As I was out there discovering cuc after cuc hiding beneath huge prickly leaves, I couldn't help but think of Luke 10 where Jesus says, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." And that is when he tells the 72, "Go!" If lettuce doesn't get picked at the right time it starts growing really tall and it tastes really sour, if you just leave a vegetable on the vine, eventually it will just fall off and rot. That is what happens to hearts ready to accept Christ, or ready to dig deeper when there is no gardener around to help. How sad is it when someone takes the care to cultivate the soil, find the best there is, plant the seeds, water, and fertilize the little heart, and then no one is there to harvest.
I think it is very interesting that right when Jesus told the group of 72 disciples to pray for more workers, that is exactly when he sent them out. I think whenever we pray for more workers, more missionaries out in the field, we should immediately ask ourselves if we should go. Are you willing? Are you looking for opportunities to water, or plant seeds, or harvest every day? You have to constantly look under the big prickly leaves and in the corners to find the ones that are ready.
Sorry it's been so long. From my return home at the beginning of August I quickly headed up to Alaska for two weeks with mom so we could spend time with Dad and Jared. 
Then cousin Parker, Darby, and Aunt Janice came up for a long weekend-their first Alaska experience. 
It was awesome until Darb broke her wrist and collar bone on the 4 wheeler. 
Poor lady, at least she had two injury free days first.
When I flew back into Seattle I went North to visit with friends, had a couple meetings for work, and started on support raising.
By the time I drove into Anacortes the first night and found Sarah and Miranda's house, I was feeling so exhausted, disconnected from the world and the people around me I was just ready to finally rest in the arms of a good friend which I hadn't done for a long time. I was not excited when I saw a big group of people through the window in the house but praise the Lord, before I could get my stuff out of the car Miranda came out and we just hugged. It was the beautiful, long, don't care if you stink, good friend/sister in Christ hug I had been waiting for. I cried. What can I say? the next day we celebrated Sarah's birthday and then it was off to B'ham.
Based on the last sentence and following picture, I should note that we wore helmets the whole time, until we made it safely to the top where there was no longer any rockfall hazard. Just in case that looked a bit suspicious. : )
Then cousin Parker, Darby, and Aunt Janice came up for a long weekend-their first Alaska experience. It was awesome until Darb broke her wrist and collar bone on the 4 wheeler. Poor lady, at least she had two injury free days first. When I flew back into Seattle I went North to visit with friends, had a couple meetings for work, and started on support raising. By the time I drove into Anacortes the first night and found Sarah and Miranda's house, I was feeling so exhausted, disconnected from the world and the people around me I was just ready to finally rest in the arms of a good friend which I hadn't done for a long time. I was not excited when I saw a big group of people through the window in the house but praise the Lord, before I could get my stuff out of the car Miranda came out and we just hugged. It was the beautiful, long, don't care if you stink, good friend/sister in Christ hug I had been waiting for. I cried. What can I say? the next day we celebrated Sarah's birthday and then it was off to B'ham.
It was awesome being back in Bellingham my old, rainy college stomping grounds. So many people have scattered since graduation but I got to hang out with Missy and Kurtis and help a couple people move.
Upon my return to the Tri-cities, I unpacked, repacked and headed to Dallas, Texas for a two day ministry support raising training. Wow, it was already September by then! Mom came with so while I was in class 10 hours each day she got to visit with an old friend and hang out by the pool.
I got back and started my fund raising for real, hard core. I was at the Tri-cities base camp for a couple days, planned, preped, and, as usual, repacked so I would smell pretty and headed to the Portland area for about 3 days. What a joy it was to see more of my favorite humans on the planet! Pull weeds, pick fresh veggies, cook together, laugh together, and laugh uncontrollably just like the good old days when we were roommates--except now there are multiple fiances around; crazy!
Back to the TC base camp, got to go to my old church, the church picnic, hang out with the youth group. Wow, that made me feel old; I didn't know almost any of them. Lots of phone calls, stamp sticking, and people meeting, more veggie picking, and yes, you guessed it, repacking. On Friday I finally got to drive over to YD Adventures Stonewater Ranch to meet with my boss, go to Adam's wedding and see lots of YD friends. Oh yes, and dance like a crazy person. I love it. On Sunday before heading home I spent the day climbing up at Castle Rock with Kurtis. It was my first trad climb in over a year which made me a bit nervous. I became slightly more nervous after a hand hold failed causing a melon sized rock to fall. Yay for helmets!
Based on the last sentence and following picture, I should note that we wore helmets the whole time, until we made it safely to the top where there was no longer any rockfall hazard. Just in case that looked a bit suspicious. : ) 