Ministry

We just wanted to take a moment to thank you for praying for us.  Here's what's going on:

• Janna had her first BBS meeting last Tuesday night.  It was such a joy meeting some new women and seeing a new group begin to form.  She has 5 new women and 6 from last year.  The most exciting part is that she has started mentorship relationships among all the women.  Some of the older women from last year will be meeting with some of the younger women/new women.  Everyone is set-up in a one-on-one or one-on-two relationship where they will meet weekly to get to know each other better and go deeper with one another and God.  Pray that each group really hits it off and forms a bond that lasts a lifetime!
• Curt had his first meeting last week with the guys from last year and two new ones.  He was so thrilled with how well the guys bonded together from last year and have carried that into this year.  He has seen growth in leaps and bounds!
• There have been lots of opportunities on campus.  Curt is on his way to hangout with 2 guys right now that have come from some outings we have done.  Dave and Curt have met guys one-on-one and shared the gospel with them.  They have gotten the opportunity to work at the NAU climbing wall and have met people through that and will continue working there all semester.  They have an outing tomorrow with a fraternity.  Pray for all these opportunities!
• We have been talking together about getting something going with internationals.  There have been A LOT of open doors.  We are really excited!  Please pray that we would follow-up well from all the places we meet people and that God would lead us toward those He wants involved.  Thanks!!

 What a week.  First, Curt and I took 24 hours off and spent the day and night together in a nearby town called Sedona.  One of my college woman, Erica, came and stayed with the girls and did great!  The kids did just fine but I was more concerned about Erica.  She said she slept most of the day after we got back :). 
We did a climb that's called a multi-pitch climb where you climb one section and then re-do your rope and keep going vs. going back down to the ground. We did five sections and the picture of us together is us at the top.  It was really fun.  We spent the night at a B&B in Sedona and came back after breakfast the following morning.  It was such a wonderful, refreshing 24 hours!!!  We thought we should do it every weekend :).
Yes, Turi's braces are off and Bitsu's are on!  She isn't thrilled, to say the least.  But in just a short year and a half, she will have wonderful teeth like Turi!

Don't know if you can see how high up we are

Those small dots down there are trees :)

I built this all by myself!!

Braces!  Only a year and a half to go!

Zoya started crawling the day she turned 8 months. It's just taken me awhile to get it on here :). Just today she started cruising (walking around holding onto things). She walked down the length of the couch. I think she quickly got bored of crawling and moved on :). She also started signing last week. She can say she's "all done" and wants more. She is WAY ahead of Carmen, who started signing at 10 months and crawling at 9. I wonder if she is always going to "one-up" him :).
Everyone else is doing well. Curt and I started up work at campus this week. We had planned one outing (hiking Humphreys Peak here in Flagstaff; elevation 12,637 ft.) on Saturday, which fell through. We also had one climbing outing today in which 11 students came. The most fun part was that I put Carmen in a hiking backpack and went along for the morning. SO FUN getting to meet the 4 girls that came!!! Carmen was perfect. He was basically quiet and stayed out of the way but also the clown and entertained everyone at the perfect moments. He was really trying to climb too. It was so cute and we know he's going to love climbing when he's a little older!
The girls are great. Turism is really enjoying school. It's a lot more work this year (she's in 6th grade) but there is only one other girl in the older classroom with her so they have to be friends :). It's nice that there are no cliques. Tihitina LOVES school and is doing quite well. She wishes she could go 7 days/week. Bitsuanit would love to go to school but also really likes that she can focus and get her work done here at home. Being around others can make it hard for her to concentrate so she likes that she can sit down and do stuff in a quiet room. She gets off all the same days her sisters do so it's been going well.
Our school year has gotten off to a great start! I might have as many as 10 women in my study this year and I am so excited! I have been trying to meet with them all separately and it has been a joy getting to know them! Curt has also met quite a few new guys who might be joining his group that he is super-excited about, plus the guys from last year. There is a new climbing wall on campus that he is going to get to volunteer at, which is going to be a great way to meet people! Lots of open doors and real possibilities. Please pray for us. Pray for energy and endurance for this semester and for lots of open hearts among our students! Also, pray for wisdom as we balance family and ministry. Thank you!!!