Home Group

We have wanted to start a storying home group since we've moved back to the States. Well, we finally have. Granted it is just our family for now but we actually have other people interested in attending!

What has been so fun has been watching the girls loving the stories. That is A LOT of fun and I feel like I'm back on the field. I usually tell the story (we have done Creation, The Fall, Cain and Abel and Noah) and then I ask the girls if they can retell it. Sometimes they can right away and sometimes I have to tell it again. Usually Turi retells it in English and then Bitsu, with Turi's help, retells it in their native tongue. It is a lot of fun to watch the girls' interest and watch them learn the story. They love attending church.

Please pray for some people who have either expressed an interest in attending our home group, expressed an interest in spiritual things or we are getting to know pretty well.

Congrats, Curt!

Thank you for praying for Curt. He spent a very stressful week preparing for his climbing exam. It was 2 full days from 8-5 out on the rock. He was asked to do certain things and watched by the judge. Any mistakes that were made were noted. He was only allowed to make 3 minor mistakes. A 4th would mean failing. A major mistake (forgetting your helmet, doing a knot wrong) was an automatic fail. It was a very stressful time for him, as you can imagine. Day 2 was taking out a group of clients (just volunteers) and actually guiding the whole day, again being watched by a judge. He passed with only one mark against him for his inexperience. We were all praying for him like mad and are so glad that it's over!
This was a big "to-do" for the summer. Now Curt is licensed to take out anyone and can lead climbing groups with Lifelines. It's a big plus for the ministry.
Stuff starts up with school about mid-August so we will spend the rest of the summer starting homeschooling the girls and preparing for the baby. Hopefully, once August hits, we will be ready to roll!

Training in CO

Training in CO was fantastic. The girls were able to amuse themselves all day (there were lakes, swings, lots of land, animals to watch, etc.) and Curt and I were able to attend all the meetings or switch off when the girls needed us. We spent everyday from 9-9 either in a session or out applying what we were learning. Thanks so much for praying. It was very much what we needed.
We spent two weeks at a camp which is the annual location for Lifelines Rocky Mountain Summer Project. Summer projects with CCC give us staff the opportunity to interact 24/7 with students and engage them in growth opportunities. My times on summer projects as a student were amazing summers of growth.
We spent the two weeks getting volumes of the ministry principles of Lifelines. So much of our personal ministry philosophy is also shared by Lifelines as a whole. They place such a high priority in engaging the unchurched population and come up with ways and strategies to do that. Someone who has never opened a Bible will be a lot more likely to come to a rock climbing day than a Bible study. And Lifelines outdoor programs are much more than just the physical aspect. There is always a part in the day where the staff sit down with all the students and talk through life issues. We are very upfront that we engage the whole person: mental, physical, emotional and spiritual and students who have just spent the whole day with us are very willing to do that. We are excited to actually try it and see how Bible storying might fit into it all.

A Week of Training

We leave tomorrow for a week of training in CO. It's such a great opportunity and we are glad that we'll get to be around for it. A week before the Lifeline's summer project begins, the staff gather and are either introduced or help train the new staff in Lifeline's strategy. We will get to be around for that week of learning. I'm not exactly sure what's ahead but I know that the older staff will lead us through meetings and activities that will train us and then everyone else will then be joined by students and will implement the same strategies for the rest of the summer.
For the last month, we have been continuing to settle in (cleaning out the yard which hasn't been touched in years, buying furniture off Craigslist, etc.) and Curt has been able to take a climbing certification class. This is a huge blessing because, once he passes an exam, he will be able to lead climbing trips with students in the fall. This adds one more thing that Lifelines has to offer at NAU and can attract more students. Although this may sound like fun, Curt has been overwhelmed with work. The class was extremely stressful and he was gone for 3 days from 6:30am-7:00pm. He was blown away by the amount of knowledge needed and will spend the next month after we return from CO "cramming" for his exam.
Pray for us over the next week as we travel with the girls (who are super-excited to go) and as we spend most of our days in meetings. Pray that the girls would do well as they play by themselves or with the babysitter who has been hired and that we would get good times together as a family. Pray that Curt and I would really soak up what the staff have to teach us. Thanks!