Truckin' Along...

Happy June! This month holds big events for the Soboll's! The 6th: Green Card Interview... The 14th: Eddy's dad, Gunter, arrives in Portland... The 16th: Start of our 1 month+ roadtrip to WY, MN, WI and CO... The 25th: Jess turns a whopping 33... whew!!! And around the middle of the month we apply for our visas to Sudan- please pray for favor! And on the homefront, our YWAM base here in Salem, OR seems to be bursting at the seems- three schools are starting this week, bringing in over 75 new people- doubling are current numbers! It's been an exciting time of preparation and expansion... More people being trained for the nations!


We encourage you to take a look at the Sudan Tribune website to keep up to date on what's been happening in the international community regarding Sudan... sanctions by the US, denial of genocide by the Sudanese government, and China's questionable economic investments. We also finally sat down and watched "invisible Children"- an incredibly powerful and painful documentary about the child soldiers in Northern Uganda, most of whom are Sudanese refugees... abducted from their villages and forced to participate in the rebellion. We hope that by becoming more informed, we will all be moved to action!

On a more personal note... We hosted 2 YWAMers from Brazil for a few days, Eddy's former leader, Wellington Oliveira, and his co-worker Gustavo. Most consumer products are cheeper here, so we spent most days going to goodwill, garage sales and computer stores... I (Jess) had a pretty good time... Eddy tolerated it...! Memorial day turned into hiking at a state park- 12 miles and 10 waterfalls later, we were reminded of just how fortunate we are to live here! Our good friend and possible Sudan Photographer, Ryan, joined us for the romp.

And on a more spiritual level... "His power is made perfect in weakness"... What are our weaknesses and how do we respond when they are highlighted? Weaknesses aren't necessarily sins-- rather dis-abilities, inherited shortcomings/personality traits, etc. What are we doing to allow God to prevail in our lives during these times of frustration, struggle or resignation, when our weaknesses seam to be in control? As they say... Life is 1% what happens to us and 99% how we react to it. We're both definitely still learning and ruminating about this...!