Over the past several weeks we’ve had a few different groups come to Cairo. Two spring break groups: Four guys from Huntington College, and lovely Amanda (YouthWorks program staff last summer) brought friends and her mom for a week. These groups were such a blessing serving us and this community and bringing a fresh wave of energy for us in the post winter slump.
We saw God do some amazing things in the midst of those few weeks – amazing times of prayer and worship, healing from depression, gift of tongues, prayer, prayer and more prayer. Highlights for me included having Amanda’s Wisconsin group join Stacy and I for prayer at the elementary school – so powerful. Also having the boys join me in the first grade class was such a blessing for the kids and a big help to the teacher. We rejoice in those God sends our way, they are always such a gift!
This past weekend we had another wonderful group from First Free (Springfield, MO). It was great to see old friends again, several had been here before, and to meet new ones. This particular group was filled with lots of families, which was so fun! They went out into the community Saturday morning doing some wonderful labors of love from yard work to construction, and then spent some time in one of the projects here hosting a kids’ fun afternoon, the day finished up with a evening worship service at the projects comeplete with zany dancing, the message of the Kingdom, and worship…
Kids and Crafts at Elmwood:
Evening worship…Jami leads us in some fun song and dance, the room listening to me share the message of His Kingdom (aka, the gospel…)
Spring Break for us hit a few weeks ago and we found lots of things to do to occupy our time while school was out here in Cairo. We were able to go out and pray for some friends in our community and outside. Stacy and I spent a day out with the Turnage family, whom we love! This family is so encouraging to me, they all LOVE Jesus with a fiery passion, they have six beautiful children that are homeschooled and zealous for God. They always seem to have things going on, and yet their home is full of peace and rest whenever I go, and I know it’s all the Holy Spirit’s doing. I have a huge passion for families and families serving the Lord together, so I find time with the Turnages very inspiring and another model of what it could look like.
The big news from spring break, however was the sound of wedding bells…
Our beloved sister Stacy and our wonderful brother Jesse, got engaged! Stacy is on staff with our house of prayer and Jesse works here in the community – again proving that God can make love sprout up anywhere, it can even find you in the middle of nowheresville Cairo.
It was so fun to celebrate with these two. Jesse had Stacy go on a treasure hunt of sorts, of which the rest of us where a part. It was so fun to be a part of the engagement treasure hunt, I’ve always wanted to be! I won’t go into all the details of their very wonderful engagement, I’m sure at some point they will share that story themselves. It’s a great one, though!
But I would like to just say how wonderful it has been to have been there to see their relationship unfold from the beginning. It is a God-story through and through. I am in awe of God’s leading in their lives, and their patient submission to the Lord in their relationship. Lots of waiting and praying has gone into their lovely story, and God is getting all the glory and honor because of it. I celebrate the ways they have walked with purity and integrity in the midst of their relationship and all that they have taught me about real love that is gritty, and messy, and really is an act of the will, not always the romantic comedy. We are all looking forward to celebrating their wedding, but even more seeing how the Lord will use these two as they become one for His Kingdom…watch out…they are a powerhouse.
Us anxiously waiting for a word about whether she said “yes”….
Celebrating the wonderful day!
