Camping was amazing.

It rained for much of the time. Good, since it cools things down… and bad, since it’s wet. And muddy. And loud. (Have you ever heard thundering rain on a tin shed roof? That’s where Ryan and I were teaching for the week.)

We co-taught on the Lordship of Christ to three DTSs, about 80 or 90 young people in total. We explored what it means to not just accept Jesus as Savior, but to make him Lord of your life, surrendering each precious area of our lives to his leadership and care.

Not just believing in him… but following him.

Teaching together was so much fun. We’ve never done it like that before; usually just Ryan is invited, or just me. This was our first time to tag-teach as a team.

We loved it.

Not only could we build on one another’s teaching, but we could model what a couple actively ministering together looks like. So many students (and staff) told us that having both of our “voices” and seeing us working together as we did was a huge blessing, and even inspiring to them as they think about their future and family.

It was also a huge blessing to us.

It’s not often that you can do something you love with people you love and take the whole family along too.

The boys did great. During lectures the staff took turns playing with Levi and cuddling Judah. At night we set-up side-by-side portacots in the tent and all piled in together.

Some nights thundered down with rain, and others were clear.

We stayed mostly dry, and much to our delight Judah’s waking up in the night didn’t cause Levi to wake. (This means that Judah might be moving into Levi’s room soon… giving us our room to ourselves! We’ll see.)

Levi loved chasing the cows and bulls, throwing rocks into the creek, and following around Woje – our amazing guitarist/drummer/singer/all-around musician friend that Levi adopted as his favorite for the week. (Our little music lover was absolutely captivated by him!)

After a full week of teaching and meeting individually with students to help them process and pray outside of class, we had a long day of ministry on Friday, from 9:00am in the morning until nearly 1:00am at night. Sounds crazy, I know, but when God is moving it’s best to just go with it. 🙂

The next morning we got up at 6:00am and baptized 15 or 20 young people in the creek.

A.maz.ing.

As glorious as the week was, it’s always nice to get home after camping. Babies were bathed, sheets were changed, and clothes were thrown into the washing machine. (I’ve now done seven loads and have two more to go – hallelujah.)

It’s nice to be back in our own space, with all of the conveniences we normally enjoy. Levi ran laps around the house and pulled out half of his toys within minutes of being home… and then promptly asked to go outside to play. 🙂

As quickly as we unpacked our bags, Ryan’s was repacked. (Actually, Ryan’s was re-packed before I finished unpacking the rest of it!) Less than 24 hours after returning home he boarded a plane for Perth for eight days of meetings with other YWAM leaders from all over the world. (The “Presidents Gathering”.)

Getting him on the plane was a whirlwind, and a little bit sad, but we are so glad for this opportunity. He’s in Perth all week and I’m waiting to hear how it’s all going. I’m a little jealous that he’s there – getting to see all of my friends that I said good-bye to four years ago – but we just didn’t have the extra finance to pull off tickets for Levi and I this time (Judah still flies free!).

As much as I would have loved to go, we’re all in the right place – Ryan at the gathering and me home with our little boys.

It’s a 24/7 intensive job to care for them without Ryan around, that’s for sure, but so far so good.

We’ll make the most of our time together and I’ll go easy on myself in terms of “getting stuff done” this week.

Thanks for praying for our family as we continue to do what God places before us. We’re incredibly blessed by opportunities to use our gifts and help young people know and understand our gracious and good God a little bit better.

As always, signing off with love,
adriel (& the boys)