Headed to St. Louis!

Hey Everyone!  Next week, I'm headed on another adventure with CHAOS!  Please pray for us as we head to St. Louis, Missouri to serve alongside Oasis International (refugees) and The Bridge (homeless).

I've created the following prayer guide for our friends and families.  If you wouldn't mind praying for us each day, that would be much appreciated.

Sunday:  Please pray for traveling mercies.  11 people in a van for 9 hours doesn’t sound like the best way to enjoy the Sabbath.  Please pray for patience and peace as we experience our first full day together.  Pray for our host, Christ’s Church of St. Charles, Missouri and thank God for their dedicated service toward us.  Pray for our huge shopping trip and our opening night of devotions and ask God to be present in each of those.  As well, as Him to bless us with a very restful night’s sleep.

Monday:  Please pray that we start the week strong, with great energy.  Pray that as we meet Mark and Joani and Katie (our hosts at Oasis International), that we will truly feel God’s calling on their lives and serve them as Christ taught us to serve.  Pray that the refugees we meet today will welcome us even as strangers.  Lift up our afternoon as we travel to the top of the Gateway Arch.  Pray that this will be an enjoyable experience; free from motion sickness and serious height fears.

Tuesday:  Please pray that as we continue at Oasis, that we may truly soak in the meaning of our theme verses: Colossians 3:22-24.  Pray that we will work today as if working for the Lord, because that is our purpose this week.  As we look forward to our first opportunity to shower on Tuesday evening, may this be a time of true refreshment and relaxation.  Pray that through these days of hard work and evenings of fun experiences, we will bond together as a group working toward one cause.

Wednesday:  Please pray that as we wake up, we wake up knowing that God alone is our strength.  Pray that as we face one of the most difficult days of the week, that we will look upon this day with joy.  Today we look forward to the fact that we will be able to take in some of the sights and sounds of downtown St. Louis after our hard work.  We are clean and done with crockpot meals.  We are also very tired as our 11:30 bedtime and 6:30 wake up calls are taking a toll on us.  Pray that as we enjoy pizza with Mark and Joani and Katie, we will enjoy their company and their stories.

Thursday:  Please pray that today, as we say “good-bye” to our friends at Oasis International, that this may be a day of hope instead of sadness.  We know that our God will continue to work in St. Louis even when we have long since gone.  Pray that many of the Muslim refugees that we’ve met will realize the Truth in Christianity so that we may reunite with them again in the glorious returning of Christ.  As we take the evening and go to a historical park and learn about the Native American tribes that once inhabited the land, pray that we will take it in with great respect.  Pray for good weather and for just a chance to enjoy the great outdoors along the Mississippi River.

Friday:  Please keep today in special prayer.  We will get to sleep in a little bit because we have no plans until the midday.  We will enjoy lunch at a homeless shelter, where we will do some small flooring projects and then go on a “homeless” tour – a tour that talks about a side of St. Louis that we were unable to fully grasp this week, but a topic that has always been in the hearts of many in our group.  Pray that as we enjoy a strange dinner at a roadside diner, that we can truly celebrate the hard work that we did this week.  Pray that we can fall asleep knowing that we did, in fact, work as though working for the Lord.

Saturday:  Today, we begin with cleaning and packing and probably a bit of crankiness.  It’s been a long week and no one is very excited about the drive home.  Please pray that Kraig will be focused and patient and well-rested as he drives our group back to Grand Rapids.  Pray that as we reunite with our families, they will hear our stories – they will laugh when we laugh, cry when we cry and ponder when we ponder.  Pray that we will not greet our families with crankiness, but in a rejoice and renewed excitement about working and serving our God.

Update...

Lots of stuff has been happening.

1) I'm moving.
2) I finished a 5k this morning.
3) I worked at a warehouse for 6 weeks.
4) I've spent all the money I made at the warehouse.
5) I'm headed to St. Louis, MO with our high school students in a week.



Okay, so maybe not THAT much has been happening, but I feel like I haven't slept much since I last posted in here.  The next few weeks don't look any less busy.  Between moving and St. Louis, I also have a bridal shower to plan (yay!) and a 1st birthday party for my nephew (yay!).  Then, in September, I have 2 weddings - one is up in Winnepeg, Manitoba (Canada) and a couple friends are roadtripping to it... the other is my brother's wedding at the Double JJ Resort in Roscommon, MI.  Oh, and classes start up in the end of August.  Wowza.

