Today we purchased our airfare to Thailand! We will leave 2 days after Noah and Janae's wedding...these are the sweet faces that will greet us at Breanna's House of Joy! Zach and I met with Bill Moritz last week...he is so excited we are going. We will have some work projects, but plenty of time with the girls. We may get to go to the waterfall just out of Chiang Mai...and maybe to the hots springs "boil egg" park. We have 6 students going with us...plus Mingni and her friend Angela! 2 nurses!! We will be in good shape. Praying that the Lord will bless our time, allow us to experience His work in Thailand...we will be priviledged to be a part of it.

Safely, but Exhausted... in the Arms of Jesus...

I lost a friend on Saturday, one that I did not get to spend as much time with as I would have liked...but the minute I met her I knew we were lifelong friends. Carol was the Women's Ministry Leader at Jake's church in California. She and her husband took Jake and Melissa under their wings and counseled them before Jake and Melissa were married. Carol was a go getter...beyond a prayer warrior...simply had a heart of gold. You saw Jesus in her every move...I was blessed to know her...She taught me to live ...and how to die. The quote below was shared with me by another dear friend Karly...unknowingly on the day Carol went to be with Jesus. It is a quote from Charles Spurgeon and could not possibly fit Carol's life more. I want to be exhausted like Carol.

“If by excessive labor we die before reaching the average age of man, worn out in the master’s service, then glory be to God. We shall have so much less of earth and so much more of Heaven. It is our duty and our privilege to exhaust our lives for Jesus. We are not to be living specimen’s of men, in fine preservation, but living sacrifices, who’s lot is to be consumed.”

Let’s exhaust ourselves for God…it’s our duty and our privilege! Let’s seek him with all our hearts! Wake up, O Sleeper, rise up and Christ will shine on you!
Let’s pray together and ask God to help us to be disciplined in seeking Him.

Carol lived this...I am praying I can live this way too...Thank you Jesus for bringing her into my life. Grant me your strength, mercy and grace to be exhausted for you. Amen. Rest in Peace Carol...Godspeed.

Do not pray that the winds be stilled...

On the 2003/2007 BCS Choir Tours, we sang at the Zuni Christian School. These are the opening words from their latest Prayer Bulletin:

Wind. it's the trademark of spring in New Mexico. Last week, the
wind blew with a vengeance. Grit blasts the playground, leaving a
chicken like me opting for indoor recesses. Sand seeps in through
window casings, cracks in the walls and under doors. Dunes pile up
on the sidewalk in front of the school entry. Wind sets me on edge
and I confess to ill-tempered wondering: "What is the good of
wind?" Yesterday, having taken the precaution of wearing my glasses
instead of my contact lenses, I walked the mesa trail in the blustery
wind, pondering that question. I looked up at the fabulous splendor
of DowaYalanne. Aha! There was a reason for the wind. Centuries of
wind throwing billions of abrasive sand particles against the sides
of the mesa sculpted the beauty that I drink in every day! That
thought calmed and pleased me.

And what of the unsettling and sometimes terrifying winds that blow
through our lives? Will they not shape us into a beautiful people of
God? As you pray for us this month, do not pray that the winds be
stilled. Instead, pray that we may, through every adversity, be
shaped into the lovely image of Christ.