Does it feel like Spring where you live yet? We had 90 degree temps a few weeks ago and had to put the air conditioner in our bedroom window, but then had the heater on just last week! Sure enough, though, things have evened out. The trees are in bloom, I hear the birds signing in the wee hours of the morning when Selah wakes me up for a feeding, and the contentment and motivation that seem to come naturally this time of year are making for very pleasant days!
Usually at this time of year, Frank & I would be packing up for a week of camping to get some rest and refreshment before the Summer mission trip project began. While a week of camping is not so feasible this year with a 2 month-old in our lives, we are blessed that the typical 8-10 week season of mission trips will instead be a 5 week season, mostly in July. It seems these days that God is evening out the extremes of our lives, so while intense rest periods are tough to come by, the intensity of the demands of our time & effort this summer will also be relieved.
Selah is growing like a weed, and bringing much joy to our lives! She discovered her voice a few weeks ago, and we really enjoy hearing all that she has to say! I started back to my work with AIM three weeks ago, and so far she has been fairly cooperative in letting me get some work done during the daytime hours. Just this morning, she went to Cast Your Cares with Daddy to help him make food bags so I could get some work done. She's a happy and flexible baby, and already such a great little missionary! Waking or sleeping, she gives us the opportunity to talk with neighbors and strangers each time we take her out!
Tomorrow marks the official last day of work for Melanie who has labored alongside us for 6 years now. Melanie and her husband Ryan will be serving with Wycliffe Bible Translators in Southeast Asia, and leave in July to begin their training and preparation. We are planning a few more fun events with the neighborhood kids, including one last group camping trip, before they move. Please pray for Melanie & Ryan as they make this transition, and for the void that will be left here in their absence. Melanie has provided so much organization and motivation to my scatterbrained ways, so pray also that I will be able to continue to serve our neighborhood kids just as well, even without her valuable help.
Cast Your Cares is continuing to provide tons, yes, literally tons, of food to our hungry neighbors. It seems like every few weeks the record number of bags given away is broken again! One of the reasons that they are able to fund the purchase of so much food from the food bank (no, it's not free ... but that's another story!) is because of the fundraising efforts of Jim & Jenifer Snider during the annual Battle Against Hunger bike ride. For the past 2 years, they have participates in the 200 MILE bike ride! Training season will begin again soon. If any of you bike, or knows someone who does, that may like to join the Sniders in this awesome ride through the Pennsylvania countryside, be sure to let us know!
Also, there continue to be strides forward on completing the construction of the Cast Your Cares building. God has raised up an incredible advocate from a church in Georgia that has served with AIM & CYC for the past 5 years. Thank God with us for Tony from 12 Stone Church, and pray that his endeavors to help gather the materials, laborers and funding for the CYC building will be successful!
We have enjoyed some great times with family in these past few months, and have gotten to introduce Selah to mostly all of the family. I am just so impressed at this beautiful thing called "family" that God created us to live within. What a gift! Not only do we have so many blood-relatives to be blessed by and thankful for, but we are so overwhelmed with the joy of our spiritual family, of whom each one of you belongs! It's so humbling, and we feel so wealthy to have such amazing people surrounding us, and holding us up through prayers & encouragement. Thank you so much!
Well, we'll see how many naps this update will have to stretch across!! Selah is snoozing right now, and allowing me to catch up on a few things! Maybe she'll allow me to finish this whole email before our next round of eating, diaper change and playing begins all over again!
We are now 5 weeks into our new role as parents, and loving every sleep-deprived day of it! There are of course frequent moments where we miss our former freedoms, but the joy of having Selah in our lives, and the grace God has given us to manage each of the challenges has made this a sweet season. We cannot believe how quickly she has grown already, and are determined to heed the advice that we've heard from so many other parents to savor each phase, as the time will pass so quickly!
While life around us continues to keep up it's busy pace, we've had the privilege of slowing down tremendously since Selah's arrival, Before I share of some of the going-ons around us, I'd like to share with you about her name, and what it's meaning has meant for our lives.
