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
