Daniel & Valerie Markoya's Blog

We are at peace enjoying a season of "everyday hum-drum life."

2010-12-02T05:58:00.000-08:00

We are in West Linn, Oregon getting to spend some time with several of our children and grandchildren.

This bridge is a couple of miles from where we are staying in West Linn, Oregon. It goes between West Linn and Oregon City. You can see the spray of the the Oregon City Falls behind the bridge.

This is the view of the Falls at Oregon City from the Oregon City side of the river.

We are enjoying the fact that we have a kitchen. While in Mendocino we did not have a full kitchen for almost a year.

Our daughter Suzanne turned 16 in September and got her first job a week ago at a "Five Guys," hamburger restaurant as a cashier which is about a mile and a half from where we are staying.

Ministry is slow for Daniel at this time of year. (Due to the holidays) So as the saying goes, "Make hay while the sun shines," Daniel is making websites during the holiday season... which is helping to generate some needed cash flow.

Our granddaughter Shannon (on the right) has been enjoying playing with her friend Sophia.

We are at peace enjoying a season of "everyday hum-drum life."

Back in Mendocino

2010-08-07T23:41:00.000-07:00

We are back in Mendocino, CA for three weeks. (We leave around the 25th of August)

Back in Oregon

2010-07-07T10:58:00.000-07:00

We are back in Woodburn, Oregon 15 miles north of Salem. Gonna miss the cool coastal weather. As I write this the thermometer is rising to 97 degrees today and possibly 100 tomorrow.

Hiking in the Redwoods

2010-06-26T00:31:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of Shannon and Suzanne in front of a California Redwood Tree.

We took two hikes today one in Stout Grove and the other along Nickerson Ranch Trail both in Jedediah State Park about 20 minutes from where we are staying in Crescent City, CA.

We never get tired of of seeing these massive trees... A tad different from the pigmy forest in the Mendocino area where all the trees and vegetation is stunted.

The Smith River goes through this area... it is pristine at this time of year.

First Stop The Lost Coast of California... Honeydew, CA. with the Mattole Family

2010-06-24T00:28:00.000-07:00

The road to Honenydew is very curvy - 10 MPH signs... abound. If you ask me some of them should say 6 MPH!

This is the bridge that crosses the Mattole River in the Mattole Valley on the "Lost Coast," of Northern California. Only one vehicle at a time can pass... 15 MPH speed limit.

Honeydew has one store with a Post Office. Taint no Wal-Marts in these parts.

Our Destination... Our friends the Mattoles and their new Timber Frame House. Wonderfully Rustic. The Timber Frame Technique dates back centuries...

Look Ma no Nails! The construction uses only wood... oak dowel pegs and mortise and tennon joints.

We had two meetings at the Mattoles, one on Friday Night and another on Saturday. This is the Saturday meeting with the folks at the Mountain of Mercy; a ministry to recovering addicts who have given their lives over to Christ. We encouraged a dozen saints that day. Several of them told us the Lord had done a deep work in their heart.

Shannon and Mattole in the "Bad Boy," Mattole's souped up 4 wheel drive golf cart. Mattole and Jean are very special to Shannon... kind of like grandma and grandpa... since Valerie and I (her real GM and GP) are more like her mom and dad.

This is another bridge over the Mattole river. Years ago Mattole would hitch up his horse and wagon and take us across this bridge... now we go across on his "Bad Boy."

A glimpse into, "A Day in the Life," for us to live by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

2010-06-03T13:50:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, June 1, 2010 we had just enough gas to go to a meeting at the Lord’s Land and drive into Fort Bragg, CA., a total of 30 miles. We have three bank accounts, one for ministry, one for business and a personal account. The grand total in our three bank accounts came to $4.97. In addition to our bank accounts, we have a support page on our website, markoya.com, that has a Paypal button for donations. Our Paypal balance was $16.01.

On Wednesday, my wife, Valerie and I prayed over our current list of needs. We were very low on everything. First, we needed a bridesmaid dress for our daughter, Suzanne for $135 that had to be ordered within a couple of days so it would arrive in time for our son, Joseph’s wedding. Then we needed $30 to fill a prescription medication which I take daily (only 2 pills left), $100 for food, $60 for our storage unit in Oregon which had to go out in a few days, $100 for gas for our thirsty Suburban (we are getting 10 miles per gallon… I’m pretty sure she has a drinking problem), $200 for work on the Suburban (need a tune-up and oil change), $35 for our PO BOX in Salem, Oregon (due immediately), $300 for a necessary software upgrade so I can finish building a website for a dentist that I have traded with, and $170 for our three phones the total of which came to $1130.