Back in November, frustrated by Frank's silly responses to my pleas to discuss baby names, I spent several hours one day compiling a list of baby girl names that I liked. We wanted to choose a name based on it's meaning, not just how nice we thought it sounded. I ended up with a list of over 30 names, and when Frank had exercised his vetoes, we were down to 18 names. We committed to praying over those names, and asking God to show us what name He had chosen for our baby. While I was away for AIM staff conference in December, Frank spent several busy days at home in Philly, but in his moments of quiet and solitude, would always turn to the Lord and ask Him to show him what our daughter's name should be. During that time, God spoke to Frank that Selah was the name of his choosing. He confirmed again later that evening -- Frank got in the car to drive home from dinner at his sister's house, and out of habit did two things. First, he gave God the question again that he had been offering up for weeks - "What is our baby's name?" He the remembered that God had already revealed the name to him, and told himself, "That's right, Lord, you told me already -- but what was it ??!! I can't believe I forgot!!" At the same moment that her remembered the name, he then did one more thing out of habit - he turned on the ipod, and continued his 180 song playlist that he had been listening to throughout the day. As he looked down to see what song would play, it was one by Hillsong United, and the title was "Selah" He didn't even know that we had a song by that title in our collection! Needless to say, Frank was certain, and I was likewise convinced, that Selah is the name that God had chosen for our daughter.
The meaning is somewhat uncertain and up for debate. (As is the pronunciation - we pronounce it "Say-la" for the record.) It's found in the Psalms, and is most widely understood to mean "pause and reflect." It's a sign to stop, to meditate on the truth that has just been spoken. It's also understood to possibly be a musical notation - a part of a song where there are no lyrics, but that the instruments would take over, giving the worshipers a chance to meditate. I like to compare it to those moments of worship where your heart overflows, and there simply aren't any words, because you are so caught up in the splendor of the One whom you are praising. We pray that in our own lives, and an the lives of all of those who encounter Selah, that she causes them to meditate on the majesty of our Lord. She has certainly slowed our hurried pace of life down, and we savor these times to know and adore Father, Son and Spirit even more because of her.
On other fronts, the Cast Your Cares food cupboard continues to crank out a record number of food bags each week, giving away about 1500 pounds of food each week. AIM had hosted several mission teams, sponsoring a football camp a few weeks ago, and a soccer camp this week. These teams are also working with Cast Your Cares, so the neighbors have enjoyed the return of Sunday cookout and Wednesday coffeehouse ministry times. It's good to see how many people God has raised up to lead & support the ministries that are dear to our hearts, so that while we take time to pause and reflect, things continue successfully.
Well, it's now 6 hours (that two naps, two feedings and two diapers!) since I began this email. Just as this sweet little girl has taken up the majority of this update's subject matter, she takes up most of our waking and should-be-sleeping hours! I'm sure that in years to come, she will continue to play a central role in our reports of God's goodness to us, and work in our lives!
Somehow the entire month of January slipped away without an update, and now we are closing in on the first half of February already! How time does fly!
We've been enjoying both busy and restful times since our last update. We brought in the new year with a quiet retreat away to New York and Vermont, and enjoyed the refreshment of some time alone together along with some time with our friends in Bridport, Vermont. Our house was still standing when we returned (always a good thing!) and one neighbor told us that he and his girlfriend got to sleep before midnight even arrived on the 31st, so it seems that a portion of peace was present over our block while we were gone - praise the Lord!
These past six weeks have been pretty well filled with preparations to receive our baby girl, who is due in just under a month. Frank has been working hard and meticulously at transforming our guest room into a nursery. If there were an award for most careful caulking, Frank would be the undisputed champ! Thanks to his hard work, the room is draft free, stable and beautiful! I'll be sure to share some pictures with our upcoming newsletter!
