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Dear Friends and Prayer Warriors,

Let me say a public thank you to everyone who responded to the last post with a note saying you'd read it and you were praying accordingly.  You can't possibly imagine how encouraging that 30 second email is.  

The last couple of weeks have been a lot of fun.  As a part of our new ministry plan, we've started changing our interview process when folks come to the Storehouse, and it's been interesting to say the least.  We believe we have a responsibility to help  those who really need help, and especially those who are of the household of faith (Gal. 6:9-10).  As we've interviewed folks, we've had some that just got mad and left rather than answer our simple questions.  We're still refining which questions to ask, but we believe we're on the right track.  The blessing of having people leave empty-handed is that it's enabled us to help some other folks that had genuine needs.  One of those we got to help last week was a widow from our church who desperately needed new bed.  She had actually been seeking a bed for a couple of months, but we simply had not had a full bed that she needed.  A week and a half ago, a practically new queen mattress and box spring was donated.  Chuck and I built a queen bed frame and then delivered her the new set.  She was elated!  Because the Lord has used our newly emboldened interview process to keep some of the "wolves" away from the door, we were blessed to be able to take care of this widow's very real need.  We're still learning and refining our process, but we believe the Lord is blessing our due diligence as we try to determine genuine needs.

This is the bed frame Chuck and I built for the widow from church.

One more real cool story from last week.  We had a refrigerator donated, which doesn't happen every month.  The very next day, we got a call from school teacher that we go to church with saying that one of her students desperately needed a fridge.  The little boy's single mom's fridge had gone out, the food was spoiling, and they were in a real pinch.  We knew the donated fridge was clearly the Lord's provision for this family, and we were blessed to be able to help our church meet this family's need in a very tangible way.  We'd ask you to pray especially for the teacher who continues to be a gospel witness to this family.

On the church leader training front, we're on the verge of launching our first independent class.  A couple of men have signed on, and we're waiting on responses from a few more.  Please pray the Lord would bless this first class, and bring those students who will be key to future classes.

At home, Lily's teething has passed, and she's sleeping 100% better than she was two weeks ago.  Also, the crib went bye-bye and we've transitioned to sleeping in her big girl bed, which she loves.  She's done super great with the transition. 

Many of you know that Meredith works one day a week in Asheville, NC as a physician assistant in a secular mental health practice.  Last week she was offered an opportunity to join a Christian counseling and mental health practice in Johnson City, and she's taken that position.  She'll still only be working one day a week, but she's very excited to be joining a faith-based Christian practice, and it's a whole lot closer to home.

Things you can be praying for this week.
1.  Please pray the Lord would guide our decisions about changes in the our operating procedure at the Storehouse. 
2.  Please pray for a positive response from those men I'm waiting to hear back from about participating in a church leader training class starting next month.
3.  Please pray that Meredith's medical licensure process for TN would go smoothly and quickly.
4.  Normally, I shy way from ambiguous prayer requests, but we've got some dear friends who got some really challenging news this week.  They could seriously use your prayers.  Please pray they find comfort in the Lord, and that they're able to endure this suffering with a supernatural peace. 

We got just enough snow to cover up the red clay for a couple of hours.

Lily likes riding the see-saw with Daddy!

And chillin' in the swing with mommy having a snack.

A young child at the Mission's Conference came up to Charlie and gave Charlie a few dollars to help the kids in Tennessee.  Charlie took those dollar and bought candy for the kids who come to our first Thursday food distribution, since candy isn't something they have often.  Here, Dennyr is explaining the candy source.

Despite the cold, we had a great turn-out for first Thursday.

Lily picked out the bedding for her big girl bed, and made the transition out of the crib easily.

All tucked in and ready for bed.

Despite starting out sleeping like a grown-up, she finished the first night differently!

Before she goes to sleep, Lily wants mommy to hold her and "hhmmm hhhmmmm" (hum).

I know she won't always want me to hold her and hum to her at bedtime, so I'm trying to make the most of it and enjoy every minute.