North and South Carolina Trip

We headed up to North Carolina last week for Paul to help with training the MTW interns that left Friday to go all over the world to serve the Lord this summer.  The kids and I went along for the ride...kidding!  No, we hung out and enjoyed the beautiful campus of Ridge Haven, the PCA's camp.  As you can imagine, there are lots of hills...so we got our workouts in everyday, climbing hills, hiking, swimming and canoeing and kayaking on the pond.  We even managed to get some book work done.  Of course, we did a lot of exploring and learning about the bugs, plants and critters of North Carolina.

 Above: PJ and Calvin doing some math worksheets.

 Above: Adele writing in her "journal".  Below: Elizabeth playing with stickers! This kept her entertained for a long while!!!

 Calvin especially enjoyed the Honeysuckle on the walk to the cafeteria and the pond.  He begged me anytime we were near there if we could stop and eat some honeysuckle.

 Another first for the boys was kayaking.  They both really enjoyed the freedom of having their own "vessel" to steer.  I wasn't sure if Calvin could do it, but he proved me wrong!

 As usual, Adele met a friend.  This is Julia.  Her Mamma works at Ridge Haven and so we got to spend an afternoon playing with her.  She and Adele had a good time together.

 I had the super idea of going on a nice, long walk one evening and collecting leaves.  We then rubbed them into Adele's journal.  She really enjoyed this activity, and so did I!

 The above rock was along the roadway and we passed it multiple times a day. I don't know who put it there, but it brought such great encouragement to me every time I passed it.  What a great reminder!

 The above picture is the pond.  It's hard to see but there is a long telephone pole with a rope swing hanging from it.  Would you believe PJ jumped from that swing?!?!  He did!  He wanted to do it, so he and Paul each jumped twice. I was so proud of him. I only have video of it, no pictures!

 Adele was especially fascinated with the Mountain Laurel. It was blooming everywhere at Ridge Haven.  It was so beautiful.

 We found two luna moths...again, a beautiful creature and one we rarely see.

 Paul is in the above picture with all the interns!  This is just before they pulled out to be taken to the airport to fly off to their destinations!  What a blessing to be there and pray with and for them as they departed!

 After Ridge Haven, we had planned to camp at Table Rock, SC.  We had never been there before and it was really a lovely State Park to visit.  Above is PJ helping Paul set up the tent.  We had a meeting with a church on Sunday, so we decided to camp from Friday to Sunday.  As we thought about breaking camp early Sunday morning before our meeting and worship, we were wondering if we should break camp Saturday evening and stay in a hotel.  Well, as you will see below, John Boyte, a dear and long time friend came to visit us and offered us to stay at his in-laws home not far from Greenville.  So, that is what we did..and it was SO much easier!!!

 At Table Rock, we spent some time hiking.  As you can see Elizabeth had the easiest time of it...and even got a nap on our hike.

 Yes, you have seen it correctly, this is a copperhead.  Not far up the trail, PJ, who was in the lead, saw this and immediately identified it as a copperhead.  Of course, it was confirmed. If you know anything about our boy, he was and has been elated since seeing this snake. It was on his list of snakes to see in the wild.  He hasn't stopped talking about it!

Pictured above are Adele, Elizabeth and Calvin in front of Table Rock.  Maybe when they all get older we can do the 4 hour hike (one way) to the top!  But, it wasn't to be this trip!!!

Last, but certainly not least, is John and Paul.  It was such a wonderful blessing to see him.  On Sunday, we got to see him again along with his bride, Cheryl and another college friend and his wife and children.  Unfortunately, it was raining when we arrived at their house for lunch and I left the camera in the car!  We headed home Sunday afternoon. It was a packed trip, days were full of the beauty of God's creation (for the kids and me, anyway!) and we had the privilege of seeing old friends and meeting new ones.

Prayers and Requests

Dear friends,

We are finally home after a month of traveling and visiting. It was good and encouraging but we are glad to be home. We have hardly heard a peep from the kiddos since returning because they are busy playing with their toys they haven't seen.

This past month many reminders to pray and needs have been brought to our attention. I know right now is not a good time to ask this of many of you, but I would ask you to pray because God's economy is not ours and we know that when He calls He will provide. With that said, I would ask you to pray for two different ministries that involve people that we really love and respect.

The first is for the man who married us and his wife. John and Cheryl Boyte along with their children, JJ, Casey and Caleb, live in Anderson, SC where John is on staff with Reformed University Fellowship (RUF). God's hand has firmly been upon John's college ministry since it started back in the late 90s. About a year and a half ago, John and Cheryl felt God was calling them to RUF fulltime. Up to that point, he was doing campus ministry through his job at a local PCA church among many other ministries. John and Cheryl have a gift for mentoring and discipling those who come to Christ. They have been instrumental in many lives as they have encouraged, prayed and couseled many students and directed us to Christ. Paul and I (though I was never a student at Anderson University) were directly impacted by their love for Christ and their love for us. John is the person God used to get us to Thailand...and there are many other stories like that out there! Anyway, all of this is to ask you to pray for them as they continue to be in need of monthly financial gifts and, if you are able and as you pray, feel called to consider supporting them. If you would like to know more please email John at jboyte[insert "at" sign]ruf.org.

We also stayed with our teammate, Melanie Currie, on our way down the Eastern Seaboard. Melanie served with us for two years in Thailand and she has been approved to return to Thailand as a long term missionary. Our whole family loves Melanie. She's lots of fun and has been used of God to encourage us time and time again. Melanie has a real desire to serve those in the Maahaadthai Community of Ram 2 (where we worked). Maahaadthai is a lower income community...usually known as a slum but we try not to refer to as that! Melanie would like to return by this June. She now needs to raise more support and is at just over 50% of her need. Please pray, again for God to provide for her. Again, if you are interested in supporting Melanie, please see her blog on the right (Thai Currie) and contact her there.

In your prayer times, please keep these two missionaries in your prayers.. Please pray for encouragement for them and for God to grant His presence while they minister and wait on God to provide for their needs. Pray that worry would be far from them, knowing the God, who has called them, is faithful. Please pray that whatever happens with the economy, God's church would find it fit to keep giving to the work of worlwide evangelism. Let's keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, come what may and see what He has planned through all of this. Thank you for your prayers and for your generosity.