I'm balancing my time between tasks like washing baby clothes & cleaning alongside the tasks of getting as much of the preparation for AIM's summer mission trip season done so that I can afford the down time for my maternity leave. (Don't worry, I'm also getting in lots of rest too!) Melanie, who has been working with me for the past 2 years, has been an incredible co-laborer, and is going to handle the full workload during my leave. Please do pray that these few more weeks that we have are very productive, as we attempt to place people in staffing & leadership positions for the Summer, and as we make plans for which local churches & ministries to partner with each week. Also pray for Melanie as she heads everything up for these early spring months, that God would give her favor and joy in all that she does!
Since the holidays, we've enjoyed the rhythm of getting into the routine of or regular ministries --- Frank lending a hand at the food cupboard, doing Saturday outreaches and his weekly addictions ministry commitments, and my AIM administrative work alongside kids' dinner clubs, Power Lab, special events and impromptu homework help with our neighborhood kids. We realize that most of these things will go on temporary hold once the baby arrives, and ask for you to pray that we would have clarity and wisdom from God to know "when" and "how much" to return to these things. We are sure that God is going to use this child to help slow us down, make us reflect on Him and shape us, and just ask for you to support us in prayer as we endeavor to do this well!
Here are a few other prayer requests -
There have been some very promising new developments with the building project at Cast Your Cares. It looks like the people and the permission are lining up to get construction rolling . . . the one missing piece is the funding. Please pray for funds to come in in abundance so that the lofty goal of having the 2009 Christmas outreach indoors becomes a reality!
We are approaching the 2 year mark that should get Frank off of the waiting list for health insurance, and onto a policy. Please pray that the estimated wait time was correct, that he will be covered soon, and that he will get all of the care and treatment necessary for full and complete health!
We're recently been struck by the heartbreak of broken and failing marriages of many people that we know. Please pray that God would give us the heart and words to love these folks in ways that bring them hope. Pray also that God would strengthen and grow our own marriage, especially as we enter this season of change.
Well, I expect that our March update will come in the form of a birth announcement! We will be excited to share our joy with you, and to finally let everyone know the lovely name that God has chosen for this little girl! (It's still a secret until then! :))
From the beginning, Frank & I knew that we were beginning a relationship that was to end in marriage. We wanted the timing of our engagement & marriage to be determined by God, the same way that He had so clearly and perfectly timed and executed the conception of our relationship. Frank quit his job to enter full time ministry, and neither of us was all that wealthy to start off with, so we knew that the only way that we could get an engagement ring was either to strive beyond ourselves, or trust beyond ourselves. We decided to trust rather than strive, and asked God to show us when to get engaged by his provision of an engagement ring.
By the time June rolled around, I have to admit I was beginning to get impatient with God! We felt like God was leading us to get married sometime in the fall, but still with no ring in sight! I had rediscovered a ring setting that I had, so we began to pray even more specifically for a diamond. We made plans to go to Vermont the weekend of my birthday in June, where we would visit with Tim Franklin & his family, the pastor who we hoped would be marrying us before the end of the year.
While I was busy being impatient with God, God was busy laying on a friend's heart to give Frank the diamond from a family ring that she had. Frank had planned & hoped to get the diamond set in time to bring it to Vermont to propose. Although he thought that particular weekend was God's timing, for various reasons he wasn't able get the ring to bring to Vermont. Was, or was it not God's plan for us to get engaged that weekend?
It all became clear that Sunday. In church, I shared an update & testimony with Bridport Congregational Church, the church that Tim pastors and that supports my ministry. After arriving home from church, Tim & his wife Annette insisted quite strongly that we go sit in Tim's office and wait for them. We thought we were in trouble! Instead, we were surprised when Tim said, "Someone in church asked me to give this to you," and pulled out a 5-diamond wedding band!
