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.

Heading East

Greetings To All:

Happy belated Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas to all! How in the wide world are you? We are doing well. Since we arrived back in the states and recovered from jetlag we have been busy, yet not. Make sense? For Thanksgiving we shared bird and lamb with Mike and Nikki Beachy, who hosted, and other transients on the base. Our contributions to the meal were corn casserole, sweet potato casserole, and pumpkin cheesecake casserole. Well, the cheesecake wasn't a casserole. Everyone had a good meal and fellowship. A couple of days later Kathy requested that I make another cheesecake for her and a friend of ours that didn't make it to the meal. After setting aside slices for them I allowed others on the base to help themselves. It didn't last longer than two days. Don't worry, some of you will get to experience the wonderful sensation and experience that is the cheesecake. Lynette S. I have a special slice just for you.

What else have we been doing? Leaves. Lots of leaves to rake and pick up. Despite my natural aversion to such activity I pitched in. I've been volunteering for the past couple of weeks with the base maintenance crew, which is minimal right now. I've done some other things for them besides just raking leaves. Kathy helped in the kitchen with some holiday baking. She also recruited our guest for the week, Lynette Miller, to help with that. They both had a blast. The two of them took a morning to go to Silver Falls State Park. Included are some pictures of that trip. Dakota has been having fun going to the classroom for "school" with Mary. She really enjoys playing there with a couple of other children of staff. She does miss Drew Beachy who is in China right now. "Play Drew," are some of the first words she says in the day. Oh, Dakota is also busy getting aquainted with the potty. Twice now she has gone peepee on the big potty! She was duly rewarded. I'm sure she will be glad to know some day that her daddy mentioned that on the world wide web.

So this Saturday we will be in IN. We will get to see some of you who are reading this. Late Saturday night is when we will actually arrive at my folks' place, which is where we will be staying. Normally I would comment on the difference in weather at this point, but we will be shivering right there with you. Here in Salem it is getting colder, but the highs have still been in the high 40s to low 50s. That's nice.

Our thougths and prayers have been on our future. Most of you have gotten our latest newsletter by now. Our hopes are still to move to Beijing in late February, and we are doing what we can to move towards that. Please join us in prayer and support during this time. We also look forward to hearing what your lives have been like in the past 6.5 months. In a short while we can discuss life and dreams over a hot cup of coffee together. For this entry I feel it is appropriate to end with: see you later.

God's Blessings To You,

Carson, Kathy, Dakota

Back In The U.S.of A.

Greetings To All:
How in the wide world are you? We are doing well. Last night at about 7:30 we arrived on the Salem base! After many hours of travel we made it. I'm going to take this time to brag on our daughter. She did fantastic!!! From the taxi ride to the Beijing airport to the ride from the Portland airport to Salem she was a wonderful traveler! The layovers in Seoul and San Fransisco wore Kathy and I down a little bit, but that might be because we know that flying does not REQUIRE those kinds of layover. Dakota has an advantage in that area: she has no prior experience to compare these experiences with. She doesn't know that it could even be another way. Isn't she lucky? Oh, the simplicity of a child. Hey, didn't Some One at some point tell us to be like children? Hmmmm.
Other than being awake between 3:00 and 4:00 this morning, I foresee the adjustment to this time zone being fairly smooth. The time frame above is for the girls. I am still up (6:39 a.m.). So what does one do in this situation? Pray, read, do laundry, journal, and update a blog. I'm enjoying this a little bit. Oh am I gonna sleep well tonight!
Our time in China was excellent! As mentioned in the last entry, "Ketchup On Noodles", God revealed some things to us while we were there. One experience I forgot to mention, and will do so now, was our apartment guests for the last three nights. A team of six YWAMers from Indonesia were coming through Beijing on their way to Inner Mongolia for their Outreach. Where we were staying was a place that is kept for those kinds of circumstances, and for those like ours. So, we were one happy, international family. They were very thankful to be sharing the apartment with us, and we were very blessed to see how God is moving people from other countries of this tiny planet. They of course fell in love with Dakota, and she warmed right up to them. I will post a picture of them in another "photo only" entry that may get done later today.
At some point this week we will be having debriefing meetings about our Outreach. We'll also catch up with some friends that are still here on base. I'll need to get my driver's license renewed. This will be the third state from which I will have received a driver's license (IN, FL, OR.) Isn't that exciting? We also hope to get a hard-copy newsletter out to people before the Thanksgiving holiday. Oh, we'll also get the privilege of driving a vehicle ourselves! Which side of the road is correct? I'm sure I'll find out one way or another. Hopefully the OR BMV doesn't make me take a test.
Well, while the girls sleep, I will go have breakfast. There will be different faces and I'm sure lots of questions asked. I think I'll make it through okay. This morning I have the advantage of being awake for four-and-a-half hours already. As always, we'll leave the light on for you. Oh, wait, that's some one else's saying. As always, thanks for catching up on us, and please drop us a message about what you are doing. I encourage each of you to bechildlike at some point today. So, when you're in Wal-Mart and people wonder why you are rolling around on the floor crying, simply encourage them to be more childlike.
God Bless You,
Carson, Kathy, Dakota

