This past Thanksgiving we were invited to Brenda and Tony Kauffman's house (they are previous owners of the electric brew and fellow hoosiers), Carson was planning to help load up a big truck with Christmas trees from their Christmas tree farm, so we decided to spend the night since they are located about an hour from the YWAM base. The scenery was beautiful!!! It was our first experience being on a Oregon Christimas tree farm, or any Christmas tree farm for that matter. We could see mount hood off in the distance, that is where this picture is taken. God is good, continuing to provide fellowship for us and open doors for us so far away from home. I am more convinced just lately that our walk with God is simply a day to day walk, that he meets us exactly where we are, no matter where that is, each and every day. And the cool thing is the moments of our days where we encounter him add up to weeks, months, and years and we can look back at these moments and say, 'wow, God met me in Salem, Oregon, or Beijing, China, or Goshen, Indiana, or wherever life may lead us.

Right now we are housesitting for a YWAM couple who lives off base, they travel quite a bit with teaching engagements and they are currently in California and then off to Montana to be with family for the holidays. B/C of lack of finances and b/c of my (Kathy)'s almost weekly appointments lately, it wasn't possible for us to travel anywhere for the holidays this year. The great thing is that God is meeting us here, right in this place by providing housesitting opportunities and fellowship with others who aren't traveling for the holidays. All is well, and God is good, faithful, and true. We are so bless'd.

Okay, we're off to Jamba Juice for yummy smoothies. God bless you all.

Black (Coffee) Friday

Greetings To All:
Merry Christmas, and a belated Happy Thanksgiving! 'Tis the season for busyness and stress, right? For all of our sakes, I hope not. Usually the reason this blog isn't updated is because we've been busy. But where does the time go? All of our time probably goes to the same place, wherever that may be. What have we been up to? The Ropes season has ended. On Oct. 31 we hosted our last group of the season. The work didn't stop there. All of the belay ropes, helmets, caribiners, and other easily removeable equipment had to be stored for the off season. Once that was fiinished, Jeff, a friend of his, and I built a brand new deck here on base. It's more than just a deck, it's a place for people to mingle and mix and be. It's a piazza. (Can anyone tell me what movie that description of a piazza is from?) There was a deck in the same location previously; it spanned part of the way over the creek that flows through our base. It was old, so it was torn down before some one fell through it. Now, it is bigger and better and with a fence extending out from each side of the deck so the little children have a significantly less chance of tumbling down into the creek while playing in that yard. I will try to include a picture of it with this entry soon.
Other than that, I have helped load Christmas trees onto a semi for our friends who live just west of Salem. Some of you might know them: Brenda and Tony Kaufman (The Brew founders.) There are a couple of more semis to load in the near future, and I hope to help with that. While we were at their place waiting to load a truck this past Wednesday we stayed the night and had Thanksgiving with them. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit with them. We also took an updated family picture in their front yard, and that picture will also be included with this blog at some point. Beginning this past Monday the Hershberger Family is officially on vacation. Every one of our staff has vacation time. We are unable to use ours during the Ropes season, so we are using ours now. This time is very valuable to us because we have needed some "down" time. Oh, part of this "down" time has been spent moving. That's right, we've moved! Well, we're still on base. A larger home recently opened up, and the powers-that-be offered it to us. Now, Dakota has her own room (painted green at her request) and so will the baby (painted brown at our desire.) We painted our room a deep red. New windows also got installed right before we moved in. This isn't a sprawling mansion, but it sure feels like it compared to where we were living. It's actually an old trailer home. Yup, we're in the trailer park now. The unit came complete with a nonoperating vehicle sitting out front (no joke.) However, we are all truly excited to have this change of living quarters and will enjoy our time in this new home. "Home" is wherever we make it out to be, right?
Kathy and I also baked each of our first turkey EVER last night. It turned out really well. We'll have leftovers in the freezer for a while, but that was the plan. Also on the Holiday Food line I will be baking 5 cheesecakes for a fundraising bake sale for one of the ministries associated with this base. Sorry, I don't think they are shipping them; you must be present to buy. Who knows what other holiday goodies will come from our home this year.
I had another new experience this Black Friday morning. That's right, I did it. I went during the biggest shopping day of the year. Target was my target. Our camera has now passed on, so we wanted to take advantage of a great deal. And since Target was offering, who are we to deny their enjoyment of selling a digital camera for $50 less than retail price? What time did I awake? 3:00 a.m. What time did the store open? 5:00 a.m. How long did I wait in line? 1.5 hours. How long was I in the store? 20 minutes. I got the bargain and was outta there. Would I do it again? It would have to be a really really really good bargain.
Standing in line and looking at all of the people leafing through their circulars gave me a strange thought. Here we were up before we cared to be, waiting and hoping to get a good deal on something that will be outdated or broken in a matter of months, and most people will do it year after year because the general rule is: if something is worth having, it's gotta cost some money, and no one should have to pay full price. What if something was totally, everyday free? What if some one else would come and pay the full price for it and then have it available for everyone? People are paying a lot of money in order to improve their relationships with other people by buying the latest IPhone to keep in touch, or the HD TV so they can then have more people over, or the newest toy for their child so the child will feel loved by them. What about the relationship with God that is ready for us? All we have to do is accept it and step into it. "Oh, but we are sinners. God doesn't want us if we are sinners." Well, He took care of that. Jesus is our payment. It doesn't cost anything for us to say, "Yes, I'll take that." And then to have a wonderful, true, loving, never-ending relationship with Some One who will never leave us is the most priceless deal of all time.
Isn't it ironic that Jesus paid the full price on the day we celebrate as Good Friday during the Easter season, and we look for the best discount price on a day we call Black Friday during the Christmas season. It seems like every day since the original Good Friday should be called Free Friday, because since that time the human race has no longer had to pay ANYTHING to have the ultimate relationship.
Thank you for keeping up with us. I do apologize for not doing better updating this blog. Please look for an actual newsletter in the near future. Some will be by email, and some will be by regular mail. I don't know which one you will get because I can't see who you are. Oh, and since we have a new camera, there will be some pictures added to this entry in the near future. If we think of some other exciting things to share with you, we will do so. Until then, share some of your exciting things with us, please.
God's Blessings To You,
Carson, Kathleen, Dakota, Baby

