Back to the Future

Gambles Newsletter                                    02/20/16                                 Volume 2, Issue 11 Pix 1.  Shanthi had an unplanned trip back to the US with one of our eMi friends. 2.  A present for Shanthi from God in the US: blooming daffodils in Jan.  This is Shanthi's favorite flower. 3.  It's been so hazy in Delhi, we forget how vibrant blue the sky looks. 4.  Chad and the kids after Shanthi's return with 100 pounds of goodies!  It was like a belated Christmas morning! 5.  Thank you so much to everyone at Harvest who signed birthday cards for Chad's 43rd!  He was truly blown away and surprised! 6.  Congratulations goes to Aswari Dandekar who was able to decipher (maybe it's her more intimate knowledge of Hindi) Shanthi's favorite Hindi word: Chai.  Now let's all drink (chai) to that! Back to the Hole Chad's back to the Pits He's got 9 volunteers (mostly first timers) joining him to south India Feb 20 - Mar 1st. He will take that hole and shove it!  Just kidding. The ministry is abandoning the hole in lieu of updating the campus master plan and designing new conference facilities.  This ministry will also want EMI to design a home for women and children who have been rescued from abusive situations.  Thank you for your support that makes this possible.  You are a part of this!  Know that because your financial gifts, prayers, and encouragement, you make it possible for us to do things like this. What's in the future? We've started planning our time in the US this Fall.  It looks a little crazy, but we plan to be in Colorado Springs, CO; Toronto, ONT;  Dallas, TX; Grand Rapids, MI; and Roseville, CA.  We'll be travelling to several training seminars as we get ready to go to Cambodia long term.  Here are some out-of-the-box ideas of ways you can help out if you want/are able to: Airline miles for up to 12 airline tickets (mostly between Denver, CO and Sacramento, CA) Gas cards Restaurant gift cards Housing for 5 either in CoS, CO (4 days in early August, 6 wks in Sept/Oct, 2 wks in Nov) or Roseville, CA (6 wks Nov 19 - Jan 5th ish) a car to borrow either from CO or from CA, that you don't mind us putting 15k miles on. And one not so out-of-the-box idea: One time financial donation (click on give link below) Nathan is applying for college scholarships left and right.  Please pray that God would provide all the finances he needs for his studies at Calvin College. We just about have all the details planned for our trip next month to Cambodia.  Please continue to pray that we (and I mean especially the children) fall in love with this country. Shanthi's finger that she jammed just before Thanksgiving slipping down the granite stairs is still messed up - it can't straighten.  Please pray for complete healing. As you can see from his corner kick, Moses still needs a close friend in the neighborhood to play soccer with. Health & safety for all the team members as they travel to and from the project trip and wisdom as they work (and good whistle tunes - let's go dwarfs!)   Miriam's Massages (or was that messages?) You know that kids say the darnedest things.  Here you will get a few funny quotes from our kids. Miriam said, "I have snot."  Anyone else have snot? While walking in the neighborhood in Roseville, CA, Miriam said, "I'm like a turtle - because I drive." What? While at the very western mall in Delhi, Miriam said, "Look! Another white person! We're not the only white people."  This is the same girl who enjoys singing Weird Al Yankovitch's song "White and Nerdy."  If it's been awhile or you have never seen it, look it up on you tube.  It's a hoot, especially when you picture Miriam singing it. We might as well make it a Miriam focus.  She has also been known to say, "it's only awkward if you make it awkward." Although, when her mother yells at a cute guy "Miriam says hello!" that theology goes out the window.  That's awkward no matter what! Moses' Corner Kick Soccer season is over and I'm  bored. We're almost halfway through our time in India which means we're close to coming home. We've almost been here for four months.  It's going to be crazy when we move back because we will be moving all over the place. I'll get at least a good chunk of time in California. We'll be in California for Thanksgiving and Christmas, so that'll be cool. I'm excited that we're going to land in America a day after my birthday, which I will have spent in Switzerland. I can't wait to see you guys.