Look who's 2!!!

Well if you were to count the number of times we had to blow out the candles....we would be in the double digits! We could barely make it through the first Happy Birthday before the candles were out. And the minute they went out....he would "sign" more...more!!!! What fun we had!!
And what would a birthday be without "sharing" some of your cake with Uncle.

Of course Uncle L. "helped" with taking those first few bites. Be on the look out for more pictures of his birthday present......a big boy bed!!!!

Go baptize and tell all the nations

I am so sorry its taken me so long to get this update out!!! This is just a short note that Chris wrote to our family and friends, highlighting some of his trip. I am so thankful that I could come to my sisters in Christ and ask for prayers to be lifted to our God for my husband, this team and for the many thousands who heard and saw Gods love during these 12 days. Thank you so much!

Our group returned Tuesday from India. What a trip it was. We totally relied on God's Grace and Mercy, and HE was Faithful! The "God Sightings" were too numerous to count. We shared the Gospel Message to between 2000 and 3000 people. Using a generator and a portable MP3 player, we showed the Jesus Film (all of which Grace members donated) to many in remote areas of Assam, India. As in the Book of Acts, many "Heard, Repented and were Baptized." We prayed over and anointed with oil, sick people. We showed the Jesus Film to school aged kids as well as adults. We invited thousands to make a personal decision for Christ. We taught illiterate new believers with story telling about the Gospel, Prayer, Communion and Evangelism. We also loved on the children the way Jesus loved on the children when He said "the Kingdom belongs to such as these."
I had the opportunity to return to the Mising Village, and visited a believer there. Last year, he was struggling and none of his neighbors wanted much to do with this Jesus he spoke of. We had our sack lunch near his home (a bamboo hut) and prayed that God would show Himself to that area someday, and that there would someday be a church built on that spot, to the Glory of God. Eleven months later, do you know there is a church building on that spot where we prayed! And it produced so much fruit that next door they had to build another one, bigger than the first. I was brought to my knees by His Faithfulness. How Good is He! I will pray more expectantly from now on.
I also may add that Satan was not happy with our Gospel penetration in his homeland. As I was sharing to a family of 8 or 9 people using the "Evange-cube", I had told of God's great love for us, creating a relationship with Him, man sinning and separation from God, God loving us more and sending Christ the Saviour, who made the Holy men of the time so mad they killed him, ... as I opened the cube to show the Crucifixion of Jesus on the Cross, pigs outside the home began going crazy, squealing and snorting very loudly. It totally broke the concentration of the folks hearing the Message. It took quite a while to re-capture their attention. As I was telling Bob Magruder of that experience, he asked if I was traveling with Chuck Kuiper that day. I told him I wasn't. He was shocked and began telling me that the same thing happened when Chuck was presenting the Gospel in another area of the village. At the same spot in the presentation! As the Bible tells us, our battle is not with flesh and blood.
There are many more stories to tell. It was a true Ephesian 2-10 trip, each of us used by God in a way that HE prepared in advance for us to do.

Heading Home

Well our India team is heading back...flying through the night arriving in the early morning. I am very excited to hear about all they did and saw. My husband Chris called last night and they were starting their journey back home, please pray for safe travels for the team, pray that their bodies would readjust to the time (and freezing tempatures), please pray also that God would protect their hearts and keep the fire burning strong...that their mission field would only widen as they return home....that they would be just as strong and on fire in our country, in our city, in our homes and in their workplaces. And can we pray that the many stories that they share would truly glorify our God!!!

India Update

Here is the first update we got from the team...and its even from my husband!!! :) Its so great to hear how God has prepared and is working in and through our team. May He be glorified!

Greetings, our Brothers & Sisters,Praise the Lord! He is Good!What a wonderful Works God is doing here. He says Heis faithful, and He is more than He says He is.We arrived safely and without concerns, we passed allconnections and customs was a breeze.We arrived in Lakla, Assam, India to a downpouringrain. While it was actually a decent trade off to allthe snow, the welcoming team had to cut their danceshort.From the frontline, We have seen God's Mercy and Gracein many ways. The people have been very welcoming andfairly receptive of the Good News. We have visitedvarious parts of the surrounding Lakla area, and haveshared to 4 different people groups. We are workingfrom an Acts 2 model, Hear. Repent and Baptize. Almost1000 have heard so far, many have Repented and askedChrist to be Lord of their lives, and a number havebeen Baptized in local river! Hearts are beingtransformed after years of following many gods to theONE TRUE GOD. We have prayed over and anointed withoil, three very sick woman. God is showing Himself inmany ways, affirming our faith in a mighty way. OurEvangelists and Interpreters have been very focused.Everyone is pretty healthy so far. Our bodies aretrying to adjust to the 11-1/2 hour time difference.God is using our team of 16 in specific Ephesians 2-10ways. Each of our gifts and talents are being usedbeyond coincidence. Now for the meat...Please pray for the souls who accepted Christ to benurtured by the Nationals. Please pray for our bodies, especially Christina's tohold up under some extremely bumpy road conditions.Pray for continued awesomeness of the Harvest, souls,and baptisms to the Glory of God.Pray for courage and the power of God, as we reachout, Hut to Hut.Pray that our children's program would plant manyseeds and even change hearts to many families.Pray for continued good weather (that we areenjoying), allowing us to travel into some remoteareas. The bus has only been stuck in the mud once.Praise God!We are all being Blessed by the Lord's Mercy andGrace.We will report more later.We wanted to get this in before the prayer meeting.God's Best to You all as we fight the Good fight.For the Team,Chris

India

Here is a picture of my husband Chris last year when he was in India. Will you join with me in praying for him and a team of 16 that left this afternoon to head back to Lakla, India. They are beginning a 12 day mission trip that will change lives for eternity. They will be ministering throughout North-Eastern India. They will be involved in a variety of discipleship and evangelistic ministries. They are excited to demonstrate God's love and to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with the people of India.

Please pray for safe travels...the group left from Chicago today at 7:40p.m. for Delhi, India arriving tomorrow at 8:55p.m. (That is roughly a 15 hour flight with a 11 hour time change)
We are praying for: safety and rest, opportunities to share Christ on the plane, for all their luggage to arrive, for the customs process to be smooth and quick with no problems and for God to prepare hearts in India.

The BIG storm

Well we are still under a major snow storm...so far we have about 14 inches with the possiblity of up to 20! Oh it is beautiful...but it just keeps coming. Everything in town is closed today, schools, business' even the mall. Its a perfect day for a fire, a warm quilt and a good book. So this is where I'll be! Keep us in your prayers.