Our daughter, Suzanne called our son Justin to ask if she could borrow $135 for her dress. He agreed so we were able to order the dress that will take 5 weeks to arrive just 5 days before the wedding.

I had committed to go to a meeting at the Foursquare Church in Fort Bragg, which would take at least $10 for gas to get into town and back to where we were staying. As I was praying, it came to my mind that I might have squirreled away some money in a brief case. Praise the Lord I found a $20 bill. I went into town packing an additional $4 in coins. I made the rounds to 4 grocery stores getting, a few tomatoes here a loaf of bread there, etc., and put $13 of gas in the tank.

The meeting at the Foursquare Church had a dozen people including myself. I sang a few songs and mostly preached. At the end of the meeting, someone asked me if I had any CDs with me. Praise the Lord, I sold 3 CDs bringing $40 into the treasury.

On the way out of town, I went back to 2 grocery stores to get the rest of the items on my list and to the gas station to put an additional $5 of gas into the tank. This left me with $3 cash in my pocket, a little less than $5 in the bank and a heart full of joy due to the Lord’s provision.

I returned with half a dozen bags of groceries causing great joy for 7-year-old Shannon… and the rest of us.

That night when I checked my email and I was blessed to see an unexpected donation of $200 had come into our Paypal account causing a thankfulness to rise up in Valerie and my heart. God is good. He is our provider we lack nothing in Him.

As I was writing this Valerie informed me that the night before she opened the scripture to:

Philippians 4:19
And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

These two scriptures had come to my mind.

What came to my mind was to trust the Lord and to be content with what we have.

Hebrews 13:5 (Amplified Bible)
Let your character or moral disposition be free from love of money [including greed, avarice, lust, and craving for earthly possessions] and be satisfied with your present [circumstances and with what you have]; for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]

Matthew 6:25-27
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life.

As for the $725 yet needed, I am confident of this… God will provide. My task today is to divvy up the $200 ($194 after the Paypal transaction fee) that came in. Let’s see 10% of $40 plus $194 is $23.4…

UPDATE TO THE ABOVE STORY

Thursday June 17, 2010 the above story ends with our needing $725 and trusting that the Lord would provide.

We received a $300 unexpected gift two days later. Grace Community Church in Fort Bragg, CA had a going away reception for us and put up a money tree for people to donate to us... $ 390 came in. We went to a home group meeting where Daniel sang, and $44 came in from CD sales, A brother in Colorado called out of the blue wanting 5 CDs to send to Pastors in his area resulting in another $50 and $144 came in for a website that I host. The total: $1215.25 enough to take care of our needs and for us to have enough for gas money to head north.

Our Vehicle is Working!

2010-05-20T21:17:00.000-07:00

We are still in Northern, CA the Mendocino, Fort Bragg, area it's hard to believe but it has been 10 months!

Daniel built a website for the lodge we are staying at on the coast seafoamlodge.com. We were paid a fee and the grace for our family to stay in two ocean view rooms, one for Val and I and the other for Suzanne (15) and our granddaughter Shannon (7). The scope of the project expanded into several print collateral pieces etc. and the grace to stay got extended... a bunch.

Daniel has been singing in various churches, home meetings, and at the YWAM base weekly. Many people in this area have been praying that we would stay here. During the course of our time here our suburban broke down and was out of commission for 6 months. During that 6 months 8 different people came forward to let us use their vehicles. Daniel made a request in a church meeting for folks to stop praying for us to stay here and to start praying for the Lord's will to be done. Two weeks later we got the suburban working. The money we saved on gas, approximately $1,000 paid for the parts to fix our rig.

We will most likely leave the area we are in sometime in June to head north as our son Joey is getting married July 17th in Oregon. He has spent the past two years in a Bible (Bridal) school in Maui where he met his finance. She (Jessica) comes from a family who are missionaries in Mexico. We were able to meet Jessica and her family recently. They are solid believers. Praise the Lord!