Ketchup on Noodles

Greetings To All:

How in the wide world are you? On this side of the Pacific Ocean life is good. We seem to be in near-constant motion. In approximately forty hours we will be headed back to the states. The time spent here in Beijing has been uplifting and hope-building. As Kathy and I both feel at home here, it's hard not to make any decisions about our future solely based on our feelings. What is truly important is knowing where God wants us to be. Will you please join us in continuing to pray for our future. I know that is a bit vague, so I'll give you a little more direction (and then maybe you can help give us some.) We would like to have a sound financial support system. We would like to be a part of a team here in Beijing. We would like to have "clear" direction for being here.

Some items listed above have been made more apparent since we've been here. There is a (small) team from our organization, and they would love to have us as a part of their team. They are very supportive of eachother in pursuing the individual calling that each of them has on their life. I visited a university that has a good Chinese language department. That seems like a very good prospect for me to learn the language. (Kathy won't have to order our food and tell the taxi driver where we're going all the time herself.) The program I would like to join starts in the second week of March 09. Kathy would enjoy helping one of the team members with tasks for which she desires help. Being together as a family in this city has felt natural.

We are aware of the financial situation across the country. Understatement: not good. It certainly has worsened since we left for Oregon. But, as we reflect on that time in our lives, we know we were very blessed to have been so strongly supported financially! Those times were not as bad as the current situation, but they weren't exactly easy. As we stepped out to do what God called us to do, He provided. We believe He wants to again. Hey, gas prices below $2.00 again? Awesome.

On the lighter side. Tonight at dinner Kathy ordered a noodle dish that had a red sauce. After it arrived she wanted more sauce. The waitress took it and brought it back with ketchup poured on top of the dish. As much as she argued, Kathy couldn't get them to change it. Chaulk that one up to cultural differences. Another unrelated story: this morning after church (one that is only for foreigners) three people approached us and asked if they could take Dakota's picture. (What's new?) But these three people handed me a card that said they were an agency representing foreign actors. Ah, a star is born. I told them that we were leaving in two days and that we may be back in March. They wanted to keep in touch.

Well, the next time we contact any of you will be stateside. It almost seems surreal. But, our path has not come to a lengthy resting place, yet. Each step of the way so far has had its blessings; some we have to look harder for than others, but they are there. Thank you for taking the time to catch up with us! Send us a line to let us know what is going on with you. Sorry, we don't have any videos this time. You'll have to settle for still pictures only. Maybe you can look at them while you listen to a cassette tape. (Hopefully at least some of you understand my sense of humor.) Enjoy!

God's Blessings To You,

Carson, Kathy, Dakota