First Day of Preschool, Twins Playing

Rylee had her first day of preschool Tuesday. She loved it!
Jenna and Asa were excited for her!Jenna, Asa, and I ran some errands, had lunch with Daddy, and fed the ducks by the library after returning some books. They were so cute. We had to leave the ducks to pick up Rylee. Asa said, "Bye ducks. Gotta go get Rylee." Then he waved to them. So sweet!Today, we dropped her off for her second day. The girl heads straight to her room and doesn't even bother to tell me bye. She is so independent! I love her little spirit. She gets excited about learning and being with other people. I pray she will always love to learn, especially at the feet of Jesus, and will always have a heart for others, especially those who need a friend.
Today Jenna, Asa, and I headed to a park for some outdoor play time. Jenna will hang on ANYTHING! So will Asa. He broke a towel bar in the bathroom this week after hanging on it. He also broke the ballet bar we had just hung in the girls room with a big mirror. What is it about hanging?!
Asa's so proud that he can climb up the cool twisty bars at the park. He said, "Take a picture of me. Cheese!"
And, then....hold on to your seats....we came home and I let them play with playdoh!
I think Asa really likes it. He told me he built a castle. Hmmm...that's a pretty flat castle. But, I love his imagination!

I can already see such a change in Rylee and the twins after only one day of Ry at school. She came home with such mature talk. We had some one-on-one time after laying the twins down for naps. Then, she crashed too!

Jenna and Asa are communicating with each other so much more than when Rylee is with them. They are constantly saying, "Hey, Jenna/Asa look at this." It's so adorable!

Hope you're having a good week! Keep praying for Orissa and Bihar. Amidst our life here at home, our hearts are heavy with what God is doing in Asia. May He be glorified around the world!

Urgent Prayer Needed for India

There are two major things happening in India right now. The first is heavy persecution in Orissa state. The second is flooding in Bihar. Below are two stories from the GFA website, www.gfa.org

Please pray for Orissa and Bihar. The believers and those yet to be saved. God is doing a mighty work there. No wonder the enemy is working so hard!

Christians Flee to Forests as Mob Violence Escalates in Indian State

Mob violence in India's Orissa state continues to escalate, and reports coming from Gospel for Asia leaders in Orissa say that as many as 20 GFA-related churches were destroyed and hundreds of Christian families have been burned out of their homes. At least a dozen members of GFA-related churches have been murdered, but no one knows the overall death toll.

"The Christians in Orissa have fled for their lives into the forests," GFA President K.P. Yohannan said, "and some have been in hiding for three days without food or water.

"Several of our pastors are in the forest along with their church people, and one said that he could have escaped, but would rather die with his people than leave them."

Dr. Yohannan called the situation "unprecedented in his 30 years of ministry in South Asia."

"I have never seen persecution so bad in my life," Dr. Yohannan said, "and I have seen a lot of opposition to the Gospel over the years."

Orissa, the state where Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons were burned to death by anti-Christian militants in 1999, has a long history of opposition to the Gospel.

Read more of this story at www.gfa.org/orissa-update

Starvation, Water Diseases Plaguing Flood Victims in Bihar, India

Lack of food and clean water is beginning to take its toll on flood victims in Bihar, India, according to Gospel for Asia's correspondents in that area. People scrambled for shelter in Bihar as floodwaters, released by a broken dam upstream in Nepal, raced through several districts of this impoverished Indian state.

The unexpected flooding caused many to abandon their homes and seek relief in makeshift shelters, where food is scarce. Others are stranded in their villages, some living on their rooftops, waiting for rescue.

Those with access to the small food supply and the boats needed to transport people and supplies are allegedly inflating prices of the goods. A GFA correspondent said that rice is selling for four to five times its usual price. When they manage to get a little rice, it is often eaten raw because there is no clean water in which to cook it. Many wells are underwater and are now contaminated.

There are numerous reports of children wailing in hunger at the makeshift refugee camps throughout the state. Some people have already succumbed to starvation and water-borne diseases.

The situation is also grim for people stranded on or near their homes. Many boat owners are demanding exorbitant fees for rescue. The amount of money being demanded is too much for the vast majority of Bihar's 12 million residents, who live on an income equivalent to less than $1 per day.

The rescue and relief work is also being slowed by the many rebel extremist groups active in the state. The rebels are taking advantage of the chaos to cause more trouble.

GFA leaders in Bihar ask for prayer for their country. They ask specifically for avenues to open so that they can get in and take care of the physical and spiritual needs of the people.

Find out how you can donate to provide relief for those being persecuted. Click here.

Or donate towards those who have have lost so much due to flooding through GFA Compassion Services. Click here.

Busy Non-Productive Days

My mom sent me an email about getting old. I thought it was hilarious and I TOTALLY RELATE!

Not because I'm old. I'm only 30.

But, this is EXACTLY what happens to me in a day.
-----

I decide to water my garden.
As I turn on the hose in the driveway,
I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.

As I start toward the garage, I notice mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mail box earlier.

I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.

I lay my car keys on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full.

So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first.

But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my check book off the table, And see that there is only one check left. My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of Pepsi I'd been drinking.

I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Pepsi aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over.

The Pepsi is getting warm, and I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

As I head toward the kitchen with the Pepsi, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye--they need water.

I put the Pepsi on the counter and discover my reading glasses that
I've been searching for all morning.

I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers.

I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table.

I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I'll be looking for the remote,
But I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor.

So, I set the remote back on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill.

Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day:
The car isn't washed
The bills aren't paid
There is a warm can of Pepsi sitting on the counter
The flowers don't have enough water
There is still only 1 check in my check book
I can't find the remote
I can't find my glasses
And I don't remember what I did with the car keys.

Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy ALL day, and I'm really tired.

I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail....