Back to Ta Town

(For those of you who aren't Wichita natives, "Ta Town" is what the locals affectionately call our thriving metropolis.)

After about 24 hours on the road, we were very thankful to pull into my parents' driveway and see our beloved Stryder at the window, just as anxious to see us as we were to see him. It is SO good to all be together again! On our way back, we drove along the top of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which overlooks the Shenandoah Valley. So beautiful, especially with all of the changing trees.

Probably due to my recent addiction to Gilmore Girls, I have decided to take up drinking coffee (the main characters are coffee junkies), and Brian has decided to join me. I have always loved the smell of coffee, and the idea of coffee - like brewing a pot every morning - but it has always tasted like burnt water to me. I have been told that I just need to add cupfuls of cream and sugar, and sure enough, it really does help and the taste is beginning to grow on me. I think I have now consumed five whole cups! Below is a picture of our very first cup, which we bought in Shenandoah National Park.

So, if anyone has any recommendations on good coffees, or maybe more importantly, good creamers, let me know! Oh, and if anyone ever wants to borrow a season of Gilmore Girls, just ask. We found a great deal on amazon and got all seven seasons! We watched all of season 2 on our drive back!

Brian felt good about his interview at the Mayo clinic last week, but we won't know anything until match day, which is Dec. 3. They only take one resident, but they seem to truly desire a well-rounded resident, so we feel like Brian has a good shot. Although he was not number 1 or 2 in his class, in the past two years, Brian has accomplished soooo much, so we are praying that they will value his character and his experience. Thanks so much for all of your prayers - they have been getting us through this tough time and the Lord daily gives us peace that passes understanding. Brian started working for his dad today, so he is looking forward to settling into a routine there.

This weekend, my mom and I are heading down to Baylor for Homecoming so we can see my sister perform in Pigskin! Let me know if any of you will be there too!

Ortho update

Thanks to all who have been praying for us - we found out Thursday night that God has closed the door at Phoenix... we are disappointed, but thankful that Brian still has two more shots at a program this year. He interviews at Indianapolis today from 2-3 (Eastern) and then at the Mayo clinic in MN next Wednesday. On Saturday morning, we'll start the drive back to Kansas and should arrive there late Sunday night. Please keep lifting Brian up over this next week. Indiana and Mayo are part of a program that "matches" applicants and schools - we won't know the results of the match until around Thanksgiving. So while we have a while left to wait, we are thankful to finally just know about Phoenix. Waiting might be the hardest part of this whole process. :)

We're going to drive down through the Shenandoah Valley area tomorrow and are looking forward to seeing all of the beautiful fall colors on our drive! We're so excited to be coming home for a little while - can't wait to spend time with our family and friends in Wichita. Thanks again to all of you for your support during this time. We couldn't do it without you!

It worked!

Sometimes boycotts do change minds! I am very happy to report that McDonalds has announced they will not renew their sponsorship in 2009 of the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. Yay! Read the complete story here. To all of you who went without McNuggets for the past few months, your efforts have paid off! Now we just have to stay on top of Hallmark.

No word yet for us on the orthodontic front - we are expecting to hear something from Phoenix by Friday. In the meantime, Brian will fly to Indianapolis on Thursday for an interview on Friday, so please continue to keep him in your prayers. When he gets back, we'll start our trek back to the midwest. We'll keep you posted!

A time for prayer

"Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." - 1 Thess. 5:16-18

Lately, Brian and I have been constantly, at least in our hearts, on our knees. I told him tonight that I am at the point where I am not even formulating complete sentences, rather, my spirit seems to incessantly breathe "help." In the back of my mind, no matter what I have been doing over the past week, I have found myself in a place of surrender, in a place of complete helplessness. The stock market, the elections, the happenings in the middle east and our future (somewhat dependent on Brian's interviews) seem to be hanging in mid-air. And for the first time in my life, I may be catching a glimpse of what my life as a believer is supposed to look like. Shouldn't I always be this reliant on the Lord? Shouldn't I always throw aside the "securities" of this world and depend solely on His providence?

