BIG NEWS! May 8, 2007

Hi folks!

We have some big news regarding something Nat & I have been contemplating for a while now, and have made our decision . . .

Not only does Natalie continue to tell us about her wonderful experience thus far with YWAM (Youth with a Mission ), we have also been hearing about it from other, unrelated, sources. One in particular, really got our attention. We were in Dallas a couple of months ago at a financial seminar. Nat has "known" the head of the organization, Don McAlvany, since the 80's but has never had opportunity to meet him. He was in Dallas for this particular seminar. We were told that the daughter of one of his close friends and associates had been on a YWAM DTS ( Discipleship Training School ), and is currently a missionary with YWAM in China , so we planned to make that connection with him.

When the seminar was over, we went up to introduce ourselves. It didn't take long for the discussion to turn to YWAM and he kept us there for another hour talking about it. He & his wife, Molly, were very impressed with the YWAM DTS. He mainly wanted to talk about is how it radically changed their son's life a few years ago, and subsequently their own lives. Their son, Scott, is a single 26 yr old who runs an orphanage now in Bali (but that's another story).

Because of Scott’s radical life change since his DTS, Don & Molly decided they wanted to attend one themselves to see what it was all about. Neither had really been personally involved in missions prior to hearing about Scott's experience. Don said, "Shirley, I didn't even know how to spell missions." They now are deeply involved with an orphanage in the Philippines , and are in continuing education through YWAM to do full time mission work. He is also turning the helm of his financial institution over to another son. He looked intently at us three times that night and said to Nat & me, "You two need to do a Crossroads DTS!"

YWAM began as an organization (in the early 1960's) to train postschool/precareer youth to go on mission. It has become a worldwide organization to train part time and full time missionaries. This is how we have heard from others about how great YWAM is. They now have the Crossroads DTS, designed for folks age 35+, and are worldwide. The Salem , Oregon Crossroads DTS will begin June 11th. We are in the process of filling out applications, and taking care of lots of things around here in order to be gone for 5 months (three months of lecture/school in Salem , and 2 in outreach . . . don't know yet if stateside or overseas).

Our decision was finalized when we ran it all by Natalie in Melbourne , Australia via phone a couple of weeks ago, and she began to cry. It is what she had been praying for!

We (actually all three of us) are eager to see what the Lord has for this next stage of our life together. The two of us are both very excited and, realistically, a little anxious about an unknown future. But the excitement outweighs the anxiety. We plan to leave the first of June and head for Salem , Oregon to arrive no later than Sunday, June 10th.

Our plans right now are to drive (rather than fly) through Colorado Springs to visit friends, through Wyoming (where Nat “cowboyed” before we married), hopefully see some if not all of the Colorado Herefords, then on in to Salem.

God has, indeed, given us “beauty for ashes” up here on the hill, but we don’t want to plant roots too deep again! We are of one heart and mind for this thing.So, there you have it thus far. I remarked to Nat about a week ago, "You know, we are on the cusp of finding out why Satan has tried so hard to destroy us." I feel it with more conviction each time I say it.

We need your prayers:
- The enemy doesn't want this to happen. Please pray with us that we will press through each hindrance placed before us
- That we know the best way to leave the place for extended periods (family & neighbors are willing to look after the property)
- Chip away at a looooooooooooong "to do" list
- Prepare our hearts to be away from Kenzley & Taryn for an extended period. We are so grateful, in instances like this, for cell phones and internet technology!

We may just be talking five months, and no more or we could be talking about a complete life change, which we’re getting pretty good at!