Happenings

Greetings To All:
Overcast. Crisp. Cool days. Chilly nights. These are all ways to describe Salem in the Fall. You can also throw in the word RAIN. While some of you are experiencing frost that kills vegetation, we are experiencing rain. Like Alaskans have about fifyt words to define snow, Oregonians have many words to describe rain. Hey, at least it keeps everything green.

Here's a warning: this entry is of previously undetermined length. So, grab a cup of coffee or a pillow, clear your schedule, and make sure the kids are down for a nap. It seems like so much has happened in the past five weeks since the last entry. I don't know where to begin. Our season on the Ropes Course is winding down. Last week our number of participants broke the 5,000 mark, and there are several more groups to come. Since the frequency of groups is slowing down, Jeff, Bill, and I have been building a new high element for the course. This one will be extremely focused on building trust. I would try to explain it in writing, but pictures would be very helpful. Once it is finished, I'll post some pics.

Another time-consumer has been Kathy being sick. She had a virus, NOT the Swine Flu, that zapped her energy for almost three weeks. She is almost 100% better and is gaining her energy back. We had an ultrasound to make sure the baby is okay, and the baby is. The doctor was concerned about a low level of amniotic fluid and prescribed another ultrasound in two weeks to see if the fluid level is up to par. We are extremely thankful and blessed that the sickness wasn't worse than it was. Any of you mothers out there know that your body takes longer to fight and recover from illness when pregnant.

Two of our teammates got married (to each other). Dakota was one of the flower girls for the ceremony. She did a wonderful job. And she looked like quite the little princess. There was a little figgeting five minutes into the ceremony, but she didn't cause a scene.

One of the great blessings we received since the past entry was my mom visiting for ten days. It was good timing with Kathy still being a little sick and things slowing down on the course. We got to spend time with her. One thing we did was visit the old Swartzentruber homestead (no longer in the family) where one of my grandpas grew up. That is in McMinnville. Also while we were there we found an old cemetary where one of my great great grandpas is buried. That was something to see. Beside his grave were three of my what-would-have-been great uncles. They passed away at different times, but none of them lived past their early twenties. Dakota got her picture taken standing next to her great great great grandpa's grave. For some reason that seems special to me. It was great to have mom here. I think she enjoyed it, too.

Oh, our little house just got a little bigger. Because of some other people moving around on base, a loveseat became available. We traded out full-size couch for the loveseat. And as is par for my course with furniture, I thought we weren't going to be able to get the couch out of our door. But, we did; and no windows had to be taken out. The floor space we gained in the living room is very nice.

We're looking forward to sharing more with you, but I've taken up enough of your time for now. Please keep in touch with us. We like to hear what is going on in your lives.

God's Blessings To All,

Carson, Kathleen, Dakota, Baby

Adventure = Fun?

