Just a F.Y.I.: Team Ketelsen will be moving August 4th-5th. We will have an address for you once everything is official.
August 6th through the 11th we will be in Ohio. When we get back we will be all settled in and preparing for Joshua's last year of seminary.
Please keep us in your prayers through out our move and travels.
God's Blessings,
Joshua and Stefani
Thursday, July 24, 2008
VBS
Vacation Bible School in Salem, IL was an Amazon Expedition by Answers in Genesis. If you haven't heard of Answers in Genesis it is worth checking out. Stefani taught 3rd through 6th grade with Joshua as her lovely assistant. It was challenging for Stefani teaching VBS at a different Salem. In the end she made some new kid friends. Here are few snapshots of the scenery in the "jungle gym".
This was the snack area. There were vines and snakes hanging from the tents. Very rainforest like.
We decorated the stage with a huge mural painted on cardboard. We used an overhead projector to display the image and just painted away. Stefani spent two days helping to work on the mural. It was like a big coloring book!
Another shot of the cool mural.
All in all it was a positive experience. We learned so much about our Awesome God!
This was the snack area. There were vines and snakes hanging from the tents. Very rainforest like. 
We decorated the stage with a huge mural painted on cardboard. We used an overhead projector to display the image and just painted away. Stefani spent two days helping to work on the mural. It was like a big coloring book!
Another shot of the cool mural.All in all it was a positive experience. We learned so much about our Awesome God!
Monday, July 21, 2008
Mission Trip to Caldwell, Ohio
As many of you may know Joshua and Stefani took a mission trip to Caldwell, Ohio with Joshua's vicarage congregation. (Three weeks before our wedding...crazy?...yes!) There were 11 people: 6 adults and 5 youth. We worked with Lutheran Social Services doing various projects such as organizing the distribution center, working at the food bank, helping with giving things away, painting, and cleaning.
Here are a few pictures explaining our adventure.
This the church we stayed at during our time in Ohio. There was a full kitchen so we were able to cook meals. There were however no showers. We ended up going to a local lake's campgrounds and paid a small fee to use their showers.
This is the distribution center for Lutheran Social Services in the area. The first day we worked at dividing the supplies for the next 13 teams that would be in the area throughout the summer. There were tons of cleaning supplies, hygiene products, and school supplies. These things would be taken to give aways at local churches or used by the crew at work sites.
This the food pantry. The pantry can serve only 40 families a day. The families must show I.D. and be of a certain income level. The amount of food they can get is based on their family size. It was Stefani's favorite place to work because she got to take people "shopping" all day.
Lutheran Social Services gets together with area churches and hosts "giveaways". Giveaways are like garage sales minus the money. People can come to these giveaways and find clothes, pots, pans, toys and other various items. This giveaway took place at Mt. Ephraim.
This is a garage we worked on the last day in Ohio. It was extremely muddy, full of mildew and mold. It had flooded many times, including the day before. In the closed trashcan in the front of the picture is a dead, rotting, baby deer. We'll be honest, it wasn't pleasant. The folks who live in the house have many health problems and they are all on oxygen.
This is the "after". We hosed and swept the floor to get rid of the mud and rotting leaves. Hopefully we helped them breathe a little easier.
This is a lovely picture of Joshua. We were cleaning a dirty, flooded garage and it was causing havoc on Joshua's allergies. This was a futile defense mechanism. He ended up with quite the allergy "meltdown" later.
Here is what the other crew did while we were cleaning the garage. Their job was to scrape and paint this barn. They even painted the roof!
Joshua will be taking this idea of service and continuing it in Salem, IL. We will be helping members of the community just like in Caldwell, Ohio on Saturday July 26th. Please keep the project in your prayers.
God's Blessings,
Joshua and Stefani
Here are a few pictures explaining our adventure.
This the church we stayed at during our time in Ohio. There was a full kitchen so we were able to cook meals. There were however no showers. We ended up going to a local lake's campgrounds and paid a small fee to use their showers.
This is the distribution center for Lutheran Social Services in the area. The first day we worked at dividing the supplies for the next 13 teams that would be in the area throughout the summer. There were tons of cleaning supplies, hygiene products, and school supplies. These things would be taken to give aways at local churches or used by the crew at work sites. 
This the food pantry. The pantry can serve only 40 families a day. The families must show I.D. and be of a certain income level. The amount of food they can get is based on their family size. It was Stefani's favorite place to work because she got to take people "shopping" all day.
Lutheran Social Services gets together with area churches and hosts "giveaways". Giveaways are like garage sales minus the money. People can come to these giveaways and find clothes, pots, pans, toys and other various items. This giveaway took place at Mt. Ephraim. 
