Old Friends, New Friends

Shepherd's Staff hosted two youth groups this weekend. The youth groups are pastored by twin brothers Kevin Larson and Kyle Larson, from Leoti KS and Sidney NE, respectively. We know Kyle, since he brought kids to Table in the Wilderness while we were there, and he is part of Sidney E-Free Church, one of our supporting churches.

While Kyle is an old friend, Kevin is a new friend. He actually attended the same college as Gwen's sister, during the same time period, but while she knew Kevin, we never met him. It's just been in the past year that we've gotten to know him.

So it was neat that the two brothers decided to do a combined youth retreat...and to hold it at Shepherd's Staff. We knew most of the sponsors for the Sidney group...and enjoyed getting to know the sponsors from Leoti.

It's always a blessing for us when familiar faces show up at Shepherd's Staff. It's a reminder that ministry isn't confined to one organization or locale--that the body of Christ is intertwined and varied.

Running

We've been running for the past week and are getting ready for a break. But it's a good sort of running. I am so thankful for the hunters who came for Opening Weekend of pheasant season. It's been a neat mix of new and old friends. We met our new board member and his Dad, a consultant from Texas, and a few more guys. We also had the chance to catch up with hunters we met last year and to connect with Robert Malone.

Robert Malone is a pastor from Kansas City. Every year he puts together a group of men together and they all come out to pheasant hunt. We met him for the first time last year. But the neat thing about Robert is that he has maintained contact with Tim throughout the past 12 months. They pray together on the phone and share what is going on in their ministries. I am so thankful to God for bringing this man into Tim's life.

Which reminds me: one of the reasons we left Table in the Wilderness was that we felt we weren't getting to build relationships in the way we wanted to. Here at Shepherd's Staff we constantly see God bringing people back into our lives (one of our pheasant hunters this week is a friend from Laramie; over the weekend we'll host a youth pastor from Sidney), allowing us to continue relationship-building that started years ago. He also continually brings new people into our sphere--some we minister to, some encourage us, and all of them are relationships.

That's ministry news. Here's an update on our family. We're almost into the 1900's in our homeschool history. Tyson has been reading "Farmer Boy" and Jesalynn is working on "Little House on the Prairie". We're learning about force and gravity in science. Natasha is starting to learn to read. And we're getting ready for Jesalynn's birthday on November 26.

The kids are such a blessing in ministry. They connect with people in a way that opens doors for future ministry. They have such helpful attitudes--most of the time. Yesterday the girls worked to fill the little containers that hold sweetener, sugar and toothpicks. It wasn't a big thing--I could have gotten it done in five minutes, but they chose to save me that five minutes and did it cheerfully.

So....that's it for now. We so appreciate those of you who pray for us and take the time to read our ramblings.

When It Rains It Pours

Have you ever had one of those times when it seems like everything is falling apart? I hit that point this week: our 8-year-old computer crashes regularly, Tyson came to tell me that the keyboard tray on the computer desk itself was broken, a drawer on my dresser wouldn't pull out right, and then the pencil sharpener quit working. Apart from the computer, none of these are big things, but put all together in one week, it was frustrating--especially when I kept watching the mileage on our van climb (224,000 miles and counting!)

My first reaction was to get cranky--to whine to God about how expensive it is going to be to fix/replace these things, about how much time it will eat up. And then it occurred to me--God has kept our van running long past the average lifetime for many vehicles. Same with the computer. And he gave Tim the skills to figure out how to fix the rest of the mess. I have no reason to throw a pity party, and every reason to thank God for His provision.

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As I type this, the kids are playing with balloons--P.E., right? They are each trying to keep their own balloon in the air while knocking down their siblings balloons. We've had a good morning in school with just a little work left for the afternoon. This afternoon we'll haul ourselves to Colby (dropping off a meal for a friend along the way), where Tyson and Jesalynn will hit gymnastics and Natasha and I will visit a friend. Then we'll have dinner before Tim and Tyson attend their first 4-H Shooting Sports meeting. By the time we all get home, groceries and library books in tow, it will be time to dump the kids into bed and try to get a couple more hours in on the computer. Wednesdays and Thursdays are definitely our busy days right now!

This weekend we begin to welcome pheasant hunters to our facilities. We'll also host the Teens for Christ (TFC) group on Saturday night. We love being able to have the kids home during the day--and when they choose to be a part of the work of the ministry.

See you soon!

So Many Options

I just got back from a training conference in Denver. It was a good conference, entitled "The Marketing and Social Media Conference". Right down my (Gwen's) alley. Exciting...and discouraging all at once. On the one hand, I've been doing some things right, without knowing why. And I came home with some ideas I feel like I can implement right away.