Greetings To All,
How are you on this September day? We are doing well. We are curious what a Pacific Northwest autumn is like. Last year at this time we had just left for Thailand and were not around for September or October and most of November. So, we're excited for this season to come. I find myself generally excited for any season to come, climate- or spiritual-related. Part of the reason is because of the adventure we are on.
The other Sunday in church the pastor gave everybody a definition of adventure. And because of the title of our blog my ears perked up, one eyebrow raised, and my head cocked to one side. "What will he have to say about adventure?" I wondered. To my surprise the defiinition he have from a dictionary was: a bold, usually risky undertaking; a hazardous action of uncertain outcome. Hazardous, really? Risky, huh? That's right, it's not the happy, fun, or just dandy time that we usually asscociate with the word "adventure." I thought, "Yeah, I can related that to our life."
Since we felt led to sell our house in Millersburg in '06 we have been living and moving into the future without anything being for certain in our lives. We stepped out not knowing what we were going to experience. Even as recently as the beginning of this year things were left up in the air. We were trying to get to China for and indefinite stay, but that didn't work out. What we didn't know was that God wanted us to stay here and develop some skills and build some relationships that will be beneficial for us and others. And what parent would say that having children is not an adventure? Is everything about a new child certain, safe, and secure? No. Is anything about children of any age ever completely known? No. So, I believe the word adventure fits what our life has been and is like.
I also want to take some time to give you a better explanation of what the nature of our Ropes Course Ministry is like. Challenge Ropes Courses worldwide are used for the teaching of life skills. Here in Salem that is also true. But what is different about using the Ropes Course as a ministry is that we, as missionaries, are in a place to give participants valuable spiritual answers when they find themselves experiencing new emotions and thoughts. And one beautiful thing about the Ropes Ministry is that the people come to us. Less than 50% of the 4,000 participants (to date this year) on our course are believing Christians. We do not exclusively work with Christians. The other night Kathy and I were working with an extended family of 14. After one of the events we had a chance to talk with them about the nature of faith. The inquisitive and attentive looks on their faces made us realize that we had either just planted a seed or watered one that had previously been planted in them. They were here for a bonding experience as a family and in support primarily of one of the young men of the family who is having a rough time emotionally and psychologically. They all had a blast. Later that night one of the aunts emailed us and told us what a difference the day's experience was for the young man. He had a noticeable change in his demeanor. Good days for him are few and far between.
Another purpose our Ropes Ministry serves is tentmaking. No, not for us personally. But for the YWAM Salem base as a whole. To be able to host students for any of the schools that this base operates takes more finances than what the students would pay from their dues. At least half of the income generated from the Ropes Ministry goes directly to the base. The rest of it goes to maintain our course in Salem and to train and maintain other courses around the world, for example the course I just helped build in Russia. So, we are tentmakers as a ministry; we have to raise our own personal support.
I hope this gives you a better understanding of what our life is like these days. We know nothing of what our next season of life will be. But we are so excited to know that God is in charge and that He has promised us good things. We continue to pray about our vision for China and what that will look like. God will take us there when He says we are ready and the best opportunity for us is available.
Thank you for taking the time to keep up with us. Please email us and let us know what is new (or old) with you.
God's Blessings To You,
Carson, Kathleen, Dakota, Baby

Back in the U.S. of A

Greetings To All:

Whew! After a total of 40+ hours in airplanes and three weeks away from Kathy and Dakota I am finally home in Salem again. On the whole, the trip was nothing like what I thought it might be. Of course we worked a lot. Of course it was hard to communicate (but the translators we had were very good.) Of course it was hard to be away from my family for that long. My overall review of the trip to Russia is: it certainly was successful. When our team of three left here we had an idea of what we wanted to accomplish. When we got to Kamchatka we were able to see what we actually had to work with. In the time we were there we were hoping to set ten telephone poles, hook a lot of steel cable up to them, and design a flowing, teamwork-building, challenging element. All of it was successful!

