Yocom Family Blog

2011-09-24T02:47:00.001-07:00

Homemade with Whole Grain Tortillas

Healthy Upgrade
Half whole grain flour is better than all white flour, I figure. If you only have traditional whole wheat flour, the tortillas are going to be more dense than you’re used to in the store, and they’re not all that easy to roll out.

This is an old photo of the 1/2 and 1/2 tortillas. The wheat version (left) is rather thick, and "easily pliable" aren't words you'd use to describe the corn. See how it's suspended in midair over the edge of the plate? Tasty, but lacking.

Mix together:

1 c. white flour
1 c. whole wheat flour or cornmeal
1 t. salt
(good results with 1 c. whole wheat, 1/2 c. cornmeal and 1/2 c. white flour; half whole wheat/half corn is OK but crumbly; do NOT try even 3/4 cornmeal — way too difficult to maneuver, lots of frustration and a late dinner will result!)

Cut in with pastry blender or two knives:

¼ c. coconut oil or butter or lard (slightly softened)

When it looks like crumbs, add gradually:

½ c. room temperature water

Follow directions above to cook. For a copy-and-print version of this recipe, click here.

100% Whole Wheat Homemade Tortillas

HealthiER Upgrade

If you get them rolled out thin enough, they might even bubble up!

I tried a new kind of whole wheat flour with GREAT results! I am so excited! There was no screaming or frustration while rolling these babies out! Regular whole wheat is pretty tough to get thin. Try “hard white whole wheat” which is sold in grocery stores under King Arthur’s brand as “White Whole Wheat Flour”. It is unbleached and unbromated. It’s my new standby (only flour I’ll use) for tortillas.
Mix together:

2 c. white whole wheat flour
1 tsp. salt

cut in: 1/4 cup coconut oil or butter or lard
Add 1/2 cup water and knead well.
Follow directions above to finish.

Organization

2011-09-16T12:34:00.001-07:00

Weekly our Moms group is going through a book called “Taking Care of the Me in Mommy” by Lisa Whelchel. This book offers realistic tips so that moms can enjoy the things they value most- God, family and relationships. As we have been going through this book, the Lord has used this book study to help the moms in our group in the areas they have felt they have been lacking, areas such as worship, prayer, exercise, beauty, fun, friends and sleep.

Over the summer we took a break from this book (yes, in the middle of it), this week we will be picking up in Chapter 15 “Organization, They Call Me Obesessive-Complusive Miss Order” Each week it is my desire to share what the Lord has spoken to my heart as well are journeying through this book.

As I have been pondering this chapter this week, the thought that comes to mind in order for me to be effective in what the tasks the Lord has called me to, I need to be organized! As a matter of fact it drives me absolutely crazy the weeks that I have not prepared my lists. This week I have slacked some in organization and I have felt as if I haven’t been able to accomplish all that I have desired to this week. I am thankful for the Lord’s grace!

In the book, Lisa has charts. Charts for her organizer, which consists of who to phone, what to do, and where to go for that day. She has a chart for grocery shopping, which is rather detailed. A family menu chart, chore chart, and school schedule. If any one is interested in downloading these charts you can go to www.Lisa Whelchel.com and look in the “Me and Mommy” section. I am slowly starting to like the idea of charts, for years I have been a list person. As a matter of fact every time I go out anywhere Isabella always asks if I have my list.

The first thing that Lisa talks about when it comes to Organization is the importance of planning the meals for the week. I cannot stress how important this is to me. If I do not do this I am at a loss all week in regards to what my family will be eating. Plus, I would not have the goods on hand to properly prepare nutritious meals for my family. As a result of doing this I do not have to look at an empty refrigerator and come up with a plan at 4:00 pm as to what my family will be eating for dinner. So how do I go about making a meal plan? Being that Saturday evening Mark is studying; I have found that this is the best time for me to plan the meals after Isabella is in bed. Before I sit down with my calendar, computer and cookbooks, I take an inventory of what I have on hand and plan meals based on what is in the pantry, refrigerator and freezer in order to cut costs. Once the meals are planned I print out the recipes (if I get them from a web-site) or if it is in cookbook I mark the page in the book. Then I record what we are going to be eating in my organizer. I make my shopping list, if produce is need I make a note in my organizer what needs to be purchased at the fruit and vegetable market that is 2 minute from my house, on the day I will need it. As I am preparing the meal plan I am making my grocery list. Then after lunch on Sundays we do our weekly grocery shopping. By doing this I am not at a loss of what we will be eating each day and I this saves me from consistently having to run to the store when I am out of items.