We are still in Little River California...

2009-12-18T12:30:00.000-08:00

We are still in Little River California. (Mendocino)

Our Suburban has been broken down for the past two months. We have had several mechanics trying to figure out the problem... its get up and go got up and went.

We have replaced the fuel pump, fuel filter, put in new plugs, coil wire, distributor cap and rotor, replaced the EGR Valve and the air intake valve on the side of the throttle body. Its been checked of vacuum leaks and the catalitic converter has been cut off to see if the power would increase.... I had it towed yesterday to a transmission shop as one mechanic thought it could be the torq converter. As the shop mechanic revved up the engine the fan flew off of the water pump and into the radiator! After removing the debris he was able to ascertain that the problem is not transmission related so we are back to square one not knowing what the problem is.

It has now been suggested that we check the electrical ignition module in the distributor and the coil.

During this two months we have been graced to use two different vehicles and we are still staying at the Seafoam Lodge that I have made a website for.

Assuming we can find the right part to fix on our rig it looks like we will need at least $750 for parts. Several friends have helped me with the labor at no charge.

Valerie and I have been thanking God in the midst of this trial as we know it is helping to refine our faith!

We need wisdom and God's grace. We either need the where with all to fix the Suburban or for God to give us another vehicle.

Daniel

Busy in Mendocino

2009-08-26T12:11:00.000-07:00

We have been in the Mendocino/Fort Bragg CA., area for 6 weeks.
We have been very busy on a number of fronts.

Suzanne has made a connection with a group of young believers and is thriving.

Emily Suzanne and friends at the Lord's Land.

Suzanne's first day of surfing.
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We've had the opportunity to take walks.

Shannon and Val picking blackberries
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Daniel has been harvesting wild Prince mushrooms for the past several weeks:~)

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Shannon was able to go to the Mendocino Vacation Bible School for a week.

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Daniel has ministered in churches, home meetings and outreaches in the area.

The Lord's Land Tuesday night pot luck meeting in the Big House.

1st Baptist church's Friday noon meal for the needy in Fort Bragg.

Playing music with several homeless friends at the Mendocino Presbyterian
Church outreach. They put out clothes, serve a hot meal and provide showers
for the homeless and needy.

Daniel ministering at a Sunday morning meeting at Grace Community Church in Fort Bragg.

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The fire pit outside our room at the Seafoam Lodge.

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We went to Sabine Balls Memorial at the Lords Land. Daniel got on top of a tree
and shot this 7 photo panorama image of those who gathered.
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In addition Daniel has been upgrading the seafoam lodge web site.

Our time in Crescent City during July 2009

2009-07-23T18:51:00.000-07:00

We stayed with Roy and Pam Holloway's in their Crescent City home.

On the weekend we had three meetings.

We provided the deserts for the Friday night meeting. Val's carrot cake...yum. Topped with a cream cheese frosting and pecans. She also made her State Fair winning Chocolate cake and Pam made some great chocolate brownies.

Friday night meeting at the Holloways in Crescent City.

Saturday morning a group gathered and then dispersed around the property to be still before the Lord. We then came together and each one shared what they had received encouraging one another.

Saturday afternoon we had a BBQ followed by a little concert by me.

Suzanne and friend Kelsey.

Shannon steering Roy's tractor... Roy let her go on the tractor several times over several days. At least an hours worth of time! Fun!

We and those we were with were encouraged in the Lord!

Breakfast at Taylor's in Cave Junction, Oregon

2009-07-09T12:15:00.001-07:00

Val and I went to breakfast at Taylor's in Cave Junction this morning.
Every time we go through this area we try to stop in to buy their custom
hand-made sausages. Their breakfast is served before 10:30 in the morning . Val and I got 1 order of their potatoes with a variety of sausages and peppers etc. and two 16 oz. coffees and slpit the meal. The cost? $5! An incredible deal!

If you ever are in Cave Junction, this is a must see... stop by... eat at... buy sausages place!

Sabine (pronounced Sabina) Ball dies... or should I say she has graduated to be with the Lord.

2009-07-08T23:50:00.000-07:00

I learned today that a good friend in the Lord, sister Sabine Ball, passed on to be with the Lord Tuesday, July, 7, 2009 morning at 11 AM in Dresden, Germany. She was 83. Sabine (pronounced Sabina) was a colorful woman with a passion for Jesus and a heart to help troubled young people.

