Missional Studies in Acts

Wednesday we finished our class by Dr. John Nyquist on the book of Acts. It was the most I had ever studied that book and appreciated Dr. Nyquist's knowledge.  He has taught at  Trinity Evangelical Divinity  School for something like 35 years while also on the staff of Campus Crusade.  He shared with us the first day that if there was ever a book or course that a Cru staff member should not avoid, it is the book of Acts.  I may have  been one of those people avoiding it and am so glad that I got to finally dive in, although the class was entirely too short. This books training in evangelism, discipleship, and servant-hood are worth the time of study, for sure.

After finishing the class, I left the family in Colorado (Mike, Foltz's, Lori, Allen's) and flew  to join the Seilers in Arkansas for........BABY TIME!!!!! In an attempt to make it in time for the delivery, I am here in Arkansas now 4 days till due date.  If she is anything like me- we could have a week or two of waiting.  Going to start the daily walk, walks, walking and wait patiently to meet this precious little one! YAY for Grandma duties!!!!

Rocky Mountain Hiking Day!

Last Saturday, the family took a trip up to Rocky Mountain National Park.  Estes park is less than an hour from where we are staying.  This is a view from a hill looking down into Estes Park.  The national park then is just on the other side of Estes and we passed into the park.  The beauty of the mountains is worthy of so many photo's.  Please excuse the abundance as it was hard to choose.

First stop in the park was for a family picnic. Needed energy for all of our hiking. 

The first hike was around Bear Lake....gorgeous!

It was very exciting to find little patches of snow here and there in June.  Of course, snowball throwing had to be part of the fun.

Nathan was a great little two year old hiker, but also enjoyed some shoulder rides.

Bethany did great for being into her eighth month now.  The high altitude definitely had us all short of breath.

We stopped often to take in the beauty of the mountains and have our photo shoots. 

Great memories for the Foltz's in such a beautiful place. 

These two definitely had the most energy and were usually several steps up ahead of us on the trails. 

If C and S were not ahead of us, it meant they had climbed the highest rocks they could find to look down on us.  Oh, to have the energy of  a 7 and 8 year old again!!!

Later in the afternoon, the Foltz's had to get back to town and Mike, Michael and Collin went ahead to hike to Dream Lake and Emerald Lake with higher elevation.  Summer was my companion to hike around Nymph Lake at 9,700 feet.  The trails were so pretty and fun.

On the way home we stopped to watch this herd of big horn sheep.

While passing through Estes on the way home Collin was with us and hollered out in the most excited voice, "Hey guys, look up the mountain at that cool ride"  It was the Mountain Tramway, and when we found the price to be so reasonable, we took C and S up for a thrill for them.  It was so pretty to look so far in every direction. 

The highlight of that stop for Collin and Summer  was feeding the little chipmunks.

They were very friendly and interested in our peanuts.

They ate right our of their hands and look at how full this guys cheeks are. 

It was such a fun day for all of us.  Love the quote that- " Family memories are the icing on the cake of life!" We definitely did some icing last weekend.

A Life of Ministry

Oh Colorado.... you are so beautiful!!!!

Last week, Mike and I took a class by John and Carolyn Hannah.  They shared their reflections from a life of ministry.  They have been in full time ministry for 41 years and being a few years ahead of us, we wanted to learn from their experiences.  It was not academic but very practical and helpful. They have been through a lot.  John has two doctorate degrees, has written several books,  and is very scholarly. Carolyn is more down to earth.  They were honest and shared their struggles of communication through the years and it was encouraging to us. Having problems is not a problem, but not dealing with them is.  After teaching at DTS for 40 plus years and accomplishing much- in his reflections of life... his family is the most important thing to him.  He feels when this life is over that our colleagues, students and fellow workers will not be there- but our family will.  They encouraged young families in ministry to keep investing in their families in the midst of busy ministry schedules.

We got a lot of good solid advice and reminders of principles that we already knew.  We are thankful for the time we spent with them. I was reminded of the power in living a steady  life and one with endurance, rather than one with quick progress. God has made each of us exactly as he He wills and makes no mistakes, so why not get to know who you are... don't be ashamed and use your gifts to bless others.  I never realized how many times the Bible refers to the command to "walk" over and over- and rarely uses the work "run".  As they shared the joys and hardships of a life of ministry, we related to a lot of what they said and are thankful for the opportunity to learn from them.

