Hi Family!

Good news: we finished our house! The assessor came today, took all her measurements and pictures, and sat down to have coffee with us. She asked what we were hoping for, and when we told her, she didn't tell us to lower our expectations, she simply said "I will do the very best I can for you."

Whew. Done. Wow.

There will always be more to do, of course. But we're done with the sixteen hours a day every day jamming. In fact, due to the last week finish the house jam, we didn't get to go to Grand Marais for Thanksgiving this year. Sad. But we had a crowd here and it was a blast. Those are the pictures above.

So this means- what? All the people we've been putting off, all the meetings we've wanted to attend, all the time on campus we've wanted to spend can happen. We came back full time last spring, and it's a reality now.  It means that our budget will be in a much better place. We may still need to fundraise, but that's fun anyway, we get to come see you :)

Friday Night Worship has been great! When the remodel started, we moved from our home to Destiny Fellowship, a church that meets downtown. We were hoping the closer to campus location would be helpful, and it was fun to meet there in their second story building- we could see the city. But starting this Friday, we are moving to First Assembly. We're really excited for this move too. Our pastor at First, Vern Lathe, has retired, and the church is in huge transition. Pastor Vern called for a 21 day fast, and we all started today. FNW will be a great addition to this time of transition/prayer/fasting.

We had a great time last weekend visiting the church in Hibbing and sharing in music and testimony- what a blessing. We have former students who live there- Aaron and Jill Reini. So we stayed with them and just drank in the wonderfulness of their little family and friends. Aaron and his dad Allan have written a great sci-fi/end times-ish book called "Flight of the Angels."  Wow. It's awesome.  I was privileged to have a small part in the revisions- check out the back page. Give it a read! It's available on Kindle and hard copy.

Buy Flight of the Angels

Tomorrow night we are having a crowd of students over to watch "Father of Lights," Darren Wilson's third documentary on the move of God in our world. His first and second movies, "Finger of God" and "Furious Love" were amazing- wow, if you haven't seen them, give them a look! He was a bit of a skeptic at the beginning, and decided to make a documentary on what God was doing. It took him all around the world where he met amazing people and saw miracles. We watched Father of Lights the other night, and Elijah, who is now 9, was bummed at us for not letting him play wii instead. But as the movie progressed, he was completely sucked in. He told me later that at one point, he went to his room and told God that he LOVED him SO MUCH. He then asked Him if he would take any "gunk" he had inside him. "Mom, I got goose bumps, all over, for a long time. It felt really good."  Then he said he asked Him if there was anything He wanted to say to him. He said, "God said thank you.  And I said, 'you're welcome.'"

I just can't think of enough good stuff to say about that :)

HEY! This is more news- remember my son Ian (Sam)? We were reunited three years ago, super fun, super amazing. He did the Trinona with the girls and I this past summer. Happy news is, he's getting married! Ian met Chaley at a wedding in Texas  a few summers ago. They have had a long distance relationship, with lots of plane flights, and they got engaged last month. The Thooft family will be driving to Dallas next summer! If you live on the way, we may come see you :)

Finishing the house also means I can now finish the second edition of my book. Will keep you posted!

In the works- Christmas cookie bakes, sleigh rides, movie nights, FNW, sozos, ecumenical prayer meets on campus, and hopefully a trip to Fargo to glean from Brad Lewis (Chi Alpha director of NSDU and Moorhead State XA) with our faculty advisor, Rick Goeb.  Rick is the Athletic Director at BSU and he is full of encouragement and excitement about XA on campus. So fun.  So much is in store.

Thank you for your love and support. Dang. We love what we do.  You rock.

Have a wonderful December!!!

To check out the Father of Lights Trailer- click on the link below.

Father of Lights Trailer

PS- thanks for the reminder Eric! :)

Fall Retreat

Hi Family!

I know this is cliche, but, Aslan is on the move.