This is a garage we worked on the last day in Ohio. It was extremely muddy, full of mildew and mold. It had flooded many times, including the day before. In the closed trashcan in the front of the picture is a dead, rotting, baby deer. We'll be honest, it wasn't pleasant. The folks who live in the house have many health problems and they are all on oxygen.
This is the "after". We hosed and swept the floor to get rid of the mud and rotting leaves. Hopefully we helped them breathe a little easier.
This is a lovely picture of Joshua. We were cleaning a dirty, flooded garage and it was causing havoc on Joshua's allergies. This was a futile defense mechanism. He ended up with quite the allergy "meltdown" later.
Here is what the other crew did while we were cleaning the garage. Their job was to scrape and paint this barn. They even painted the roof!Joshua will be taking this idea of service and continuing it in Salem, IL. We will be helping members of the community just like in Caldwell, Ohio on Saturday July 26th. Please keep the project in your prayers.
God's Blessings,
Joshua and Stefani
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Wedding pictures
Our photographer has the 700+ pictures she took posted online for all to view. The site is www.pamsphotos.com. Click on "Client Proofing" and the event is "Ketelsen Wedding". Happy viewing!!!
God's Blessings,
Joshua and Stefani
God's Blessings,
Joshua and Stefani
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Honeymoon pictures!
Here are just a few of the pictures from our honeymoon.
This is the winery where we spent a gorgeous afternoon.
They yummy wine we had. We bought the glasses to toast our future anniversaries.
Your eyes do not deceive you, that is a giant Superman statue. We made a stop in Metropolis, IL to see Clark.
We went to a place called "Garden of the Gods". It has all these cool rock formations. Here is Josh conquering a rock.
The view from a rock. GORGEOUS!
Another gorgeous view.
Sitting pretty on a rock.
We had such a relaxing time on our trip. We can't wait to take another road trip!
God's Blessings,
Joshua and Stefani
This is the winery where we spent a gorgeous afternoon.
They yummy wine we had. We bought the glasses to toast our future anniversaries.
Your eyes do not deceive you, that is a giant Superman statue. We made a stop in Metropolis, IL to see Clark.
We went to a place called "Garden of the Gods". It has all these cool rock formations. Here is Josh conquering a rock.
The view from a rock. GORGEOUS!
Another gorgeous view.
Sitting pretty on a rock.We had such a relaxing time on our trip. We can't wait to take another road trip!
God's Blessings,
Joshua and Stefani
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Wedding/Honeymoon Recap
Joshua and Stefani are finally married! The wedding was beautiful, if we do say so ourselves! We had a blast sharing the day with our family and friends. As soon as pictures become available we will let you all know.
Our honeymoon was relaxing and enjoyable. The inn we stayed at was quite charming. The woman who owns the inn just got married herself a week before we arrived. Her new husband is from Northern Ireland, which is quite the coincidence since her inn is named The Irish Inn. While we were in the area we visited a lovely winery called Bella Terra. Their wine was delicious and the surroundings were gorgeous. We also went to the much talked about "Garden of the Gods". We took the quarter mile hike to view the rock formations and see the view of the valleys in the Shawnee National Forest. We have many pictures to post that will be coming soon.
God's Blessings,
Joshua and Stefani
Our honeymoon was relaxing and enjoyable. The inn we stayed at was quite charming. The woman who owns the inn just got married herself a week before we arrived. Her new husband is from Northern Ireland, which is quite the coincidence since her inn is named The Irish Inn. While we were in the area we visited a lovely winery called Bella Terra. Their wine was delicious and the surroundings were gorgeous. We also went to the much talked about "Garden of the Gods". We took the quarter mile hike to view the rock formations and see the view of the valleys in the Shawnee National Forest. We have many pictures to post that will be coming soon.
God's Blessings,
Joshua and Stefani
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Welcome!!
Welcome Readers! We hope to use this blog to keep you more up to date about our lives including our many moves, travels, and life events. The Ketelsens will try to write posts together, but sometimes you may only get Stefani's point of view.
You may be wondering about the name of this blog, Team Ketelsen. Joshua and I really enjoy the band Relient K. They have song called "Must Have Done Something Right". The first line is: "We should get jerseys 'cause we make a good team". That really sums up our view of our relationship. =)
Feel free to email us with any comments, questions or words of encouragement.
teamketelsen@gmail.com
That's all for now. Look for a post with pictures from the wedding and honeymoon!
God's Blessings,
Stefani and Joshua
You may be wondering about the name of this blog, Team Ketelsen. Joshua and I really enjoy the band Relient K. They have song called "Must Have Done Something Right". The first line is: "We should get jerseys 'cause we make a good team". That really sums up our view of our relationship. =)
Feel free to email us with any comments, questions or words of encouragement.
teamketelsen@gmail.com
That's all for now. Look for a post with pictures from the wedding and honeymoon!
God's Blessings,
Stefani and Joshua
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