For Tracee Veenstra

Here is a brief video that Tracee Veenstra insinuated, so I put it together... :)

VA Year in Pictures 2010 - 3

Christmas in Detroit! We celebrated Kristen's birthday by attending Noel Night in the Midtown area where we bumped into Santa and Mrs. Claus. We continue to enjoy the benefits of city living, including arts, entertainment, and the variety of cultures that we encounter. Our lives are very rich.

Here are our faces and backs under "the bean" at Millenium park in Chicago. We took advantage of a school break to visit family and friends and be tourists for a bit. It is so fun to travel with the boys at this age. They love new experiences and are fairly self-managing (no more diaper bags or strollers).

The BlackHawks game was another highlight where a friend of ours got tickets and a special visit from the mascot. Ty was excited to be in the pecking order here. He is a lovable 7 year old in first grade at Charlotte Mason Community School. He loves adventure and creativity. His jovial nature and consideration of others have made him many friends. We are grateful for his laughter and love.

The boys of summer in a fountain downtown. We are so thankful for God's grace to us through 2010 and we look forward to seeing how he will shape us through the coming year.

VA Year in Pictures 2010 - 2

Baseball games are a highlight for our family, and this year we took in a few Tigers' games as well as this game in Seattle. Next summer we are looking forward to seeing a game in Los Angeles.

Here are the boys in front of Mt. Ranier in northwest Washington state. We took a day trip to "Paradise" - the closest lookout to the mountain and had a blast hiking the trails and having a snowball fight. God's grandeur was impossible to miss.

Here are the boys on Birch Bay, Jamison is now 9 years old and is growing up quickly. He loves sports and statistics, which means that we often have family tournament brackets and we regularly are updated on the scores, averages, and projections of all Detroit sports teams. He is getting more homework in school, but is excelling in his studies. He is also very compassionate and kind.

Here is my family on Orcas Island during our VanAndel trip to Washington state to visit with extended family, especially my 92 year old grandmother. What a great trip for our kids to see where grandpa grew up and to share it with their cousins. This trip will be forever remembered.

VA Year in Pictures 2010 - 1

Kristen and I celebrated 13 years of marriage in July. We keep growing in love and knowledge of each other. It just keeps getting better. We were able to spend 2 days alone together at the end of 2010 setting goals and forming habits for our life for this new year.

Last May brought the completion of over 5 years of classes for my Master's degree in Missions through Calvin Theological Seminary. It was a long road, and we are grateful for the learning and growth that has occurred as a result. I am better equipped to serve God and his people.

Last May also brought the completion of 31 years of Kristen's parents service at Oakdale Park Church. We continue to be influenced by the Godly legacy of parents and grandparents who love God and love people. Our families have done so much to shape us into the character of Jesus.

We had many adventures as a family including Quentin getting to ride a horse for the first time. He is an exuberant and joyful five year old who is learning to read and is getting excited for Kindergarten next fall. He is often the funny actor of our family who livens up any gathering.

Here are the boys on Easter. They have been active in soccer, baseball, piano lessons, invention camp, children's ministry, video games, and a whole bunch more. They are such a blessing to us as parents.

VanAndel Update January 2011

Dear Friends and Family,
We are entering a new season of ministry here in Detroit. Yesterday I was officially approved by congregational vote to be the Associate Pastor of Christian Formation/Discipleship for our church, Citadel of Faith Covenant Church. We are humbled and excited to serve in this capacity for our church body. Over the past two months, we have felt a clear calling from God to pursue pastoral ministry and we are so thankful to be able to serve within our current church family for this next season. After 15 fantastic years of serving within parachurch ministries, it was clear that now is the time to focus more on discipleship and teaching within a local church context.

Thank you for your prayers and support of us through this transition. We had an incredibly blessed time of rest and waiting on the Lord through December and early January. Now we are ready to engage fully in ministry with renewed vision and passion.

Kristen and our boys are doing very well, we have made some great memories together as a family. Instead of a 2010 Christmas Card, I have compiled a 2010 year in pictures update that you can see either on this blog: http://thoughtsfromdetroit.blogspot.com or on my Facebook page. Feel free to check it out so that you can see some of our family highlights over the past year.

As we look ahead to this year, we anticipate God doing his sanctifying work in and through us and we covet your prayers and continued support. We will continue to be raising a portion of my salary in order to keep from burdening our young church with too much financial stress. If you would like to assist in that support, please feel free to send a check payable to Citadel of Faith Church (With a separate note “for the ministry of Mark VanAndel”) to the address below or give online at our website. We are so thankful for the faithful friendship and prayers of our friends and family!

