Contentment?

I was planning on calling churches this morning, but then discovered my cell phone in my pocket--batteries completely dead. BUMMER! So, it's recharging, and I'm blogging. God has done a lot lately. He brought us safely from MN to CO, gave us a new church to speak in, and hopefully(prayerfully) they will join our partnership team. If you think of us, pray for more partners. We still hope to leave by January, and I know God will provide.
I was feeling a little antsy yesterday, and sort of bummed. It seems that all of our friends from GIAL have already left, or are leaving for the mission field. I'm totally excited for them, and I'm glad they are going, but I wish we were too! I know God has a purpose for this now. I just need to stay on task and keep serving him where I am. He put us in CO for a reason, to speak at new churches and share with people what He's doing in Australia and in our lives. So we just need to be faithful where He has put us. I know He will take care of us, and we will ultimately end up exactly where He intends for us to be. So, though I feel bummed, I can reflect and realize there really isn't a reason to be discontent with where we are right now. We must simply be faithful in sharing, and God will get us there in His time (which I hope is January or so!)
It's been encouraging to see how many people have joined in our ministry and how many people have helped us along the way, and not just with financial gifts. The reason I can be content with where we are is seeing the people who have caught our vision and are excited with us to see what God has planned and want to be "in on it". We really want to include as many people as possible in this so others can experience God's faithfulness and be involved in what He is doing around the world. So, with that said, I know God will continue to add to our number, just as He has been(even if it's not as fast as I would do it...:) ). I will wait and see what God will do next, and try to remain faithful to the tasks He has laid before me.

We have found an optimal way to send out greeting cards! It's great because:

• each individual card costs less than $1
• we don't have to purchase cards at the store -- we send them directly from our computer!
• They're real cards, not just e-cards.
• They can be personalized in many ways, including our own pictures
• We can send them to friends in the United States from Australia for the cost of a $.44 US stamp!

We joined a company called "Send Out Cards." We saw this as a real advantage and boost to our ministry and personal lives. You can check it out and get a free trial to send out a card on us, by going to this link: https://www.sendoutcards.com/80622

If you want to get this good deal on greeting cards, there are different options -- you do have to pay an entrance fee, but for the value of the cards and if you use it for many years, I think it is worth it. If you do want to start using Send Out Cards, please contact us and we can help get you started.

Cameron doing what he likes best: eating! :)

Alice and Bethany with Mommy's birthday cake

We went to Diamond Point Park to meet up with some of our friends -- just happened to be on Cheri's birthday. Some of them even came all of the way from Duluth and Brainerd to see us! It was a good reunion and fun for the kids too. 6 years ago none of us had any children, and now there are a total of 11 so far!
In the evening, Jared and Cheri went on a date -- biking, canoeing, out to eat and a movie at home...what fun!

Jared went 4-wheeling with Danny Paddock Aug 15th, and the girls went with his son, Daniel! What a blast they had :)

Jared went 4-wheeling, and on the same day the kids did too! What fun they had :)

What we're up to now!

We've been in Bemidji for over three weeks now, and we'll be here until the beginning of September. We've had opportunities to speak at several different churches, but no new churches have taken us on here. It has been encouraging to see people and share with them about Wycliffe, and our family. It's also nice to have a place we can return to to rest and relax. Earlier this summer, it felt like we were constantly in a new bed, if not every night, it was about every three nights(except for our 2 1/2 week stay in CO). We've traveled over 7000 miles this summer since leaving TX! We've been in TX, CO, WY, MT, MN, IA, MO, IL, then back to MN. We'll be moving to CO in September, where we'll reside until leaving for Australia in December '09 -January '10.
It's neat to think we've already built nearly half of our parntership team. I'm excited to see who God chooses to include in this ministry in Australia. We want to get there as soon as possible, and the folks in Australia are waiting for us and want us there as soon as possible. I know God will bring more people to be part of our financial partnership team for us to be able to leave in time. Patience. I know there are so many more people that need to hear, and God will draw the people He wants to join us in this ministry.