Fall Retreat was last weekend, and so many good things happened. Students were saved, healed, and delivered. A few weeks ago at InterVarsity here on campus, six backs were healed. Last night at Chi Alpha, one of our students who is a cross country runner had her foot/ankle/knee/hip healed.

It was, and is, amazing! We have been talking about how every time Jesus spoke, he followed up with demonstrating the love and power of God. He told us to go do the same, so, after the message, we asked if anyone needed prayer, and this runner raised her hand. We gathered around, and asked God what He was doing. Another student, a new believer who has been getting rocked with emotional healing, said, "He wants to strengthen you in every way." So we released strength to her leg.

After about five minutes, we asked her how she felt. "Amazing," she said.  Could she try something she couldn't do before?  She got up, stretched her leg, and did some tentative jogging around the room, all the while saying "oh my gosh, oh my goodness."  Then, "Holy Toledo!!"  as she disappeared from the room. We all waited, and suddenly she comes SPRINTING into the room. Whoops and shouts erupt from our students, and she runs into Phil and hugs him, crying.  The room was in chaos, laughing :)  We told her to bring the team next week, and we'd pray for them all.

woooohooooo!!!

Fall Retreat with UMD was wonderful, not only for our students, but for us personally. We had more confirmations that we can count, telling us we're doing exactly what we were created to do- from almost the whole student body showing up at our break-out session, to Chuck directly from the pulpit encourage us as ones who have gone through the fire and come out changed. And many more in-between.  We are energized and blessed.

Thank you thank you thank you for helping us do this! WE LOVE IT!!

LOVE YOU TOO!!
Us Thoofts

September!

Hi Family!!!

I know we say this every year, but what a whirlwind fall!  Highlights:

Our friends at the Newman Center had a brat feed. They bought 60 brats. They served 150 students. They had 200 brats left in their fridge after the event.

!!

I was sortof thinking, to myself, "well Lord, what about Chi Alpha?" and he immediately said, "Isn't this what you've been asking me for? That I would pour out my spirit on ALL the campus ministries? This is your win, too!"

:)

And remember our first Nepali student, Sudhir?  He is finishing school in Pittsburgh, and called us the other day. He and his girlfriend Bina were traveling home the night before at midnight. The truck in front of them started dropping its cargo somehow- chunks of metal. A 400# chunk hit Sudhir's car at full speed. It smashed every bit of glass on the vehicle, and literally took out the axles and wheels. Their car flew through the air, missing the steep banks on either side of the road. An EMT heading the other way on the highway saw them sail through the air and turned around to come to their aid, fearing the worst.

Sudhir had a small scratch on his hand, Bina was unhurt. He attributed it all to God's protection, because we loved him and took care of him in Bemidji. He said that if he was here right now, he would come to our house and praise and thank God with us for three days.  :)

The policeman who handled the crash said, "How is it that you two are not dead?"

!!!?!???!!!!  God is definitely on the move.

We are fully into fall. Chi Alpha meets on Tuesday nights, Phil and Andy's men's group meets on Monday nights, Friday Night Worship is going strong, and I have been taking girls out to coffee.  We have our fall retreat with UMD the first weekend of October, and the second weekend of October we're hosting a basic sozo training here in town. All of this while finishing the house- the trailer is moved away, the worst of the renovations are finished. We hope to be refinanced by mid-October- pray for godspeed and good weather- and please, family - pray we assess HIGH.

Our kids are doing great- between school, Judo, driver's ed, Swing club, Chi Alpha, canning salsa, and building, we are all busy and well.  Making time to keep the important things at the forefront, guarding each other's hearts, dealing with pain and disappointment, it's all life. We hope you are well- let us know how we can be praying for you too.  Because of you, a Hindu is praising God. How's that for good news!

Love, us Thoofts

Summer's End

Hi Family!

We are in the throes of getting ready for Fall- pizza feeds, hayrides, meeting on campus again, girls teas, mens groups, relationship classes, kids in school, board meetings, Friday Night Worship resuming, Fall Retreat planning, finishing and refinancing our house, Bemidji Organization Bash Fair, building our sozo teams and having a weekend training- !