Frank & I were both shocked and speechless! I thought, "Oh my - this is the ring! God came through" while Frank was thinking, "But we already have a ring!" Tim and Annette gave us the office to ourselves, and Frank told me about the ring that God had already provided. This second ring was as if God was saying, "I TOLD you that this was the time! Since one ring wasn't enough, here is another!"
Frank proposed by saying all sorts of wonderful things that I can't even remember now! I like to tell people that I didn't say "yes," because I said, "Of course!" Along with our commitment to waiting for God's provision of a ring for us to get engaged, we also committed to waiting until we were engaged for our first kiss. Needless to say, it was a pretty exciting day!
At the time, we didn't understand why God kept Frank from having the ring He had provided when we got engaged. Just a few days after we returned to from Vermont, we were held up at gunpoint and lost several valuables & cash. At that point, I was very thankful that I didn't have the ring, and hadn't run the risk of losing it in the hold up. About a week later, Frank surprised me with my ring on the rooftop of Cast Your Cares. We have been able to have the wedding ring repaired and cleaned. I NEVER would have imagined that I would wear 6 diamonds on my finger, but when we are married, we will have these physical reminders and testimonies of God's awesome and extravagant provision!
January 13, 2006 was a landmark date for Frank & I, so we enjoy January 13 as an anniversary of sorts. It was a day when God reminded us just how extravangant he is, and it's a story that we believe should be told over and over again. We are characters in this story, but God's glory plays the starring role! We hope you enjoy hearing it again, or for the first time!
From our newsletter, October 2006
This issue of my newsletter is the last that you will receive from "Elizabeth Westfall." I'm not by any means leaving the ministry here in Philly though! It's just that I have become the victim of God's great faithfulness and extravagant love, so the next newsletter you get will be coming from "Elizabeth and Frank Varaso." I wanted to use this newsletter to introduce you to Frank, and share with you the amazing story of all that God has done for us!
I'll let Frank tell a little bit first -
"I came to a place in my life where I was content after years of feeling empty and hopeless. These years of hopelessness brought me into some of the darkest places anyone can ever be. Finally, after running out of ideas, the only option left was God. Through the 12 steps of AA and with fellowship of others who knew God, everything that I thought I ever knew had been changed. No longer did I wander aimlessly. God had given me purpose.
It's only been since June of 2005 that the Lord has opened my eyes. I had just come out of jail on June 16th and was led to the Last Stop, an AA/NA clubhouse in Kensington. I was brought into an amazing, real and personal relationship with a loving God. I never before knew that it was possible to communicate with God and hear back from Him.
My experience with addiction and recovery has given me what I need to encourage and help others with similar struggles. The way that people put their hand out to me just really was so encouraging to me. There I was at the Last Stop, feeling and thinking that I was the worst person ever, and people just came and welcomed me, served me food, and they sat and talked to me when they had no idea who I was and I knew nothing of them. I found out that they actually needed to do that for their own recovery. So I took that same attitude and began to learn how to really help others and myself by reaching out to others in the same way people did to me. There's a line in the "Big Book" of AA that says, "We are to be of maximum service to God and to others." I took that and ran with it. I haven't looked back.
I was introduced to the Sniders, the family who live next door to the Last Stop who have been here for about 8 yrs and run the ministry, Cast Your Cares. They are an awesome family who have taken time to help shape me into what I am today. "
(And here's where I'll pick up the rest of the story! :)
The Snider family, who Frank began to get to know as he lived at the Last Stop, is the same family who I lived with when I moved to Philly. They have been like family to me during my 6 years here. Jenifer has always been on the lookout for eligible bachelors to send my way, and as with most of the others, I took it as teasing when she began to ask me, "Have you met Frank? What do you think about him?"
