And He's Off!

Chet should be in the air as I write. Yesterday we had a fun family day. We went to the zoo for a little while, finished getting Chet's bags packed, and ate taco pizza for dinner (something totally different than the Indian food he'll be eating for two weeks). In the middle of all that I got to go to see Cali, one of the girls from church, all dressed up for prom. Her dress is from the 1950's and was this really great iridescent green color. Isn't this a fun photo?!?

Once Gabe was in bed (which took a couple of tries because he was a bit cantankerous), I gave Chet a haircut, Ladan read his Bible story to Chet before he went to bed, and Chet and I watched a movie. I was glad Chet's bag was pretty well packed by Thursday night, because it was fun just to hang out.

This morning we took a few photos before he left.

If/when there are updates from the trip, I'll post them here. In the meantime, we would appreciate your prayers for the following:

• The eight guys going on the trip and their families/fiances.
• There will be two smaller groups (probably two guys in each of the two groups) going out into smaller, more remote areas of the country. Pray for their protection and that their time will be fruitful.
• All the guys will have various opportunities to teach, mostly through translators. Pray that the translators will be able to accurately convey the information and that the guys will maintain their train of thought as they're teaching (especially as they'll have to stop every sentence or two to allow for translation).
• Good health for all the guys (I sent Chet off with vitamins and acidophilus in addition to his prescriptions, so hopefully that will keep his immune system working well).
• Pray that the Gospel will be clearly communicated to unbelievers they meet and that they will rightly divide the Word as they teach local believers and church elders.

And, please pray for me as I'm here with the boys. I think it's going to be a great time, but just as I was writing this message, I heard Gabe's doorknob moving around. He's supposed to be IN HIS CRIB TAKING A NAP! I just went in there, and he had climbed out (safely, thank goodness) and was playing with his toys on the floor. AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!! I love his ingenuity and bravery, but this is just crossing the line. We may have to take some further safety measures. I'm definitely not ready for him to be in the big boy bed in Ladan's room, but it looks like he's not going to last in the crib as long as Ladan did either... unless I find some way to jail him in there more effectively. Good grief!