Makes me kinda dizzy looking at it :)

We sold the double wide- yes! It was moved away last week. We are living with one toilet, no hot water, no kitchen, and one sink. Good thing we're so flexible :) Phil, and all of us, are working hard to get this place finished before school starts, but I don't think that will happen. We'll just do our best and get it done when it gets done. I have a bunch of pictures on facebook and will post a few here.

Needless to say, Friday Night Worship can't meet here for now- and we'll be starting up again on the 24th at a historic building downtown Bemidji. Destiny Fellowship is allowing us to use their space- pretty cool! We should have a kitchen and bedrooms within a few weeks, so we're hoping by the time move in weekend comes and we start FNW again, we will have the bulk of the work around here done.

We got a note today from a student that graduated last spring. It was so encouraging. One of those notes that makes you want to keep doing what you're doing no matter what :) This is what she wrote:

Dear Phil and Michelle

You both have been such an inspiration throughout the past year. Your growth in your relationship with Christ has been a constant encouragement to me and gives me hope for my own future and relationship with Christ. I want you to know that if Chi Alpha or FNW didn't exist, I wouldn't have found my faith again. I want to encourage your work within the student body. You both have so much to offer! I love you both like family!

I don't share that to blow our horn, I share it so you can see that your love and support goes a long way. That note is for you, family, as much as it is for us. Every prayer you pray for us, every resource you share, every idea you have for us, every bit of wisdom, every dollar you send- just makes us more effective here. We appreciate it all so much.

Please be praying these next few weeks- that we get the work done here (so we can refinance and release some of our financial burden) quickly, that the students that are supposed to be part of Chi Alpha would be, that God's presence and love would be a highlight on campus this year. Please pray for strength and wisdom for us and our kids. Please pray that the remainder of our budget would come in for this month!  And pray for rest- even in the midst of all of this. We know we can have supernatural strength and rest both.

Love you all- hope you're having a great summer!!

Us Thoofts

Horse camp in Grand Marais

Our "summer kitchen!" Since we're kitchen-less right now!!

our friend Tony says this construction/remodel is like therapy. Therapy to never be hoarders. 

enjoying some campfire action!

Triathlons, Horse Camp, Family Visits, Construction!

Hi Family!

Our friend and mentor, Chuck Haavik (UMD XA) has said to us: "If you don't take your Sabbath's once a week, you'll end up taking them all at once."  Oh, how we get that! We have been working hard at taking a Sabbath weekly, and right now we are north of Grand Marais, tucked back in the woods. No cell service, no text service, no cable.  We do have internet :) And we do have one bathroom. wooohooo!

Our daughter Ilsa is interested in training horses, potentially for a living, so we are here to spend a week letting her learn training techniques from our friend Joel Lewis.  We are documenting all her work in a blog, as she will get school credit for her work. So far it has been full of both fun and frustration, but she is hanging in there. Phil is working on the horse action with her, Maddie is getting a lot of reading done, I am working on the second edition of The Gift of Sam, and Eli is excruciatingly happy playing with the Meyer family children and their assortment of goats, chickens, bunnies and trips to local streams for swimming. It's hot here, for Grand Marais, and flies have been a huge distraction for the horse training, but really, in the end it works for her advantage. The horse needs to overcome distractions and put her attention on Ilsa. So that's the mission.

Faith- Ilsa's horse in training

Round pen action

Joel teaching Ilsa techniques

the family's pigs! They're hilarious!!

The girls and I also finished our second triathlon in Winona a few weeks ago- it was as fabulous as ever! Ian (The Gift of Sam) ran it with us this year, so the Thooft/Gloude clans were there in force. We had a wonderful time volunteering again for the Kids Trinona, and then competing. The weather was HOT (95), but we all managed to improve on last year's times. We're lifers!

Phil and Eli waiting for us all to finish....

