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FANTASY FOOTBALL - WEEK 7 POINTS AND RAMBLINGS

tamon — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 12:35:00 GMT

We're at the halfway point of the regular season. This is the time where real men (and some women) survive the chaos of the bye week by picking up that third receiver who has a career day, and some tight end that no one has heard of. I don't know about everyone else, but about a third of my team is on bye. The biggest question for me this week - do I use up my waiver priority for a kicker?????? Here's the league points. Remember, the league with the highest points at the end of the season wins a...(read more)

FANTASY FOOTBALL - WEEK 6 POINTS AND RAMBLINGS

tamon — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 12:33:00 GMT

FANTASY FOOTBALL - WEEK 5 RANKINGS

tamon — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 02:56:00 GMT

Ok guys. Seriously, the "girl league" is now in the lead for league points. We need to dial up the testosterone levels and push our league. In fact, I think girls winning fantasy football is one of the 7 signs of the end of the world. Here they are: 1 - 5085 points - Mo Diva Than Randy Moss 1 - 5045 points - Blackened Pigskin 3 - 5033 points - Orton's Neckbeard 4 - 4955 points - Cam Possible 5 - 4840 points - YouWishYouWereUs 6 - 4811 points - Warriors of Whatnot 7 - 4801 points - Peyton's Neck Here...(read more)

Emotional Day

Glenda — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 21:39:00 GMT

It is the end of a day that has used up every emotion we have ever felt. We met with abandoned children who began to be gathered up by a very common and ordinary man who simply couldn't stand by and watch it happen. There are now 600 of them that have each other and the love of local Christians. They don't have much beyond that. No beds, no mattresses, no milk, and the list goes on. But...and that is a great word, they have a Christian community and they have a future. We met with persecuted believers. They traveled to meet us and tell their stories. They sat with us and told us their stories... stories of burned homes, mob killed family members, sexual attacks on their children, and there seemed no end. We saw the scars of the young girl who was set on fire by the mob. We have no words. We have dreams of some simple things we ought to do, but we have no words. We are going to bed tonight with this crazy unexplainable combination of emotions: saddened, sickened, angry, encouraged, strengthened, emboldened, repentant, and determined. Pray for us, we are praying for you.

Randy on behalf of the team.

Writer's Conference

Glenda — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 21:34:00 GMT

We finally feel like we are getting caught up on some sleep, but rest
or no rest, it has been an incredible trip. I haven't experienced
anything like this in all of our travels. The hospitality and care
given to us has been above and beyond anything we have experienced.
We are waited on hand and foot and that is the reason Randy and I will
be packing up our belongings and moving to India! (just kidding).
Randy had opportunity to preach to the group gathered at the writer's
conference. There are around 200 men here to participate - many of
them preachers who have stories that will move you to tears. They
have endured persecution and yet the joy they have in the Lord is
phenomenal. I did my first talk yesterday and am getting ready to
speak again this morning. I have thoroughly enjoyed it - this will be
one of my favorite memories when I am old and decrepid . . . that will
be next year! . . .

Grandma Paula Abdul (aka: Julie)

Doing well, leaving the Lalls and headed to train (all night) great worship today. Praying for great day of service. We are tired but energized by the evangelist we have met. Have to go. Just got Internet as we were leaving.

Randy

CICM Devotions/Children's programs

Glenda — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 21:28:00 GMT

Oops! Sorry. We haven't been blogging very well. But we are all fine, and enjoying the visit here in Central India very much.

We arrived in New Delhi Tuesday night, got up early Wednesday morning to take a train 2 1/2 hours to Agra where we spent the day touring the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, stone carvers, carpet weavers and jewelers. Then we boarded the night train for Damoh, ate our pizza in our little sleeping compartment, and arrived in Damoh in the wee hours of the morning, met by a crowd from CICM with garlands for our necks and lots of loving greetings. From there, we were taken in a small bus to Bal Bhavan, the children's home here at Central India Christian Mission, where we were made comfortable in our guest rooms.

Thursday we were privileged to be guests of honor with more garlands and greetings (they even had a huge banner saying, "Happy Birthday, Bro. Phil!") at the morning devotions in the CICM chapel. Don't think "staff devotions" at your church or ministry. This was a major production, and probably 300 people there: staff workers, evangelists, Bible college students, nursing school students, children's home workers, hospital workers, school teachers, etc. I was privileged to give the morning devotional thought from Hebrews 1:1-4.

After that we toured Bal Bhavan and saw the children in their classrooms and nurseries. Lashi Howard, daughter of Ajai and Indu, is the director here, and doing a wonderful job with the 95 children, most of whom were abandoned by their parents. Ages newborn to 8th grade.