the joys of life while on staff with cru

We feel like we work for one of the best company's out there!  I guess that our 35 years with Campus Crusade for Christ should say something in itself.  People tend to jump around to different companies these days, looking for a better place to work- but we are so content and privileged to work with cru. While spending time here in Fort Collins this summer with a lot of fellow staff, I am reminded of a few things that I appreciate.  During this month of study there are around 1000 staff taking classes.  The majority are taking graduate level classes that professors from  various seminaries come to teach. Others are in specialized tracks for leadership development, campus directors training, training to move overseas and work, etc.   The last week, July 14-20, all of the staff working in the USA are required to attend the US Staff Conference and there will be around 5000 of us.  As staff working overseas, we are not required to attend but are always welcome.  Our first 20 years on staff we were only able to participate twice because of our furlough every third year and the conference every two years- the timing just did not work out.  However, for the last 15 years- we have made an effort to come to each one.  It is such a huge encouragement to us and gives us a vision and  boost to keep going.

Here are just a few things that we love about being on the staff of cru:

1) The fact that they offer us this chance to take classes  and learn from scholarly people and go deeper into God's word during the off-ministry summer months speaks of their commitment to our well being. Sometimes, we can feel drained after giving out all year long- but these every-other summers re-fuel us in a very effective way.  Some staff take the classes for credit and earn a  seminary degree after several summers of study.  Mike and I choose to audit the classes this year for self enrichment.  Our kids are busy writing term papers, turning in assignments, and preparing for their final this week.  They are  much more serious about their grades than us old folks are.

2) Coming out here is like a giant family reunion to us.  We have built many close relationships over the years and it is so good to reunite and catch up and live life together.  We see people from our original New Staff Training in 1978, people that we went through our overseas training with when we lived in LA South Central Watts, staff who we worked with in the Philippines and Thailand but have moved back to the USA, students and staff who have come to Thailand for a summer  project or stint to serve with us, staff who we have studied with here in Colorado in classes in previous years, and the list goes on.  We love learning and growing together with these people. The relationships are rich, fun, and many have great memories with stories to tell and relive.

3) Working with cru gives us such a fulfilling purpose in life.  We know that our lives are counting for all eternity.  We do not experience the humdrum life of going to work each day and doing the same thing over and over while watching the clock.  Investing in peoples lives is very rewarding to us.

Our kids are enjoying their New Staff Training too!  We pray that they will find this life style rewarding as we have.  Yes, it has it's cons too....(Good-byes..... way too many of those!), but it is indeed a privilege to serve and work with cru and we are very grateful for our ministry partners who enable us to represent them to the world!

We look old and tired here (we were hiking around Bear Lake in the Rockies at 9,450 altitude this weekend) - but we are happy and the scenery was beautiful!

Helping the Wyoming Farmers

  We are enjoying our summer thus far so very very much. 

 In fact another week, has just buzzed by and  another weekend.  

Studies are going great and I'll share more about  what we are learning later. 

 Last weekend, while we had some time off from classes, we decided to explore more of the wild west.

 Mike has been looking forward to prairie dog hunting shooting for quite awhile.

 Michael was his willing and enthusiastic companion.

Lest you think these guys are cruel maniacs, I will speak in defense of their motives.

  The farmers have found the prairie dogs to be a big problem in their fields. 

 The little critters dig deep holes which the cattle fall into breaking their legs and often do not survive.

  These farmers are thrilled to have hunters come and help cut down on the population.  

The contact was our friend Darwin who use to be the youth pastor at our home church.

  He now works in a church out here and has a farmer in his church asking for help with this problem. 

 It was so fun to catch up with  Teresa and Darwin again and spend the day with them

 and their wonderful family.

I have several pictures of prairie dogs which I will refrain from sharing in case someone cannot understand their desire to help the farmers- but this one of Michael is too fun to not share.

It was such a fun day for these guys and I'm pretty sure that Mike had a grin on his face the entire day.

Teresa was a great hostess cooking two great meals for us, which seemed like no effort at all for her.  Thanks Darwin and Teresa for such a fun day. 

Wyoming is beautiful and our time with your family was such a treat for us. 

Celebrating Baby Seiler

I made it to the USA just in time to be part of a shower that Jennifer's friends had for her and their little one.  That was two weeks ago, but I'm  still playing catch up and  want to share the photos from such a fun celebration.

I enjoyed  meeting some of her friends and seeing the support she has through people in her life in Arkansas.

It was a beautiful day with a happy atmosphere and  such cute decorations.

Lots of variety with the food and American treats!

Jen has always been a lover of popcorn, so Lori made a popcorn bar for us to munch on throughout the party.

The shower hostesses were Madison, her three sisters, and Kelly from her work.  It was actually at Kelly's house. 

