Summer update!

Wow! We have not updated for a month or so. Tons of things are going on. Let's see...

Picnics in the Park is going well. We have had up to 70 kids attending and as few as 19. We have three reading groups going on and kids reading levels are going up and up. We have several ladies from the corps who are volunteering to teach these classes and some parents are also involved. I spend a good deal of my time playing tag with kids on the playground. It is a great way to get kids to know each other' names and then interact more when the game is done. Kid's go from saying "the kid in the green is it!" to using that person's name.

We are seeing lots of relationships strengthened, and new ones created this Summer. I hope that we will continue to see growth in our corps.

We do not have anyone lined up to be a part of the Ignite year after August. As much as we have tried to recruit, people either do not have the money for it, or are in the middle of college, or are pursuing other ministry ventures. Dave Mantel will be finishing up his time here in this month and will likely be moving on to employment with The Salvation Army. He's been submitting his resume and interviewing at a few locations, some of which look like really good opportunities for him.

Also, Rachel is pregnant and we are expecting our second child in late January/early February. With our family growing, we are going to be moving out of our house on Oak Street. We're not too sure where we will be yet. Rachel has a desire to be a stay at home mom, and so we are looking at potential changes that would allow for this to happen in the future. I guess stay tuned for updates on this when we know more and keep us in your prayers.