October/November 2007

Well I didn’t get a chance to write an October update, so I’ve decided to combine it with this month’s update. I’m amazed at how fast time has flown by this fall. Lots has happened, but I’ll just give you the highlights.

The short version...
1. We spent a few days in Fort Myers Beach with friends
2. We had a fun party with the youth group kids on the 31st
3. We went camping with a bunch of families from our church

And the long...
Our good friends Casey and Angela invited us to join them on a weekend get-a-way to a condo in Fort Myers beach. We happily accepted and left on the Thursday of my fall break (or, “reading week” to be accurate). The condo was great; newly redecorated, right on the beach, 9th story… the works! And it belonged to someone in Angela’s family so it was FREE! WE had a great time. We walked on the beach, swam in the ocean, went shopping at the outlet malls, and most importantly… we laid around a lot and did nothing. We actually rested. It was fantastic. We’re grateful to God for a relaxing weekend with great friends.

On October 31st, we had a rather different kind of party. We had an 80’s & Apple Butter party. (WHAT?) Yes, 80’s and Apple Butter. It all dates back to our summer Missions trip, on which, a student bought a jar of Apple Butter and loved it so much, he put Apple Butter on everything: eggs, salad, hamburgers, etc… So, ever since, the youth group has had a thing for Apple Butter. We decided to have an Apple Butter party, but soon realized that we needed something else to spice it up. The 80’s came to mind, and the rest in history. It was fun. Hana wore a poofy prom dress, and I wore white pants with a bright pink polo shirt. We looked pretty rad.

Finally, we went camping over the first weekend in November. The weather finally dipped down out of the 80/90’s all the way down to the 50’s. It was perfect. We had bonfires, sang songs, ate smores, went canoeing… and a bunch of other outdoor activities. It was fun to be with the youth group kids out in nature, it provided for a bunch of funny and memorable moments! Plus, since we were at the campsite from Friday through Sunday, I was asked to lead a worship service on Sunday morning. I had some of the youth group kids sing with me, and then I preached. It was pretty cool.

Well, that’s about it for now. Hana and I are looking forward to flying up to MN for a over a week next month. We can’t wait to see Max and Sophie (our niece and nephew). We’ll be heading down to Palm City for Thanksgiving to spend a few days with Hana’s parents. They have been so gracious and loving toward us ever since we moved here. We’re very grateful to God for them!

Thanks for checkin’ in!

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Eph. 3:20-21)

God bless,
MjR