June/July Update

Ministry Update:

Well, as unbelievable as it sounds, it is that time again when all of CRM gathers to do our once every 4 year World Wide Conference - It is hard to fathom that it has been 4 years since our last conference in Santa Barbra, CA... so much has changed since then! Though I now spend more of my time working with The Berean Way, we are still employed by CRM and work with them as opportunity allows. The conference this year will be taking place in Langkawi, Malaysia and will be a time of reconnect with our old team-mates and friends as well as networking, training and equipping. In addition, we will be traveling back through Taiwan to see and visit with some dear friends, supporters and team-mates in the Berean way.

Since returning from Israel (and prior to our departure to Langkawi) I have been doing some consulting and teaching in the areas of discipleship and mission. I would appreciate your prayers as God opens up these opportunities; that I would speak with wisdom, that I would choose those opportunities that are inline with our mission and that more opportunities would come. Also, I have been continuing to solidify and work on our upcoming trips this fall to Uganda, Canada and Nepal. I would appreciate your prayers as I recruit for these trips AND as I sort out balancing family, trips and school this Sept - Nov.

grace and peace,
Tim


Family update:

Hi everyone, just wanted to give you all a brief update on how the family is doing.

We will start with the youngest, Hallie. She has just turned 5 this June and will start half time kindergarten in the fall (not sure I'm ready for full day yet!!!) For one year I will have all four in one school, I'm super excited for that. Hallie is still our independent child that could take on the world herself and come out with a smile! She has a real love for life and she brings so much fun and joy to our clan. She had her tonsils and adenoids removed and tubes put in this last April and never shed a tear (tough chick). God continues to remind me how blessed I am to raise these children of mine and truly how fast this season will go.

McKenzie our third child is still our total sweetheart! She just finished 2nd grade and did super well. She is our painter, drawer and loves to write books. McKenzie's favorite thing to do is have tea!! She truly is our Scottish girl at heart!!! McKenzie is 7 and 1/2 but feels like she is wanting to turn 13. I continue to remind her that make up and fancy hair can wait a few years!!!

Celtin has had a fabulous year in his new school. He is our one that likes stability and routine, so now that life has settle a little he is doing really well. Celtin will enter 4th grade this coming fall and can't wait to hear who his teacher will be. He loves to hang with his dad and brother. He hikes, fishes and enjoys playing with their new friends across the street.

Duncan is the oldest and just turned 10 ~ WOW where did the years go!!! He is a wonderful big brother and has the softest heart around. He has made leaps and bounds in school this year, we are so proud of him. We think with all the moving that he has finally caught up to where he should be for schooling in the US. Praise the Lord!

This has been a big year for me as well with defining my role as a mother and my fit in ministry. I've really limited the ministries I'm involved in to be full time mum. I'm still mentoring young ladies, volunteering in our school, ministering along Tim as needed, but the big ministry I'm doing is called Hearts at Home. I have such a heart for young mom's and this is once a month time of refreshment, encouragement from seasoned moms and wonderful fellowship. All to say I'm so glad that the Lord has been refining me to where my gifts are and where he wants me to serve.

Just to update on my health: I've done wonderful here in Oregon. OK, I've had a tiny bit of symptoms but over all I'm feeling amazing! We also had an extra mold check done on the house which turned up negative (which is good) and then with the fire they recovered every square corner of the house. So the house could not be any better then as if it was new. God continues to provide every step of the way.

Thank you for all your continued prayers,
Britany and the clan

Israel Update

It is amazing how life just seems to move along. One moment I am thinking about how incredible the experience of going and studying for three weeks in Israel will be and the next I am trying to recall all the incredible things that happened almost a month ago! With so much going on this summer I decided it was time, finally, to sit down and write my update on Israel to let all of you (our friends, family and supporters) see a little picture of my time there.

As most of you know, I have as a part of this next season begun to slowly work away at a Masters degree. In light of all the teaching opportunities God has and is providing I have felt a strong conviction to become better equipped in bible, theology and practice. This fall an amazing opportunity presented itself in the form of a three week intensive class in Israel. With the help of a very special donor, a scholarship and approval from my family and boss I was able to make this amazing opportunity a reality. One of the goals of the geo-historical bible class was to help lift the stories from the scriptures "off the page"... and that is exactly what it did!

Standing where Jesus would have taught in the synagogue at Capernaum

In the field with my Bible, textbook and map... three key tools for the class

Dr. Wright in the "other" classroom!

Dorm life... living with nine other guys

To say the experience was incredible does not do it justice. It was profound, overwhelming, beautiful, challenging, tiring, motivating, formative, interesting, encouraging and expanding... just to mention a few descriptors. Part of the reason it was all these things is because it was SO busy. Imagine doing a three week country wide tour while taking a credited course (with exams and papers) all the while jet lagging and dealing with culture shock... and that is what we did!

Standing on Mt. Carmel where Elijah confronted the prophets of Baal

Our boat ride on the sea of Galilee was amazing!

We were able to spend time on the ancient Tel of Jericho... couldn't find the walls though

Siege "machine" used by the Romans on the fortress of Masada (in the background)

Ancient desert fathers retreat... now the home to goats!

Probably my single biggest take away was seeing the reality of God's story in a particular place and time. So much of what we read (especially in the Old Testament) can become a distant story... almost myth like. Yeah, we know that it all really happened but we don't have a sense of its reality in our own world - it reads more like a fairy tale. That is until you walk on the mountain side that fire fell from heaven upon... you float across the lake that Jesus walked on... you see the Praetorium that Paul was held in before he gave his defense to Felix, Festus and Agrippa... you climb the path to the springs of En Gedi where David hid in the wilderness... and stand in the Jordan, in Nazareth, on the temple steps, in the Dead Sea, etc, etc. And then, one day a few weeks after the trip, somebody reads a passage from the Scriptures talking about a specific place and all of a sudden its not just an empty name. All of a sudden you have a picture of that place in your mind... the feeling of the heat on the back of your neck, the dirt under your feet... and the taste of the dust in your mouth... and it all feels so real!

THAT was the gift of this class.

Standing in the Jordan river!

The wilderness of Zin... where the children of Israel wandered for 40 years!

An example of a stone carved tomb

Roman ruins... which we saw A LOT of... :)

Celebrating the Torah for Pentecost!

I cannot tell you how thankful I am for this experience - it was not only empowering educationally, it was rewarding spiritually. I have experienced a renewing of my love for God's Scriptures (both in daily reading and in meditation) and for it's teaching (both formally and informally). I am excited to see how God is going to use this for His work.

Thank you so much for your prayers for me and my family while I was gone... they were definitely felt (we didn't even have a house fire this time)!