Keith and Angela Duncan impacting lives for eternity Krista’s Graduation Trip
During spring break in March, we went on a trip to Branson, MO, for Krista’s graduation trip!! We had a lot of fun and made some special memories!
We ate some delicious food and the kids even tried alligator for the first time!
We were able to go mini golfing inside…
…and even played some pop-a-shot at the arcade…
The hotel that we stayed at included some shows so we enjoyed those…
and enjoyed the snacks as well!!!
Kaylee and Krista found some fabulous hats!!!
AND
even though it SNOWED, we had a great time! We are thankful we were able to have this time as a family! Please pray for Krista over these next few weeks before graduation. Pray that God would give her peace in the midst of all of the busyness of life. Pray that she would be able to stay focused on the tasks at hand and that she would just take one day at a time. And pray that she would finish out her high school days well. Thank you for your love and encouragement in our lives. We appreciate all of you so much and thank God for your part in our lives.
Checking Ears!!!
Each semester we hold a “clinic” for students to learn how to use an otoscope, stethescope, give injections, and other things that might come in handy when living overseas. The last couple of semesters I have had the privilege of helping these students with the otoscope/ear portion of this one day “class.” I usually give a little history of our experiences with ear troubles such as all the years that Alec and Krista went having tubes put in a number of times and then their tonsils and adenoids removed, etc just to let them all know that even though I am NOT a nurse, I do have some “life experience” with ear issues.
Then we look in ears.
The “guinea pig” sits still while everyone takes a turn while I hold the otoscope so they know what they are looking for as far as a shiny, pearly, healthy ear drum.
Then they get to “experiment” on each other to see if they can actually locate the ear drum and sometimes even see the hammer, anvil, and stirrup behind a very clear ear drum!
Please pray for these second semester students as they consider where God wants to use them. They are here at the MTC to receive training that will be helpful for when they live overseas so please pray that Keith and I can be a real encouragment and help to them as they study. Pray that we would continue to be a light to the unreached tribes around the world through these missionary candidates that hope to one day be serving the Lord in the ends of the earth!!!
Giving Thanks…
This year for Thanksgiving we were once again able to host our precious MK’s that are here in college with parents still overseas. We love having them at our house and truly feel it a real privilege to host this great group of kids.
Whenever this group gets together, it is truly like they have never been apart. They had a lot of fun doing things like sitting around playing “Catch Phrase”, having a bonfire one night when it was just 30 degrees outside, playing…
“Round the World” ping pong and…
you know that it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving at Duncan’s without some basketball even though Keith couldn’t play this year because of his broken finger…
…and these are some of our beautiful basketball players!!
I even had them work for their food by having them put my Christmas lights on my roof…
And it would NOT be Thanksgiving without our “Annual POLAR PLUNGE…”
We had such a great week and really do feel lucky to be involved in these kids lives even if it is only once a year at Thanksgiving. This year, we are giving thanks for wonderful friends and family all around the world and we thank the Lord for your part in our lives.
Teaching – Simple Living
Every semester I get to do one of my favorite things – teach a “simple living” cooking class to missionary students that are heading overseas to Asia Pacific — which is, of course, where we lived for so many years. I absolutely love this class for a few reasons. First, I love to talk to the students about spices and flavors and foods they can be sure they will eat when they live overseas. Secondly, cooking and teaching are two of the things I love to do so when they actually go together, I am in my “element.” Lastly, I love to share the amazing flavors of Asia Pacific with the students!!! This past week we had our simple living cooking class.
I set the students up at different stations around the kitchen with all them working on different dishes that we are composing for our lunch…
We spent the morning learning about spices while we made some fresh curry paste…
We talked about how to cut hot chili peppers without burning your fingers and the dangers of different types of peppers that do and can burn your hands for hours…
We made the perfect cake for “village life” called wacky cake because it doesn’t use any eggs, milk or butter, but instead uses vinegar and soda to interact and cause it to rise…
We broke down a whole chicken
then learned about cooking it in a pressure cooker…
We put together a delicious fruit salad with coconut milk, coconut juice, mango and some other tropical fruit…
Then we got to sit down and enjoy the food we worked on all morning long…YUM!!
I am so thankful for the privilege of working with these wonderful students. I love being able to help them prepare for life overseas in this small way of just cooking some dishes that are specific to the area of the world in which they plan on serving in their future ministry. Please pray with us that God would continue to use Keith and I to minister to lives and encourage those who are heading overseas. We are thrilled that God is continuing to raise up those desiring to serve God by taking the Gospel to unreached people groups around the world. What a huge privilege it is to be involved, even in this small way of cooking, with sending these future missionaries out!!
Transitions!!!
This past week brought some big transitions to our household…
Nicole moved into her dorm room at Southwest Baptist University.
We helped her unload all of her things and worked all day getting her settled!
I had made curtains for the room and they really added some great brightness to the drab walls…
We found spots for all of her little tins and cans that we decorated…it all came in handy as we used them for her pens/pencils, silverware and other small things…
Her crates fit perfectly under her bed…
and she is settling into her room!!
Krista, Kaylee and Alec also started school this week…
Krista is a Senior this year and Kaylee and Alec are Sophomores!!!
