From the Road: Athens, TX

This week it's been hard not to feel like darkness is winning. The news from Virginia broke our hearts and I continued to be sickened by the blame game everyone is playing. Evil happens. Darkness exists in our world. Bad things will always happen until Christ returns.

But we have had some glimmers of light, too, during our stay in Athens. We have had the joy of watching three special baptisms. Sunday, we watched one of the elders at church baptize his elderly mother. "Don't ever stop praying," he said to the congregation. Tonight after church, we watched as a member of the youth group and her mother put on Christ. What a beautiful moment for family to share! I count these as victories in our war against the darkness.

It has been wonderful to be reunited with our friends and family at Eastern Hills. We didn't get as much time as we would have liked with them before we moved to Brazil but we have some wonderful connections with people. We have spent the past few days getting loved on and absolutely spoiled. I'm doing my best to avoid gaining the "furlough fifteen" but I don't know how much longer I can keep it up!

From the Road: Blackwell, OK

The snow finally stopped. It didn't stick but it was quite a sight. Our poor bodies are chapped from head to toe. I keep buying new moisturizers and chapstick, trying to find one that will do me some good. Everyone promises that it will be warmer by Monday but on Monday we are headed somewhere (theoretically) warmer. (Though at this point I have heard so many promises about weather that I'm not sure that I won't need my jacket.) We've now been to Oklahoma City and Stillwater. We've eaten at Ted's and Eskimo Joe's and too many other places to mention. In fact, tonight I had my first homecooked meal since we arrived.

I'm sitting in the church office in Blackwell using the secretary's computer (shhh...don't tell!) while my mother-in-law gets ready for Sunday School in the morning. I thought I'd take advantage of this opportunity to catch up on my email and fill everyone in on what is next. So here you go--the infamous schedule:

Monday, April 9--to Las Cruces, NM (sorry, Ginger, we're flying)

Thursday, April 12--to Dallas, TX for the Sponsoring Church Workshop

Saturday, April 14--to Athens, TX

Wednesday, April 25--to Denison, TX

Friday, April 27--to Myrtle Beach, SC (yes, we have supporters there, we're not just going on vacation!)

Monday, April 30--to Raleigh, NC

Wednesday, May 4--to Dallas, TX

Thursday, May 5--to Stillwater, OK for Russell's brother's graduation (those who know him will appreciate the significance of this event!)

Monday, May 7--to Branson, MO

Friday, May 11--to Winnipeg, Canada

Thursday, May 17--to Wichita, KS

Saturday, May 19--to Oklahoma City, OK

Saturday, June 2--back to Brazil!

(We're going to sneak up to Tulsa at some point, too, but we're not exactly sure when yet.)

Just typing that schedule exhausted me. As you can well imagine, we need your prayers to get through this marathon. Please pray for good health, lots of energy and safe travels. Pray that we get to see exactly who we need to see and that we say all that needs to be said. Please pray that we make the best use of all our resources, especially time and money. And finally, please join us in thanks to God that we get to make this trip. We already have had such wonderful time with our friends, family and supporters.

Have a wonderful Easter!