New things

We had our first gathering at the new meeting space for The Refuge last night. It felt warm and hopeful to me. It will need lots of TLC (i.e. work) in the next few months as we ease into making it our "own" for our once a week larger community time. I'm helping to create a welcoming and functional space with minimal budget (=almost zero$) and desire not to disrupt the elderly church which has used the space for many years. Much of what we do may have to be non-permanent and packable. I still want it to look great and speak of a very creative God who loves beauty and community!

The health website I've been working on for so long finally went live on Friday. There are only a couple of  things that still need tweaking. If you would like to visit click here.

My husband, Tom, heads to Zambia this week to shoot video for global orphan relief. 

Facts I've learned:

• There are 1.2 million orphans - over 10% of the population.


• 600,000 are AIDS orphans.


• There are 75,000+ street kids.


• Life expectancy is about 38 years.


• 2/3 of the people live on less than $1 a day.


• 75% of the country is not on the power grid.

Tom has never been to Africa. These statistics will be very real to him when he gets back. He will be creating a video documentary to share the stories of some dear kids, full-time workers, volunteers, and a great cause. Pray for safety for the team going over (which includes 3 teens.) If you wish to help fund Tom's trip you can donate at the global orphan relief website and indicate it is for Tom. He is taking time off work (=no income) and he wants to cover his expenses so money does not have to be taken away from the work on the orphanages or any part of the ministry budget. Thanks for thinking of us in the next couple of weeks.