a time for everything

time for a change

Last year I published all my newsletters in MailChimp for my email readers, and then reformatted everything into a Word document for my hard copy readers. This was time consuming and inefficient and this year I decided I need to steward my time better, which means a face-lift for my newsletter! Using a blog will be much easier to transfer between online and hard copies and I can use this for more than just a newsletter. As I prepare for full-time missions, I know I won't always have time to send out a full newsletter. But I can jot down a few thoughts in this blog and post it, just to let everyone know I'm still alive.

time to focus

Winter camps are over. We had a great two weekends of kids' camp, full of laughter and fun and deep conversations about the Gospel. We also had a conference weekend for our volunteers. It was so good to reconnect with many of them and learn more about our identity in Christ.

Now it is time to prepare for summer camp 2019!! I can't believe that time has already come, it feels like we just had summer camp 2018. Our theme this year is "Survivor". We have lots of ideas for games and English activities and everything that goes into making camp a whole lot of fun. 

time to say goodbye

This past weekend, Hannah moved to Portugal to complete her internship. It was hard to see her go. We had a wonderful year together, growing and learning and I will miss her immensely. But the Lord has called her to serve Him in Portugal and I am so excited to see how He uses her there. We will see each other again soon.

time to rest

Not because we haven't had time off, because we have. But because I don't rest, no matter how much time off I have. I am always going, doing, preparing, thinking, planning, worrying. The constant stress that I put myself under is showing in my physical health, particularly my skin. I have struggled with this for so long, trying different lotions and medicines and all sort of things. I don't share this with many people because it is embarrassing to me and I am super self-conscious about it. But I have learned that honesty and transparency among Christians is super important. So often we hide behind "I'm fine" or "It's no big deal", when we aren't fine and it is a big deal. Christians are supposed to be close-knit family. To be there for each other, pray for each other, encourage each other, hold each other accountable. And how can they do that if none of them are honest about their struggles?

I am ready to be healthy and whole. Ready to be stress free. I'm working on reorganizing my life on a personal level. Focusing on the truth that God is in control. During a conference we had for all of Word of Life Europe staff a couple weeks ago, the speaker talked about this guy who wrote a letter to God. It said, "Dear God, I hereby resign from the position of General Manager of the Universe." And lo and behold, He accepted the resignation!!! God is the Manager of the Universe, not me. The sooner I remember that, the sooner I will trust His plan and His timing. And the sooner I will be stress free. I would appreciate your prayers as I work through this.

prayer requests

Pray for our team as we jump into camp planning. We are still awaiting the return of our other full time couple, which means there are currently five people who are planning for camp. There is a lot to do and we all cover many bases. The biggest request is unity. That we can work together and not let the work and the stress and everything come between us. 

Pray for our Axis English club kids. I have mentioned them before, five or six regulars, none saved. Four of them were at our winter camp, and one of the boys had the Gospel shared personally with him three times in one afternoon! We are praying that these kids will have open hearts and that they will accept Christ as personal Savior. 

Pray also for me personally, as I work on my stress level and as I continue to sort out details about going full-time. It is a super exciting time, but can also be a little chaotic.

Thank you for your continued support and prayers!! Without each and every single one of you, I would not be here. 

Much love, 

Adele