Lisa goes on to talk about her children’s chores and schedule. I like schedules and routines. I find it very difficult to operate without schedules and routines. I have found that Isabella thrives on routine. However she is a little bit extreme. She is rather meticulous; therefore she has a bit of a hard time in being flexible in regards to her daily routine. For me the best time to sit down and plan out my schedule as well as Isabella’s is on Monday. We are home schooling Isabella, therefore I need to set aside the time at the beginning of the week to work on her schedule, make a list of the supply’s I will be needing for the week as well work on my ministry schedule. I am currently leading a moms group, teaching children weekly at a widow’s center, teaching Sunday School and praying about starting a women’s Bible study at the church, along with keeping up on my duties in the home. For me it is vital to take the time out on Saturday evenings and Monday’s to plan and prep for the week. As result of doing this, when Tuesday comes, I am ready to face the week. I know that sounds strange “when Tuesday, comes” but our weeks start on Tuesday and end on Monday.

Concerning schedules and charts we need to remember that they are guidelines, that we should attempt to live by, we need to allow room for flexibility.

Lisa states and I agree “For me, if I don’t have a plan, then my priorities do not get done and my goals go unrealized. Life runs me rather then my ordering my days to match what I believe God has instructed me to do.”

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:33 & 40 “God is not the author of confusion, put of peace & Let all things be done decently and in order.” As we look at the Bible, we see that God is a God of order and it blesses our God to see His children order there steps.

As I look back I really cannot pinpoint when the Lord started to work in my life concerning this area. I do believe it is a learned still and I am still learning. I feel as if I have much to improve on in this area.

So why is this important for us moms? The Bible tells us that the wisest man who ever lived, King Solomon, felt it was important to order his days. “Now all the work of Solomon was well-ordered from the day of the foundation of the house of the Lord until it was finished. So the house of the Lord was completed” 2 Chronicles 8:16. We might want to take our cues from Solomon if we want our own house complete.

Lisa concludes this chapter by stating “Becoming organized might seem like a lot of work at first but in the end, you will have so much more time and be much less stressed if you have some kind of daily schedule or routine.” I have found this to be so turn for myself. If I do not take the time out to work on my schedule and follow some type of routine, I am stressed and don’t get as much accomplished as I would desire to.

Now how do we put this in to practice? Lisa offers some tips that I will summarize.

Calendar

Enter all of your activities on the calendar

Plan Ahead

Get items ready the night before that you will be needing the following day

Lists

Grocery
Phone calls
Errands
Things you are saving for
Prayer Requests

Group Things Together

Errands
Ironing
Toys
Keep things filed

Simplify

If you are doing to much, give up something. Pray about priorities
Purge closets and the pantry
Sort through one drawer a day
Monitor your time on the computer

Cute sayings of Isabella

2011-03-18T12:30:00.000-07:00

Today Isabella was playing with my computer which is a "no-no." Mark told her that she is not suppose to be on my computer and her response was "I just need to send an email."

Then this afternoon we were going to Amelie's for lunch, and she asked me "do we want to sit inside or out?" This is something that Mark and I ask one another when we go to restaurants.

Little ones pick up on everything. It makes me realize that we need to be careful and watchful with our words.

Winter 2011 Update

2011-03-07T04:28:00.001-08:00

Hello Everyone,

To bring you up to date with the latest going on here at Calvary Chapel Prishtina; winter seems to be quickly passing with mostly mild weather these days. We are counting the weeks till spring arrives. And finally we have gotten past the flu season that really hit us hard this time. For a usually quiet time of the year as far as ministry activities are concerned we have been quite busy. Since December we have had two new families begin attending church. One family is here almost every meeting both Sunday and Thursday and the other is coming more and more consistently it seems as the Lord works in their hearts which seems very apparent. They are the Curri family and the Berisha family. They are families that our brother Joseph from Norway has been reaching out to.