Did you know that God cares about the little things you ask Him for? I am a witness to that truth. Before we left here we were planning on digging all of the holes for the poles and then having to set the 31' poles by "hand." What else could we do about the situation but pray? So pray we did. Upon arriving at the YWAM base in Kamchatka we discovered that their base had been blessed with a small tractor, which we used for clearing the land and moving the poles. Some one had blessed the base with the tractor only about two weeks before we got there. Also, a different person asked if he could leave his excavator on their base for a while, and oh, they could use it if they wanted. That, too, happened only about a week before we got there. Do I need to mention how much labor those two machines alone saved us? Here's the best part: they also found a guy with a drilling truck and lift to come and dig and set the poles for us! What we thought would take us the better part of a week to accomplish was taken care of in only three hours! All of us were so thankful for the blessing. The time we saved on that labor turned out to be very valuable. In that part of the country, they don't have ready access to the hardware that we do here. We had to plan a lot more carefully how to use the few supplies that we were able to take over while conforming to airline luggage weight regulations. When it was all said and done We started and completed nine high elements and one low element. Eight of the high elements were done as a circuit arranged in a spoke and wheel fashion. The ninth was a stand alone element. Those highs were completed at noon on Wednesday before the Saturday that we left. The low game, which was not in the original plan, was finished in a half of day. So, we even had time to train the people there and to have a couple of groups go on the course. In one day we had any one from a twelve yr. old boy to a sixy-five yr. old woman go up in the air on the circuit. Every one really enjoyed it. The work that we did will be used to bring more people to the base and open them up to hear about trust, faith, God, and Jesus. I believe that the blessings already given to build the course are only the beginning of the all the blessings God wants to give to the people of YWAM base in Kamchatka in this ministry. His hand was definitely in this project.

Our final days in Russia were spent in Moscow. We stayed at friends' apartment. Jeff, Petra, and I got a chance to see the city for a couple of days. So, we went to Red Square, Arbat Street, and saw some other sights as we were driven to and from the airport. The city is definitely a mixture of old and new. And they are often right beside one another: old, plain, communist-style concrete apartments adjacent to modern skyscrapers. The old times may be "gone", but there are constant reminders everywhere.

I want to say thank you to all who supported me/us in this experience. I want you to know that your prayers were certainly felt. And, even though I don't know what exactly you prayed for, I am confident that some of your prayers were indeed answered. Will an opportunity like this happen again? I can't say for sure. But I hope if one does that we can have your support again.

My hope for you is that you will ask God for something that you think "isn't worth His time." He cares about every thing about you. He even tells us in His Word to ASK! Please, seek His help.

God's Blessings To You:

Carson, Kathleen, Dakota

You Are You

Greetings To All:

Well, as is par for the course, it's been another month since our last update. Where does the time go? How have you been? We've been doing well. The Ropes Course has been busy recently. Just recently we had our annual inspection from an outside source. Although there is nothing serious that needs to be fixed, we do have a couple of days of work ahead of us. The main things will be replacing cable connectors that have been worn down. This will be good practice and skill development for me right before I leave for Russia. It's hard to believe that next week on the 22nd I'll be headed for Russia. A lot of time will be spent flying. Does anybody have a sure-fire way to get bumped up to first class without paying a dime? Please forward your suggestions to me.

One thing on my mind lately has been our uniqueness; each of our individuality. Isn't it amazing that God created each and every one of us, and yet no two people are exactly alike? What do you suppose He is trying to tell us? What about this: "Live out your walk with Me (God) the way I have called you to." I agree that it is okay to share similarities with others, but I believe that we are not called to walk just like other people and deny our God-given individuality. When I surrendered my life to God, I surrendered it to Him, not to anybody who would come along and give me suggestions on how to follow Him. Each of us is called by our Father to deny ourselves, which is to live a selfless, serving, humble, loving life. I believe that we can each deny ourselves (deny our sinful nature) while living out of and from our God-given individuality. Why else would He have created us so? If you have any answers let me know.

This past July 2nd marked four years of marriage to my BEAUTIFUL and loving wife, Kathleen. I firmly believe that God answered my prayers and desires for a wife in her. We have both grown from and through our marriage. (You know, that whole iron sharpens iron thing.) Life certainly has been exciting for us. Especially the past year and a half. Getting ready for the move to Salem to do the DTS and life during and since the DTS has been unpredictable. God knows every day of our lives before we are even born. HE holds the cards, I wish He would show me some once in a while. As wild and unpredictable as the past year has been, I wonder what this next year will bring.

To celebrate our anniversary we drove to Seattle. Jeff has a sister that lives there with her family. He arranged for us to stay at their house. So we had really nice free lodging, which was nice. The morning of the Fourth we headed into town and saw the sights: Pike Place Market, the Space Needle, and Ivars. We were told not to leave Seattle without trying Ivars' clam chowder. So we did. We also tried Pike Place Chowder; it was a two-chowder day. Life was good. Oh, and somehow that darn little guy with the hard hat and blue pants tagged along again. Where will he turn up next?

Thanks again for reading my blurbs. We look forward to hearing from you.