Little one was definitely showered with a lot of useful and fun gifts. 

There were friends from her work, college days, relatives, church and all the way from Thailand! :)

I was so thrilled to get to be with all four daughters and watch them pour out some love for their little sister at this most exciting time in her life.  Jen's due date is now just two weeks from today!  I have a ticket to arrive in 9 days- just in time for her due date!  C'mon "baby S"-- please stay warm and snug until I get there!  It won't be long! 

Psalm 117

I love the way this Psalm is so short, concise and sweet in it's entirety!!!

Praise the Lord, all nations everywhere.

Praise Him, all the peoples of the earth. 

For He loves us very dearly and His truth endures.

Praise the Lord!
Psalm 117

We are at CSU  now and have started our summer of training and Bible classes.  This borrowed picture of Fort Collins, Colorado only gives you a small glimpse of the beauty we see each day.  We are so very thankful for the opportunities this summer to study God's word and take classes for spiritual enrichment in this beautiful environment! His truth endures forever! 

Cousins

Anticipation is building as due dates are getting closer for the two new babies to join our family.   Jen is now 37 weeks, with a due date in less than three weeks.  Bethany is 31 weeks with a due date in mid-August. She will be spending her summer here in Colorado taking classes and attending New Staff training while trying to keep comfortable. Jennifer and Ben are back in Arkansas making final preparations for their new addition.

The Foltz kids will finally get some cousins, but will be leaving the country just before and after the babies arrivals. So glad that at least the two new babies will have each other.

Mike and I are loving each day  with our grand-kids this summer. 

Nathan has changed the most.   He wasn't talking when we last saw him and now is saying the cutest funniest sentences.

Exciting days for our family as we await these arrivals, study and learn together, and prepare for more hello's and good-byes in the near future!

Birthday Dinners

During our week in Arkansas both Jon and Jen had birthdays which gave us a good excuse to visit some fun restaurants.  Since everyone had either moved out of their home, were packing up to leave, or were 8 months pregnant- cooking big meals for our clan didn't happen too much.

Flying fish is a local favorite that we had never visited and the kids wanted us to experience. It was a fun and interesting place to eat and celebrate.

We especially enjoyed the "Liar's Wall" and "Bill Bass Adoption Wall". (in the first picture)

The best part though is just all being together again.

The kids loved the time with their aunts and uncles, too.

Our favorite meal was the last evening at Shogun.  We knew it would be the last night we were all together until Jon and Marisa come back from Thailand, so we decided to live it up.

The atmosphere was so fun for all of us to watch the chef in this one of a kind dining experience. 

We all enjoyed the entertainment of the world-class teppanyaki style chef.

Those guys are so talented with all their entertaining tricks.

Thanks  Jon and Jen for having your  birthdays together (June 2nd and June 8th), which made for a fun week for all of us.

What a Week!

It's hard to believe that one week ago today, I was en-route Thailand to the USA!  It feels like way longer. I think we have squeezed a month of activities and family time into the last week. Between troubles with Internet connections this week, and just wanting to enjoy family time without the added need to post on social media- I've had  a vacation from my blog.

My flight travel time was one of my worst ever.  Way too long, too many airports (6) which included too long of line at the USA immigration point resulting in a missed flight and being told I needed an overnight in San Fran and would miss Jen's shower all together.  After a few tears, (from exhaustion?) I got on another airline and made it.  I was just so happy to finally arrive and be with family and don't want to do that again anytime soon. (a few more months?)

I flew directly into Arkansas and most of the week has been  centered around helping Allens, Foltzs, and Lori pack up for a summer in Colorado, and Foltz's schedule was packed full of good-byes and closure.  It was hard to say good-bye to Seilers for the summer- but baby Seiler is due in less than one month.  Here's a few favorites from the week....

Our first morning there, we were able to go to Collin and Summer's church with them.  It was their last Sunday so their class had a send-off for them.

They were interviewed and grinned the whole time.

Showing the class the trip they will take from the USA to Thailand!

So precious to see their little  friends gather around them, lay hands on them and pray for them as they send them off. 

The next hour in adult church the whole congregation prayed for their family and Zoe (who will also be moving to Chiang Mai).  

They have loved their church family and it is hard for them to leave them, but the support they feel has strengthened them.

 Their last night in town, they had a send-off  party for their closest friends with a lot of tears and good-byes.

Throughout the week, we ate and played together as much as possible.  Even made a stop again at the original Walmart.  Loving my family with more photos to come. Feeling thankful and blessed again!