Weekend Warriors!

Last Friday the "Weekend Warriors" rolled in from Ephrata United Zion Church! This team arrived as we were getting kids up and off to school. They unloaded their tools, stretched their legs from riding all night, had a warm breakfast and then hit the work site. These guys were ready to roll!



They spent two and a half days installing windows, painting trim pieces, tearing out a back wall, building stairs and building friendships that will last a lifetime.

Ashley really got into it too! She learned how to do demo, build stairs, as well as painting like a pro. Seriously, this 11 year old can paint! She listened well to Mark and ended up "schooling" me a bit (and I am a pretty good painter).

(She also learned how to enter a locked house with a simple credit card...mmmm....I guess that will come in handy when there is no small child to send through a bathroom window or down a wood shoot to enter the house to then let mommy and daddy through the front door!)

The weekend was a family affair...not just for the Hedgepeths either! Mark had his son Jeremy with him, and John and his son John Boy/Little John were back for more! (they came with Mark the first trip).

It was such a delight to have these guys around our table. I just love meal times...to hear stories and share laughter. It really was wonderful.

Thank you Weekend Warriors!

And a special thanks to the Warrior families, those who let your guys come to help out here. Special blessings on you for sharing!

God of Faithfulness

Our hearts and prayers have been for Haiti this week as we have watched the television and gotten word from friends.

YWAM Haiti has posted news here. It is incredible, on the ground, real time footage.

When I hear the stories of rescues, I am absolutely amazed at God's faithfulness!

Just moments ago, I got an email from YWAM-Orlando. Friends had sent out an email, letting us know that a YWAM team, in Port-au-Prince had just pulled out a man that had been under the rubble for 10 days! His wife was there when they pulled him out, he was talking. He is at the hospital at this very moment. PRAY!

My mother-in-law told me of her friend's orphanage that sustained NO damage during the earth quake. The week prior to the quake, they had gotten days and days of rain, in a usually dry season. The directors at the orphanage were so puzzled by this crazy weather...until the day after the quake. All their cisterns are FULL of pure, clean water.

God is faithful. Please continue to pray. There are so many people responding to this great need. (I have heard that financial giving has already surpassed that given towards Hurricane Katrina). We have friends leaving out of YWAM-Orlando on Sunday to give a hand.

Again...pray! There are so many miraculous stories yet to be told.

Our prayers make a difference!

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood...

Skies are overcast...looking like some sort of precipitation may fall. Temperatures are chilly. And yet, there is a warm, yellow glow coming through the front door...hhmmm.

Global warming?

No! It's the Pella truck!!!!!

That's right Ladies and Gentlemen. Our long anticipated windows and doors arrived today. What a beautiful site! I greeted the two delivery men with an eager, "Hello!" and explained that this was an amazing day!

As I followed them up the stairs, camera in hand, the song from Sesame Street (correction: Mister Rogers!) bounced into my head..."It's a beautiful Day in the Neighborhood!" Boy, is it ever.

When we first started this project, I was so excited about the possibilities. A place for Jackson, more room for our family, a place for our students and staff to gather together in worship and play. Then, crunching numbers, looking at requirements that come with living in a Historic District and reviewing time tables...it was a bit daunting, to say the least.

I remember talking to the Lord in "those first days" and saying, "This is a bit overwhelming Lord. How?" This thought came into my head, "Start with the doors and windows."

So, I started praying for the Lord to provide doors and windows. I found that when I broke it down, into bite sized pieces, it was manageable. Oh, the wisdom of the Lord! I have found that the doors and windows seemed to be the biggest challenge as well...matching the windows on our existing 100 year old house (Happy Birthday House!), pricing of doors and windows (who knew?), just to name a few.

Well, again, God in His infinite wisdom, had me start in the right place...doors and windows.

Through a friend in Minnesota, who uses Pella, we were put in contact with the Pella rep here. They really wanted to work with us and viola! Today our windows arrived.

I believe that the doors and windows are significant. As you know, we enter and exit through doors, and we see the world around us through windows. Well, as I began praying for our doors and windows, I found myself praying that we would see the world as Jesus sees the world. I started praying that the nations of the world would walk through these doors and then back out into the nations.

My prayer times were not just about getting a need met, but about equipping a generation that would reach beyond themselves into a world that is in deep need of the love and compassion of the Father. From this place, the nations of the world will be impacted...and we are starting here.

We have a ways to go, but we are moving forward. We continue to trust the Lord to provide finances and the labor to see this work completed. And that is just the beginning...

This is a place where people can see the world and be moved forward to engage with the world at large!

This is a facebook status today from one of my friends, a young lady currently in our DTS doing her outreach in India...

"There is nothing in the world like a Hyderabad sunrise. God's heart burns bright in India, it's overwhelming...each day I am consumed by His glory."

-Stephanie

She is looking out of God's window, onto His beautiful creation. Glory! That is what it is all about.

P.S. I did not send my delivery guys off empty handed. I quickly packed up a bag of goodies for the drive back to Greensboro...hot chocolate with about 25 mini marshmallows, homemade cookies, goldfish (my kids are not too big for that snack) and a few other things from the pantry. Todd thinks they may be back with another delivery tomorrow.

What a year to celebrate!

Happy New Year! The beginning of a new decade. That really is so amazing to me.

2010 is definitely a year of celebration for us.

Youth With A Mission is 50 years old... Jubilee!

Todd has been with YWAM for 25 years! (total honor for him)

I has been with YWAM for 20 years! (what a privilege for me)

Todd and I will celebrate 20 years of marriage...some years filled with total bliss, others with deep challenges, all with deep love, a sense of humor and true commitment.

We will all celebrate Jackson's 18 years!

Oh there is always something, or someone to celebrate. These are just a few "landmark" celebrations...sign posts along the way.

We also hope that 2010 marks...
-the completion of our adoption process
-the completion of our home addition
-a renewed passion for loving God and loving others

I am so grateful, in this new year, that the Lord promises that our days, and time, are in HIS hands.

Lord, thank you for the way you have "handled" my life. For the way in which you have worked all things together for your good.

May Habakkuk 3:18 mark my life this year...

"Yet will I rejoice in the Lord, I will JOY in the God of my salvation."