Maddie finishing, behind Ian and Ilsa

Three happy finishers!

Mom coming in- Ian and Ilsa ran me in. Way fun. 

After the race, both of my sisters and their kids came to visit for almost a week. What a blast. Later, Phil's sister Louise and her daughter Elise came, and in a few weeks, more of Phil's family will be coming.

 I got to drive this.....

My sisters....can you tell we're related?!?

Sister time....I miss them SO MUCH. :(

AND, family, it does not look like we sold our trailer. This is a bummer. But at this point, I think the plan is to move out of it anyway (build the bedrooms/pantry in the garage, finish the kitchenette in the great room and just live with one bathroom for a year or so) and rent the double wide to students. We have a few already that want to rent, so that may be happening. So construction will be happening at our house, just not as much as originally planned. Everyone that looked at the trailer loved it, but couldn't get financing. They are interested in working on being able to buy it next spring.

I changed the layout of this blog! LOVE IT! Let me know what you think. And you can customize it as you read- the top right tab lets you choose the layout you are most comfortable with. How cool is that?

Another new development: my friend Kathy was telling me today that we should consider having a page on this blog for resources- books, movies, cd's- that have trained and encouraged us. If I put them on here as a link to Amazon, and someone clicks that link and orders (even if they don't order the original item in the link but search for something completely different) Amazon will give us a advertising kickback. You don't pay a penny more for the items you would normally buy on amazon, and you are helping to support this ministry! I realize that some may feel this is monetizing our blog, but we need a budget raised to do this work. We are working at the traditional route to meet that need, but why not take advantage of any option we might have? Especially if all it requires of you is to click a link before you search your item and order?

So next time you need to order a book, DVD, music, coffee grinder, toy, fishing pole- ANYTHING, would you consider jumping on our blog, clicking the Resources tab at the top of the main page, and clicking any of the links we have on there? (Or order any of the books/videos/music we have on there: you will be blessed!)Then do your searching like you normally would. Whatever you purchase on Amazon, if you do it through one of our links, will generate a 10-25% kickback for BSU Chi Alpha. A lot like saving cereal UPC's for our kids' school.  We would really appreciate it!

We're getting ready for fall.....will keep you posted! Excited for our 9th year in Chi Alpha! thank you so much for your love and support!!

Phil & Michelle & Tribe

Summer Again

Hi family!

Every time I hear someone say, "wow, time flies!" I always say we're not created to live in it. But even so, I am always amazed at how it flies!

Our school year rounded up well. Our girls (Ilsa and Maddie) finished their year with a school trip to the historic sites of South Dakota, and of course they had a blast. Eli finished well, top of his class. We had a handful of students graduate, and some of them are sticking around for another year which is always good to hear. We have already had a gathering of people who are interested in being involved with us on campus next fall, got a great student team, and some really fun new ideas. We're really excited about being on campus full time again!

So how is that going, you ask- the whole finance part? We are 500-1000 short of our budget. So we continue. But fundraising is fun because you get to see and hang out with people you haven't seen forever, so! We have our double wide up for sale as well- Phil is turning our rarely-used garage into a 2 bedroom apartment. Once the double wide is moved, we will finish the new construction part of the house and refinance. That alone will bring us almost up to budget, according to numbers supplied by our banker.

Problem is, the double wide has sold three times, but people can't get financing for it.  So we are at a place where- if it doesn't sell (with a check in our hands) by the end of June, we will scrap this project. Which means, double fundraising and traveling for the rest of the summer :) Reason being- we can't be doing a construction project come mid-August: we need to be fully rested and available for students.  So probably our biggest prayer right now is - that it would sell if that's what the Lord wants us to be doing. If not, that the rest of our budget would come in.

Other news: our Sozo teams are growing! We currently have 4, with 2 more wanting to learn and be ready soon! I was looking at the schedule and we have 20+ sozos scheduled for the month of July- how amazing is that?! People are hungry to get saved-healed-delivered. And these are only from word of mouth. I am excited to have these teams up and running for our community so I can be free to be working with campus this fall!