We spent a great weekend in Phoenix with our friends, Ann and Danny Seiden, and are now back in Lancaster awaiting the results of Brian's interview - we should know within a week and a half. He loves the program and felt pretty good about his interview, so we are trusting that if Phoenix is not the best place for Brian then the Lord will direct him to somewhere even better.

Yesterday I received some more news that certainly deserves our attention and prayers. The matters I am concerned about pale in comparison. The following was written on October 4 by two YWAM (Youth With a Mission) facilitators and is still currently happening in India (click here for news coverage). Please take time to read it and join me in prayer for our persecuted brothers and sisters. Also, PLEASE continue to pray for my dad and brother. They are heading to India on Friday and will be in the country until October 22. Although they will not be in the exact area where the situation below is happening, I still ask God for their safety as there are obviously many in India who hate Christians.

We have never seen anything like this. We knew that Orissa was the most resistant and hostile state in India as far as the Gospel is concerned. And we brushed off the continuous threats and harassment we faced as we went about His work. But none of our staff imagined that they would see this kind of carnage... and it seems to be totally under the radar of the Western media .... 

A militant Hindu priest and 4 of his attendants, who were zealously going around the villages of Orissa and "reconverting" people back to Hinduism, were gunned down by unknown assailants in Central Orissa last weekend. Immediately the Christians were blamed. The cry rose up..."Kill the Christians!" And the horror began... In the past 4 days, we have firsthand witness to hundreds of churches being blown up or burned and many, many dozens of Christian tribals have been slaughtered. For no other reason than they bear the name of Christ. 

Night and day I have been in touch with our Good News India Directors spread across 14 Dream Centers in Orissa... they are right in the middle of all this chaos. In Tihidi, just after the police came to offer protection, a group of 70 blood-thirsty militants came to kill our staff and destroy the home. They were not allowed to get in, but they did a lot of damage to our Dream Center by throwing rocks and bricks and smashing our gate, etc. They have promised to come back and "finish the job." Our kids and staff are locked inside and have stayed that way with doors and windows shut for the past 3 days. It has been a time of desperately calling on the Lord in prayer. 

More police have come to offer protection. In Kalahandi, the police and some local sympathizers got to our dream center and gave our staff and kids about 3 minutes notice to vacate. No one had time to even grab a change of clothes or any personal belonging. As they fled, the bloodthirsty mob came to kill everyone in the building. We would have had a mass funeral there, but for His grace. In Phulbani, the mob came looking for Christian homes and missions. The local Hindu people, our neighbors, turned them away by saying that there were no Christians in this area. So they left. We had favor. The same thing happened in Balasore.   

All our dream centers are under lock down with the kids and staff huddled inside and police outside. The fanatics are circling outside waiting for a chance to kill. Others were not so fortunate. In a nearby Catholic orphanage, the mob allowed the kids to leave and locked up a Priest and a computer teacher in house and burned them to death. Many believers have been killed and hacked into pieces and left on the road... even women and children. More than 500 Christian families have had their homes burned or destroyed. They have fled into the jungles and are living in great fear waiting for the authorities to bring about peace. But so far, no peace is foreseen. This will continue for another 10 days... supposedly the 14-day mourning period for the slain Hindu priest. Many more Christians will die and their houses destroyed. Many more churches will be smashed down. The Federal government is trying to restore order and perhaps things will calm down. We ask for your prayers. Only the Hand of God can calm this storm. None of us know the meaning of persecution. But now our kids and staff know what that means. 

Through all this, I am more determined than ever to continue with our goal: the transformation of a community by transforming its children. Orissa will be saved... that is our heart's cry. If we can take these thousands of throw-away children and help them to become disciples of Jesus, they will transform an entire region. It is a long-term goal, but it is strategic thinking in terms of the Great Commission. What can you do? First, please uphold all this in fervent prayer. Second, get the word out and increase our prayer base for this is spiritual warfare at its most basic meaning. We are literally fighting the devil in order to live for His Kingdom. The next 10 days are crucial. We pray for peace and calm to pervade across Orissa. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Please pass it on and help us to get as many people to partner with us on this cutting edge effort to fulfill His mandate: Go and make disciples of all nations.... prayer works!