Wife to Garrett, Mommy to Kenley & Jax, Aunt to Julie, Friend to who wants me, Daughter to Henry & Laura & Gary & Cassi, God-Mother to some of the cutest cuties Blakely and Casey. Insurance Agent to my lovely clients. I am working hard to raise my children to be all they can be, full of life, full of confidence, full of manners, full of love, showing God's love to others, being more than I am or can be...striving everyday to be a better person and it's not always easy!!
KENLEY PATRICIA BENSON started second grade this year at Trinity-Klein. She continues to cheer at Texas Lonestar Cheer and is in her fourth competitive year, she is on the Youth level 3 team. She has competitions all over the state this year and in Louisiana and California. Cheer practice and tumbling takes up a majority of her time, however she loves to spend time with her friends. She is enjoying Girl Scouts and all her friends. She still loves to ride in the golf cart, do her hair, she really like to play with her brother and Blakely. She enjoys traveling and got to go to Disney World this year, Montana, Louisiana, and had a great summer.
I can't imagine my life without her. She makes me laugh, she fills my heart with a joy I have never known and I enjoy watching her grow up. She is growing into such a beautiful soul.
Garrett graduated from the University of Houston in 2007 with a degree in Construction Management. He currently works at Baker Concrete as a Project Manager.
He is a sports fanatic. However, his love is Texans football and this takes up the majority of our fall and winter. He is an avid Texans tailgater. Every weekend there is a home game he is cooking and preparing for his time in the parking lot at Reliant Stadium. Fajitas, beer, washers, music and sausage are a few items you would find hanging out of the bed of his truck. He loves to hunt and is still continuing to fill our walls and our freezer.
Garrett finished up his job at EXXON in the Woodlands and is working in Midland, TX on a job for Chevron. Hopefully he'll be back home by November.
He is so happy to finally have a son. We welcomed Jaxon David into our family on March 31, 2014 and we, all three of us, are absolutely IN LOVE. ESPECIALLY DADDY!! He has his own personal Little Texan, who will grow into a big Texan.
Garrett loves his work and is a wonderful father and I could not ask for more. He works hard and his dedicated to our family. Being away is hard, but we are doing great, not to say it is without its hardships, but life isn't easy.
He reads stories to Kenley, takes and active role in her cheerleading, and helps in me in so many ways with her. I value his role as a father so much and I could not ask for a better partner in life or a father for her. They love each other dearly and that is so beautiful. He is so good with Jaxon and is such a great help. He has been on quite a few "man trips" lately...so he does owe me one or two...soon.
Dear
Trinity Families,
First
thing is a big thank you for all the prayers and support for my trip to Africa.
It is truly amazing to feel the power of prayer as one travels to other parts
of the world in His name.
Many have asked to hear about this
experience and this is the purpose of the email. Thirty-one volunteers left the comforts of home to travel
to a city recently struck by terrorists. Answering the call to "go",
the reward was a week of great blessings for all. Trinity/Klein was joined by
members of Memorial/Katy, Trinity/Sealy, St. John/Cypress, Crosspoint/Katy, and
Grace/Crockett.
We arrived at our lodging about
midnight on Friday, the 4th. Saturday was a day
of adjusting to the time change. We had a chance to go on safari and watch
lions, hippos, rhinos, giraffes, etc. in the wild. Our day culminated in a
meaningful worship service in the evening led by "retired" Pastor
Dale Leland in which he entitled his homily "What are you doing here?"
Maybe the new missionaries were thinking exactly the same question :-) Sunday
morning we parted into four teams and with our trustworthy drivers departed for
our respective dwellings of the next five days.
Bruce and Mickey Martin led the team I
was on. The team consisted of myself, my daughter Emily, my mother Evelyn, her
sisters Sis and Linda, and Sis's daughter Janette. A family affair for sure!
Our mission was in Rongai,
Kenya which is described as a sensory overload of sights, smells, people and
relative poverty - and an area with a powerful outreach of Christ's message of
love and forgiveness. This outlying area of Nairobi had no church presence one
year ago, but after two previous clinics the congregation is now worshiping in
a temporary structure with Sundays being 'standing room only'. During this most
recent clinic we met 1450 Rongai clients who were also encouraged and loved
with the shared Gospel and medical aid. 22 cataract surgeries and a retinal
reattachment are scheduled as well as the correction of a rare congenital
cataract on an 18 month old boy. These procedures are possible due to the
generous support of our home congregations. Over 150 clinic visitors have
indicated a desire to attend services at the Evangelical Lutheran Church. The
little church in Rongai will no doubt resound even more loudly and joyously
with Swahili hymns and praise as it makes room for new believers.
Hallelujah!" We had the privilege of attending worship their on the 5th,
A three hour service that enriched us all. As for the length of service, I am
more flustered at a traffic light than a Kenyan church service.
The next five days were worked in the vision
clinic. A typical routine for a visitor to the clinic was to get checked via
eye chart (Emily), sent to triage (Bruce and Janette) to assess needs and see
where Jesus was in their lives. Next they were sent to the doctor clinic for
screening by local doctors, then to be refracted by me (measured for glasses),
sent to Mickey, Sis, and Linda for the assemblage of glasses and a fitting, and
finally to Evelyn for reading glasses. All along the love of Christ was shared.
Many emotional stories could be shared. Children that stick in my mind are John
Paul and Angel. Seeing their faces light up with sheer amazement as they
received their glasses as they saw things they did not know existed. "I
can see that building." These simple, strong words spoken by a child with
very little in regards to the material in a Kenyan slum were very powerful.
