a little updateage

i have been pretty good at inventing new words like "updateage" lately. apparently "prolongation" is not a word either....hmm.

so here's a photo of me and my "moms"....yes i have two. ;) john took us hiking at gunpowder falls.

just had a great week and a half visit with them. they were here for about 10 days so Mrs. Dixie could do some work for her doctorate that she's working on. i got to introduce mom to all the wonders of B'more like Patterson Park, Rita's Italian Ice, Trader Joe's, Pitango...i could go on. i'm pleased to report she really likes my wonderful city! they surprised John, he didn't know they were coming. :) i'm excited they both had a chance to meet him and get to know him a bit. for those of you AR folks still anxious to meet him, i think you'll have a chance in August. looks like we're planning a trip then to spend a little time with both our families. keep praying for this relationship as well, please. i can't tell you how full my heart is over how God is working in both our lives. He is a faithful God. pray we continue to trust His leading and wait patiently on His will for us.

so, i had requested prayer for summer missionary housing and you may disregard all i mentioned in the last post about the city dwelling. that all fell apart on us last week and we were back to square one clinging tightly to the belief that God really did have something better in store for our now homeless summer ms. at this point in time, the plan is to house all 5 girls (2 are with Brandy, 3 with me) in the church next door to our house. which works well for transportation, though not an ideal set-up for our girls. but God knows what He is doing and i have high hopes that it will all work out for the best. now, we have just a few days to get things set up and new sheets and towels washed and ready for their arrival. they all get in on the 3rd (next Wednesday!) and will be settling in on the 5th after a couple days at Orientation in Ocean City. i am still a bit anxious about how the summer will play out and would love your prayers for my ability to be a good supervisor for these 3 young women, to have wisdom in encouraging/mentoring them in ministry, and just knowing how to balance my own life over the next couple months. i have a feeling God has a lot to teach me this summer about leadership, balance, trust, and discipleship.

thanks for your prayers for John and Gracelife church in Peru last week. they had a tremendous week of ministry and saw God move in some exciting ways. i still need to be caught up on all the stories. the 2nd group from Gracelife will be leaving before too long for another week long trip. i'll keep you posted.

like i said above, summer missionaries arrive on Wednesday and all of us 604 girls and the summer Ms will head to Ocean City til friday for Orientation. should be a fun time. i'm excited to meet them all and see them get busy in their respective ministries. please be praying for them, their safe travel, their relationships with their local supervisors, and their time here in Baltimore. i really pray God lays a passion and burden on their heart for our city and shows them the potential for Kingdom impact that lies within them.

summer's just about here! thanks for your love and prayers! enjoy this last May weekend and happy June!

love -m

may day...

its a beautiful sun-shiny may afternoon in the city. summer is fast approaching yet again. we just got a handful of MayMester missionaries in from Hannibal La Grange College in Hannibal, MO. HLG is a great partner of ours who sent us MayMesters last year as well. these are college students who come and serve with our churches for the month of May. when they fly back home in June we will be getting our next set of missionaries who will be coming from all over the States and serving with our churches and in our office through the first of August. they bring a lot of freshness and excitement to our association and to our staff so we are all excited about what God has in store there. i will have three girls (from AL, FL, and MO) serving on my VBS/Bible Club team this summer who will also be staying with me in my new city home. yep, i said it. city home. one big area of prayer for me....there is an opportunity for me to live very inexpensively in the city in an area near the harbor called Canton. the house is a small rowhouse belonging to one of our associational churches. they wish to use the home for missionaries and as a ministry to families in the area for Hopkins treatment. i would basically be the "house manager" making sure things stay in order there. the downstairs has a private suite that would be my space with a common area in front and a common kitchen space. upstairs will be dorm-style living with enough bedding for 15-20 people. it could be an interesting experience, but may be worth it for the opportunity to be in the city until a better housing option is available. we will see how God provides. in the meantime, it looks like it will definitely be my summer home and that of my summer missionaries as well. i'd love to have your prayers that all of that works out smoothly and also that God would just bless me and these girls with a great summer serving alongside each other to be a blessing to our churches. i am pretty thrilled with the "shepherding" role i will get to have with them. mentoring/discipling college students has become a big passion of my heart in recent years.

i'll be home this weekend for a short trip to see little brother get his bachelors degree at AR Tech. pretty exciting, i am proud of him and Jered (who just got his Masters from UA). i'm eager to see what God has in store for them next. hope to see a few of you at church on Sunday. and so excited to know i will see some of you here in my city come August!

john and i went to our first "prom" this weekend. :) it was actually a party hosted by our friends from church (they advertised the party as a 2nd chance at prom- though 1st chance for me and john who had never attended one!). the girls have a big apartment in mt. vernon and love hosting parties for all their friends (a very unique group of people since there are 5 unique girls who live there!). so, john and i made a thrift store run saturday morning and spent about 25 dollars between the two of us for our prom attire. :) it was a fun evening and a fabulous first prom experience. i included a photo for y'all to enjoy!



please keep us in your prayer as things start getting busier with summer plans. pray especially for wise and diligent planning and investment on the part of our local churches in regards to their community outreach and also for our May missionaries to have a great month of ministry and for their overall time here to be smooth and positive - as always there have been a few kinks to work out, but we know God is in control of all the details. also, you can be praying for John and a group of Hopkins students and some of our Gracelife staff who will be traveling to Huaycan, Peru on Thursday. They will be there till May 22nd doing street evangelism, ministry in local orphanages and schools, and working with a local church there. Please pray for their safe travel, protection, good health, and God's hand on all they do while they're there.

thanks as always for your faithful prayers and support. love you guys so much! -m