Ministry on Campus ~~ and new campus daughters

2 Corinthians 4:1 ¶ Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not...

It has been a busy time of ministry, but what better way to spend our days in this life?! I was available to help with the college ministry of being at the welcome table for parents of new students. A week ago right now, we volunteers met with the lady who heads it up and received our assignment of times to "man" the "orange juice table." We did that through Tuesday and what a joy it was to greet the parents of new students coming in from all over the country and many from around the world. Having been in their shoes when we brought Amy down for her freshman year in 1993, I was aware of some of their concerns and emotions and hope that I was able to deliver some comfort and assurance as they would be leaving their off-spring here and returning home without them. It was a great week of ministering in that light.

Speaking of ministry, the Lord used circumstances to bring us six new freshman girls to be our campus daughters this school year. One girl is Jennifer from Indiana. *Yellow shirt in the picture) Our son Chip had a girl in his youth group at his church in IN whose friend was coming down for school so Chip called us and "alerted" us that Jennifer was coming. He was able to provide an email address so we got to know Jennifer (and her parents!) before Jennifer ever got on the plane to fly down by herself. Richard and I picked her up at the airport and at the same time saw a girl who had arrived and was looking for a way to the college so since we already had Jennifer with us, we invited Jessica to ride with us to the college. She did and she is now our new campus daughter from Connecticut. Jess is in the red shirt.

Darla, a freshman daughter from last year, had emailed us a few weeks ago that two girls from her Christian school in TN were coming as freshmen. I was actually "working" the "orange juice table" when the twins and their parents arrived on campus. We had not corresponded but when I met them, I knew their last name and with the two girls there, I knew it was the folks that Darla had told me about. So I was able to be their official greeter on campus and tell them that I was their campus mom. That was neat!! The twins are Kelsey and Kaylee. Their parents were so nice and actually the four of us (without the girls) went to dinner together on Thursday night before they returned home to Memphis on Thursday. I didn't have my camera to make pics of Kelsey and Kaylee nor of their parents at the time. :(

And then we have a new girl from South Carolina. Candiace was here on campus working all summer when we met her through a friend.We were able to have her over and to take her out to eat over the summer and so we requested her for a campus daughter. We are also "adopting" Katharina the "friend" who is a senior this year. Katharina is from Canada and has never had a campus family. So we decided "better late than never" and she will be an unofficial campus daughter this year. (Candiace on left and Katharina on the right in the pic.)

And #6 is Julie from Texas. Last Sunday, we took to Sunday dinner at a restaurant the two girls (Jennifer and Jess) that we had picked up at the airport on Saturday. Jennifer asked if she could bring a roommate. We said, "Certainly" and that's how we met Julie from Texas and asked if she would like to request us for campus parents. She did and that's how she became freshman daughter #6. (I forgot to take my camera on Sunday so didn't get a pic of Julie.)

We have 2 freshman daughters from last year who are back. They are Darla from Tennessee and Melissa from Wisconsin. And to round off our group, we have 2 other girls we had "adopted" as campus daughters last year: Diana from Ohio and Melannie from Peru for a total of 11 girls this year who will be our daughters.

We are having them all over for Sunday dinner in our home this week so I am trying to decide what to cook for the girls. I can't wait and know it will be a fun time. I'm sure I'll post some pics from that first event with all of the girls. It will be fun to introduce them to each other and then to turn them loose to form some fast friendships with their campus sisters.

Sign up to receive updates on Joe Keller in Iowa

I have been sharing updates on Joe Keller, a young man in the ministry in Iowa. He was involved in a horrible auto wreck approximately 3 weeks ago. There is now a wonderful website where you can go to get updates. This is at carepages.com and you sign up for a FREE account. Once you sign up and go to Joe's site at joekellercarepage you will automatically receive notification when a new update is posted. I know the family appreciates your prayers for this man as he has a long way to go. His wife and his twin brother do the updates, and their strong faith in the Lord shine through each one. You will be blessed to read them and then can pray for the specific requests as they are posted. Please go there now and register to receive Joe's updates. God is good!!