Sabine was a millionaire – hippie – founder of The Lord’s Land in Mendocino, CA - and eventually became the “Mother Teresa of Dresden, Germany.”

Sabina started “The Lord’s Land,” a place we have spent time at over the years in Mendocino, California. It was a Hippie commune that turned into a Christian Community then a Christian Retreat and now is a YWAM base. We will be down in that area the last two weeks of July and the first week of August.

Our last day is to be Aug. 6 and Sabina was to arrive on that day. Gary and Caren Linden, friends of ours, were trying to get us all together when she arrived, but God obviously has a different schedule. In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. Proverbs 16:3

I am thankful for the times I had with Sabine. She and I had a different and special relationship. I used to make her laugh a lot. In Germany she was very highly esteemed so things were more formal for her there. When she would come to stay at the Lord’s Land she was able to relax and be herself.

At the age of 67, she moved from Northern California back to her homeland in Germany. When she arrived she saw many homeless and disenfranchised young people on the streets of Dresden. She prayed and told the Lord something must be done to help these children and asked God to raise up someone to help the kids. God’s reply was “How about you?” She gasped and said,” but Lord I’m an old woman, what could I possibly do?” After several “go-arounds,” with God, she took $1500, all the money she had left and rented a former liquor store turning it into the Martin Luther Street Café in 1993 as a gathering and contact place for children and young people. In addition she founded the metabolic eV, which helps more children and operates youth projects throughout Dresden.

This is a poster that was distributed in Germany this year concerning her work there. It is one of 6 or 8 posters the Germans are using to encourage social care.

She will be missed.

To learn more about Sabine you can go to:

http://www.sabine-ball-stiftung.de/index.php?id=5&L=1

None of us know how long we have on this earth… may we all serve the Lord with the time you have left.

Daniel

We are back in Oregon

2009-04-29T17:09:00.000-07:00

Spring has sprung

Sunday April 26 - Hubbard, Oregon

Ministered at Solomon's Porch in Hubbard, Oregon.
Randy Conger the pastor and I have know one another for 27 years.
In addition to ministry he and I both do website development.

Val coming in out of the cold rain... one of the costs for the
beautiful Oregon greenery. We are staying with Marty and Tatyana Captez
in Woodburn, Oregon about 15 minutes north of Salem.

We have internet... yeah!

Back in Mendocino at Seafoam Lodge

2009-04-07T12:25:00.000-07:00

The view from one of our rooms.

Shannon flying a kite.

We were in two rooms like the above photo overlooking the ocean...

Yesterday we upgraded one of the rooms to a two bedroom unit with a living room,
full kitchen and a deck. Daniel is making a website for Seafoam Lodge.
We still have the room with the computer in it. We'll be here for
another 7 days.

The town of Mendocino 3 miles away... where our phones work.
It's a very scenic area.

A week in O'Brien and Takilma Oregon

2009-03-30T15:38:00.000-07:00

We have had a good week in Southern Oregon.
We spent the week house sitting, feeding dogs, a cat chickens
and quail in O'brien just south of Cave Junction, Oregon
just above the California border an HWY 199.

Shannon with Tiara the dog.

The chickens... I preached to these chickens (Mark 16:15)
I was curious if they would produce more eggs than the 4 per day
production they had been doing. The next day, when I checked,
there was only 1 egg. It must have been the fear of the Lord that
came upon them... either that or they all turned chicken.

For those interested in finding Waldo we may have found the road
he lives on in Southern Oregon.

Abigail and Suzanne. They were able to spend 3 days at a
Bible Camp together and a night sleep over at Abigail's and a
night where we were staying.

Our friend Aron visited us his drive up from L.A. to Portland...
here he is zonked out on the couch. He needed the R&R.

Shannon had a ball with Hope and Tiara two dogs on the property.
She could free range on several fenced in acres... great fun.

We were invited to a Mid week Home Bible study in Takilma Oregon.
Daniel sang and Dan Robinson conducted the Bible study.

Daniel Singing at the Takilma Bible Church Sunday morning.
The log cabin style building is in a community that was a hippie
center in the late 60's and early 70's. Many are still in the area
to this day. This church is a Christian center in these parts.

