Life in the Big Potato

Last night we got snow here in Northern Idaho. You can see the remains on the mountain in our "back yard." There is not much left on the ground, but we have our ski jackets out and ready!

Here are some pictures from our trip last week. This place is really in the middle of no where. . Yes that is the famous Lottie Moon in the last picture, and that is literally how tall she was. They have the picture in the children's building. I guess so they can know even when you are small you can make a HUGE impact. ****

We are currently sitting at the library of the Missionary Learning Center in Richmond, Virginia. We arrived last night close to midnight. All I can say is, "This is so cool!" The "compound" is on a massive plot of land in the hill country. We went through two security gates and down a very long entrance drive to get to the campus. It is surrounded by pastureland with cows, trees, creeks, and a large pond. The leaves are turning and while they are not as brightly colored as the ones we left in North Idaho, the trees are beautiful, old and seem much more "treeish" to me. We are very excited to be here and see what God is doing. Prospective Jman, Masters, and ISC missionaries are here this week too. It's neet to get to see first hand, what we have heard so many people talk about.We are here meeting with an IMB consultant who is in charge of helping state conventions mobilize churches to be mission focused. We get to represent North Idaho.

Dear Friends of NorthStar: As most of you know, NorthStar Church was planted with a clear vision of becoming a birthing center to other congregations. God has provided us land in the explosive growth corridor of one of America's up and coming communities, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Last April we shared with many of you God's vision for a ministry center that would serve as a missions outpost for the entire Inland Northwest.  We understood that securing a permanent home for NorthStar would be foundational if the dream of planting other churches would become reality. The plans called for $500,000 to construct this facility. We asked for 500 partners to stand with us in reaching this goal. The members of NorthStar began to pray and to sacrificially give. In six short months, God has blessed our fellowship us with over $60,000 of our goal...until this month when, through three generous donors, we have seen God raise over one fourth of our entire goal! The latest gift came this week

Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday sweet Sandy. Happy birthday to you!

"I can't think of a youth movement that connects people more profoundly across demographic lines. This is a movement of cowboys, skaters, punk rock kids, nerds, drop-outs, cheerleaders, goth kids--you name it. And they all talk about how their faith and their faith community gives them a sense of identity, pupose, and community, which they say they can't find outside Christianity." "...many of the members of this Disciple Generation I met are extremely articulate, thoughtful, creative -- they are quite astute, I believe in many of their criticisms of the secular world as empty, consumerist, and purposeless." "I met pastors, students, organizers, you name it, with rhetorical power and quick wits which would put many people I know to shame." "...there is no doubt that this generation are finding very valuable and powerful things in their modes of living." "This is a movement that is more of a grassroots movement than one that follows a