As Frank began to grow in his commitment to serving God through ministry, it looked as if he might be a good fit for the needs that AIM had. I had probably prayed hundreds of prayers and cried thousands of tears over the past years as my job responsibilities always seemed to require skills and abilities beyond what I possessed. When I brought this plea to the AIM staff at our annual Staff Conference in August 2005, they prayed with me that God would send people, men especially to begin to fill the ministry needs. One woman stood up and prophesied that God would indeed send a man who would come from AIM Philly's own area of ministry, a man who God would send quicker than I thought, to be an "arm bearer" to answer my prayers. So, from August until October when I met Frank, my eyes were peeled and my heart was primed for receiving this answer to my prayers. Let me clarify though that I understood God's promise to be strictly for ministry help, and not that this man would be my husband. When I met Frank, I began to get bits and pieces of his story, and started to be blessed by the ways that he was contributing to AIM's ministry and my peace of mind. I began to believe that he was this man that was prophesied about. Frank had moved into one of the AIM houses with some other guys involved in ministry when he left the Last Stop. Between ministry opportunities, and fellowship with his and other households of missionaries in Kensington, we began to get to know each other.
Frank would tell you that at this point in his life, he had resigned himself to be single and in the Lord's service for the rest of his life. He was looking to quit his job and enter full time ministry with Cast Your Cares in the New Year, but he certainly wasn't looking for a wife! I was excited about God's provision of his help in ministry, but was also cautious to not want to get any ideas or emotional attachments as we began working together. Well, God had other plans than what either of us was thinking!
There were just a few of us in town during the Christmas season of 2005, so for sanity's sake, we spent a lot of time together. Most of Frank's roommates were gone, so along with others, he spent a good deal of time at my house. During this time, God was beginning to soften my heart toward the desires that I had always tried to manage --- it was always my heart's desire to be married, but I always made sure that my life was full in order to numb that desire. At the same time that my heart was being prepared, Frank was learning how to have conversations with God, to be able to ask Him to speak and confirm His will and His truth to him. Quite surprisingly one day, God began to show Frank that it was His desire for us to be together. He says that excitement was pretty quickly followed with thoughts of, "This is crazy!" For the next week, he tried to avoid these thoughts, and would tell you that it was a horrible week! He had had incredible, daily fellowship with the Lord ever since He began to walk closely with Him upon entering the Last Stop. He found that this fellowship was disrupted, and that his avoidance of believing and following the Lord's will led to misery.
Now, Frank thinks that he was pretty sly, but the during this week, he called me daily to tell me things that he had already told me, and then kept me on the phone talking for at least a half an hour afterward! I was beginning to see that the softening of my heart was being timed with God's provision of a man not only to minister with, but to love also. By the time Friday rolled around, Frank found his first bit of peace when he woke up and determined that he was going to begin to talk to some people about what He felt the Lord telling him about me. After a little run in with Sylvester Stalone on the set of Rocky VI (no kidding!) later that evening Frank showed up at my house to have a talk that we both knew was coming. He would tell you that he just showed up in my living room and said, "Um -- you're my wife!" but it didn't go down exactly like that! God was so gracious to answer my prayers and satisfy the desire that I had always had to be boldly approached and pursued by the man who God had chosen to be my husband. It was never my desire to date, and God was so awesome to bring us together without having to take us through that! As crazy as it seemed to Frank to just come to me with such confidence, it was exactly what I had prayed for!
That was on January 13, 2006 --- just a few short months after we met at a Bible study at the Sniders', and only a little more than 9 months away from our wedding date! As our story has unfolded, sometime all I can say is, "God, you are CRAZY!" He really does wild and incredible things in response to placing one's faith in him! I'm so thankful and so blessed that He led us to surrender this area of our live to Him so that He could craft a far better story than anything we could have come up with!
We hope that this finds you having just enjoyed a wonderful Christmas, and maybe even some fun New Year's plans ahead! That is exactly what we have to report!
The Christmas season was nearly a blur for us . . . People gave so very generously towards our friends and neighbors this season that being the hands and feet of those generous hearts kept us pretty busy!
