Company and Family

Good morning!

Hud and Nancy | © Photo by Sherry Peters Photography

Perhaps you’re wondering why you haven’t heard from Hud and me lately! Well, to make a long story short, - company!

Since the first week in July, we’ve had people in our home. Hud has been wonderful - making beds and cooking!

Leadership for CAI were here starting July 6th, until our CONNECT (July 12-16) in Granby, Colorado, (just one of 5 Regional CONNECTS this year). Hud spoke at this CONNECT, and did a couple of workshops on “Shame”.

Then our Dutch family from the Netherlands came to stay with us for several days after CONNECT. It was lovely to have them. They’ve been saving for this for several years. They have 4 kids that we call our Dutch babies. The morning they left, I went to my H.S. girlfriend’s funeral, and needless to say, “I was done” - that end of the rope thing, you know.

That night we had a huge wind and hail storm, which totaled our roof and sheds and damaged my beautiful flowers in our backyard, and tore off 3 huge limbs from our tree in the front yard. And since Hud was making a bed for Huddy and April in our garage, my car was out - yes the one that was given to me when we left TX. And yes, it too was totaled. So sorry! I guess I had a little rope left after all. :o)

Then our two grand daughters came to stay with us (Cate, 4 and Olive, 1) for 3 days. They took a lot of energy! And speaking of energy, at the end of the day, I would say that the girls won :o), but we had such fun, and it was a privilege to keep them. Jeff and Libby came the last night of their stay, and we all had breakfast together on our patio the next morning. The weather is spectacular in Colorado (when it’s not hailing)! That same evening, Jody, Lexi and Zane, 10, and Tab, 8, came to be with us for 3 weeks, from Heidelberg. Actually, Jody leaves the 9th to go back to Heidelberg because of work, but Lexi and the boys will be here till about the 19th of Aug.

Huddy and April spent the night last night, after our big family b.d. party up at Jeff and Lib’s in Ft. Collins! (Olive’s, 2nd, Huddy’s 7th, Libby’s 14th, Lexi 15th, Hud, 27th) They just left to move back to Virginia early this morning!! Please pray for this next chapter in their lives! Parting is such sweet sorrow, and is emotionally challenging as well.

Hud will be gone for a month to Europe starting Aug. 6th!

He will be teaching and counseling at two of our other CONNECTS. One in Muenster, Germany, and one in Lisbon, Portugal. There will also be a leadership team meeting in France his last week of travel. Please pray for his safety, and that he will have extra strength to minister to our staff.

He will be making a stop in Aix en Provence, France the first leg of his journey, to teach and counsel with our team there. They just lost their team leaders, but it still seems to be a strong team. Julie and Darren Jones and their two kiddoes had to move out of France for a year because they had been in Aix for 5 years, and had to move away because of visa issues. They will be in Morocco at a Christian school, counseling and teaching, and hopefully will return after a year, as team leaders.

Please pray for all of our team leaders and their teams, that they will thrive, and be aware of God’s presence and His empowerment.

As you can see, Christian Associates is growing and reproducing. The other two CONNECTS are/were in Russia and Uruguay! The Lord is building His Church, and you are a big part of the puzzle. Thanks for your support and prayers. We love you very much.

I’ll be having surgery on my bladder Aug 10th. I’ve had Interstitial Cystitis for 6 years now, and the symptoms include sloughing of the inner walls of the bladder, ulcers, pain, etc. Please pray for me while Hud is gone. I’m so thankful that Lexi will be here to take care of me after the surgery.

Thanks so much for your consistent love and generosity. We couldn’t stay as involved with people and relational endeavors without your kind involvement.

fam_pic_img_1524 May the Lord bless you richly in this unique global economy and attendant technology. Actually, as you look in the news about what technology is coming up with these days, it seems like whatever can be done, is tried without a moral underpinning. All meaningless, as Ecclesiastics says. As believers in Christ and the power He gives, we continue to press towards the mark of His High Calling. Stay focused and reach out to your worlds, pay attention. Christ says He is coming for us, and that is our only HOPE. We want to have our families and friends join us in eternity. It will be worth it all when we see Jesus!