Words of gratitude and kindness were showered on all of us continually. But
leaving a new friend and hearing their salutation of "I will see you in
heaven" made us all feel blessed and rich in our hearts to a level that is
difficult to put into words.
Here are highlights from the other locations:
Pastor Dale Leland and his wife Sieg
now from Memorial/Katy led a team of six more volunteers to Rombo, a town on
the border of Tanzania. A new location picked by the ELCK, the people were
grateful for the opportunity of help given to them. Dale shares, "The October 2013 Kenya mission adventure
was wonderful. Second only to the expressions of joy at sharing faith in Jesus
and seeing sight restored and corrected, is the first time mission volunteer
saying, "next time we..." The next time is an expression of new or
renewed excitement over seeing the Holy Spirit's handiwork. Next time, is your
chance to be part of one of God's greatest adventures. The next time is the
first week of June, 2014. Try it. You will see
something special."
Team number three was led by Karen Frerking and Alan Carmichael.
The team was composed of five additional missionaries from three
congregations. Karen tells, "The Kilgoris clinic featured open air windows (there was
no glass), natural lighting (there was no electricity), and free access (there
were no doors). You see, we held the clinic in an unfinished building that will
eventually be used as a girls' dormitory for the boarding students at Kilgoris
Government Primary School, and it was ideal for our needs. A team of four
doctors saw nearly everyone who came through the clinic, and they performed 42
surgeries to remedy cataracts and other eye ailments. We delivered Braille
books to the teacher at the school, we shared the Good News with the more than
1,200 visitors to the clinic, and we all grew in respect of the Kenyans and
faith in the goodness of God. God blessed us abundantly!"
The fourth team was led by Ray and
Flora Tacquard. It was a combination of six more members from three different
congregations. Ray writes, "Our team was privileged to go to Emali, a major crossroads
on the highway to Mombasa, the primary port serving not only Kenya but Tanzania
and Uganda as well. With a constant flow of truck traffic 24/7, prostitution
and aids flourish. The area badly needs Christ as a part of their daily life.
In response to that great need the ELCK and Vision for Kenya plan to plant a
new church in that town. We were very encouraged by the Holy Spirit bringing 63
new believers to faith during this clinic. Once again NURU (Lutheran Hour
Ministries) provided great assistance with the evangelism at the clinics and by
showing the "Jesus" film in the evenings."
The vision clinics were blessed with
large attendance, and in each place profuse thanks were given for our presence,
offering both physical and spiritual sight. 5592 people heard the gospel
message by an evangelist or pastor and were seen by a doctor who specializes in
eye care. Reading glasses and distance glasses were given to 3428 excited
people. 170 persons either received cataract surgery or were scheduled for it,
paid by Vision for Kenya. 110 souls came to know Jesus as their Savior, some
never hearing about Him before and others learning a new understanding of
forgiveness and salvation.
Heartfelt joy occurred as the
combination of two very different cultures and so many different persons came
together to make the clinics a successful effort. American missionaries, Kenyan
ophthalmologists, evangelists, pastors, translators, bus and van drivers,
hosting personnel, and NURU, the Kenyan Lutheran Hour personnel, -- everyone
with differing talents and personalities combined to work together with peace
and harmony showing the love of God and to accomplish His purposes. Perhaps the
most affecting episode was the conversion of a witchdoctor.
All the groups reassembled on Saturday
(my family did have time to visit an elephant orphanage and get
"blessed" by a well aimed blast of muddy water). We departed Nairobi
airport that evening, flew overnight to London, and arrived back in the States
Sunday. God was good to us.
Thank you Trinity family for your
consistent participation in prayer and donations. Both are essential to the
ministry of Vision for Kenya. I have asked for teachers to consider
participation on the next mission trip to Kenya on May 29 - June 8, 2014. I
have no doubt God will bless this endeavor.
May God bless,
Keith Goedecke
P.S. Hey it's good to be back home
again.
I am super proud that through the principal of her school Kenley knows that the love of Jesus is being shared and lives are being saved!!!
Garrett and I met at Lutheran High North in 1997. He came to North from Northwest Academy and I came from Our Savior. We started dating in in 1998 and the rest is history. We left Houston in 2001 after we graduted from Lutheran High North. Garrett went to University Texas and I went to Texas A&M. We spent many hours on the road between the two, to be fair it was Garrett who mostly did all the driving. We were married in September 2005 at the Fontenot Grand Mansion and welcomed Princess Kenley in April 2007 and Jaxon in March of 2014 (5 days shy of 7 years apart, by choice). We currently live in Klein, TX and will celebrate 9 years of marriage on the 10th of September.
Both Garrett and I grew up with dogs. Garrett had Boofer growing up and I had a host of dogs, one in particular was Autumn Marie, a Golden Retriever that went everywhere with my Dad. She could be found in the church parking lot, dropping me off at school or at a softball game.
In early 2005 I announced to Garrett that I wanted a Golden Retriever. He agreed and off to New Waverly we went and picked up a 3 month old pup, who shares my birthday of March 6. We chose her name while driving to pick her up, Brighton Marie. Yes, we got it from the home builder. She is very active and weighs around 80 pounds and firmly believes that she is a lap dog. She is very smart but many find it hard to love her. She is starting to calm down this days and is showing signs of her age. She has just a month and will beging a regime of "old lady" food. She is battling her skin lately it is not in agreement with all of the swimming she likes to do. She is aging around the eyes and after a long week at the lake with my parents her joints were worn out and she could barely get in the truck! Autumn lived to be in her teens...so I am hoping we have a long long life to live!!!