God's Blessings To You,

Carson, Kathleen, Dakota

Greetings To All:

Laughing Red Ligers...

Greetings Everyone...okay, so I haven't written in a while, so I decided that I would take these few moments that I have during Dakota's naptime to say 'HELLO' and to tell you a little about my life the past couple of days. The 1st picture here is of a group from the University of Oregon and they are doing an opening activity that we do with most groups who come here for a teambuilding experience. We divide them into 2 (or more) groups and then we place two bags of materials in front of them and we ask them to make THE tallest chicken tower possible, it has to be free-standing, with the chicken on top. They have 5 minutes to do this and one rule is that everyone has to be involved. What happens is that the activity 'immediately' turns into a competition. When everyone is done and each team is conviced that they have the best chicken tower, we pull everyone together and we ask them again what the rules were that we gave. They repeat and then we ask them "what would have happened if your 2 groups would have worked TOGETHER"?. It's so fun to see people 'get it' when they realize that they could have pooled their resources and worked together. We use this opening activity to help them to see that we can accomplish more together than we can competing against each other. We use a term called 'coopetition', which is competition and cooperation put together and that is what we like to teach people who come to work with us.

The picture on the left is a sign built by one of our facilitators; we have several different signs posted throughout our wooded course.

Dakota's 3 year old pictures (3)

This is a picture of the group that I had the priviledge of working with on Saturday (yesterday) for 4 1/2 hours. They were from the Casa De Belen Homeless/Transitional home in Roseburg, Oregon, 3 hours away. Their director contacted us several weeks ago and asked if we would be willing to work with their group of teenagers and our director immediately said 'YES' and then asked if I would work with the group. With fear and trembling I said 'yes' as well, since I have little to NO experience working with troubled, nonetheless, homeless kids. Our staff, Kevin, Petra, and myself bonded very quickly with these kids and their staff and we had a great afternoon together. We talked about trust, serving each other, working together, putting others above yourself, and encouraging each other. I had to step out of my 'comfort zone' (which is what we teach others to do when they come here) to lead this group, but I have to say that God gave me wisdom and guidance and helped me every step of the time with these kids. We are looking at possibly taking a trip to visit their shelter/home in the future to work with the mothers of these teens and to connect with the teens and the volunteers of the home again.

Look for our June Newsletter, we will be sending it out really soon. We'd love to hear from you and find out about your lives!!!

She's Three!!!

Greetings To All:

So, how have you been? Isn't it nice that we can sit, pour a cup of coffee, and catch up? It seems like we have not been able to do that as much recently. Oh, no thanks, I drink mine black. See? It's been a while; you even forgot how I like my coffee. Sitting is something that we haven't been doing that much of lately. But, with my training done and Kathy having finished the operations manual, life has returned to a "normal" pace. I paranthesised normal because we are still busy on the course.

Today we had 37 seventh graders for most of the day. I think we were all hoarse after that day. Can anyone guess how many times we had to remind them to "Listen Up!"? I lost count. Have you, in your adult life, ever heard that mystical voice telling you to "Listen Up!"? I sure have. Sometimes I get so excited about what God is doing in my life that I start to lose focus on where the excitement originates. Last summer during our DTS we read a book that pointed out an example of this. Our founder was praying for a large ship for a mercy ship ministry. When he finally got it, he immersed himself in making that ministry work that he forgot who provided the ship (God.) And soon the ship ministry went under (not literally.)

I personally have been so excited about being called to China in the long run. I would imagine waking up everyday to the sound of the bussling Beijing streets, rubbing elbows with the Chinese on the bus or subway, and bringing light into a dark place. But that's not the whole picture. What our calling is really about is God. It's about obeying Him and fulfilling His desires for us. The bottom line is: we can't do anything without Him. When I miss hearing His voice, it could quite possibly be because I've forgotten to listen. I get so wrapped up in making decisions about what He has told me, that I forget He told me. HE has called us, He has not forgotten us, He will lead us to the next step when He says we are ready.

Shifting gears a little bit. I have an exciting opportunity! Jeff, our team leader, has been invited to build additional high elements on a YWAM ropes course in Kamchatka, Russia. Jeff would like me and two other people from different countries to join him. I feel honored that he would ask me. He has a large pool of experienced builders from which to draw, but he asked me. No plans have been set, and no costs have been laid. But he would like to do the building for two to three weeks beginning the last week of July of this summer. Please pray with us that this opportunity is one I should take. (Kathy and Dakota would not be going along.) We want to know this is not from Jeff, but from God.

