April In The Woods

 

 Greetings To All:

How have you been?  This past month has been less chaotic for us.  If you got our email you already know that none of us have been ill for a few weeks, which is nice.  We have also seen that large orange orb in the sky a couple of times.  And, this time on the blog I got the pictures to actually lay kind of how I wanted them to.  Oh happy day!  We've had a strange twist of our living situation:  Dakota actually wants to sleep in the same room as Desi.  We thought that was odd, but other parents are saying that their children ask the same thing.  So far it has worked out with neither one keeping the other up all night.  We're looking forward to not having to heat our home with the wood burner for a couple of months.  The days here are getting nicer, but the nights are still in the 30's. 

This month has been kind of slow on the course.  However, the phone has been ringing with clients that are scheduling for the rest of the season.  Bring it on!  Our team is continuing to find ways to teach participants Truth from the words they themselves use to  describe their experience.  It's an incredible experience of which to be a part.  When one of our participants, who I do not think is a Believer, said that he  finds comfort in the mere presence of people he trusts and that love him, I could barely contain myself.  However, I had to be creative in how I addressed the topic because that participant's group was here on government money.  And I think we are all aware of the government's lack of explicit support for anything Christian. 

The other day I did a devotional for our base staff meeting.  I would like to share it with you here; I'll give you the condensed version.  It is based from Psalm 139:13-14.  The human heart came to my mind.  How often do we ask each other, "How's your heart?" (And we don't mean the actual physical heart.)  God, our designer, has intricately made our heart, and we can see a spiritual parallel with the physical anatomy.   The heart has  four chambers; two for receiving blood, and two for sending blood away from the heart.  The right atrium recieves blood from the rest of the body(except the lungs.)  We take in all kinds information through our senses.  The blood then gets pumped down into the right ventricle.  We take the info we sense and think about and form opinions about it.  Next, the blood gets pumped to the lungs where it gets infused with life-giving oxygen.  After we mull something over, we pray and send it to God to receive His life-giving breath and counsel.  Once the blood has been properly oxygenated, it flows back to the left atrium, where it awaits travel to the left ventricle.  God hears our prayers, gives them back with His life in them, and we enter a time of preparation.  "Preparation for what?" Good question.  The life-giving blood is sent to the rest of the body where it fulfills its purpose: to bring life.  When our preparation time is done, we are ready to take our thoughts and prayers, now ready to be enacted, and bless people with them.  We help to give them life.  If you happen to look up a picture of a human heart, you will see that the muscular walls of the ventricles, the chambers used to send blood out, are thicker than the receiving atria.  Maybe it's God's way of saying that we are to live out the callings on our lives and not keep them to ourselves.  He equips us to be stronger in the giving than the receiving.  I ended the devotional again with the question,"How is your heart?" 

The human anatomy is fascinating to me.  And why wouldn't it be so marvelous?  Look at its Creator.  Well, I'll leave you with that little tidbit.  Thank you for taking the time to catch up with us.  The pictures of the girls are there for the cuteness factor.  The other picture is to give you a visual of one element that we have.  We had a group from a large lumber mill in the Northwest here for some teambuilding and Kathy got some good pictures of them.  Dakota and Kathy are getting a little restless to get outside more, and Desi is waiting to get her first true taste of summer fun on the playground.  We wish you a dry and warm Spring.

Many Blessings To You,

Carson, Kathleen, Dakota, Desislava

This Spring(?)

                                                                                     Greetings To All:

"In like a lion, and out like a lamb", huh?  March certainly came in somewhat harsh here.  The rain was constant, and groups were coming on the course right from the start.  But, the month finished with a few consecutive days of sun, and some interesting groups.  Also, the month of March in this household could be labeled "the coughing month."  It started with me, and ended with Desi, who, thankfully had the least severe of us all.  Dakota ended up having the worst and longest-lasting cough of us all.  Kathy took her to the doctor twice.  The first time Dakota was diagnosed with a sinus infection and completed the prescribed antibiotic.  However, the cough didn't go away.  So, the second doctor's visit let us know that she had walking pneumonia.  Now she is taking that antibiotic.  She has been such a trooper through it all. 

One of the factors contributing to her cough was mold starting to grow in her room.  Before you panic, know that we are trying to stay on top of it now that we know.  This trailer did have a history of mold, mainly in the addition that is Dakota's room.  Please pray with us that this situation will become better and that our home will become and remain mold-free.
What else have we been up to?  I have been working with groups on the course and doing scheduling in the office.  So far we have worked with a wide variety of groups from girl scouts to employees of a lumber mill a couple of hours from here.  Each group presents different opportunities to share principles of Truth, which we know as Jesus' life and God's goodness and love.  Our team handles the challenges well.  We each have a broad talent that allows us to connect with every group, but we each connect on a deeper level with different groups.  I learn so much on how to connect and relate to middle schoolers and younger while observing Fred interact with them.  Ryan enjoys bringing meaningful and inspiring words to youth groups.  Jeff connects well with the corporate clients.  Me, I feel a deeper bond with the college groups that spend time on our course.  That being said, I want to stress that we all connect on some level with every group we work with.  My point is: we all have groups that we naturally identify with on a more personal level for whatever reason. 
And as I'm writing this I'm reminded of Paul's writing in 1 Corinthians 9: 22, "When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ.  Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some."  Having lived in this world, doing various things in different siutations with diverse people we are all able to relate to the trials and struggles that other people are facing.  As Christians, having overcome one of the biggest struggles in life: finding and receiving true love in Jesus, we can offer that to those who are in need.  Where is the common ground?  The desire to be loved, to love, to be understood, the longing for fulfillment and purpose; that is where the common ground is.  As the Christian has found the source of all those desires,  they can point others in that direction.  And our own personal experiences are what allow us to be effective in relating to others. 
Shifting gears.  . . .  This week we have Kathy's mom and niece visiting us.  Already I think niece Bridget has read half of Dakota's books to her.  And Grandma has probably read the other half to her.  Desi doesn't know what to do with new people except commit random acts of cuteness enticing them to pick her up.  It usually works.  Dakota had fun at a birthday for another base child because they did the flying squirrel.  She is all class in her boots, skirt, jean jacket, and harness.  Kathy has been helping new a couple of new women on staff and volunteering get adjusted to life at YWAM Salem.  We had the privilege of our Indian friend, Chops, cook us an authentic, from absolute scratch Indian meal.  YUMM! At the beginning of March Desi turned 1 year old!  Yes, I'll sound like the average parent because I believe it to be true,"Where does the time go?"
A couple of prayer requests for our life right now are for the mold situation in our place, Dakota to be completely healed from any kind of sickness, and continued grace and wisdom in balancing a leadership positon in a ministry with family time.  We thank you for all of your support in prayer.  We also thank you all for supporting us financially.  That is a blessing for which we are daily thankful.  Well, until next time. . . .
Blessings To You,
Carson, Kathleen, Dakota, Desislava