what handsome guys...

liliana

This amazing woman is an opera singer in Italy & the local coordinator for the Italian version of Magdalena: Released from Shame... Mike worked with her in Milan last year.


Click here to read her testimony & hear her sing!
http://www.lilianaoliveri.com/en/testimonianza.php

while mike's been gone....

"...your Father knows what you need before you ask him."

- Jesus (Matthew 6:8)

maybe i should have posted these prayer requests (see below in blue) on the blog sooner, but for those of you who got the email, thanks for praying for us while Mike's been in Ohio the past week...


as i reread my prayer requests, i laughed & thought maybe i should have been more specific, especially with the last request:

• For Caryn & Hudson in Orlando while he’s gone… safety, rest, health, & a good time together while Mike is gone.

safety.... at 5:30am on saturday morning, my mom, Hudson & I woke up to the alarms blaring & smoke filling our bedrooms... yes, we were all SAFE (for which we are very thankful)... it was just the backup heater trying to keep up with the "cold" down here (yes, only 30s, as opposed to -20s where mike was) & burning up all the dust that had accumulated on the coil since last winter... of course, we thought the place was burning down at the time.
maybe i should have said to pray for a "safe & non-eventful" time while mike was gone.

rest & health.... a few short hours after our little alarm incident, my stomach started cramping up.... assuming it was something i ate that didn't agree with me, i figured the rest of the household was safe as the cramps got worse & i spent most of the next 20 hours alternating between the bathroom & my bed*. just when it seemed we were in the clear, & i was feeling better, i hear from my mom who had since left, but was an hour away with similar symptoms... hudson was next, overflowing his diapers like a pro, though in much better spirits than either my mom or me was while he was doing it. (*special thanks to debbie, my hero through the worst of it, taking Hudson on errands with her while i was detained - and who is not yet feeling any ill effects... AND thanks a ton for the groceries, faith :)
maybe i should have said to pray for a "a lot of rest & GOOD health" while mike was gone.


a good time together.... of course, in God's loving sovereignty, He knows what we need even before we ask, & takes care of us even when our prayers (& prayer requests) are imperfect... i was just telling mike that i actually enjoyed the time i spent with Hudson when (bc i was so weak & tired from lack of sleep & food) i didn't have energy to do anything but just sit on the floor with him & try to make him giggle between dirty diapers.

maybe God knew just what i needed while mike was gone.



mike still isn't home (until wednesday night), so feel free to revise your prayer requests as you see fit :).

Mike leaves tomorrow (Wednesday, January 14) for a support trip in Ohio for a week!

Please pray:

• For opportunities for Mike to speak about our work at 2 churches & 1 small dinner party, where couples interested in our ministry will have a chance to hear more about how they can partner with us.
• That Mike would have wisdom & hear God’s leading on what to share & how to encourage those who attend.
• That God would meet our need for new ministry partners… that many would want to be a part of our team through their prayers & financial giving (especially commitments to give monthly), to help reach people around the world for Christ.
• That the weather would cooperate as Mike travels & as people travel to hear him share – it’s going to be COLD!
• For Caryn & Hudson in Orlando while he’s gone… safety, rest, health, & a good time together while Mike is gone.

Thanks!! Your prayers are so important to us!

thanks for the ecard, da.

disney "new orleans"

Christmas 1977

guess who?

packing...

yes, we're a bit behind blogging -- more of the new place to come.

recent happenings...

love my da

me too dad.

chip off the old...

at our rehearsal dinner (and i conjecture many other times), mike's dad proudly told a story of mike (at a very young age, like 6 or something) completely taking apart a bicycle & putting it back together in working order.

i sat down to check email this morning & glanced over to my left to see this:

lake hart christmas party

mike did an amazing job as part of the team to set up our ministry's annual Christmas party... here we are celebrating.

hiking with dad

training

thanksgiving

very thankful for friends...

big weekend 2

Hudson was dedicated at our church this weekend....

he did really well until the pastor's prayer went a bit long.

uncle Mat visited...

so did Mommee...

big weekend

Hudson was introduced to the world of large machines last weekend...


Most of the time, he sat with Mom, which was fine because it was a gorgeous day...

...watching Dad do some work clearing land for a volleyball court at headquarters...



...then he finally got to experience the driver's seat of a Kubota.

Dad thinks it's good to start him early on the important things.

halloween

here we are... super baby, mama the princess, & dad (you can't see his kilt, but he's a very striking scot).

more fall festival pics...

mike was on the team that put together the fall festival for crusade's headquarters last week.... he was busy organizing activities & food, hauling pumpkins, loading haybails, and building fences & signs (which i painted - great new mom therapy! :) for weeks... and he did a GREAT job!!

here are some more pics from the day... doesn't everyone look happy???
http://picasaweb.google.com/lakehartcommunitylife/FallFestival200702?authkey=MjonBvB46Z4


by the way, people who came to the festival brought food to put in "boxes of love", to be given out at thanksgiving by our inner city ministry in orlando:
http://hlic.org/comp0611_Impact_of_a_Box_of_Love.htm

first beach day