Then we were Indu Lall's guests in her office. She told us about the Children's Program which is reaching 4,000 children throughout Central and Northern India. It is a marvelous program. I can't do justice in this brief blog.

I'll have to stop here and try to get another blog in this afternoon or tomorrow.

Thanks for the prayers!

Phil Casey

pray for tomorrow

Glenda — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 21:26:00 GMT

It has been a great trip to this point Travel went well...and yes
pretty exhausting. The overnight train is quite an experience. We do
have a bit of sensory overload. Today we have been with the Lalls and
it has been a very emotional experience. The stories are powerful and
the time with the children of both the Children's home and the local
food program has been beyond words. I do the devotion for 400 people
tomorrow (sermon). Julie teaches at the conference (for all the
attenders not just a side workshop). Pray for us.

Randy

We have arrived

Glenda — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 21:20:00 GMT

Just a note to say we arrived in Delhi according to schedule, spent the night in a hotel, got up at 5:00 to go to the train station, took a nice train to Agra, toured the Taj Mahal & Agra Fort, etc., got on a night train to Damoh, arrived in the middle of the night, got up this morning at 7:00 to be at breakfast by 8:00 and devotions at 9:00. Now it's 6:42PM and we've got a few minutes before dinner.

We're all OK. Rod Huron's flight was delayed a day, but he arrived today, and we're looking forward to the start of the Writers' Conference tomorrow.

Will write more later.

Phil

Sharing Jesus stories

Glenda — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 16:02:00 GMT

Hope all is well with you at home. We miss you very much and look forward to sharing our many experiences with you!

We were in country 7 for barely a day, and how I wished we had stayed there longer. After arriving and eating, we were sent out into the city. We divided the team up into groups, and our group set out. We spent an hour and a half visiting with 5 Muslim teenage girls. This was the first time during the trip we had been able to speak with teenagers about religion. These five girls shared a lot about their faith as a Muslim and asked questions about Jesus. We shared Jesus Stories with them as well as other scriptures. Hearing their perspective and desire to learn more about Jesus was refreshing.

The diversity of the city was as interesting as their open response to foreigners. The country is chock full with six people groups, all different but with their own features that make them culturally diverse and at the same time similar. One way in which they share a commonality is that they are lost... It has been fascinating to see these people, as well as to try and look at these people through the eyes of the Father, and to see His characteristics in them.
Thank you for the continued prayers!

Logan and Miranda (on behalf of the team)

These fields are so plentiful...

Glenda — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 15:58:00 GMT

Wow these past few days have been a whirlwind. We've been through several different countries. Almost staying in a new city, a new country every night. Can I just say that people really need Jesus. In these cities we have found people who don't even know his name or what he has done for them or that he even loves him. These fields are so plentiful and yet the workers are so very few. In one country we learned that there are possibly only 30 workers for two million people. This should break our hearts. I have seen some of the most beautiful places on planet earth in the past few days and met some incredibly wonderful people. And yet they are a people without hope or peace. The real peace that only Jesus brings. We have shared Jesus here and prayer walked the streets daily. We have much to process through and pray about. Pray for our team that we will finish strong!!!!

Tasha (on behalf of the whole team)

In country number four!

Glenda — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 18:53:00 GMT

We are currently in country number four of our trip. Getting here has been quite a journey! The extremes of the journey have been dramatic ranging from the vivid blue and green coasts of Eastern Europe to brown swamps and dirt roads. Having been in the car for nearly eighteen hours my timeline is a little foggy but I believe it was only last night we were in a beautiful castle city in country one. We got on the road early in the morning and for most of the day drove along the coast passing through countries two and three. That's when we definitely got to the most interesting part of our journey. The only road between the capitol cities of country three and four is a dirt/gravel/pot hole ridden asphalt road that was sometimes less than visible especially so since it was so dark. We never expected to find something like this in Europe! It has been a fun but bumpy trip and I have learned to expect the unexpected. But through all this God is teaching our team to trust Him through every situation. It is more clear than ever that he is guiding our steps. Please pray for the people we will meet and that the leading voice of the Holy Spirit will be abuntantly clear to us as we travel through this strange dark land.

On behalf of the PACT team,
Andrew

Heading to country 2. Pray for us.

Glenda — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 23:46:00 GMT

The team here just wrapped a powerful time of being the church this morning. Please pray for us as we head to country 2 in about ten minutes. Everyone is doing well and the "B" team here has taken incredible care of us...they have been a true blessing. it is hard to leave them. I think I can speak for the whole team when I say that we have been learning a lot.

