The joy of serving.....

"The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor." ~Isaiah 61:1-3

This is such a great calling! Proclaiming freedom for the captives-- because only God has the power to turn ashes into beauty and to give the oil of gladness instead of despair. I LOVE how God promises oil... oil is almost impossible to wash off or out of things- and He has promised that- in gladness!!! I love it! And oaks of righteousness for the glory of His splendor! What a great illustration and an incredible testimony! I can't wait for what God has in store!

Yippee!

We received our FIRST response-- the first $100 check in the mail today!! We are so excited!! We know God is working all of it out-- as we speak! Just wanted to share an exciting moment for us! Praise the Lord. :)

So much work....

wow. It has been so long since either of us has been on a missions trip that I kinda forgot how much has to get done. Tonight we had a relaxing evening printing, signing, and stuffing our letters into envelopes. :) We are getting so excited.... So excited to see what God is going to do! We are so blessed.

Our sweet daughters came up with a fundraising plan. We have just told them to be praying for God to provide the money we'll need and they came up with an idea all their own. They are wanting to do "chores" for people- cleaning windows, washing floors, planting gardens, etc. to earn money... and they want to give it all towards the trip. We are so blessed by their servant hearts-- even at their ages! What amazing girls we have!

;) So, if any of you have any windows or floors that need cleaning, I have two very willing girls who only want to serve! Let that be a lesson to us in servanthood. Gotta love that. :)

The adventure begins....

We are about to start out on some new adventures! It is a little scary, requires a LOT of faith, and lots of dedication! But with God's help, we'll be ready in time! 'What are you doing?' you may ask. That remains a surprise for the time being. We'll let you know when we're ready! For now, please keep us in your prayers! We sure need it!