Namibia, Africa

In case I haven’t already told you…

I’m going to Africa in June! Late last fall, I began to have a sensitivity to going beyond my community in sharing God’s love with others. I have heard story after story (including my husband’s) of how God will open your eyes to so much as you experience Him through serving another nation, another people for the cause of His message of salvation. By early this year, Artie and I had reached our decision point for me to take the next step and traveling on my very first mission trip. I cannot express to you how confident I am in this call to go (and those of you that know me, know that I typically wait until I am fully confident). I am so convinced that this is a God-journey for me!

We will be leaving on June 1st to begin our travels to Namibia, Africa (we originally had destined to be in Botswana, but had some things come up to take us to Botwana’s western neighbor, Namibia) returning June 18th. It is a very safe and peaceful country that is impoverished and in need of help in getting their new public education up and running. The team and I will be working with village orphans and foster parents, coming along side full-time field missionaries in setting up forms of trade to help the people earn an income, lead a Vacation Bible School at the local orphanage, institute libraries at the schools, and teach young teens about abstinence through the means of God’s values. We had our first meeting today and with every bit of information they give us in our preparation, my heart grows more and more for the mission God has given me.

I do ask that you come along side me and the other team members and PRAY for us. We will have great advantage in language and in length of time to build relationships. You can pray for the people: to receive God’s message of true love thru Christ. For the team: for unity and strength as we embark on a lot of hard work and for protection. For me: for my absence from Artie (we haven’t ever been a part this long), for my strength, boldness, compassion and for my dependence on the Spirit’s work.

I will be taking my camera and will definitely share my journey when I return. In the meantime, I will keep you posted to any way you can pray for me and the team. And THANK YOU to all who have supported me in my journey through prayers and so much more! Your graciousness has astounded me! I look forward to watching God work and sharing it!

Monday Night Girls

So – I have a confession to make … I love my college girls Bible study group! It’s my most prized work right now (besides my marriage, of-course!). There is nothing that brings me more delight than to come along side these precious girls and watch them grow in God’s truth and help them practically APPLY IT TO THEIR DAILY LIVES! I absolutely love our Monday nights together. They are precious! We have such different personality traits and walks of life that we are able to learn so much from each other. We’ve been studying Beth Moore’s, “Living Beyond Yourself” Bible study which studies the characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit – and this has got to be the most practical Bible study I’ve ever done. And the girls have all agreed. In dealing with the impatient, joyless, faithless, loveless (we could go on) attributes of life and self – we are humbly reminded of the Greater, that is the Holy Spirit, that lives in us and that we can live victoriously in Christ. Amen!

I keep up with the girls’ blog sites and such and one of them wrote the most precious entry …

“I have rediscovered... a lot of things. God's Love, His peace like a river, His faithfulness, Trustworthiness, Believability. He has led me, directed me, carried me so many times before... why should this time be any different? It won't be. Thank you Jesus. Amen.
I do love Mondays. And Beth Moore Bible studies...”

Is that not the most precious thing you’ve ever read? Ohhh – it just brings me tears of such joy to watch young hearts discover the love of God aimed right for them!
So, this blog entry is dedicated to you, girls! I have loved your emails and your questions and our hangouts! I will continue to pray for you as you journey in this goal Spirit-filled living. But know this … I love you and I am one of your biggest fans as you chase the Heart of God and share that with others!

Running along side you in Christ Jesus,
Lela

THIRSTY 06

THIRSTY 06 - A leadership conference at North Point in Atlanta, GA. A group of us that work in the singles ministry at DIBC went together to Atlanta to attend THIRSTY. We had an absolute blast! We laughed until our stomachs hurt and tears were coming down our cheeks. It was so much fun! But not only did we experience the fun of community, God poured into us beyond all expectation. We heard from Louie Giglio, Andy Stanley, Francis Chan (or Jacki Chan!), and others. I honestly have not been more compelled and encouraged in all my Christian life! The simple yet empowering message of God abiding in us was life altering! Praise God!

One cool thing is that I got to meet one of my inspiring music "mentors" (through listening to her music) ... Watermark's lead singer, Christy Nockels. She was awesome!

I loved every single minute of our time in Atlanta (not to mention our van rides there and back - the poor guys, they had to put up with Charlotte and I's silliness all the way there and all the way back). It was great! Thanks James for taking us!

Happy Anniversary!

Artie and I just celebrated our One Year Anniversary! Hard to imagine. Some days it feels like we’ve been together longer and other days it feels like we were married just yesterday. Strange! Our first year was absolutely awesome! Awesome in being vital and important while also being fun and surprising. We have established some family traditions and patterns for our small McCall home, and left a lot of room for growth. We are husband and wife and absolutely best friends!!! I wouldn’t choose to spend my time with anyone else over Artie. I am the most accepted and built up when I am with him. We are always together. We laugh about that because we live together, work together, eat together, hang out together, and so on. I wouldn’t trade any of it for the world.


We have a lot of fun together, I honestly could not count the times that we have shared our fun. There’s a lot of small things or moments that I treasure about our life together... like when we sit on the couch and he dictates his school questions to me while I type them (feels like we’re in school together), our walks to and from DIBC, I still absolutely love seeing his wedding ring on his finger (and not to mention mine), I love our meal times together on our small table for two, and then our cleanup time together hand washing dishes (you wash, I'll dry), my excitement when he decides to come to bed a little early (10:00 instead of 11:30), I love it when he’s in the middle of something and then I realize I’ve talked his ear off when he was trying to focus on something (we laugh that I seem to choose the strangest times to share something – I try!), I love that he knows how far I’ve come, I love that he notices the small things, I love his excitement about vacation, I love it when he gets all excited about a new technical toy and wants to show me everything about it (I usually smile big in my oblivion), I love how we read out loud on road trips, his incredible patience with my learning curve, I think it’s funny how I go to the Laundromat (because Artie doesn’t like to do laundry) and he calls me on my cell phone to say hey every few minutes, we maintain a pretty busy schedule but have a blast living it, he knows me so well and loves me wisely … I could go on and on about our friendship and our respect and our common interest and our differences. We love loving each other! I can’t imagine my life without him, it just wouldn’t be right! He’s the best thing that ever happened to me and I wouldn’t do anything differently regarding our first year together (adjustments and all)! I look forward to (God willing) many more years together – living the adventure of life side by side, laughing, struggling, changing, and most of all loving! Artie – I love yoU!!!

