And...GO 2010!!!

The next 3 months are going to be one for the books:

• Brevin turns 4!!! Seriously?!?!
• Jill is going to California for a World Vision brainstorming conference
• Rowan will be 9 months
• Jill is going on her first missions trip to Dulac, Louisiana (Google it...we are prettttty much in the Gulf of Mexico) for 9...9 days!!!
• February for Jill at work is going to AWESOME, but crazy! 5 missions teams leave (2 to Haiti), we have new summer teams applying and The Micah Project happening!
• It is time for a girls weekend again in March!
• We are doing up our first small group retreat!

YIKES! I don't log all of this out to drone on about how busy we are. We have SO much to look forward to in the longest part of the MN year. Actually what I wanted to draw you in for is prayer and participation.

Prayer: I have the opportunity to travel with 30 other individuals for 44 total driving hours down to Dulac, Louisiana. Our role there is to come alongside home owners and help restore their homes, but also their hearts through the hope in Jesus Christ.

We are in the thick of the bayou. I would be lying if I said this isn't making me a tiny bit anxious. It is. This is a part of the country I have never traveled to before. Our STEM ministries leader told us that NORTH North Americans are all about "doing...tasks...getting stuff done..." and that in the south, it is all about relationships. This could be a personal challenge. She also warned us of spiders, large snakes and geckos. Hm? :) I AM excited to see how we as a team and myself individually can impact this community that has experienced tremendous repeated loss.

9 days. I can't quite fathom what being away from my family for 9 days will be like. I am thankful to have a husband that has encouraged me to do this trip, but will also take amazing care of our boys. He keeps telling me, "We will be fine...no worries..." The awesome part is, he is right! They will be fine. I see lots of smelly boys nights in their future???

WE NEED PRAYER!!! Please be praying for our team, Heath, the boys and myself as we travel February 20-28. Pray for impact in the name of Jesus. Pray for safe driving. Pray for health. Pray for strength. Pray for Heath to have patience and for the boys to have a good week with those that care for them.

Participation: The Micah Project is not only something that EBC is doing the month of February, but it lies close to my heart because it has been all consuming for me at work. EBC is hosting the World Vision Step Into Africa exhibit Feb 11-18. This experiential exhibit allows you to become a child in Africa and really KNOW their stories. I get the honor of managing an AWESOME team of volunteers and staff at EBC to pull this off. Please consider coming to have your heart changed forever.

Another piece to the February series is the opportunity to participate in Feed My Starving Children's mobile site packing of TWO MILLION MEALS. FMSC is coming to each of EBC's campuses in February to help us fulfill our commitment of packing TWO MILLION MEALS! If you have never done FMSC before, you are missing out on a hands on way to make an impact for starving children around the world. I invite you to this life changing experience!

I encourage you to attend the services in the month of February or if you are at a distance listen to them on-line. Micah 6:8 says: He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. This series is going to challenge us ALL to examine how we are coming alongside the least of these with love and mercy.

Lastly, I am 100% in for the World Vision 1/2 marathon in August. Wow. I now have 10-20 co-workers, family, friends and neighbors making the commitment with me. This is the real deal. If you are interested, I would love to take your name down. Click Here for more information.

Stay tuned for upcoming posts about all of our early 2010 adventures!