We were able to hold a closing program party for the kids who have attended our Power Lab program all fall, and send each family home with a CD of all of the songs and prizes for each child. Singing was one of their favorite parts of the program each week, and they LOVED to sing the pepped up version of "Amazing Grace" the most. Several parents and other family members came out to see the kids in their closing program. It has been a joy to get to connect with these families, and explore the power of Jesus with these kids!
We also held a Christmas party for our neighborhood kids, which is becoming an annual tradition. You can check out the picture to compare and see how some of them have grown since last year! This year they posed for our Christmas card, and we got a double use out of the costumes as they acted out the Christmas story at our party. Here is the link to the video on You Tube if you'd like to check it out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fovNcE0mWr8
A local Chick-Fil-A allowed Cast Your Cares to place toy & food collection barrels at their site, and people generously gave beautiful new gifts that we were able to present to a local pastor for some families in his congregation. We didn't even need any of the presents for the families that we work most closely with because a church in Delaware had already donated money to provide for our Christmas Party and Christmas dinner & gifts for struggling families.
Now, having to be out there with all of the other shoppers may have been part of it, but as we made multiple trips to Target & Walmart to fulfill these Christmas wishes, I just kept thinking (and saying) "What recession?" While many, many people are struggling, we were witnesses to God's great provision, and His people's awesome generosity!
In all of the busyness of these events and give-aways, we hardly had time to rest, let alone shop for each other, so we decided to take a few days away together as a gift to ourselves and each other. Tomorrow morning we will leave to enjoy a few days in upstate New York, and then will continue on to visit with the Franklins and Bridport Church in Vermont. (yay --- snow!!)
We struggled to decide what to do for New Year's Eve & Day this year. Last year our block was pretty out of control, with music playing loud enough in the house next door to shake our floors until 4:30 am. We had already heard rumors about alcohol stockpiles for this year, and I spend the past few weeks hoping to build up the courage and compassion to speak with my neighbor about it, rather than just to escape the situation. So, while we are desperate for the rest and escape, it is not without some feelings of resignation.
As God leads us away for these days of rest and retreat, please pray for God's light to shine bright on our block while we are away. Pray for the adults to make better choices, and for the kids to be protected from the poor choices that the adults around them make.
The Christmas promise is that Emmanuel - God with us - has arrived, to be our rescuer! The Message translation of the Bible says it this way - "The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood." Please pray for God's presence to be thick in our neighborhood, through us while we are here, and even while we are away!
And likewise, may you experience Emmanuel in your own homes and in your own communities!
The flurries are already flying through the air here in Philly, and the holiday season is nearly upon us! We've had a very busy month so far, and are looking forward to some time to relax and enjoy family this week as we travel to Virginia for Thanksgiving.
Frank has been pulling double duty for the past few weeks, as his co-laborer in ministry, Frank Hinson, has been undergoing treatment & further testing for testicular cancer. A second surgery to remove his lymph nodes should eradicate any remaining cancer cells, and complete remission is expected. Praise God with us that the cancer was caught early, that treatment has thus far been successful, and that the prognosis is so good. Please keep praying for Frank & his family. Also, please pray for both Franks, as they evaluate how they may need to adjust ministry commitments in coming months, as the Hinsons complete cancer treatment and welcome a third child into their family, and as we Varasos welcome our first child. Pray that other men would be raised up who would be able to commit to helping lead the addiction ministry that Frank & Frank have spearheaded.
Although it's only November, my weeks are easily filled with planning and communication for making AIM's Summer 2009 mission trip season a success. In November, we traveled to Texas so that I could spend a few days meeting with other AIM staff at AIM's base in Mexico. It was pretty awesome to return to the very place where I began my relationship with AIM as a teenager, and where God confirmed my call to full-time ministry.
We are already praying and planning for the leadership team who will run AIM's trips in Philly this next Summer, and asking God to give us a sense of possibility that will go beyond our past experience and expectations. We will have some new challenges to face this next summer, as more and more ministry and community activities are being held at the church building that we have been using as a mission base for the past 5 years. We will outright lose some of the space we've used, and have to share some the common space with a new, large program. In my human mind, I can't begin to figure out how we will possibly be able to operate with these new constraints. We will need to see space open up, and people raised up in order to welcome and serve the teams that will come this Summer. Please pray for supernatural vision, provision and creativity to be ours!
