Kids Talk About God June 2005 eNews
FROM: Carey and Lisa (Shimonauff) Kinsolving, Kids Talk About God
aka: Post-Wedding Newsletter
Hello Family & Friends…
We have finally emerged from the chaos of the Cardboard Jungle (Lisa’s boxes) and begun to assemble our new life into something approaching order and organization. So at last we are getting to this long-overdue newsletter.
Our wedding on April 2 at Capital Christian Center in Sacramento was even more beautiful and memorable than we’d hoped, dreamed and prayed for! As Lisa said immediately afterward, “That was fun! Let’s do it again!”
Thanks again to all of you who helped in so many different ways: transportation, housing, food, errands, flowers, music, moral support, brainstorming, monetary assistance, recruiting, hospitality, etc. We were truly able to relax and enjoy the day.
Most of all, thank you for your prayers! We know that over the years, many of you have prayed for one or the other of us specifically in the area of a future spouse. It was partly in honor of you that our theme was “Dreams Come True And Answered Prayers”. Of course, we give the honor and glory to the Lord for giving us the dreams, inspiring so many prayers, and then bringing it all to pass in such a wondrous and amazing way. Hallelujah!
In case you didn’t hear about it, we should probably go back and tell you about the day BEFORE the wedding. We were aware quite awhile beforehand that the wedding rehearsal would fall on April Fool’s Day, and had it in mind to cook up some kind of joke. Back at Christmas, Carey had given me (Lisa) a San Antonio Spurs hat as part of my gift, knowing full well that I’m a devoted Sacramento Kings fan! (Did he seriously think I was going to put THAT on my HEAD??)
We decided to work that into the joke somehow. The scheme was to come into the rehearsal dinner and make a scene where we tell everyone that we decided to call off the wedding.
We got to the restaurant only to find that we had no audience yet, as we were the first to arrive. Carey then walked me downstairs and told me to wait in this chair across from the restrooms until he came back down. We wanted most of the group to be there before we started our scene. But as they began to arrive, they came downstairs to use the restroom and saw me sitting there. So I had to start the acting job a little earlier than I’d thought. But that worked out well because by the time we joined the group, the buzz had already started.
We came in, and Carey tried to hold my hand, but I pulled it away. I acted like I was upset and pretty soon people started asking what was wrong. I was saying, “Carey, I think we should just tell them. They need to know.” He pleaded, “I said I was sorry!” I took off the engagement ring and handed it to him. This was all unrehearsed. We were just making it up as we went.
I told them we’d had an argument in the car. I said, “I really found out today that he’s trying to make me into something I’m not. He gave me THIS!” Then I whipped out the Spurs hat and showed it so everyone could see it. Then people started laughing and we said, “April Fool!” Carey then took out a Kings hat and gave it to me. So I said, “OK. It’s back on. Gimme that ring back!”
It was fun and really broke the ice for the evening. We may have been a little too convincing, though. Most of those in the room really thought we were serious. We had to apologize for milking it a little too much. I think they forgave us.
Meanwhile, back to the wedding… we had LOTS of photos taken. Carey’s friend Mike Norwood from Memphis came out to do the photography. He started two days before the wedding, doing a portrait shoot of Lisa only on Thursday. Then he shot the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner on Friday. On the big day, he shot pre-wedding poses and candids, photos during the ceremony, post-ceremony poses, reception… AND we went around Sacramento on a photo odyssey after the reception and got some FANTASTIC shots at various landmarks and scenic spots.
Altogether, we ended up with about 1000 photos, all on CDs. Carey’s mom (Melba) took quite a few photos on her digital, then loaned it to us for the honeymoon (along with our underwater disposables). So there are quite a few more photos beyond even Mike’s!
We now have some of the best of these photos available for viewing. Just go to our wedding webpage at www.KidsTalkAboutGod.org/wedding and click on the obvious link. It will take you to the Kodak Gallery site. They will want you to sign in first, so you may have to choose a password or something. Once you’re in the wedding album, you will be able to order prints of any of them, if you wish. It’s pretty reasonable. We plan to add even more photos later, so keep checking!