As I mentioned in a previous news letter one of the families; the Berisha family is still recovering from some traumatic experiences they suffered during the war in 1999. The Berisha family consists of two sisters; Fikrie and Florie. One of them; Fikrie has four children the oldest is 18 and the youngest 6 years old. Her husband who is an alcoholic left her several years ago. Fikrie and Florie had come to our church for the first time on Christmas Eve. While Fikrie and the kids have been coming periodically, Florie hadn’t until she came again on a recent Thursday evening with her sister. It is awesome to see how the Lord is reaching into their hearts and lives and stirring up fresh new hope that can only be found in Christ. The biggest challenge they face is the fear of man. This fear factor has affected them for many years; the fear of what others will think, say, or do about anything. Please pray that God will set them free from the bondage of fear. This fear problem is very common in the Kosovar Albanian culture.

The Curri family is the other family that is present at almost every meeting. They had been refugees in Norway during the war and came into contact with Joseph when he did a book presentation. Fadil, the father, is also a writer. He and his wife Makja have five children, (two daughters and three sons) the oldest (a daughter) is married and lives close to the church. She actually came to church for the first time also on Thursday. Please pray that the Lord will reveal himself to their hearts and that they will come to a saving faith in Christ.

So we feel blessed and privileged to have the addition of the two new families attending the church and we are praying that they will truly become born again. Another young man; Ilir, who is a law student has been coming to our church periodically for a year now. He now considers himself a believer in Christ. He lives out in western Kosova but attends whenever he is in town. Pray for Ilir that he would be able to find a job in Prishtina and be able to get more involved with the fellowship. Pray that a good foundation in Christ will be laid in his life.

Celeste has been keeping quite busy with her mom’s group that meets on Wednesday mornings. They have a number of new ladies that are coming and our house is being filled to capacity with women and children. Celeste is forming a steering committee with a couple of the ladies. Pray that they will be of one mind and be led of the Lord in planning activities for the future etc.

For this coming Spring we are preparing for 2 outreaches; one in late March with a team from the Bible College in York, England and the other with the soccer team from Vienna. Pray that we will have fruitful outreach with the two teams that will be here with us.We will also be planning a special celebration of the 10th year anniversary of Calvary Chapel Prishtina.

That is all for now… Thanks again for your prayers and support. We greatly appreciate your partnership with us in the work that the Lord is doing here in Kosovo.

By His Grace,

Mark, Celeste, and Isabella.

For Support:

Make checks payable to Global Adventures and earmark them for the "Yocom"

4001 Osuna RD NE

Albuqueurque, NM 87109

November Newsletter

2010-11-06T07:20:00.001-07:00

Hello Everyone,

Greetings to you in the name of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ… We hope this
newsletter finds you being refreshed and strengthened in the Holy
Spirit. To bring you all up to date with the latest of what’s
happening here at CC Prishtina; we would like to begin by saying
thank you so much for your faithful prayers and support… This we week
(Friday, Nov. 5th) Celeste and Mark celebrated our 6th wedding
anniversary. We had a wonderful time celebrating as a family in
Skopje, Macedonia. We thank God so much for the gift of marriage and
all the blessings that has come with it such as our beautiful daughter
Isabella.

Since we have been back from our furlough in August we have faced some
challenging times. Beginning with the break-in to our facility (which
we have gotten through), then we have had some of our members in the
fellowship face hardships economically and from their families. They
face a lot of discouragement as they do not really have the option to
move out of their homes away from their families and live on their own
where they have more freedom to live for Christ. Pray specifically for
Besi and Florim that are going through this. Pray that God will
strengthen them and encourage them and pray that they will grow in
their faith and see God come through for them. Pray that God will
provide for their needs.

Celeste’s mom’s meeting on Wednesday’s is going very well, as it
provides a time for Celeste and the ladies that come, some fellowship
and encouragement. They do need help with child care. Please pray that
the Lord will send help for the area of child care ministry. This
individual could also be useful in the area of kids and youth outreach
as well such as conducting a Saturday Kids Club

Last Friday Mark stopped in for a visit at the hospital to see some
friend s that he hadn’t seen for a while. While there he visited a
couple patients in ICU. One of them was a boy that was badly burned.
He spoke with him briefly and prayed for him. Mark is visiting the
hospital now once a week after not having been there for a while. Pray
that the Lord will use him to minister to people there including the
hospital staff. This coming Christmas we will be doing another the
Operation Christmas Child gift box distribution at the hospital. Pray
for the preparations for our Christmas outreach with the shoe boxes.
Pray that all of them will get to us here in Kosovo without any
problems.