Blessings,

Wade (on behalf of the team)

The first day

Glenda — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 22:28:00 GMT

Hey Everyone,

    The first day was a great learning experience for everyone! We spent a lot of time out preparing dinner as foreigners who didn't know what we were looking for and where we were supposed to get it. We figured out how to get money at the bank, ate lunch, found ingredients, and made the meal. Overall it was a great success and we got a lot of help from a couple of nationals that were kind enough to give us their time and the team started to figure out who was good at what.
    The food was great, although we changed a couple things on the menu without knowing it. Our team did a good job working it out. Telling our stories to the B-Team was fun to share. It was a fun day. We all talked to nationals, had their good food, and their saweeet coffee. : ) We are leaving tomorrow to our second country...keep praying for our team, the B-Team, and opportunities.
   We are having fun and learning a lot. Love you, family and friends. Praying for you, Becca and Justin!!

Blessings,

Brandon and Julie (on behalf of the whole team)

We made it!

Glenda — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 23:59:00 GMT

Hey everyone, we made it! We arrived today and things have been going great. We were met at the airport by some of the team members and it was cool to get to meet them for the first time and hear about the history of Eastern Europe. It was exciting to hear what they are doing to advance God's kingdom! Most of us are pretty exhausted but we will sleep well tonight! We are looking forward to the trip and seeing how God uses us and teaches us. Thanks for the prayers and please continue lifting the team up in prayer and their ministry!

Ryan and Tasha (on behalf of PACT team)

Be in prayer for the team

Glenda — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 21:56:00 GMT

We head to the airport in about 30 minutes…please be in prayer for the team of 11 traveling today. We hope to post again when we arrive. Thanks!

He is God of This City

josh — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 07:40:00 GMT

I have been in other cultures. I have been on other mission trips. But I haven't experienced culture shock until now. I wasn't expecting it, and I didn't know what to do with it. The smells of the city are different, the food is different, interaction is different, but here is what I saw yesterday...GOD IS STILL GOD! He is God in the church in America, he is God in the church in Germany, he is God in the church in Costa Rica, and he alive and well in the church in Thailand. More than that what I saw at church yesterday in our Thai service is that he is God of the church. It is one body with one Lord. This I know must sound repetitive but is so incredible to experience. We got to the church at 9 and the power was out in the whole village, so we sat together in a beautiful Thai church sweating more than I ever have just sitting :) but it was so incredible. A man in the church came and sat by Randon to interpret for us, which we were so grateful for because it helped us interact more with the service. They were singing and praising Jesus in Thai and we were singing the same song in English. I keep thinking of what heaven will be like with all people from all nations praising our one Lord. Today (Monday) is our rest day. We had praise and worship, prayer time, intercession, confession, and communion. All I can say is God moved and he is moving and we get to be a part of that. Today we are planning our English camp, which is huge part of our role here in Thailand so please pray for direction and guidance on how most effectively to teach English and share the gospel. Please continue to pray for relationships to be built between us and the Thai students. Pray for endurance, health, patience, and wisdom from the Spirit. We love you all and thank you for your prayers and partnership in this journey!

Growing in Him,

Megan St.Clair

P.S. Keona wanted to tell her mom and dad that she loves them :)

We are pushing you intentionally

josh — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 12:02:00 GMT

This is the line that Lonnie gave our team last night at debriefing. It has been a very full past several days here and the team is working us hard to help us adjust to get over jet lag as quickly as possible. We have had three very full days in a row. Wednesday was orientation, yesterday was a day spent at an orphanage, and today was beach day. It is a great work that Lonnie and the team is doing here to reach out to college students in partnerships with pre-existing Thai churches. Everything that we do and everywhere we go there are always Thai college students with us. Some are Christians and some aren't and each thing we do is a relational opportunity. The language and cultural barriers are difficult, but our college students are working hard to overcome them. Our next two days are very light and it is timely as our students are pretty bushed. I would ask that you pray for rest, both spiritual and physical for our team. I would ask that you pray for more opportunities to connect the Thai students with the church and the team and that we would make the most of those opportunities. On a personal note, Somer and I are deeply enjoying our time with Lonnie and Courtney. And also, Keona wanted me to make sure that I tell Kevin and Melanie hello on her behalf. Over the next few days, there might be a chance for some of the students to get to post blogs on their personal experiences.

In His Service,

Josh Quade

We are here!

Glenda — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 03:08:00 GMT

We are here. Everything went very smoothly. Had a couple of pretty bumpy flights, but everyone is here and all our luggage made it! We got in pretty late last night to a very warm welcome from Lonnie, his teammates, and a collection of Thai students. We are on our way now to the church to have a pretty full day of cultural training. Hopefully we can all stay awake when jet lag kicks in this afternoon. Thanks for the prayers. Keep them coming.

