Don't You Just Love Fall?
October 11, 2014
Hi <<First Name>>,
"Daddy, it's fall...because the leaves are falling." - Avery, on the way to the park today.
Don't you just love fall? Trees are changing colors and the air begins to cool. Leaves are spread around your yard just waiting to be piled up and jumped in. The memory of summer fades and you exchange shorts for pants and sandals for shoes. Well, like the changing seasons we have been experiencing a lot change in our lives over the past month or so. God continues to stretch us and show us His goodness. Let me tell you about a few things that have been going on.
Sick For A Month
This past month we have been plagued with sickness. Mostly it has been intense colds, but Avery also had a bout of impetigo, leaving her with little red sores for about a week. All of us have had at least one round of bad colds, but the kids are finishing up their second right now. We're not sure if it's just the change in climate and weather, or just something that's going around, but it has been a tough month with illness. It's nice to be on the tail end of it now, and we're so thankful for your faithfulness to pray for our family. Please continue to pray for our health!
Fall Training Conference
On September 22 through the 26th, Josiah Venture held it's annual fall conference here in Czech Republic. Over 280 people from at least 13 countries came to be trained and empowered in leadership training, specifically looking at the ministry of Christ. Most of the men and women attending are nationals who train youth leaders in their respective countries. The team I serve with here has the privilege of putting the conference on and being part of making sure everyone has a wonderful experience. Specifically, I helped design and edit the training material that everyone received when they arrived, a book called "Walk 2:6" which is a leadership training resource. I also had the joy of being able to photograph the event. Many of those photos are available on the Josiah Venture Facebook page.
It was a wonderful week, including a fun night on Thursday, where Josiah Venture was celebrating 20 years of ministry. In town for the occasion was my friend and mentor, Scott Ardavanis, along with his wife Patty. Scott serves on the board of directors for Josiah Venture. Bethany and I had the chance to have dinner with them and were so encouraged by our time together.
A Short Vacation for Bethany's Birthday
With fall conference being such a busy week of ministry, we decided that we would take a few days away for rest, as well as celebrate Bethany's birthday (Sept. 28). We live about three and a half hours north of Vienna, Austria and we decided that would be a fun place to visit. One of the highlights from our two days away was the Schönbrunn Palace. It's an overwhelming place to visit because of the scale of the house and property and the weather was gorgeous when we visited. Our kids loved going to the zoo there as well as playing in the maze, both of which are on the palace grounds. Vienna is full of incredible history and amazing architecture. It was very nice to get away as a family and you can check out our family blog which has lots of photos and stories from our time there.
110 Days and Counting...
We told you in our last update that we've been blogging on our family Web site every day. It's a year long project and a way for us to journal our way through our first year in Czech Republic. If you haven't visited, you can go to www.itsallgrace.com, and here's a few things you may have missed this past month: |