On the other hand, there are so many things that we could expand into or improve upon, but there's just no time. And this is the crux of many discussions Tim and I have lately. There's so much more that we could be doing here at Shepherd's Staff, but eventually we have to set limits on our work time, or it will eat up our lives and we'll be burned out and useless. We're at a point where we really see a need for more staff at Shepherd's Staff...but not at the point where leadership here is ready to pursue it.

You can pray with us that God will give us wisdom--to know which projects get our attention and how much, and in presenting the need we feel to our boss and our board. We will need grace and patience in the coming busy months: our food service/housekeeping person had a bad break in her leg this fall and everyone is pulling together to meet the gap. Please pray also that we will be able to step back when needed, to let things fall through the cracks--even when that means something important gets left out or not done quite as well as it could have been.

Just a quick update on our lives this week. You might see some changes in the way we market Shepherd's Staff (and our TAGG Team publicity) and hopefully those changes will reflect the things I learned today. Be watching!

Fall 2011

It seems like I just got out the fall decorations--and suddenly the forecast has snow in it! I honestly love this time of year. I don't know if it's the changing seasons or the lack of summer, but either way, I'm happy. I love fall, winter, and spring...and can endure summer if it only comes once a year.

Some updates:

• Serena, our head cook and housekeeper, took a nasty fall, breaking her leg and dislocating her kneecap. We don't know yet how long it will be before she is able to work again, but we do know that we have a very busy six weeks coming up. Please pray as we work to line up volunteer help.
• The pumpkin patch and corn maze (a first-time venture for Shepherd's Staff) were a hit! We had over 120 people visit so far and are hoping for a few more this last weekend in October. What a great way to reach out to the families in our area and introduce them to the ministry here.
• This weekend we'll serve youth from Lutheran churches all over Kansas and also hold a conference to train people to help those who are affected by tragedy. These two events will keep us running all day Saturday.
• Tyson loves being in T&T (Truth and Training) in AWANA, Jesalynn thinks being a SPARK is the greatest, and Nattie is cruising through her last year in Cubbies. We take between two and six extra kids with us every week!
• Homeschool has been going well--a big praise!

I think that's it for now. We'll try to keep you a little more up-to-date throughout the year, especially as our newsletter goes from a quarterly publication to a three-times-yearly event.

Thanks for your prayers! We couldn't do it without you!

Catching UP

I keep wishing that I could post pictures of the various documents I work on for Shepherd's Staff. I would love to share with you the poster for the Beth Moore simulcast that I'm working on this afternoon...or show you some of the recent brochures that I've done. I think it would give you a better idea of what it is that we do here. But so far I haven't figured that out, so you'll have to be happy with these new family pictures we had taken recently.

When I started this blog I wanted to give readers a more regular glance into our life: both ministry and family. Seems like I haven't done well on the "regular" part or the family part. So today, I'm going to share with you where our family is.

Nattie is 4 1/2 now and loves life. She always wants to be a part of what the older two kids are doing and had a great time being the youngest "camper" at Creative Arts Camp. Jesalynn is 7 and loves to direct her siblings and friends in various performances around the house. As I type this, she is setting up a puppet and streamer event in our living room. Tyson will turn 9 on Friday. He's losing teeth and loves to read. He has also discovered the joy of helping his Dad with various projects, both at home and around Shepherd's Staff.

I have been doing a lot of publicity work for upcoming events at Shepherd's Staff. It's also nice to have a break from school and so I've been trying to get some long-neglected projects done. Tim built a need "kid wash" out of pvc for Tyson's birthday and is trying hard to keep our garden alive. We both look forward to fresh produce later this summer!

So that's a little about us...next time I'll try to catch up with what's going on at Shepherd's Staff.

Summertime...

I think summer has finally arrived in Rexford. We've had a delightful spring, with cool weather and rain, but today was hot, humid, and heavy. Summer in Kansas...

I'm not even sure where to start in trying to catch up with news. Family-wise, things are a little slower right now. School and AWANA and other activities have finished, we already have VBS behind us, and the summer seems quiet. Work-wise, though, we're gearing up for Creative Arts Camp, the Village Missions conference, and a few assorted events--and looking towards August when things will start to build momentum again.

Would you pray for us over the next couple of weeks, that God would really guide us in the path He has set out for us? It's hard sometimes to be sure that we are following Him and not just chasing our own desires.

Thanks...and we'll be sharing with you about Creative Arts Camp soon.