The Cast Your Cares food cupboard passed out a record 42 bags of food in one day last week, and have given away 20 turkeys! A large donation of food from a church last week made this possible. Thank God with us for His provision that is feeding hungry bellies here in Philly!
Speaking of bellies, mine is growing every week! We found out last month that our baby is a girl, and I'm starting to think that she may be a champion kickboxer! I'm feeling well, and we are starting to become more intentional about getting our home ready for a baby. It's an exciting time!!
In the last month, we've seen both heartbreaks and breakthroughs with our neighbors. One child was placed in foster care, and another child revealed that she was being sexually abused by her mother's boyfriend for the past 5 years. In the midst of these difficulties, our neighbors are opening up to us more, and allowing us to help and share in their struggles. Please keep praying for these precious kids and their families.
What a rich life God has provided for us here! We have so very much to fill our minds and hearts with joy as we reflect on life this Thanksgiving! We pray that the overflow of His goodness to use spills out as joy into your lives as well!
If you're following the World Series, you know that we are enduring some pretty soggy, cold weather! Today's is no better than last night's weather that brought the game to a halt. I'm thankful to be warm and cozy inside my house right now as I write this! However, as the weather turns cold, please do keep in mind and in prayer the many people in the city who are living on the street, or who have homes without heat or hot water.
As I'm typing, Frank is driving from place to place in the wind and rain to try to get a man from the street named Jose admitted into a home for adults with disabilities. It's great that there are places like this available, and so far things seem to be lining up well. A few years ago, one of the AIM summer teams was able to help a man named Steve leave his life on the street behind, and find a home in the same facility. A few weeks ago, Ally who was that AIM team's leader was in town on a flight layover, and we got the chance to drop in on Steve. What a delight! Usually, stories of deliverance, success and recovery seem to be constantly overshadowed by the disappointment of seeing people stuck in their broken ways, or backsliding. Steve is an example of Christ's passionate pursuit through the efforts of Ally and her team, and the beauty of a restored life! Check out the pictures below to see Steve, and a friend of his who we met when we visited him!
Pretty soon this afternoon, I'm going to have to leave my comfy spot on my couch to venture out and buy some supplies for the kids events that we have planned for the rest of the week. Tomorrow we are planning on "Walking on Water" during our Power Lab Bible Club. (with the help of 20 boxes of cornstarch!) On Friday, we will invite our neighborhood kids to take a break from trick-or-treating, and come inside for some Dry Bone Resurrection, Ezekiel-style. It should be great fun! I will be sure to post some pictures to our blog!
We've had a consistent group of kids who have been coming weekly to the Power Lab Bible Club each week. It's awesome to come across the kids when we're walking or driving in the neighborhood, and have them tell us with excitement, "See you at Power Lab!!" The favor God has given us with them is precious.
Frank has been helping regularly with the Cast Your Cares food cupboard, as the nation's economic difficulties are starting to reflect in a surge of people needing food. All of the food for the Cast Your Cares cupboard is purchased for a discounted price at the local food bank. If you are in the area and know of local food drives, please be sure to investigate and find out if there are direct distributors of the food that could use a donation, rather than just giving to the food bank. I know that Cast Your Cares, along with many other food cupboards, would be happy to receive direct donations! (Contact Frank if you are interested in collecting food for Cast Your Cares!)
On the family front, last week we celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary on the same day that we went for our 20 week (halfway point!) appointment at the Birth Center. Tomorrow morning, should Baby Varaso decide to cooperate, we will have an ultrasound that will tell us if we're having a boy or a girl. We're getting excited!