Heading home

Glenda — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 17:58:00 GMT

We are waiting at the airport in Nairobi. We will be boarding in a few hours. The trip has been completed. God and his people have been very good and gracious.

Thanks to all for their prayers and sacrifice. We are looking forward to arriving home once again in Joplin Saturday evening.

Sincerely,

--
Mike Schrage for the Kenya team

"you may leave Africa, but Africa will never leave you"

Glenda — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 15:11:00 GMT

Friends,

Our team completed their time in Kitale as we head back to Nairobi today. A special musical presentation was given on our behalf yesterday at Bahati Academy School for the work the team did. We as guests were given the opportunity to speak to the kids and gave our heart-felt wishes for them to use their opportunity in school to get a good education. Later the staff at the Children’s Home shared (and some even cried) as we were saying our good-byes. New friendships have been forged, new appreciation for the kingdom of God cherished, and renewed vigor to serve Him established. For some of us returnees it was good to reacquaint ourselves with old friends. The proliferation of cell phones made it even possible to speak with some that found out that we were here in Kenya and they went out of their way to come and others call to reconnect with us. In the end, we built much more than desks. We built friendships We learned from our African friends a whole new meaning to the word compassion, hospitality and generosity. They know how to practice the gift of hospitality. We are all healthy and so very grateful for the opportunity to serve and to represent College Heights Christian Church as we joined you here in Kenya to be the hands and feet of Jesus. As the saying goes, “ you may leave Africa but Africa will never leave you.”

Sincerely, Mike (for the team)

A blessing

Glenda — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 15:52:00 GMT

We could not have hoped for a better day to end this amazing trip. We started off early when all of us, along with the Costa Ricans, loaded up in a bus and drove to La Paz Waterfall Park. The 2 hour bus ride was filled with the chaos of driving through the city and later on the tranquility of the mountain drive. On arrival we divided up into groups and went into La Paz which is similar to a zoo, hotel and a conservation park all in one location. They had several different types of animals including monkeys, birds, felines, butterflies, frogs and snakes. However, our favorites were the toucans. The toucans would jump onto your arm and shoulder. The most amusing part of the toucan segment was when Dylan had one eating his Fro. They also had a pool over looking a massive ravine. The waterfalls were absolutely beautiful. One of them was 120 feet high with others being even larger than that. The weather was beautiful until about 20 minutes before departure when it started pouring rain. At the time the majority of us were at the pool chillin’ when the rain started to get harsh. When we had gotten back to the entrance building we were all absolutely soaked and full of laughter. Our next stop was a street market for souvenir shopping. At this place we were offered to buy many interesting things (‘nough said). After we had all purchased our things and gifts for those at home we went to the mall to eat supper. (They serve French fries at Taco Bell!!!) After chatting for a long time we all walked back to the church and said our goodbyes to the Costa Rican youth group. This time cannot be explained by simple words or by metaphors. It was filled with tears and laughter along with a deep love of friendship for our brothers and sisters in Christ. This trip has truly been a blessing for all of us.

With love in Christ,

Caleb Stratton
Dylan Shaner

Our God is big!

Glenda — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 15:45:00 GMT

We are ending our time in Kitale today. It has been a good and learning experience. The Children’s Home with its 52 children and the primary school of 220 pupils are moving forward. It is neat to see the Lord working through the staff here to impact these children with hope and education. These are two things that many in Kenya today do not have in their lives.

Visiting village churches on Sunday, teaching classes in the school this week interacting with the children and staff at the Home, and constructing wooden desks for the school have been some of the learning experiences along the way. This service woven in with learning about the African cultural aspects regarding different foods, different tribal customs, different languages like Kiswahili, different worship styles, different family practices and different government priorities’ have all helped expand our horizons of how big our God is and how he loves diversity!

We leave tomorrow for Nakuru to begin the journey home. We will arrive in Nairobi on Friday and complete the trip with a little shopping and repacking and again visiting the offices of Good News Productions, International and Mission of Hope.

Thanks for partnering and praying with us.

Mike Schrage (for the team)

PS We continue to pray for everyone in Joplin and while so much was lost (most importantly lives and health) the reality regarding material possessions is that so many of the people we have served this week could have put all of their belongings in several suitcases. It just kind of sobering to consider….