A Prayer

 For those in the midst of tragedy - the tragedies that make headlines or the tragedies striking your most inner core - this is for you.



Gracious and loving God,You watch the ways of all of us
and the utter destruction of which our hands are capable.We implore you to weave goodness and gracein the lives of those destroyed by senseless violence.Surround those whose lives are shattered with a sense of your present love.Wrap them in the worn quilt of your compassion.Though they are lost in grief,May they find you and be comforted.
Amen


- by Kimberly Knight, based loosely on a prayer in the UCC book of worship

Urgent Prayer Request... and a video :)

I received this video in a prayer request that I'll mention later, but I wanted to share this with you as well.  This is where I found family while I was serving in Budapest, Hungary.  It's mainly in Hungarian, but the man speaking is Reverend Aaron Stevens.  He first talks about how he came to Hungary (from the US) as a teacher and fell with love with his wife, Edit.  Now he has two sons and is the pastor of this congregation.  Then it talks about the mission of the church and how one of the biggest missions is with refugees.  Two refugees are interviewed, one speaks in Arabic I believe and the other in English.  In the mix are the Communion song, bilingual puppets (the worship services took place primarily in English), and a look at our coffee/tea time after the service.  It makes me miss that place very much.

Video Here



Now, about that prayer request.  I can't say much about it here, but please be praying for the refugees that worship with St. Columba's church.  Life is not easy as a refugee in so many ways.  They have gone through trauma in their home countries, sometimes trauma in their travels as well.  When they arrive in Hungary, they don't speak the language and many don't know neither English nor German, which creates a whole new set of barriers.  They look different and Hungarians can be very racially prejudicial, which creates another issue.  Then, of course, there are the legal documents.  One error can result in deportation... and deportation means returning to the country from which they fled in the first place, where they will surely be faced with even more persecution.

We are calling for prayer over the refugees in Hungary.  God knows there are some circumstances that have called us to this urgent request.  We need prayers of safe-keeping.  We ask for prayers that immigration would have open ears to hear the stories that need to be shared.  We ask for God to continue to provide for the needs of the refugees in every single way.  Thank you.

6 months

Curious about how a couple very in love spends their 6 month anniversary?

Well, if their names are Eric and Trazy, it's going back to the location of their first date and getting their pictures taken... then getting ice cream.

Then eating ice cream in our own separate cars because we lead busy lives and that evening he had class and I had homework to do.

These are just a few of our favorites taken by my friend, Eric Stoike of "On the Run Photography" out of Allendale, MI.

New-found Enjoyment

Please take your seat before I make the next big announcement.  You're going to want to be sitting down, I promise.

I've started running.



Take a few deep breaths because I know it's a lot to take in.  I'm still in shock myself.  However, Jane and I signed up ourselves and significant others for a 5K (http://www.thecolorrun.com) in August and decided that we can do that.  We started out by doing some walking at the GVSU fieldhouse facility and then started walking outside this summer at a park in Comstock Park.
On Monday, after a canceled walk in Comstock Park, I decided that it was time I tried to go out by myself.  I was a little worried about being out on a trail alone with headphones in (I think I've watched a few too many Law & Order episodes), so I was probably over-cautious and kept looking over my shoulder (which I will blame for my slowness :P), but that will probably become more familiar in time.

The trail is about 1.2 miles (or 1.9 km) and I do one pass, which puts me at about 2.4 miles or 3.8 km.  It's not overly long, but believe me, it's enough for me right now.
On Monday (day 1) - It took me about 50 minutes and I ran 6 minutes.  Apparently when I'm done running and walk for a while, I walk reeeaaalllllly slow.
On Wednesday (day 2) - It took me about 45 minutes and I ran 8 minutes.  There's already been an improvement!

I'll be going out again on Saturday morning with Mr. Eric, so not sure what that will look like but I find myself honestly enjoying it.

To Be Happy...

15 Things You Should Give Up in Order to Be Happy

I've had a complete change of heart the last few months and the couple things that were still bringing me down have hopes of being turned around as well in the future.  It's safe to say that I've never been happier.  Part of it is because I listened to this advice without even knowing it.  I hope you can get some great inspiration from this as well.

Cheers!