Sign Up to receive Pollard Family Updates in North Carolina

We have been posting updates and praying for a young pastor and his family who were involved in a very serious car accident a couple of weeks ago. Bro. Jeremy Pollard, his pregnant wife Tiffany, and 16-month-old son, Stephen live in NC and were injured on their way to a Monday night revival service at their church. Bro. Jeremy is still in a coma and in bad shape. Wife Tiffany is doing much better and may be discharged in a few days. Little Stephen is having surgery on his neck to repair damage done to ligaments. There is now a website where you can register to receive notification when a new update is posted on the Pollard family. If you want to keep up with them, please go to carepages.com and sign up for your free account. The carepage name for the Pollards is: UGBCGrove. Once you sign up, you will be notified of new updates as they are posted. I know the family would appreciate your continued interest and PRAYERS as Jeremy and Little Stephen both have a long way to come. I will no longer be posting updates so please be sure to sign up and stay connected. God bless!! ~~Susan

Missionary Schuler Family Update on Situation in Roatan

Psalm 107:29 He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.

I want to thank you SO much for praying. God was so very good during all of this, and He gave us great peace through this whole thing. I am delighted (REALLY delighted) to report that Felix tracked south of Roatan, a direct and unmistakable answer to prayer. We spent a lot of time in prayer about this, and God so mercifully answered. Normally, hurricanes swing to the NW as the approach the coast, and if Felix had done so, it would have hit the islands. Instead, it took a straight westward track and passed south of Roatan, hitting a sparsely populated area of Nicaragua and Honduras. Roatan got some rain, but nothing extreme, as far as we have been told. Having said that, we do need to continue to pray for those affected. The Nicaraguan coast is poor and very low lying, and people are suffering there tonight.

In His service,

Mark

A Word from the Schulers.....

In response to the prayer request I posted for the Schulers, Missionaries to Roatan, Honduras, I received a nice email from Mark and Susan thanking all of us for our prayers regarding Hurricane Felix that is threatening Honduras. Here is their note:

Thanks SO MUCH for putting this out. We are still in the US and are scheduled to return (to Roatan) on Saturday (we are in Philadelphia now). I really appreciate this. The worst thing about it from a personal perspective is that we can't be there to make preparations, so the windows and such will not be boarded up if the storm hits. More importantly, we need to pray that there is no significant loss of life; a house can be replaced. We prayed in that regard when Dean came through a couple of weeks ago and God graciously answered. Please pray that God would protect everyone in the path of this terrible storm. This situation is in God's hands and we are praying for His abundant protection.

May the Lord bless you, and thanks for thinking of us and praying for us. We will keep you informed as we learn what is going on down there.

In Christ,
Mark & Susan Schuler

Prayer Request for the Schulers in Roatan ~~ Hurricane Felix

Psalm 107:29 He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.


Hurricane Felix, a CAT 5 storm, may be making a bee-line for Honduras. Our dear missionary friends, Mark and Susan Schuler and their son, Joel, are missionaries to Roatan, Honduras ~~ a long narrow island off of the north coast of Honduras. They have been on deputation in the States but were to return to Roatan about now. Their work in Roatan, Honduras includes church planting, evangelism, youth ministry, orphanage ministry, and education ministry. I am asking you to pray for the Schulers and for the people to whom they minister as the hurricane threatens that country.

Our Friday Bible Study Team

Jeremiah 23:29 Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?

What a joy it is to be a part of the Bible Study Team from our church as we conduct a Bible Study at a Retirement Center every Friday morning. Our teacher is Carol ~~ pictured in the middle. The little lady ~~ Peggy ~~ is brand new to our ministry and so is a new friend. She has joined our team and has been such a blessing for the past 4 weeks with us! There's nothing like laboring together in ministry to knit hearts in close friendship. And of course, those dear residents we see every week are the highlight of our morning at the Center. We have about 15 who are very regular and others who are in and out. We know there are some who have not yet accepted Christ as their Savior and so that burden is on our hearts for they are elderly folks. I just wanted to highlight my sweet friends on the blog and give Praise to the Lord for allowing us this privilege of ministry and friendship.

"FLY THE FLAG ON SEPTEMBER 11" CAMPAIGN

Please join us in this FLY THE FLAG campaign and PLEASE forward this email immediately to everyone in your address book asking them to also forward it. We have a little less than one week and counting to get the word out all across this great land and into every community in the United States of America.

