Unexpected Beauty

And I'm not just talking about this moth (picture courtesy of Kris Lundgaard).

This past week, Kelly and I were a part of Mission to the World's "Living in Grace" training that is required for all MTW missionaries. The training was held in the Appalachian Mountains at Ridge Haven , NC. The scenery was beautiful. The boys and Savannah got to spend their time hiking, swimming in the pool, and playing at the playground.

Kelly and I were able to drink deeply from the well of the gospel. And I do mean deeply. To be honest, we both arrived frazzled and expecting to learn little that was new to us. But we had asked that you would pray and we had prayed that God would meet us there. And He did. We both found ourselves refreshed and renewed.

We entered thinking that this was a very inconvenient hoop to jump through (an 8 hour+ drive with the kids to a remote location followed by 5 days of sermons and meetings) and left praising God that he had renewed our sense of His deep love that would lead him to put His only Son on a cross.

It really was wonderful. Thank you for praying.

Quickly, this week I head to Memphis for more support raising--please pray that God would be glorified and would lead and guide all that I do.

Living in Grace

Next week, the entire family (+ Lindsey Hemphill) will travel to Ridge Haven Conference Center near Asheville, NC for MTW's Living in Grace training week.

Please pray that God would keep us safe as we travel, keep the kids sane, us patient, and that in the midst of it, our understanding of the Gospel would be deepened, as well as our love for God, and we would be further prepared to reach college students in England.

Lots Happening

If having the house up for sale and all the other stuff weren't enough, we have a lot more going on.

The biggest things are the end of school for the kids, which will be followed immediately by the our finishing up our training segments.

In June, we will all go to North Carolina for MTW's "Living In Grace" training. After that, I will be in Memphis for the PCA's General Assembly. In July, the entire family will live in an apartment in New York City for MTW's Pre-field Training.

Please pray for us in all of this. Pray that we will learn in order to be more effective in England. Pray for safe travel. Pray for our sanity. Pray that we can wrap up our support raising soon.

How was the trip?

The trip was great. We had a great time and returned with a sense that, "Yes, this is where God is calling us to serve." Not that we didn't think that before, but it was renewed during this trip.



First, thank you so much to those of you who prayed for us. The whole trip was really blessed--few delays or bumps in the road--but our little Savannah did spectacularly, and we give all the credit to God. She slept better there than here.



To keep this short, we got to see the things we were hoping. We got to look at schooling options, spend time with students from the University, and we got to look at housing/neighborhoods.



In addition, we got to spend valuable time getting to know both the Crosses and the Horns. We especially enjoyed the time we spent with the Horn children--so did Savannah Grace! I was able to preach at the local church and to see some of the ministry that is already going on. It was very exciting to meet some of the believing and non-believing students that Courtney and Davina have been ministering to. Also, to be able to talk to the Horns about non-believers that God has opened up doors to share the Gospel of Grace with.



As we left one of our strongest feelings was, "we wish we were staying for good--we can't wait to join in the work."













To do that, we need to raise the final 40% of our support. Please pray that God would be at work beyond our abilities.

RUF Summer Conference

Check out the podcasts from RUF's 2007 Summer Conference--Good Stuff. You need itunes to access this:

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=254912319

A Few More Trip Pics

Some boys playing Cricket



Courtney Jordan explains Capture the Flag



Kelly talks with some Uni students tired from a LONG game of Capture the Flag



Tewksbury Abbey



More of the Abbey



Consecrated by the bishop



Still more Abbey



This baby's parents should know better...



No respect from the baby...



Tea and Crumpets (really!) with the Crosses (our tema leaders)



In former times, a non-confromist church (non-Anglican) could not be on a main street



A canal and canola fields

Pics from Cheltenham

A few pictures from our trip to Cheltenham...more to come soon.

The view from the Rising Sun.





A local school.



The University.