All in all, we are well and are enjoying God's grace and favor in our lives, neighborhood and ministries! Please continue to pray for us and for our neighbors. We are so thankful for your care and support!
Yesterday during my quiet time, I notice a line from a song that I had never paid attention to before . . .
"I am Your Child You stole from the grave"
How profound! The words have been beautifully haunting me ever since . . .
Now that we are expecting a child, and I'm beginning to feel tiny movements inside my body, imaginations of what it must be like to lose a child are felt on a whole new, personal level. In the past week, I've heard of two different couples who have had to bury their infant children. Another dear family very close to us lost their adopted toddler daughter to AIDS before ever having the chance to bring her home and hold her in their arms. How utterly heartbreaking! I can't begin to comprehend the devastation of seeing the joy and hope of a new life turned upside down into the despair of death.
And yet, that is a picture of where we all were . . . facing the finality of death. Helpless children, dead in sin, and already prepared for the grave. All hope of our own was lost - no human power could bring life back into us. But a glorious Graverobber passed by -- He told the grave that it couldn't have me, and brought me from death to live.
What a mess the world can seem sometimes. Whether it is external circumstances - the state of the economy, abused and neglected children, natural disasters- or just the reelings of our own internal state, some messes seem beyond our ability to do a single thing about. However, I'm not quite so intimidated by the brokenness of the physical world, or the swirlings of my anxious heart when I compare them with the great power of our Savior. He is so gentle to not put out a smoldering wick, and so powerful that he can bring fire from on high to reignite our waterlogged hearts.
Another phrase from a song comes to my mind -- "And to my blackened branches, you brought the springtime green of new life . . . and nothing is impossible for you."
I choose that hope in Him today. Whether new life becomes apparent here and now as I walk this earth, or I wait to see life restored in it's eternal state in Glory, there is so much reason to hope and trust in our Graverobber God.
Hopefully this month's update will be simply a hold-over until our fall newsletter comes out in a matter of days! It's often hard to know what to write after a busy summer -- not because there is any lack of things to write about, but instead because it seems like so many praiseworthy things have gone on that we don't know what to focus on! Keep an eye out for that newsletter coming your way in the next few days!
It's hard to believe that another month has already gone by! In this past month, Frank provided "Support and Gear" for a 200 mile Battle Against Hunger bike ride, Elizabeth traveled to Georgia and back for AIM staff conference, and Baby Varaso has grown from the size of a fig to nearly the size of an avocado!
For the second year in a row, Jim & Jenifer Snider have represented Cast Your Cares in the Battle Against Hunger bike ride, helping to raise funds for CYC ministries. This year, Frank was there with them, helping to make sure all of the bikers were safe, stayed on course, and had water, power bars and cool towels when they needed them. I joined them halfway through the ride after traveling back from AIM's staff conference in Georgia. It was a great time seeing both new and familiar faces of AIM, and to spend time being encouraged about how we fit & work together like diverse parts of one body to help youth groups make it to the mission field.
We held a Back to School event with the neighborhood kids where they wrote out goals for this new school year, played some games, and each got a gift bag with school supplies. Lots of the kids have expressed a desire to improve in math, so I guess we will have to brush up on our own math skills to help them out! We had to chuckle at a few of their goals --- Before Shaquine understood exactly what "one academic and one behavioral goal" meant, his goals were for his school to get air conditioning and start a swim team. Amanda understood perfectly, and candidly made her behavioral goal "To not throw chairs at the teacher."
Continue to pray for us as we deepen our roots here, do our best to love our neighbors, and try to keep ministry commitments, our marriage, and our upcoming role as parents in balance. It's often the simple challenges than can feel defeating. For example, it's the perfect time of year to turn off the a/c, open the windows, and let the cool fall air in, but all too often, that cool air is clouded by cigarette & marijuana smoke. Pray that we can be loving, wise & excellent in the face of every challenge, great or small.
Thank you so much for your continued love, support and care for us, and for what God is at work doing here in Kensington!
