Benched for this round of play are Isaac, Phoebe and Annie.
Please pray for Jeronne especially as she cares for the kids. We've never left any of them for 10 days - pray they feel secure and loved. Isaac will get to spend a ton of time over at the home of his friends and and classmates, Ben and Joe Tlucek. He is very excited about this. If he cares we are leaving, he is not letting on.
A very cool God thing happened. We were fairly concerned about Noah especially. To be honest, we have been stressing about it for a week or two. We've been worrying about leaving him here. He ranks number one on the needy child list. Out of our seven, he requires the most time and individual attention. We love him - that child is amazing, but man does he need things.
We did not go into it here on the blog - but July and August were really hard times with Noah. He was angry and acting out and we were at a loss. We contacted a few of our praying family and close friends and gave them the specifics and details and asked them to pray for Noah. In the last six weeks he has only done one angry thing. That is huge because it was one or two each DAY before that. An answered prayer.Troy and I had not planned to bring him on this trip. We did not really *want* to. We had found a free "miles" ticket for Hope to try on flower girl stuff and see Britt but never wanted to spend money on a ticket for Noah or Isaac. But as the date to leave drew closer we were both really anxious about it and not feeling peaceful. Noah was crying about it almost every time we talked about leaving. Well ... each day I would check for tickets and each day I would see that the ticket was well over $500 so I would not act. Each day I would ask Troy what he was thinking. Each day Troy would tell me he was worried too. We did not want to see Noah slip back into old stuff.
Last night a friend offered to cover a portion of his ticket. I said, "thanks - we'll let you know what we decide". Tonight a person I met for the first time ever - handed me an envelope. I opened it as I drove home from the ministry she works with, where I had dropped her off. In the envelope was a kind note and a check. The amount added to the offer from last night equaled $7 more than the ticket. (Starbucks anyone?)
I called Troy (which is not allowed while driving) and Beth - and asked what they thought. Beth asked me if I was dumb - she asked if I knew how to add. :)
Long story short, our lack of peace about our neediest child is no longer an issue. He is getting on a plane with his mom and dad (and some sisters) tomorrow. God is so good.
We have a lot going on and are excited and nervous for it all. The travel between the two places can mess with your mind a bit. We're hoping to shut off our minds and just be.
We are speaking/sharing at a couple of places during our quick trip.
October 26th one service at enCompass Church in Vadnais Heights, MN
November 1st at the Marriott for the World Wide Village Fundraising Banquet
(If you want tickets to this event the cut-off is 10/24 - contact pmortensen@worldwidevillage.org)
(If you want tickets to this event the cut-off is 10/24 - contact pmortensen@worldwidevillage.org)
November 2nd two services at Living Rock Church in Norwood Young America, MN
We will have Women's Program one-of-a-kind purses with us to sell to anyone interested in seeing the work of the ladies in the sewing program.
We're anxious to see Britt and help her choose a wedding dress and also to talk all sorts of other wedding details.
We return before the election ... that was by design. Just hearing about it from you is enough for us.
Thanks so much!
(and a special thanks to KH and CM)