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions regarding our new endeavor. We look forward to keeping you updated on what God does around us here in Detroit.

Grace and Peace,
Mark VanAndel

Citadel of Faith Covenant Church
1419 West Warren
Detroit, MI 48208
Citadeloffaith.org

Jeremiah 20:9 But if I say, “I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.

2009 Family Photo

Here is our formal family photo from the fall. Thanks for your friendship and support of us in our life and ministry here in Detroit. We are thankful to God for the gift of quality relationships around the world.

Year in Pictures 2009 -4

Quentin loves dogs. He takes every opportunity to play with dogs when we visit friends, but the chances of him having a dog of his own are quite slim.












7 of the 8 VandenBosch cousins at a weeklong vacation at the Cottage for Grandpa and Grandma's 40th Anniversary.




The whole VanAndel family at the Ludington cottage for our annual summer vacation together. What a fun and relaxing week!

Year in Pictures 2009 -3

Mark led a group of young people on a Service-Learning Trip to Jersey City, New Jersey at the end of July. They assisted a day-camp for children for a week.
















Jamison's costume as Gepetto in the Ambleside School rendition of Pinocchio. He is currently in 2nd Grade and loves school. He enjoys Spanish and Geography.

Kristen and Mark at Ford Field in Detroit for the 2009 NCAA Championship Basketball game to celebrate North Carolina's title game win over MSU.





Ty was the first of our boys to earn stitches with a fall on the playground at school. 5 stitches were not enough to slow him down for long!
















We celebrated Jamison's birthday in November with a trip to the historic Garden Bowl in Detroit. Grandpa and Grandma VA joined us for a fun night of bowling with bumpers. The fall birthday season (Oct. 9-Dec. 4) was filled with 4 fun evenings of activities for our whole family.

Year in Pictures 2009 -2

The boys take notes and draw pictures on a school field trip. Kristen is a parent volunteer so Quentin gets to learn with his brothers on those special days.













Jamison, our conscientious 8 year old. loves to read, play sports, collect baseball cards, and cheer on the North Carolina Tar Heels.










Ty, our creative 6 year old, loves games, jokes, snuggling, and acting. He often creates shows for us to attend in the basement, complete with tickets.












Quentin is our enthusiastic 4 year old. He loves to give hugs and kisses, tell stories, wrestle, and generally try to keep up with and copy his older brothers. He is such a joy. We keep regular contact through email with his birth mother which is also a blessing to us.


















We enjoyed a warm fall afternoon at the Cider Mill and Corn Maze with our church youth group. We continue to enjoy building relationships with teenagers and showing them how to follow Jesus.
From

Year in Pictures 2009 -1

All 3 boys at the fountains on the Riverfront downtown Detroit. They love to play at special places around the city like Belle-Isle, Hart Plaza, the People Mover, and much more.














Ty receiving his trophy from his Tball coach last summer. Jamison and Ty had the same coach, but Jamison played "coach-pitch" for the first time. They loved practices and games.



Mark and the boys trying to rally the Detroit Tigers to victory at Comerica Park. Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful on that night and for the entire final 3 weeks of the season.



























The first day of school, Sept. 09. Ty eagerly getting ready for Kindergarten and Jamison impatiently waiting to get to 2nd grade. They love their teachers and classmates at Ambleside Community School.















Even more happily married after 12 years! Kristen continues to care for our boys and our home while running road races (25K in May). She also leads the Children's ministry at church and a small group of mom's in our home weekly. Mark continues to work with teens at Central Detroit Christian CDC and is closing in on his Master's degree from Calvin Seminary (May 2010).

Elected officials descend on our Neighborhood

This afternoon a press conference was held at our produce market to announce the replication of our mobile produce truck venture. Governor Granholm, Mayor Bing, 3 members of city council, and a number of state representatives were all present. It was quite a busy afternoon as Governor Granholm eventually climbed aboard our truck to tour the neighborhood. I don't get too into the media frenzy, but it was still exciting to have our organization recognized for being creative in developing the city.
Here is a couple of photos from the day.

Welcome!

This was the first thing we saw as we got off the highway in our neighborhood after vacation. Priceless.

Long Time, no blog

but not that long. No it isn't our baby, but our new nephew AJ.