Dakota Mei Hershberger is THREE years old!!! We can hardly believe it. The teeny tiny bundle of legs and head that was born unto us is now three years old and sooo big. She continues to amaze us with her intelligence and hypnotize us with her cuteness. We simply marvel at her existence. All that encounter her know that she certainly has a strong presence about her. And we thank God that she has been and remains healthy. Kathy made a slew of delicious cupcakes for her birthday celebration with people on the base. We gathered picnic tables outside of our house and celebrated outside on a pleasant evening. All of Dakota's friends showed up: Jasmine, Maya, and Naomi. Drew and Isaac Beachy were unable to attend because they are currently out of state. Dakota misses playing with Drew. One of Dakota (and our) older friends, Marina, played "Happy Birthday" on her violin. That was a special surprise. (That is the video accompanying this entry.) Dakota had an enjoyable third birthday and went to bed a tired girl.

Thank you all for remembering us and seeing how we're doing. Please email or snailmail us to let us know how you are doing. Yes, I would like a refill. Oh, chust half, it's getting late.

God's Love And Blessings To You,

Carson, Kathy, Dakota

Gorgeous Blue Cheetahs!

Greetings To All:

So I sit down to write on this typical Oregon Spring day and wonder what is going on with each one of you. So? What is happening in your lives? Okay, okay, slow down, one at a time. I can't hear what one person has to say when everyone is speaking at the same time.

We have been seeing an unusual slow time in the Ropes Course schedule. However, we did have some groups come through this past week. We had a wide variety of people from sixth graders to high schoolers to "at-risk" kids from an alternative school to the boys & girls club kids. Yesterday some of our team, I (carson) went along, went to a HUGE church near Portland to train some of their summer camp counselors to play some games and to talk with the campers in an effective way. That three hour long program was for 200 people.

Apart from the games that we taught, which are fun, we taught the counselor/workers how to look at their camp in a different way. One lesson we teach people that come here or have us bring some games to them is how to promote a win/win result for all involved. Instead of making every possible thing a competition (as Westerners are so prone to do), we ask how can everyone come out ahead. And no, we don't mean that in the "you finished tenth out of ten people, but you're still a winner" way. We encourage people to work together to achieve a unified goal into which everyone participated and helped. And therefore everyone enjoys the reward. There can be smaller contests in which groups "compete" against each other, but in doing so they are still working toward the common goal. Why MUST there be a designated loser? (If you can answer that in 500 words or less, please write me and let me know.) An example of this on a small scale is how we have groups pick a team name. Some of them pick an adjective, some a color, and some an animal. When they combine the three they have a team name. Everyone participated, and everyone was working toward the same goal. The title of this entry is one team name that I worked with, and, no, I did not pick "blue" for them.

After talking with my mom the other day I realized that what we do is not clear for some of you. If you would like a better understanding of the course we work on you can go to ywamsalem.org and click on programs and select Ropes Course. There is a video that you can watch. Careful, the first couple of seconds may trigger an epileptic seizure. Enjoy. I'll also try to post some selected pictures with this blog.

Kathy has been working with our team leader and another teammate in restructuring our training manual for the ropes course. When finished this manual will be used for all YWAM Ropes Courses around the world. To date, those locations are in Germany, Latvia, Russia, Brazil, and of course the US. It's been quite the process. Jeff, our leader, is glad to have Kathy on the team, especially during this time. He is utilizing her computer organizational skills. She is doing a wonderful job!

What else has been keeping us busy? Not potty training. And it seems that we have an "open door" house. People seem to drop in at any time of the day. And it's not always the same people. We enjoy the company. When the same people drop in, it gives us a chance to get to know them more and to speak into their lives. Since Easter I have made ten cheesecakes! Five of them were for our base's Easter Dinner, and this past weekend I made five more for a Friends of All Nations (FAN) fundraising bake sale. I take it as a compliment that Virginia, a leader of the FAN team, personally asked for the cheesecakes. Her team makes lunch for us every Tuesday, and she is a phenomenal cook. The FAN team makes a different ethnic meal each time. Virginia gets most of her recipes from Extending the Table and More with Less cook books (Lynette S., you would be familiar with some of the recipes she's used.)

The pictures are of some of the activities on the course. And, as always, a Dakota picture for her adoring fan club. If ever there is a three year old, a spoon, and a tub of ice cream make sure you also have a camera.

As always, thank you for taking time from your day and seeing what we are doing. And please feel free to leave comments and/or send us emails.

God's Blessings To You,

Carson, Kathy, Dakota

The Season Has Begun!