Mark has continued spending a lot of time doing one-on-one
discipleship with the young men in our fellowship which has been real
fruitful. Mark has Lirak presently translating the “Calvary
Distinctives” by Pastor Chuck. Our Sunday Service study through the
book of Colossians has been a rich blessing for Mark personally as for
those in the church, we have been studying it in depth. In verse 27
we read; “Christ in you, the hope of glory”. This phrase has really
taken on significance to us as we have studied what this means; His
destiny has become our destiny. We are a people with a destiny of
glory as joint heirs with Christ!! On Thursday evenings we are
starting a study through 2nd Chronicles looking that that history of
the kingdom of Judah. Some exciting stuff to look forward to. God
bless you all and thanks again for your prayers and support.

By His Grace,
Mark, Celeste, and Isabella

Support:
Mark and Celeste Yocom
c/o Global Adventures
4001 Osuna RD. NE
Albuquerque, NM 87109

This Morning

2010-02-27T04:11:00.000-08:00

In the morning after breakfast Isabella normally likes to cuddle with mommy and daddy. This morning after our cuddle time Isabella said "let's do something else." My response was "ok, how about mommy reads her Bible and exercises, daddy reads his Bible and Isabella reads her Bible in her crib. How does that sound?" Her response was "sounds great."

Ministry Update

2010-02-24T11:50:00.001-08:00

Hello Everyone,
Greetings to you all from CC Prishtina... First of all thanks again for your prayers and support. The Lord has been so faithful in answering the prayers of his saints... We see the Lord faithfully sustaining us and strengthening us through trying times... Here are some things to update you on... On April 7th we will be going to the US for a four month visit till August 9th... We will be staying in several different regions throughout our visit. So here is our itinerary so that you will know where we are and hopefully we can meet up with many of you who are States side.

April 8th-May 12th we will be in Northern California (Bay Area)
May 12th-June 12th will be in Southern California
June 12th-July 22nd we will be in New Mexico/Arizona/Colorado
July 22nd-August 9th will be in Northern California
August 9th we return to Kosovo.

Here are some things we need prayer for in regards to our visit back to the States.
We still need someone who can come help with the work here at CC Prishtina while we are gone. Their responsibilities would be looking after the practical needs of our home and church facility, ministering to the believers in our fellowship, and teaching at least once a week. (Lirak could probably manage on his own but because he works a full time job he needs help).
We are in need of accommodations and vehicles in some of the places will be visiting.
Pray for God's provision in the area of practical needs.
Pray for the continued provision of the our financial needs of the ministry at CC Prishtina.

Other than our plans for the trip to the US here are some other things going on here. We have a couple teams coming this year. One from Vienna that was here last Spring... The team will be doing a soccer outreach in the community. They will be here over the Easter weekend. And then in July a team from CC Leipzig Germany will be coming to do a 10 day outreach. Among other things the team will be conducting a church retreat for the members of our fellowship.

Due to weather conditions and other factors lately we have canceled the community clean up project and have instead been going to the hospital to minister to patients on Saturday afternoons. A couple of the guys in our fellowship have been coming with me and they have really enjoyed ministering and praying for the patients and their families.

One young man in our fellowship named Besim who had been going through a lot of difficulties recently with his family has really experienced a touch of God in his life and is really on fire for the Lord and he has gotten really exited about serving the Lord and evangelizing in the community. Pray for Besim that God will protect him and use him. Pray also that God will provide work for him.

We continue to see God work among the US soldiers stationed here in Prishtina through the weekly Bible Study at Film City (NATO HQ base). It has been a great blessing to study the life of David with them, Pray that God will continue to bless this specially ministry that God has opened to us.

Recently we have had some new people coming around, that members in our fellowship have been inviting. Please keep them in your prayers... One is Ilir a law student studying at the university here in Prishtina. He is very open and close to receiving the Lord.