In all this, we are trying to rest. Phil is finishing stuff around here that has been waiting, and he's getting runs and canoes in as well. He is thinking about competing in the Paul Bunyan Triathlon in July. The girls and I, along with Ian (Sam) finished the Life Time Tri: Winona (formerly the Trinona) last weekend!! It feels amazing to be a 2 time triathlete! I am thinking of joining him in the PB Tri, but haven't decided :) In addition, I have been working at finishing the second edition of The Gift of Sam- we are officially out of copies! New Life Family Services emailed me the other day and they are out as well- and they had 700 copies. I hope to have the re-write, complete with reunion stories, finished by fall and published with Amazon publish on demand.

On top of that, we are starting our Good Communication, Great Relationships class at First Assembly tonight- we're so excited to facilitate this one! We are using Danny Silk's Defining the Relationship DVD course- it's for pre-marrieds, but we have found that everyone who views and studies these grows as a person and is blessed in their relationships and communication skills. First Assembly is full of people who want to learn and grow and we are excited to bring students there this fall.

Friday Night Worship is on hiatus until the second week of July- we are gone for so much of June and with the proposed construction project, we took a break. We miss it though- and are looking forward to starting again in July. I remember the days when I prayed fervently for a guitar player....and now we have so many I have to rotate them through! Praise God! So pray that I have the wisdom and skill to lead all these musicians and help them find and develop their gifts!

In all this- we work hard to guard our hearts, for they are the wellspring of life...no matter our circumstances, how big or small our group is, how crazy our finances are, we are determined to keep our peace. We believe God brought us here and will take care of everything, no matter what uninformed choices we've made (the house thing weighs heavily- wish we had known what we know now!) - He has mercy and will take care of us :)

I have added a LOT of pictures from the last four months....its so fun to see all that has gone on around here!  Enjoy!

Thank you so much for your prayers! We are excited to be here and will keep you posted!!

Phil having breakfast at our annual Incite conference (for XA staff) in Rochester. We love sidewalk dining!

Our last Nepali dinner of the year! 

Our boys!

This picture of Ilsa and Maddie always makes me laugh.....

Sort of a disjointed family picture at Ian & family's cabin last winter....

We built a loft in the great room! More room for FNW!

Eli and I playing with the webcam.....

Our team rocked SALT's Dodge Ball Tournament....and then we came home and had one here!

Game nights....the dude in the striped shirt is Adam - BSU's Inter Varsity staff...he's part of the family :) 

Ilsa and Maddie's school play :)

Chi Alpha helped sponsor and put on Voyageurs' High School Prom- it was a blast!

our girls checking out their dad outside the window....he had been lifting weights and was looking rather buff :) 

outside our front door

our dear friends the Wetmore's donated furniture for our Sozo room at First Assembly!  Their generosity never ceases to amaze me :) 

this storm.....was awesome

a cat adopted us. just what we need :) haha! 

me and my sisters at our carb-fest the night before the race!

Eli and Dad waiting for us girls at the finish line

L-R: Ian (Sam), my Dad, and Ilsa- at the finish line :) Behind them in green is my sister Kelly and her husband Otto- it was a great family reunion

L-R: Maddie, Ian, Ilsa- three of the four finishers!!

me coming across the finish line....so exciting! :) I'm a LIFER!

Me and Eli chilling after the race

Spring!

Hi Family!

I said to someone the other day, "I feel like we're in a whirlwind" - and it really feels like we are. Part of it is that it's the end of the school year. I was on campus the other day, meeting with a young lady who is an RA. I asked her how I could serve the RA's on campus next year, and she told me that she could try to get me into the 2 week training they do in August- to meet them all and hang out. They teach them that on the "wellness wheel" - all parts of the human- spirit, body, and emotions, need to be healthy, and they bring in PJ, the Lutheran Campus Center pastor, among other speakers.