There are a few photos in there from the honeymoon, which took place in Maui. We had a blast! Neither of us had ever been to Hawaii before, so we had a great time discovering it together. Carey taught me how to snorkel, and then we went on a small half-day excursion to Molokini and Turtle Town. Wow! We saw a LOT. The underwater visibility at Molokini is 150 feet. The fish are spectacularly bright. We got some great underwater photos of each of us with a LARGE turtle that surfaced within arm’s reach.
Other activities we enjoyed: the Road to Hana through a tropical rain forest; the entire drive around West Maui (quite a bit of it is a single lane with a sharp dropoff on one side and a wall on the other, complete with blind curves and hairpin turns!); a luau, where Carey bought me a tuber-rose lei (VERY fragrant!); checking out (i.e., gawking at) the high-end resort hotels; driving up an inactive volcano called Mt. Haleakala (10,000 feet elevation) to see a really over-the-top sunset; and Iao Park, the Yosemite of the Pacific. Every inch of it is amazingly gorgeous.
You may be asking yourself, “So what are they up to now?” We are back hard at work on our ministry, Kids Talk About God. Carey has been honing the website, working on the online book that will soon be added and studying several books on marketing. Lisa has been working on a very targeted, personalized letter-writing campaign, tending the database of prospects and contacts, and assisting with the website concept. Oh! And this newsletter!
We are trying to reach Christian business owners, managers, professionals, educators and sales executives, especially those who serve children in some way, to let them know about the opportunity to use our Value-Added Business Card. If you haven’t been to our website recently, you may want to check it out: www.KidsTalkAboutGod.org. Click on the items referring to the Value-Added Business Card and associated Personalized Web Pages. We see this as a powerful way for Christian business owners, sales executives and professionals to not only advertise their businesses, but, more importantly, to share their faith in a unique and winsome way.
If you know any Christian professionals, sales executives, business owners or managers (especially those who are open about their faith), we need any and all referrals you can send our way. You could either point them to the website or give us their name and contact info, and we’ll get the material into their hands. Let us know if you have any questions or suggestions.
Carey is growing accustomed to having another person around the house all the time. He’s very grateful that I don’t snore, and that I am also NOT a morning person. However, I do have strange dreams, and he’s very good at laughing with me about them.
I have been adjusting well to my new home here in Texas. I love living on the beach, and am even starting to get a little tan! I’ve adjusted to the humidity, but the wind… not so much. Every day is a Bad Hair Day! I’m getting used to the very loud birds here, though. There are these gulls that sound like insane people laughing their heads off. Good grief!
Speaking of maniacal laughter, I miss my family and friends VERY much, and hope some (or all!) of you can come for a visit one day (there are some phenomenally low rates here in the off-season). I don’t know when I’ll be in Sacramento again. We would love to get emails or phone calls from you! If you call, we can call you right back, since our phone plan includes unlimited long-distance. See below for our contact info.
We hope you will enjoy receiving periodic personal/ministry email newsletters from us. If you don’t wish to continue receiving them (or if you have a different email address you’d prefer us to use), please reply to this email and let us know.
Again, thank you SO much for all your prayers! Keep them coming! Pray for us as a couple (especially during basketball season!), and also for our ministry.
We hope to hear from you soon. Give us the scoop about what’s going on with you!
Loads of blessings!
Carey & Lisa Kinsolving
Kids Talk About God
P.O. Box 3846
South Padre Island, TX 78597
956-772-1920
www.KidsTalkAboutGod.org
“And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” - 1 Corinthians 13:13
P.S. – Please pray about supporting our ministry. If God leads you to do so, please send checks to: Kids Talk About God, P.O. Box 3846, South Padre Island, TX 78597. A giving receipt will come from AMG International, the mission organization under which Kids Talk About God operates. We need your help, and anything you can do would be a huge blessing.
Financial report: The Kids Talk About God marketing and licensing program is just starting out, and we only have a few paying clients at this point. We are currently receiving $325/month in licensing fees and $270/month in donations. Neither of us is taking a salary. We are trusting God to increase the support so that this ministry He has given us can continue and grow.