THE PROGRAM IS THIS:

On Tuesday, September 11th, 2007, an American flag should be displayed outside every home, apartment, office, and store in the United States. Every individual should make it their duty to display an American flag on this anniversary of our country's worst tragedy. We do this in honor of those who lost their lives on 9/11, their families, friends and loved ones who continue to endure the pain, and those who today are fighting at home and abroad to preserve our cherished freedoms.

In the days, weeks and months following 9/11, our country was bathed in American flags as citizens mourned the incredible losses and stood shoulder-to-shoulder against terrorism. Sadly, those flags have all but disappeared. Our patriotism pulled us through some tough times and it shouldn't take another attack to galvanize us in solidarity. Our American flag is the fabric of our country and together we can prevail over terrorism of all kinds.

Action Plan:

So, here's what we need you to do...

(1) Forward this campaign message to everyone you know (at least 11 people). Please don't be the one to break this chain. Take a moment to think back to how you felt on 9/11 and let those sentiments guide you.

(2) Fly an American flag of any size on 9/11. Honestly, Americans should fly the flag year-round, but if you don't, then at least make it a priority on this day.

Thank you for your participation. God Bless You and God Bless America.

Yin and Yang

Proverbs 15:13 ¶ A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.

A lot of my joy in blogging is in finding a verse in God's Word that goes along with what I am thinking or what new picture I want to share. Look at this~~~ what a perfect verse for this picture. Jaden and I met met a friend and her little granddaughter at McDonald's for playtime and lunchtime together. This pic was made at the end of our 2 hours there, and I guess Miss Cailyn wasn't quite ready to leave. Her Grandma Lucille is a new friend of mine. We have gone to the same church together for 4-1/2 years but had never met "good enough" to become friends. I talked to Lucille in church one Sunday morning and when I found out that she isn't working this semester but is keeping her granddaughter, I told her that I am keeping Jaden on Wednesdays if she would like to get the kids together and us visit. She thought that was a wonderful idea, so today was our first get-together. We had so much fun telling some of our life stories and getting acquainted. One of God's best blessings is when HE sends new friends into our lives, and I believe that a precious friendship was born today!! Just so you know that Cailyn's outing was a lot of fun, here is a picture with her beautiful beaming smile. I thank God for the special blessing of a fun time with friends.

URGENT PRAYER REQUEST FOR PASTOR POLLARD AND FAMILY IN NORTH CAROLINA

(Please see the url for link to TV news report at bottom of this prayer request.)

Prayer Request Received from Friend in North Carolina on Tuesday: On Monday night on their way to our church revival services, our student pastor Jeremy Pollard, his wife Tiffany, and their 17-month old son, Stephen, were in a very serious head-on collision. Both cars were traveling about 55 mph, when the other car crossed the middle line and entered their lane. Jeremy suffered multiple injuries to his legs. He underwent several surgeries last night. Both of his femurs are broken and both of his ankles are broken. He also has a broken wrist, fractured Adam's apple, & the balls on both of his feet are broken . He will require at least 2 future surgeries.Tiffany had an internal injury (torn lower bowel) that was repaired in surgery last night. She also has a broken femur and a broken ankle. She will require surgery later for her ankle. She also had a cut on her head that had to be stapled.Stephen was given CPR at the accident scene and revived. He suffers from bruised lungs and multiple bumps and bruises and remains under observation in Brenners’ Children Hospital (part of North Carolina Baptist Hospital). Both Jeremy and Tiffany are in ICU and will remain there for a few days. They are facing a very long road to recovery, including future surgeries and physical therapy. Doctors believe that they will have a hospital stay not less than 2 weeks.Please be in prayer for this family.

Wednesday Update: Thank you all so much for praying for the Pollard family and asking about them. I know that our church and the Pollard family appreciate it so much.

Tiffany, the mom, is doing better and has been responsive. Jeremy, the dad, is still unresponsive from his surgeries, but the doctors said that was to be expected. He had so much anesthesia and morphine that he hasn't woken up yet. This is probably the best for him right now because he will be in a great deal of pain for awhile as his body was crushed. Stephen, the baby, was moved to the PICU (pediatric ICU) yesterday because his lungs collapsed so they inserted a breathing tube. Please keep praying. I know that God is answering prayers.

Attached is a link to our local news station. They did a news piece on the Pollard family yesterday. It should be the fourth video down on the right hand side of the page.

http://www.wxii12.com/video/index.html