Little Updates

Just wanted to take a minute and update you on a couple of gentlemen we introduced you to in previous posts.

Last we heard Jerry is saving/raising money to take a trip to Malawi to help start an AWANA program. He is also in need of a new pair of glasses and he met a girl. Ok, he meets lots of people but he met a girl and is seeking God's wisdom as far as how to/if to progress in their relationship.

Steve Allen was with Patson and he gave Patson a few dollars for bus fare to get home. Patson was so grateful and told Steve that he and his family had had nothing to eat for the past couple of days and so now they could get some food. The next day there was a family gathering and Patson gave the food he had just bought away because others were in need.

Please continue to pray for these Godly men - praise God for them and petition Him on their behalf.

Fight Apathy

While in Zambia, Riley's resolve to minister to youth deepened. He came away with an even more passionate desire to fight the apathy that has taken hold of American youth. He is disappointed with the lack of zeal his peers have for the Saviour of their souls. Riley wants to light a fire so that his generation and those that follow will be hot for Christ. The first sermon Riley preached was on Revelation 3 and the danger of being lukewarm - being lukewarm takes all the joy out of life, too. Riley desires to live a life passionately sold out to Jesus Christ. Please join him in the fight against complacency and pray for him as he is on the front lines.

God is like a hippo

We all learned so much in Zambia and God worked in all of our lives while we were there. When we asked Hayley how God had been working in her, one of the things she mentioned was that she better understood what it means to fear the Lord. I am now going to try to tell you what she said - this is not a quote from her but me passing her wisdom on to you.

Crocodiles are downright freaky. They are scary and we should all be afraid of them. They are quick, powerful, wild. However, hippos are the most dangerous animals in Africa and they, too, are quick, powerful and wild. But there is just something about hippos that draws one to them. As I wrote earlier, we were close enough to a hippopotamus to reach out and touch it. And although Hayley knew that this animal was so much more powerful than she and that in an instant it could destroy everything around it including her, she had such a desire to touch it - to be close and to connect with it.

God is to be feared - we are to acknowledge He is the most powerful; He is sovereign. And yet He draws us near, wanting us to connect with Him. He is a just and righteous God, holy and worthy of awe - and He wants a relationship with us. Hayley's desire for God grew while in Africa.

God is not like a crocodile to be afraid of and avoided. God is like a hippopotamus to be respected and enjoyed.

"The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear Him, in those that hope in His mercy." Psalm 147:11

Having Fun!

Just had to share these photos from Riley's birthday. He and a couple of friends - Brayden and Brad - went bowling and then out for sub sandwiches. Rob and I transported, paid and watched. I must tell you, hanging out with these boys was a hoot and a half! Watching them bowl was fun - the skipping, tripping, gutterballing, and well, the general laughter made us giggle. Ok, I giggled - Rob does not giggle, he laughs. Then Brayden and Brad wore super fake mustaches and Riley wore his birthday crown (but not his birthday boy sash) out to the sub shop. The car ride home was fun, too. Thanks for the laughs boys!

Happy New Year!

As this year comes to an end and another one begins, I would like you all to meet Lucy. Lucy is a chicken with much personality. She brings us many smiles - something we could use a bit of these days. On Christmas morning we went out to find our beloved Plumpy, the matriarch of our flock - the oldest, the boss and the friendliest - had died at the hands, er, claws of a very large bird (probably a hawk or osprey or ...) We were devastated and Riley and I spent the first few hours of the morning digging her grave. How wonderful it was to be able to bring to mind our Christmas verse - Habakkuk 3:17-18 - no matter what loss we suffer we will rejoice in the Lord and we will joy in the God of our salvation. What a comfort God's word is! And, as we bring to mind all of our fun Plumpy memories, we realize that joy does come in the morning. What a joy Plumpy was - she was part of our family. And now Lucy has stepped up into the role of boss of the flock. But she, too, is friendly - eating out of our hands, allowing us to pet her and getting awfully close to coming inside when we are not fast enough with the front door! Just so you know: not all chickens are created equal - they all have their own personality.

As you say good-bye to 2010 and hello to 2011, may you show love to those you care about, be them human or chicken, while you have them in your lives. My mom had a poem on her fridge while I was growing up and although I do not remember it to quote it I do remember the jist of it. I would rather have one flower now than bouquets at my funeral - I would rather have a kind word said to me now rather than a lengthy tribute when I am gone - etc.. You get the idea. So here is me wishing you much joy and a ....

Happy New Year! Philippians 1: 9-11!

SIM Zambia

Our purpose of staying in Lusaka a few extra days was not simply to hang out and explore - however, we are so thankful for our afternoon to get refreshed! We stayed to meet the SIM Zambia team. And although one family was about to leave for home assignment and a huge church celebration was going on the same weekend, the team so graciously took time to meet with us. We were able to go over to the SIM property and have dinner with the team one night, attended church together and then we were able to spend the day we left with them. The team leadership is in transition but we are so thankful for the time we had to ask them questions. We were able to ask them anything about Africa, SIM, ministry - anything. We learned a great deal during our time with them.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Merry Christmas!! from our family to yours!

(Yikes, if I would have waited one day to take the tree photo it would have had lots of snow on it! Oh well!)

As you celebrate the birth of the King let everything point you to Him. He is the Light of the world - so all the Christmas lights you see point to Him - He is the Star of Christmas - so all the star decorations point to Him - (you get the idea).

Some people think it is odd that we have never had a Christmas tree. We try to decorate a tree outside for the birds but our tradition is to celebrate advent - the coming of Christ. We have an advent wreath that we decorate differently each year. In addition to the candles we also have our children pull strings. Ok, let me explain. We don't do stockings - instead we do stings. Each child has a bucket and we put little things tied to curling ribbon strings in the buckets. The items range from pencils, band aids, toys, etc.. Starting the day after Riley's birthday the children are allowed to pull one string each night - ending on Christmas Eve. My parents started this when I was young (and they still do a bag for me). I'm not sure how, when or why they did it but it is a very creative tradition that our children love. Another thing we do is to memorize a Christmas verse. We all memorize a verse or chapter - we did Psalm 23 one year. This year we are memorizing -

Habakkuk 3:17 & 18 - "Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior." NIV

Please feel free to memorize it with us - and may we all be joyful in God our Savior - no matter what!

Merry Christmas!