Raceful Endurance

It's been quite the winter here in Tampa lately. It's a chilling 45 degrees here tonight and it's supposed to get colder (that's cold for Tampa, you Northerns)! It kind of sets you in the mood for the Olympics doesn't it? We've been watching a lot of the Winter Olympics at the McCall home (at least what we can catch without cable). Artie and I have really enjoyed them so far. We laugh a lot while watching them, because as the speed skaters lean diagonally to make the perfectly cut turn, I'm leaning on the couch clearly into Artie's view of the television and Artie calls out, "You skatin' too?" And I affirm him that I'm just really into it and he replies with, "I can tell!" with a bright smile on his face.

It just astounds me that these people devote their lives to the perfection of sport (and half these sports are not anything you typically watch on TV, they're actually strange ... like the luge, who invented that sport?). Their commitment to hard work: blood, sweat, tears and time is just inspiring. Charlotte and I were watching the men's cross country skiing and saw such an incredible race. When they start the race there are 70-80 skiers all jammed together at the starting line. There was one competitor in front who was already a gold metal holder from the previous winter Olympics. The whistle blows, the clock starts quickly running and the first strides are in strong thrust ... then our gold winner, #4, takes a humiliating fall and one by one, skier after skier begins to tumble down - some seeming to be very painful falls. They scramble to their skies and attempt to fight their way to the front. We're watching in shock as Olympic winner, #4, is the last to be standing. They ski for 100 meters, then a stunning view shows #4 once again stopped completely on the snow having to change out a broken ski. Charlotte and I say our typical girl "awwww" and are saddened for him because his race is over. To our complete and utter shock, he then begins to give everything he's got to make his way to the ever so crowded bunch racing far beyond his reach. After a commercial break they show our friend #4 right there in the huddle of competitors passing one, two, three, five, twelve skiers! After a grueling hour and some they are almost to the finish line. He seemed to be out of sight again, somewhere in maybe 10th or 11th place. Then, out of no where ... he peaks in his ambition and determination and skies into the winning silver, 2nd Place! Charlotte and I cheer him on and congratulate him from Tampa to Torino, Italy! It was like watching Sea Biscuit or Cinderella Man, right here in the making, free of cost and the catchy "True Story" ring. A story of an athlete competing at the price of not giving up, not quitting.

It was so inspiring and encouraging to watch the perseverance of this Olympic competitor who swallowed his pride after a fall and rode to his victory! He had every right and reason to slide off to the side of the track. All the commentators would all grieve his loss and move on to those in the race (including myself). We would have all understood that he had little if any game left to give. But, in view of all the reality of his loss ... he skied on and pressed on toward the goal.

In the Olympics, all over the side lines of every race they have a slogan reading, "Passion Lives Here." I couldn't agree more! There is a truly deep abiding respect for those that devote their lives to discipline, hard work, commitment, coaching, pain, concentration and most of all PASSION. Sounds like characteristics of a life of a believer doesn't it? It does to me. The only (and major) difference I'd say is purpose. They purpose to win an earthly prize and to our greatest unworthiness, we (as followers of the Ultimate Prize, Jesus) purpose to win an eternal prize ... to the glory of God.

That is why Artie and I do all that we do. That is why Artie and I's life and family has the tone that it does. We want the Winter Olympic's 06 slogan to be the slogan of our home ... "Passion LIVES here."

Blessed

Phew... is it just me or is the year flying bye already? I can't believe its mid-February! Feels like we just had Christmas. Artie and I will be celebrating our First Anniversary soon (March 12th to be exact) ... hard to imagine!

You know, have I mentioned how absolutely blessed I am? Well - consider it mentioned, because some days I just sit back and think, "How did I wind-up with this life that I live?" I am humbled every day by the love of God that surrounds me in so many ways. Through the incredible man that I married and the wonderful relationship between he and I ... through the awesome church family that Artie and I not only are a part of but have the amazing priviledge to serve on staff ... through the dearest friends ... through our precious little apartment (where I wonder sometimes, how we fit any more than four at a time; but we do) ... through Artie and my families ... and through so many little things, I would be here all week writing them. Have you just sat down lately and listed out all that you have to be thankful for? It will completely change your day!

Just the other day, my neighbor Alicia and I sat on the couch and just bragged of the goodness and absolute perfection of the Person of Christ. Alicia just came to know Him as Savior and Lord over Christmas and she was describing to me how 'awe' struck she is right now of how God is working in her life. We discussed how it boggles our limited-human minds to think of the vassness of God and His plans for us on earth. So amazing!

Pastor Jeff has been talking about Grace in our services lately, which in short, is just the perfect message to remind you of the goodness of God. I challenge and encourage all of us to take the time to sit down and give praise for the good in our lives. Maybe, if you're like me, one of the top items on your list will be for the TIME in order to do it. Make the time, take the time and let it change you.

Coming Soon...

Hello Friends! Update is coming soon! Check back this week. Love to all!
Artie & Lela