Please be in prayer for all of us as we get back into a routine – a new routine – this week. Nicole starts classes today and I start classes tomorrow in Springfield where I commute on Tuesday and Thursdays. Please continue to pray for Krista as she is a Senior. She has recently decided that she wants to pursue a degree in Education with a focus on Math so we are excited about that. Pray for Alec and Kaylee to be a real example of Jesus to their unsaved friends.
Today is also the first day of our fall semester here at our New Tribes Training Center. Please be in prayer for the students that are in training here so that they can eventually head overseas to help bring the Gospel to unreached people around the world.
We feel so privileged to have a part in training these amazing young people and we would appreciate your prayers for us that God would give us great opportunities to share and encourage the students He has put in our lives. Pray that God would truly use us to minister to those around us. Thank you for your part in our lives…we thank our God upon every rememberance of you!!!
College excitement begins…
She found a comforter with bright colors just like she wanted and was able to add fun things to help save space and give her more storage.
She found some fun things like a bungee chair, a body pillow, a storage stool, some crates for storage under her bed and a 4 drawer cabinet for beside her bed…
We had a great day and were thrilled with all her purchases. What makes all of it so much more special is that so many of you blessed her with gifts for graduation and all of this fun stuff for her dorm room is what she bought with her graduation money. Thank you for your part in helping her college dreams turn into reality. God has blessed so much and we are so thankful for each of you and the part you have played in getting Nicole to this point in her life. We value your prayers for her and for us as she moves into her dorm room in August.
What fun treasures we found…
Graduation trip Summer 2012
Nicole got to pick where she wanted to go for a graduation trip and she chose San Antonio, TX. We love Texas!
We had so much fun making some great memories. Whether it was going to Sea World,
or eating at our favorite restaurant…
Touring the Riverwalk…
Walking through the Alamo…
or enjoying a great Mexican restaurant in Market Square, we had a great time!!
We even got to ride an elephant at the Zoo…well sort of…
We stayed in cowboy country outside of San Antonio so enjoyed visiting and eating at The Old Spanish Trail, a restaurant that John Wayne himself had visited many times.
Now we are back home and full into the swing of summer with kids working summer jobs and Keith in his office every day. Even though there are no students here right now, there are still things that have to be done on campus. Angela is taking one class this summer so that keeps her busy and she is now teaching Sunday School for the 11th and 12th grade girls.
Please pray that God would continue to use us to impact lives for eternity.
Trying this out for the first time…
Ok…I have been thinking about this for a long time, but finally decided to take the plunge. We now have a blog and I will update it regularly…I am hoping to figure out all kinds of cool things that I can do with it, but please be patient with me until I figure it out! I am using this first post to experiment with a number of options so hope it doesn’t look too confusing…LOL. Is it like facebook? Am I supposed to use my … to separate my thoughts? Do I have to save on spaces? Guess these are all things I will learn as I go.
Nicole's Graduation - May 2012
So graduation has been big on our minds lately as Nicole is our first to graduate. Next week we are going to take a “graduation trip” as a family and we are all looking forward to heading to TX for a week. We will spend some time in San Antonio seeing all the things we love about that city, then will spend a couple of days in DFW touching base and visiting with friends and family. We are looking forward to it!!!
Tags: new blog
Birthday Bash..
Monday, May 14th, was the twins’ birthday. They had some friends from school 
and some from here on campus come to their party. We had around 20 kids total. "Momma" was a little nervous about trying to do a big party for them especially with trying to pack and get ready to leave. But, after much thought, I was able to plan a party 
that would be fun and not be too much work. So, we had the party AT THE LAKE!!!! 
The kids swam and played games in the water. Then we ate cupcakes and had "bomb pops" and opened presents. There was even time after eating for them to go back in the water. 
Alec and Kaylee said over and over that they had a blast. It was a special afternoon for all and we were thankful to be able to plan a special party for them. Happy Birthday, 10 year olds!!!
Summer Travels
Classes are almost over, our bags are packed, we have said our goodbyes and now we are ready to head out on our summer travels.
We want to give you an overview of what our traveling will look like and how you can pray for us. We will be traveling from Roach, MO, to Ft. Worth, TX, where we will be until Thursday, May 24th, then we will be heading up to KY to visit some friends. We continue on to Canton, Ohio, to share with one of our home churches, Faith Community Church. We will be in Ohio for the Memorial Day weekend until Thursday May 31st. We will be stopping at Niagara Falls for a day before we head to Corning, NY, to visit and share at North Baptist Church on June 3rd in the morning service and at Jackson Summit Baptist Church in Lawrenceburg, PA, for the evening service. Next we are heading to Washington, DC to spend a few days seeing the sights there and visiting cool places the we have studied and learned about in school. The following Sunday, June 10th, we are sharing at Open Door Baptist Church in Midlothian, VA. We will then be visiting relatives in VA, WV, and back to VA again before heading down to Forest City, NC, for a couple of weeks. Then on June 26th we will head back to Ft Worth, TX, for Krista’s scoliosis appt. We will be in TX for the remainder of the summer. We will probably make a trip up to Hill City, KS, for a visit with Keith’s sister and her family and will also make a trip out to Amarillo to share at Family Life Fellowship on July 8th. Then on Aug 6th, Lord willing, we will be heading back to Indonesia.
We certainly would appreciate your prayers during our travels. We will be driving over 3300 miles during this time.