Happy Hustlers

That's right folks, my dad's Sunday School class is called the "Happy Hustlers" it's been this way longer than I can remember, and probably longer than any of the current members can remember too. There is surely a slightly less entertaining story as to how the name came about than I would like.
We spent Sunday afternoon at our camp on a mountain in PA with all these folks, and I'm pretty sure a good time was had by all! Wes and I have been incredibly "welcomed home" and blessed by our friends at the Blanchard Church of Christ. It seems as soon as they are welcoming us though, they are sending us off as well.

I took a rough survey of the people who stayed to hear us speak during Sunday School and found that approximately 95% of them had either been in the military, were related to someone in the military, or knew someone currently in the military (most fell in the first two categories). And I'm reminded that the ministry of Cadence is relevant to a lot of Americans! And most people don't even know it exists.

So, if you know someone in the military, check out www.cadence.org to see if they have a hospitality house ministry in their area. It may provide just the relief needed (if only once a week) from what can't even be called food, but is just left as "chow".

God bless,
Elaine

Wes playing "washers" (a game similar to horse-shoes) with Jim. Jim also happens to be the master of chocolate chip cookies, so I came away from the day with a new recipe!

Now Available...

That's right folks, for the next few weeks we are yours! Wes and I have arrived safely in central Pennsylvania. We will be here for about two weeks to meet with family, friends, churches, and anyone else interested in our ministry. We will be speaking during the Sunday school hour at the Blanchard Church of Christ next Sunday (that's 9:45).

From here we will be driving to Texas. If you're on the way from PA to TX (or if you can at least convince us that you're on the way) we'd love to stop and see you too!

We plan to arrive in the Ft. Worth area around the 1st of July. We plan to attend Cleburne Bible Church while we're in Texas, and visit Christ Chapel Bible Church in Ft. Worth. For our Texas readers, please contact us if you'd like to get together while we're around.

We will continue to raise support until we have enough to be officially released to the field. Right now we're almost half way to our goal for monthly support. We need partners in ministry to help us get to Alaska and minister to the Soldiers at Ft. Richardson.

In closing let me share a snippet from my reading this morning.

2 Corinthians 2:14-17; 3:4-6
But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task? Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God...such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

We are able to do this in Him,
Elaine (& Wes)

So long Chicago!

(Sara & Eddie Copeland, Wes & I, and Kristen & Aaron Hann one one last 'hoorah' in Chi-town)

It is from the floor in the corner of our bare apartment that I greet you! Our things are all packed up, and in fact most of them are on their way to Alaska right now! The rest are piled high in the bed of our truck. Tomorrow we will resemble the "Beverly hillbillies" driving down I-90 on the first leg of our journey from here.

Please check back on Monday for an update regarding our full summer plans and where you can find us. This post is dedicated to our loved ones at Moody and in Chicago!

(Us with Adrian & Heather Holdsworth, a great couple to hang out with if you're ever in Chicago or the UK)

I have really enjoyed my 3 and a half years at MBI, and feel blessed and greatly prepared for the road ahead of us. I know Wes has enjoyed this chapter of our life as well. We have cherished our"couple friends" this year, each of them are so unique and offer us great, encouraging, and refreshing outlooks on life!

We know that those pictured here, as well as other friends at Moody (yes we have more than 6 friends, some of them aren't even married) will be praying for us as this journey begins. Thank you guys!
Thanks to the folks at LifeWay for being a great place for Wes to work and great people to get to know.

We will miss you all greatly, and we'll be sure to let you know if we're ever passing through again!

A servant of Christ,
Elaine

p.s. thanks for being blog-readers!