Here and settled

Greetings from Mali!
The team arrived safely and altogether in Mali! Our flights to Paris were great and our union as a team was great! Father protected, guided, and made the way smooth for us! Our flight into Bamako was great and our welcome committee of friends was the best! All of our luggage made it and we got settled into our home for this week. We had a great night's rest and Re spending the day getting oriented to Father,His task, And the culture of West Africa. Thanks for holding us up!

We're off and ready to fly

Greetings Harvest Network!!
The day is here and the time has come for this team to finally be joined not only in heart and spirit, but face to face. We have each been preparing ourselves, seeking the Father's direction, and making ourselves available to Him for all that He wants to do. Today, each of us will get on a plane at the nearest airport and make our way to Paris. In Paris, 5 of us will see each other face to face...some for the first time. We will still be 2 short as Lori Price and Monica Maxwell are already in Mali. We will meet them face to face and finally be one in heart, mind, spirit, AND BODY on Tuesday afternoon American time.
Please pray for the following things:

•  Eli's and Catherine's flight from Charlotte, NC to Paris leaving today at 4:50pm. They will be the first to arrive in Paris and will be there 3 hours before the next team member arrives.  
  

• Abby's flight from Dallas, TX to Paris leaving today at 5:30pm. She will be traveling alone and making her way through the airport in Paris by herself. She will be the next member to arrive.

•  Lori's and Shelby's flight from Houston, TX to Paris leaving today at 4:20pm. They will be traveling through London before arriving in Paris and will be the last to arrive in Paris.

• Ask God to specifically lead the airlines to check our bags all the way through to Bamako. The way our ticketing is they do not have to do that, so please ask God to demonstrate His Presence to us in this way. Pray for God's Presence, Guidance, and Confidence to rule in each team member so that no matter what they face in the travels to Paris, they will know what to do and how to do it. If luggage needs to be picked up and rechecked in Paris, pray for wisdom and understanding for each team member on how to go about those tasks.

• Pray for unity of purpose, heart, and mind as we come together Tuesday evening with Lori and Monica.
• Ask God to be distinguishable in us as we travel and relate to one another as well as to those we meet along the way.
• Pray for the families of these students to trust God to be EVERYTHING their student needs during this time away from home.
• Pray for our arrival and  orientation time on Wednesday and Thursday. We will be developing our team, gaining understanding of the assignments God has given us, and preparing to be His servants and witnesses in the harvest. 

Enjoy the journey with us....
lori

Faith Required

Its hard enough to find the faith to say yes to Father when He calls and invites us to join Him outside of our comfort zones. Its hard enough to begin making those adjustments to follow where He leads. Its hard enough to take in all the things you need to know about serving Him more fully and doing that in a culture different from your own. Its hard enough to take all the shots required to travel overseas. Then to have a glitch in the process of getting your visa takes the required faith to a whole different level. Sometimes trusting Father seems much easier than trusting people to do their part...like sending your passport to the right country(your own country) so that you can receive the necessary documents to go on your journey. Please pray for the passport of one of the college students to be returned to her before we need to leave on June 21st. She found out yesterday that the post office sent her passport overseas instead of Washington, DC. She was able to resend it yesterday to Washington, but they will not be able to do what they need to do until next week. Pray for Father to do what seems impossible to man so that HIS plans and PURPOSES can be fulfilled!

Commissioned to Go

One of our partners and the place of worship for one of the college students serving with HSI, commissioned 4 groups of servants heading out into the harvest fields. One of those teams is already in the field serving among the S@mogho. Please call out to Father on their behalf as they build relationships and share Father's stories with their S@mogho friends and family.

Three of the college team members, those from Texas, were able to be together for the commissioning. It was great time to celebrate what Father has done to make the way possible for each person and each team to fulfill His plan for them. It was also a sweet time of humbling ourselves before Him in pr@yer--seeking Him and surrendering our will to His.

Becoming Harvest Seekers

While in SC, members of two upcoming teams joined together for training. Two of the four college students who will be leaving for Mali this month met for the first time to spend some face to face time together in training.  Two members of a new partnering church joined these students to begin their training and preparation for the vision trip they will be taking in January 2011. The time of training focuses on team building, spiritual preparation, spiritual warfare, and understanding cultural differences and worldviews. We learned about bathing with  a bucket as well as how to effectively serve in a different culture. We had an African dish for lunch and practiced using our hands to eat...always a fun but necessary adventure!

Unexpected Happenings

An unexpected opportunity came Tuesday night. I received a call and was asked to speak to a group of Gideons. I was able to share with them about the work Father is doing among the peoples of Mali. I was able to share with them how Father is calling out churches and individuals to join Him in that work. Since my father is a Gideon, I always look in the hotel rooms to see if the Gideon have been there and left Father's Word. Several hotels in Mali have received a visit from the Gideons. On one of my early visits to Mali among the P@n@ people. I was amazed as I looked around at those gathered for worship and a young man was holding a blue book. It was a triple translation Gideon New Testament. Over the last couple of years, I have gotten to know the 2 men who were sharing that book. On one of our visits, the young man gave the blue book to his brother. When we went to visit the P@n@ recently, one of these Gideon's had given me another blue book to take to replace the one the P@n@ man gave away. Please pray for Father's Words to impact the the young men in Mali. Please pray for this group of Gideons as they continue to make Father's Word available all over the world!

Pursuit for the Future

On Tuesday, I had lunch with Catherine and her parents. Catherine is a new college graduate and she will be going with the college team in just a few weeks. She has heard Father speaking to her about serving overseas for one year. Her time in Mali with the college team will be part of her preparation for returning in January to begin her year long mission adventure. We enjoyed a great lunch together as we talked about the many aspects and questions that come up as you prepare to take such a step of faith. Father's presence was with us and a sense of His direction was evident to each of us. Please continue to pr@y for Catherine, her parents, her family, and HSI as she seeks Father and as He fulfills His plans and purposes for her.