Greetings To All:

Break out the raincoats and life rafts: it's springtime in Oregon! So, what is new with you? We have been busy with our training and leading the first groups of the season throuh the Ropes Challenge Course.

The most challenging part of the training for me (Carson) is learning how to help the participants apply what they experience to their various aspects of their lives. We don't sit down and talk with them one-on-one, but after each element or game they play we have debriefing time. We try not to have it last more than five minutes, but if they are receiving good insight into their lives, we won't cut them off. The main goal of the elements are: teamwork, trust, communication, balance, focus, goal-setting, and perspective. We, as facilitators, help the participants to put describe, observe, and apply their experiences to their lives during debriefing. Our hope, and the purpose of the course, is that when they leave here they have new tools with which to face obstacles in their lives.

So far we have had a variety of groups on the course. The very first one was a group of 13 college students, which included one 53 yr. old, from Montana. The older lady came to our house after they were done on the course to talk to us about her experience. She said that she had trouble knowing if God was going to show up for her when He was guiding her into new areas of her life. Throughout the day with us on the course we could see breakthrough in her levels of confidence and overcoming fear. And she reitterated that for us during her visit.

Another group we had was 43 eighth graders. They were broke up into five smaller groups. Within those groups they interacted with each other in ways they normally didn't. Cliques were broken down. They learned to rely on people who weren't their "best" friends. New leaders emerged as they found new ways to use their voices to help others. It was incredible to witness that happen; it was even more special to help bring that out in them. We are blessed with the opportunity to speak directly into their lives while they are with us.

Our work week is Tuesday through Saturday, with Sunday and Monday off (unless special circumstances arise.) This next week will be busier than last week. Training for us "newbies" is ongoing, but more of it will be done "on the job". We learn "hard" skills - technical, physical skills along with "soft" skills - the way to debrief an element. Kathy and I complement each other in that the "hard" skills come easier for me, and the "soft" skills come easier for her. We learn from each other. As we train with the other facilitators we see each of their different leadership styles and are able to develop our own. They don't expect us to all be cookie-cutter style leaders. Each individual on the team is valued for their contribution to the participating group and to our team. That in itself is a valuable thing to learn and take with us into our entire lives.

Finally we have pictures of the outside of our house. There would be some pictures of some flowers, I think they are daffodils, that I transplanted, but they haven't bloomed yet. They should be very pretty as they add some color to our brown corner of the base. Also, there is a picture of our team. Another picture is of Petra and Dakota. Petra is basically our sister. Kathy often jokes that Petra and I must have been separated at birth because of our very similar personalities. Dakota got to go down the zip line attached to Petra during one of our training days. She loved it! We have a little thrill seeker on our hands. (I wonder who she gets that from. Hmmm?)

As always, thank you for reading this blog. And I apologize for the long time span between this and the last entry. Please send us an email and let us know what is going on with you.

God's Blessings To You,

Carson, Kathy, Dakota

Psalm 131

"Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor my eyes lofty; neither do I exercise myself in matters too great or in things too wonderful for me. Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul;like a weaned child with his mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me." Psalm 131

The Latest

Greetings To All:

How in the wide world are you? I think we'll have to break out the family's old wet noodle and receive some lashes for not keeping up with this blog lately. Please accept our utmost apologies. One reason for the lack of updates on here is that we sent out newsletters recently that gave you all the meat of our lives lately. Another reason is that we haven't known what else to tell you. Well, now we have something. Ready? Here it comes. . . . .

The call to China on our lives is still great. God has not revoked that. HE simply isn't taking us there at this point in time. "So what are we going to do instead?" you ask. Prepare. NOT wait, but PREPARE. At some point as we continue to pray about the timing God will open that door. Until then we will be taking advantage of the opportunity He has given us to remain with YWAM on the Salem base and be a part of the leadership-developing/teamwork/trust-building ministry that is the Ropes Challenge Course. We have started the application process to officially become staff here for two years. During this time we will be making connections with people on base, in the community, and at a local church. The Ropes Challenge Course will be our main focus on the base in which we will spend our time. We certainly do wish that God would've opened the door for us to go to Beijing at the end of this month, but He didn't.

It is hard for me personally not to feel disappointed, at least in my mind. In my heart I know that this is from Him. Last Friday night we were at a prayer meeting for a couple of couples who are starting a brand new base in Alaska. Listening to their stories was very encouraging and inspiring. For one couple this has been a calling on their lives for the past sixteen years. For the other couple, from Korea, this has been on their hearts for the past three years. The determination not to give up on God and His timing which we heard from them was amazing! Now, the hard part is aligning my mind with my heart. Will God remain faithful to us? ABSOLUTELY! HE has no other choice; He Is Who He Is.