But they haven't had a woman pastor. Yet :)

So I began to tell her about the Sozo tools we have been using, specifically the Father Ladder. I love these tools because they apply to humanity, not just Christians. The power and necessity of forgiveness is known in all faiths, and it's even politically correct :) So I can use this tool with people who have no idea what they believe. The beautiful thing is, once they encounter the God of Love, they usually really,really like Him.

So pray, family! Pray for favor for me with the female RA's on campus, and for Phil with the men. Imagine if we could teach this tool and minister to the RA's.....how we would reach the entire on-campus community of students!

In other news, I am sewing prom dresses for two of our daughters. What?!? I know. It can't be. And yet it is. The other beautiful thing is that Chi Alpha is sponsoring Voyageur's prom at BSU, so Phil and I get to be there as chaperones :) Haha. Not that it's necessary, just that it will set our minds at rest. I will post pictures when they're all finished.....

Our dodge ball tournament was amazing!! We sponsored a "Dodge Ball For Justice" tournament on St. Patrick's Day. The day was perfect- 70 degrees- which dwindled our teams down to six, but it was a blast anyway! Next year, we plan to have it around Valentine's Day, ensuring cold weather that will drive them all inside! All the money we raised went to the International Justice Mission, which helps with the whole sex-trafficking scene. We have realized since then that Bemidji is the hub of sex trafficking among Native American women. Next year we hope to put all the money we raise into the local effort.

There is so much happening, family, I can hardly tell it all in a blog. But this is a good start! If any of you will be anywhere near us this summer, give us a call! We would love to see you. And we are full swing in fundraising, so we will be doing some "touring" as well. We are LOVING being back full time on campus. It's where we're supposed to be. Hope to hear from you soon! Love you!

Declaring TRUTH!

Hey Family!

This little video- you may have already seen it- but it's worth another listen! We have adopted this all over up here! Especially the *clap* !

I have to tell you a story about last night's Friday Night Worship- there have been several new people coming in and out- one lady was healed of a spot on her arm that was healed, and God was doing an incredible work in her (tears, tears- it was beautiful) and then she gave her life to Christ. Last night there was a young man I have never seen before. He stood out- wearing a black leather jacked that said "wicked clown" ! But what I noticed most was his hunted look. Later, Phil told me that he came with our friend Ron, who apparently has picked him up hitchhiking several times. He lives near Ron. One time when he picked him up, Ron said, "I saw death all over him." So Ron asked him, "would you like to accept Christ?" The young man said "no." So Ron, undaunted, said, "Well, then can I just pray a blessing over you?" He said yes. So Ron started to bless him, and he could see that the young man was getting - blessed. So he stopped, and asked again, "Would you like to accept Christ now?" The young man said yes this time. Ron has been meeting with him and encouraging him, and brought him to FNW last night. Another young man- the one who met our worship carolers on the streets last summer- went to school with him. He said he almost didn't recognize him- just a month ago, he said, his eyes were so dark. But last night, he was different.

He still looked hunted to me. But imagine what he looked like a month ago. Please family- will you pray for this young man? His name is Todd. Pray that he will continue to seek Christ and grow closer - to both Jesus and His body here. Pray he will seek healing and freedom, and eventually enter into the destiny God has for him!

So family, we seriously need your prayer- especially on Friday nights. So many enter our home- and while I have not spent a moment worrying about this, once in awhile it does occur to me that we are putting ourselves out on a limb. Pray....we need your covering and support. Let us know if you get any encouraging words from the Lord-

We also know that there may come a time that we will need to move this meeting to a larger place. Pray that when that time comes, the Lord just shows us where. So many have said - in one way or another- "I love friday night worship.....there is so much peace." I know this is probably mostly what we all bring, but still- we want the right place.

Anyway, enjoy Jessica's Daily Affirmation....imagine if we all lived with that kind of attitude! Words create worlds!

love, us Thoofts