Amazing...

Here's Marlon with our friend Kilyoni and his wife Queen outside of their home in Chingola, Zambia. More pictures to come...there's so many, I'll just upload a few at a time.

Marlon has been back a week. We looked at each other this morning and could hardly believe it! With Harvest Fest, our schedule really wasn't going to get back to normal until Monday and Sunday I came down with a horrible case of the stomach flu. Nasty. So today was really our first "normal" day--whatever normal is around here...lol. What I do know is that we're complete with him here.

Harvest Fest was amazing and really an inspiring time. It's already opened doors. Marlon and I were asked to speak at a couple of venues and Marlon was asked to come to a couple of the high school youth groups to share about prison ministry and his trip. He's already been asked to go to the Philippines next summer (this would possibly be a trip for all of us) and Pastor Allan in Zambia asked him back for a different conference in Aug. Also, a Pastor at our church from the Congo asked him to come along with him on one of his next trips to the Congo and of course there's our family mission trip to Biloxi in June. There we will, with one of our Children's Pastors, run a vacation bible school for a week in the mornings and then help in the afternoons with any service projects they might need. We have a relationship with a church there that coordinates a lot of Katrina relief efforts and will be working with them. It's an exciting time for us. Blessings continue to flow and I know that they are not from us but only from Him who continues to provide for us and we continue to seek daily.

Seeing Marlon's pictures and video footage just remind me what gluttons we are as a society. Always searching for things to make us happy. Clothing, jewelry, homes, cars, furniture, artwork...whatever it might be...material things that really mean nothing at all. While I do believe that it's great to make your home an inviting place and a safe haven for your family...I honestly feel that most of American society has a thwarted idea of what that is. We really can live fulfilling lives without so much of what we have. We also have a responsibility to use what we have wisely, share resources and not take things for granted. We also need to thank God every day for being born into the country that we were and seek to find out what He would have us do with that blessing. Maybe it's to be a missionary to the world (whether cross ocean or just cross county)...maybe it's to support a missionary...maybe it's to share our wealth with organizations that need donations to run...maybe it's to be a foster parent or house exchange students...maybe it's give our time and volunteer somewhere in an area where we have something to share...the possibilities are endless.

Anyway...things can now return to normal and we're back in the swing of things. Thanks to everyone for patience with us this past week as we needed time to finish Harvest Fest and reconnect with each other. You'll be hearing from us now!!

Thanks to anyone who prayed with me over a situation with a person who I was having trouble communicating with...it's getting better! God never ceases to awe me!