Also this past week I met with Armend, the brother who had back slidden last summer. While the desire is there to want to follow the Lord he faces much pressure in difficult circumstances, being at home among family members (especially his father) that oppose his decision to follow Christ and sadly he was pressured to get engaged to a Muslim girl.
He is hoping to find a job in Prishtina so that he can move back here and have greater freedom to follow Christ and attend church. Please pray that God will give Armend the strength and grace to stand strong and uncompromising in his faith and that God will allow a way of escape from the living situation that he is in to be able to move back to Prishtina.
Pray that God will really get a hold of his heart and bring about a restoration in his life.

Lirak is now working a new full time job at the US Army base called Camp Bondsteel which is 40 minutes from Prishtina. He is able to come on the days when we have meetings (Sundays and Wednesdays) but is living at the camp the rest of the time. Pray that God's hand and protect would be upon CC Prishtina and that he would continue to provide for the needs of our fellowship and ministry.

Pray for Lirak as he will start teaching the Word once a week when we leave to the US. Pray that God's anoint would be upon him to minister to the members of our fellowship. Pray that God will give him wisdom and a shepherds heart. Pray also that the Lord will work out his transportation needs to get between work the Army and Prishtina.

Thanks again for your faithful prayers and support... We really appreciate each one of you who have been standing in the gap. Again we hope to see many of you who are State side this coming Spring and Summer. keep in touch and God bless you.

By His Grace,
Mark, Celeste, and Isabella

Update for the new year

2010-02-18T12:21:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone,

Greetings to you from CC Prishtina. First of all thanks for your prayers and support. This past Christmas we had some fruitful outreach to the community which included reaching out to the kids through the Saturday Kids Club program. This year we did not distribute the shoebox gifts to the kids as we have done in past years. We sensed the Lord impressing upon us the need to emphasize and celebrate the coming of Christ into the world with out the gift distribution. We taught them the need to give ourselves, our hearts and lives, to the Lord as a gift to him in return for the gift of salvation that he has given to us. The response was very good and kids still came back the following weeks even after telling them we would not be doing the gift distribution. Then for our Christmas Eve service some of the kids brought their parents and we had a great time of celebration with them. We did do a shoebox gift distribution to some poor families in the area and at the pediatric hospital here in Prishtina after the New Year’s and some US service men and women stationed at the NATO HQ here in Prishtina came alongside to help with the distribution. And as always, as in recent years, we were well received by the kids, their families, and the hospital staff.

This Christmas we were also blessed with the visit of our worship leader Niti who was home from school for the holidays. We also attended a wedding of some friends of ours whose son got married. So now having begun a new year we look forward to what the Lord is going to do in 2010. To begin the year I have started doing a weekly Bible Study at the NATO HQ for US soldiers stationed there. We just started a study on the life of David. We really feel honored to be able to serve those that are serving our country in uniform. Presently at CC Prishtina we started going through Paul’s letter to the Philippians on Sundays and on Wednesdays we are still in 2nd Kings. Lirak is doing a great job teaching as he and I are rotating on Wednesdays. Our friend Jen who serves in another city in the region called Malishev is still coming out every other Sunday to lead worship for which we are very grateful.

We do have a special need that we feel we need to make known to you so that you can pray for us. We have now been in our present facility for just over a year now. We like the location and the facility has been suitable for our needs as a church. However we like many others have been impacted by the recession and we are finding it difficult to afford the rent which is 800 euro’s (approx $1,150) per month not including utilities, especially now that we have a vehicle which has substantially added to our expenses. So at this point we are faced with how to go forward. Do we just go by faith believing, trusting from month to month that God will somehow provide for our rental needs, or do we start looking for another place that is half expensive? So I would ask for your prayers, that God would give us wisdom and guidance about what to do.

Also we are hoping to do a 2-3 month trip to the US this coming summer. It has been over 2 years since our last trip so we are over due for a visit. During the time we are gone from Kosovo I hope to have someone here to oversee the fellowship and ministry. So please pray for God’s provision in making the trip possible and that he would send help to cover while we are gone.

That is all for now… Thank you again for you prayers… Keep in touch and God bless you.

By His Grace,

Mark, Celeste, and Isabella.