So, we move on in our preparation. We will look for language opportunities at the local community college. Also, their is a ministry here titled Friends of All Nations (FAN) we would like to check out. They work with international students from Willamette University here in Salem. They meet once a week for English training and relationship building. Once a month they get together for dinner and fellowship. The meal is centered around a country of some of the students and they share about their country. People skills gained on the Ropes Course will help both of us to hone our leadership abilities and be more effective in ministry.

We are excited about this time ahead of us. Our current residence (and hopefully for the two year commitment) is comfortable and quaint. The pictures above are of that. I do enjoy having a woodburning stove. Dakota knows not to go near it. She informs me that I will get owie whenever I stoke the fire or add wood. She enjoys taking baths one of our emptied plastic storage bins. As she gets older, we'll simply need to buy bigger storage bins. Oh! And for the first time ever Dakota Mei went Poopie on the potty! She's so big. Her reward has been ice cream. She does so enjoy that.

Today being Valentine's Day, I have a message of love to share. (Wow, I know I don't like the sound of my own voice, but I didn't realize how much I like the sound my fingers make as I type.) This morning as I was running "errands" I realized that anything that I had bought was something that I would enjoy. But how much more the same things are enjoyable since I get to share them with the ones I love. So, even if you're not reading this on Saturday, find some one to share something enjoyable with and reap the greater joy of sharing your life.

God's Blessings To You,

Carson, Kathleen, Dakota

P.S. Dakota finally found the perfect sweater to go with her signature purple boots.

P.P.S. Did I spell "prepare" right?

Keep On Keepin' On

Greetings To All:
Hello from Oregon. We made it back safe and sound. Seemingly, whichever state we happen to be in, we miss the worst weather in the state we just came from. When we left OR for IN, the worst snow/ice storm in forty years hit OR. Sure, we had a couple of icy days in IN, but nothing like what happened here. Now that we're back in OR, it sounds like the people in IN are getting pummeled with snow. But, we don't escape the storms entirely. There are still a lot of branches down here on the YWAM Salem base. Those people here on base over the holidays started cleaning up the debris, but didn't get near finished. They also lost power on base for six days. So, most of my (Carson) time so far has been helping to clear branches and trees. We've been blessed with good weather for the clean up.
So, how are you? Now that the busy holiday season has passed by, are you relaxing? We were blessed by all friends and family we saw while we were in IN. Thank you to all for fitting us into your plans and gettogethers. Reconnecting with you did wonders for our hope in the plans we are making for the future. One thought that came to mind for me addressed the issue of faith.
Living in faith and trusting God to provide for needs takes different forms for different people. There is not one universal way to live in faith. Sure, boiled down, faith is trusting in God. But, do we all live it the same way? I don't think so. Two different ways to walk in faith have been on my mind. Neither of them is better than the other - just different. One way is to step out into the unknown. Obeying the call of God and moving in that direction without knowing specifically HOW He will "come through", but knowing that He WILL. Another way is to step into a situation against known adverse conditions. Fighting against circumstances that will only be overcome by an act of God. There probably are other ways to live in faith, but these two have been on my mind recently. The common factor between the two is a loving, caring, trustworthy, and all-powerful God who wants us to succeed. HE wants us to overcome obstacles, fear, and circumstances. By trusting in Him, we will not only survive, but we will live a life marked by His handprints and blessings. When we experience His provision once, it may suggest that each successive trial will be easier. Not entirely true.
One does not become better at math by repeating 2+2=4 for the rest of one's life. We need challenges and new things to learn in order for our knowledge and skills to improve and sharpen. Since the three of us have begun this journey, we have asked God for things that only He could give us. From selling a truck to finding a team to join in Beijing, God has answered our prayers in a way that we could not have satisfied by our own means. Glory to Him! We press onward not knowing how the next step will be placed under our feet, but knowing that our feet have landed on steps in the past. Amazing, isn't it? If any of you reading this happen to be adrenaline junkies, this is a rush like none other.
We thank you all for the support you've shown us. To say the least, we couldn't be doing what we're doing without you. Please know that He WILL provide all that you need, we need, and all of his children and servants around the world need. HE has no limits. Isn't it mind-boggling to ponder how He uses each one of us to somehow meet the needs of some one else. Watch out! Some one with whom you come into contact today may have a prayer answered through you. Relax, He knows what He's doing.
Have A Blessed Day,
Carson, Kathy, Dakota

p.s. Sorry, no pics this time.