Hi, everyone…

Some of you will receive this for the first time because I’ve done some e-mail address upkeep for the first time in a long time.  Sorry if you have no idea what I’m talking about from previous e-mails.

It’s Sunday night after youth group and usually I just crash after I get home and put the kids down.  I’m really tired, but I was struck tonight by some things and wanted to share them with you.  I realized that since it’s usually me that writes (Jen), you almost always hear about my little bubble of life, how the kids are doing, etc.  Tonight I thought to myself…these people really care about WHY you’re here in Okinawa…loving military Junior High School students.  I rarely write you about that!

Tonight was the first night of Quest since our Memorial Day retreat, and the energy was pulsating everywhere…a youth workers dream and nightmare happening at the same time!  The energy is so FUN, but the kids can’t stay quiet for you to get a word in edge-wise…On our retreat, four students accepted Christ for the first time, and many of them really grasped the theme of “living wisely/living like a fool”, and made decisions to stop living the life of a fool.  It was a night where Buddy said, “God showed up”…we know He’s with us always, but even students felt a special outpouring of God’s love that night.

At the beginning of Buddy’s talk tonight, he spoke about how hard he and so many of his friends from college worked and trained so hard to win the National Championship for Soccer their senior year.  Their work paid off and they won, with “jaw-wired-shut-Buddy” even getting a goal in the last couple minutes.  He spoke of how they sat around on Daytona Beach just talking about how great it felt to win, how their hard work had paid off.

I thought of you all, people who care, give, pray, love us…how fun it will be to sit around with you in heaven and have you hear firsthand from Agatha and Matt how last weekend they “opened their hearts” and let Jesus come in.  Your work, though you are not here to physically do it, has been our privilege to do with you.  Your hard work straightening people’s teeth, pastoring churches, running businesses, paying insurance claims, doing whatever…you are part of the large celebration as sinners come home.  Our words of gratitude fall really short, but we must say them.  Thank you!

On the homefront:

We are WELL!  Oh my goodness…what a great feeling!  Since Thanksgiving, Jack has had some sort of ailment, and he seems to be doing so much better.  The doc has him on Benadryl every 6 hours to give his immune system time to fight off other things other than his allergies.  It has really made a world of difference, and he doesn’t react in a drowsy or hyperactive way to it.  He’s sleeping better, breathing better, and just a happier kid.  

Summer is kicking in this week as we start off our “returning graduates” Bible Study at our house on Monday nights.  Tuesday, the team that won team competition at Rampage comes over for their victory dinner.  Wednesday, I finish my year long study on Acts, wrapping up the last two chapters.  It has been so fun to teach through the early church’s history.  If these kids don’t get anything out of the Bible before they leave, they KNOW Acts!  We’ve studied, reviewed, and studied so much, they could run some circles around some theology professors!  J  (NOT “DR”. Collier, Aunt Barb!)

Ok, I’m getting loopy…it’s 9:30, which is L-A-T-E for me.  Adrianne is up playing with the cribbage pegs (we’re teaching her at an early age) and even she thinks we should go to bed.  

May God bless you and keep you until we all sit together on heavens beach,

 Jen for all of us.