Singing LA CUCARACHA

Glenda — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 21:00:00 GMT

We would like to start off with a little song…

LA CUCARACHA
            La cucaracha, la cucaracha
            Ya no puede caminar,
            Porque le falto,
            Porque no tiene
una patita para andar

This song was a way for Allie and I to bond with the Costa Rican girls as we walked back to Joselyn’s. Just a quick definition of Joselyn – She is a 21 year old Costa Rican who was a part of the Institute that the church started with in 2008. She is most definitely the kindest and most generous person I have ever met. I’m pretty sure they taught us it at least 50 times and we still can’t sing it without reading it.

Yesterday was a big day. God was definitely at work. We got to experience their church service. The worship was so amazing because they obviously led in Spanish yet we continued to worship. The Costa Rican youth, who we had been spending time with all week, led worship. We saw them practicing all week, and on Sunday all of the boys wore dress pants, nice shirts, and ties. Which all of the leaders said is something they never do.   Bryce spoke to us about our worldly possessions. He also said how God blesses us to bless others. We read out of Matthew 6:19-24. We encourage all of you to read this and think about how much God has blessed us all. Bryce said something that really stuck with me. He said that 20% of the world consumes 90% of the world’s goods. This just made me think of when I’m back home and thinking I want more clothes or I want to go do more fun stuff. During this trip I’ve realized how important sharing the blessings Gods giving me to others. I need to sacrifice more of my time and give back to others; especially now during the clean up of our town.

After church we went back to Joselyn’s and got into our soccer playing outfits. Natalie wanted to wear a jersey really bad so Joselyn let her wear the Coca – Cola one which was funny because we had been asking her if we could get a coke and driving her crazy J.
We played soccer with the youth. I’ve been looking forward to this all week, and so had most of the youth. We walked over to the indoor soccer stadium, and divided into to teams. Ticos and Gringos combined because obviously the Ticos would win. It was so much fun!

For dinner we went to the Twitchell’s house. There house is extremely adorable. We later got together as a whole team. We shared what we had learned. For Allie, I’ve learned not to be a luke warm Christian. To be someone who will share there faith with everyone and stand up for the Christian faith. For Natalie, that I have a purpose. That my purpose is to serve God and to live a life Holy and Pleasing to Him and to continue to grow in Him continually. We ended the night by encouraging one another. Encouragement is always needed and Allie and I are so grateful to be surrounded by these Godly influences.
Costa Rica is beautiful and we are so glad that God has brought us here. Not only to serve with the Costa Ricans but to make relationships with the people here and most of all to strengthen our relationship with Christ.

Thank you for your prayers.

Allie and Natalie reporting live from Tres Rios, Costa Rica

On behalf of the Costa Rican Mission team

Ole ole ole ole TICOS TICOS ole ole ole ole TICOS TICOS

Please pray for safe travel home

Glenda — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 16:41:00 GMT

Yesterday, Sunday, Mike and I went to church at the Children's Home. Mike got to give the sermon there and did a fantastic job of switching between Swahili and English, it was amazing to listen to. After the service the Children's choir got up and sang a couple songs. I don't have a clue what they were saying but it was like any other children's special with one kid swaying the wrong way and the other totally off in their own world, but very entertaining! I got to visit with some of the adults there who had grown up in the home and returned for the reunion they had this weekend. A couple of the young men that grew up in the home are now a graphic artists in Mombasa and doing very good. Today Meghan and I got the privilege of teaching English to a couple of the classes at the school. The headmaster is very trusting, he just gave us a lesson and left us in a classroom with the students. It was a great experience though. Each day the Lord is revealing His work in new and amazing ways. The workers at the home are so dedicated to raising the children in a Godly way and you can see that in the kids who live here. The Lord is showing me so much about myself and his children around the world. The earth is huge and so beautiful in it's diversity! I am beyond blessed to have been able to experience this amazing culture and share life with these wonderful people. Thank you to everyone who has been praying for our team, please pray for safe travel as we get ready to head home in the next couple days. God bless.

Shaylea Coffey on behalf of the Kenya team

A long day of accomplishments!

Glenda — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 22:51:00 GMT

On Friday we worked from 8’o clock in the morning to 4, the entire time for the guys was spent hauling rubble and dirt down a hill and filling the concrete mixer. The girls spent the morning handing out flyers for the VBS, and then left at about 11 to clean the church. At the end of the day all the guys were excited to see the concrete slab we had made for the children, to be finished. That night we worshiped together and listened to J-Mags testimony. The next day we did a VBS at the park where we had made the concrete block, then again at the church where we are staying. Saturday night we watched the Costa Rican guys play soccer, it was awesome as they dominated over the other team by seven points. That night we spent time again worshiping, listening to a testimony, and praying.

William and Jordan on behalf of the Costa Rican team