The Nomadic Koerbers: December 2009

As many of you know, one my many endearing nicknames is Frauzer - which is a loose derivative of the German word for wife. Well, yesterday was her 30th birthday, so I am now officially married to an old Frauzer. For the last 7 months, I've felt a little strange being a 30-something married to a 20-something woman, so I'm glad that we're once again in the same decade of life :) Though yesterday was Sharon's birthday, the major celebration we had for her was a surprise party the week before while her friend Julia (and her daughter Alyssa) was here visiting from Texas. It was a great time to celebrate her birthday with her family and close friends - and I was so grateful for those that made the surprise possible.

Anyways, I wanted to take this occasion to share just how thankful I am to have my Frauzer in my life. Though she loves to ask me if I've gotten bored with her yet - I honestly can say that she is not the type of person you can get bored with :) After five years of marriage and two years of parenthood - we still have a lot of fun together and are just as much rivals in board games as we were at the beginning. Though she still claims that I ALWAYS win every game we play, a tally of the results of the last few months would likely reveal otherwise.

In addition to being such a great mommy and homemaker - I have been so proud to see how she has gotten involved in the refugee community in Clarkston. As one of the primary volunteers with the Refugee Sewing Society (RSS), it has been amazing to see the impact that she has had on that ministry and the women involved over the past several months. The goal of the RSS is to use sewing as a tool to minister to the refugee women who have experienced all sorts of trauma while also allowing them to obtain some much-needed income through the sale of their products. The major project Sharon has been working with is getting the ladies to make cloth diapers that are in high demand both within and outside of the refugee community. In addition to the dramatic cost savings they allow - they are also much more environmentally friendly, which we all know is especially appealing nowadays. If you want to learn more about the RSS, you can read the blog of the organization's founder (http://palmermissions.blogspot.com/). Also, the first batch of diapers has been completed, so please contact us if you're interested in knowing how you can order some.

Finally, Sharon has also been involved a lot recently in helping out the Iraqi refugee family that we're sponsoring through World Relief - a Christian refugee resettlement organization. Though I've been involved primarily with driving the dad, Hasan, to and from doctor's appointments and the grocery store - Sharon has had a great impact on the mom, Enas, and their 2 year old daughter Fatima. It has been neat to see the bond that has developed between Sharon and Enas, and we feel blessed to be able to be a small part of this family's lives as they transition to the US.