Weekend of fellowship and ministry in Crescent City, CA

2009-03-24T20:00:00.000-07:00

I met brother Clark Wade through the internet. He has been encouraged by my music.
By God's grace we were able to connect for the second time and have a time of fellowship.

We stayed with Roy and Pam H. in Crescent City. This is their home and shop.
In real life the home is bigger than the shop.

We stayed upstairs. Val and I had a room to ourselves and Shannon had the other room.
Suzanne spent the weekend at her new friend Kelsey's home.

Pam and Roy... yeah they're this happy.

Valerie and Pam making dough for two Chicago style Pizzas we made for the potluck.

Yum! Real Chicago Style Pizzas 2" Thick.

Sunday meeting at Little Portion Fellowship.

Daniel Singing Christ is King. The kids eventually got up and danced.
Pure Joy!

Potluck meeting with folks from the Mountain of Mercy Mission at the Mattoles in Honeydew CA

2009-03-19T11:34:00.000-07:00

2009-03-19T01:50:00.000-07:00

We stayed on the Mendocino coast at Seafoam Lodge. Daniel is making a website for them. This is the view accros the street from where we stayed.

Bogged Blog - Bogged down in Crescent City

2009-03-02T11:45:00.000-08:00

We were parked in the spot in front of the red vehicle and I pulled out onto the grass.

BOGGED! Another trial to praise the Lord for!

We arrived on Saturday night and parked in a numbered space without knowing it.

Later that night the rightful Parker returned and parked directly behind us blocking our ability to backup.

Early the next morning... 7 AM (if you know me you know this is early for me) I went out thinking "I'll show em... I'll just put my rig in 4X4 and pull out to the street. Well the joke was on me. Without really looking at the ground before me I proceeded to pull out onto a bog! All 4 tires (4X4) sank into the mud.

By God's grace Roy and Clark came to my rescue about 8 in the morning. We hooked up a chain and the rig was released from the pit.

The three of us had good fellowship for a couple of hours... which would not have happened had I not been allowed this trial. "All things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purposes!"

Daniel

2009-01-16T00:24:00.001-08:00

click image for a larger view

I shot this at the Grand Canyon in 2007.
I've tinkered with several captions for it.
I might make it into a poster... any caption ideas?

A few caption ideas:

"The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible."
Arthur C. Clarke

Constant dripping hollows out a stone.
Lucretius

God allows U-Turns... me

Well there you have it.
Daniel

SNOWED IN

2008-12-23T18:12:00.000-08:00

We are back in Portland, Oregon at the Anawim Community House... and we are
"SNOWED IN."

“Anawim” is a Hebrew word that means “the poor seeking God for deliverance.” This Hebrew word is often used in the Psalms, including Psalm 37:11, which reads, “Blessed are the anawim for they shall inherit the earth.”

Anawim is a community church for the homeless and the mentally ill and interested middle class folks.

I dug out the car... it took about 45 minutes. Put it into low 4X4 and cruised down the street.

Daniel

Newport Oregon 12/04/08 to 12/14/08

2008-12-22T20:47:00.000-08:00

Spent 10 days in Newport, Oregon. Was able to make website changes www.danielmarkoya.com.
Tried to get a decent sunset shot but it was rainy and the sky was grey except for one evening.

Newport Oregon Fishing Boats in the Bay at Dusk. click to enlarge

The weather turned cold

The day before we left for Portland we were surprised to see snow. The day we left we took a drive to Nye Beach. As I came down the hill near the ocean we started sliding due to ice... yikes!

We got out of our Suburban to take a look at the snow. It was windy and we could tolerate being out in the weather for only a few minutes.

Suzanne and Shannon freezing at Nye Beach in Newport, Oregon 12/14/2008

This is a rare shot of snow on the sand at Nye Beach, Newport, Oregon

It would be better to call this our Slog

2008-12-12T16:06:00.000-08:00

Our last post was in June 2008... So it it confirmed we are sloggers not bloggers.

Valerie, Suzanne, Shannon and I are in Newport Beach, Oregon (currently storming outside) and will head to Portland in a few days.

I am working on our website, Val is helping the kids with home school.

December is a slow time for us ministry wise. Trust the Lord will open some new doors for 2009.

Daniel