September/October Update!

I just realized it is already November and I haven’t sent an update since Micah was born! Hopefully you will understand…I will try to fill you in on all the details of the past two months in this update.

Our main focus the past month and a half has been on our little son, Micah! He has been such a joy and it is hard to imagine what life was like without him! He has been smiling a lot the last couple of weeks, which has been really fun. At the end of this update, we posted a video of a few of Micah’s smiles. God is teaching us more and more about Himself as we take care of Micah each day, and we’re seeing new glimpses of His love for us. We are so thankful for this gift!

Our house was full of company during Micah’s first month at home. My family came to visit from Indiana for almost two weeks right after Micah was born. Then we had a visit from Jared’s dad, and my Aunt Jean and Uncle Gary Austin from Iowa. Later Jared’s mom came for a week from Washington. While his mom was here, Jared’s aunt Kris visited from Seattle, and his brother and his wife from Santa Barbara, also

came to visit. In between all of the family coming, we had lots of OAKS staff stopping by to meet our little man! It was such a blessing to be able to spend some quality time with family and to share our excitement with them. They got to take part in many of Micah’s “firsts”—first bath, first trip out to eat, first ride in a stroller…the list goes on and on! Here are some photos of Micah and his two proud Grandmas.

Things have stayed busy at THE OAKS the past couple of months, too. September 16th was the dedication service for all the new buildings! We couldn’t attend because that was the day we came home from the hospital with Micah, but 400 other people attended! Special appearances were made by Rosie Grier (in honor of our new Rosie Grier Dining Commons) and Pat Boone (in honor of Boone Lodge). Both Rosie and Pat are on the World Impact board and God has used them in great ways to grow the ministry. Francis Chan and

Jack Hayford, also World Impact board members, shared at the service. Even Pat Boone’s daughter, Debbie, contributed by singing her famous song “You Light Up my Life.” Here are some photos of the day’s events. You can view a video of the service and photos of the new buildings by visiting this link.

Jared had two Outdoor Ed camps in October, so he has been busy planning for those and running the camps. We also moved Camp Grounds Coffee to the new Rosie Grier Dining Commons! It is in a corner of the dining hall by a fireplace, and it has a beautiful view of the camp. Here are some photos of its new home (it was closed at the time of the photo so you won’t be able to get the full effect—you’ll just have to come visit to get the full experience)!

We have several things going on in November that you can be praying for!

• November 11-13: THE OAKS all-staff strategic planning meetings
• November 24-25: Jared recruiting new schools for Outdoor Ed and connecting with schools and camps we already partner with at the American Christian Schools International (ACSI) Conference in Anaheim, CA
• November 27-December 2: Travel to Washington for Thanksgiving with Jared’s family

I know I say this in every update, but we truly mean it: THANKS so much for all your prayers and support. We are constantly overwhelmed by your encouragement and we are so thankful for it!