Happy New Year!

Hello Everyone,

Our good computer got infected so we haven't had it for the last month or so but we're back with New Year prayers and wishes for you all...... AND a few updates. We greet you with the picture above taken last Saturday in front of the Scranton Courthouse in downtown.

I think we mentioned that Bay is playing on a basketball team (something she's NEVER done) and she's really enjoying it even though, well, uh, let's just say this is a "buiding year" for her team. She's got a couple of friends on the team so that makes it all worthwhile. PLUS, as you'll see on the video clip below, she scored her first basket right at the buzzer at the end of the game. Sorry the video doesn't lead you up to the shot better. I put a little leader in it for you (of Bay sportin' her new uniform) to get your eyes situated but you've got to look and listen quick when the scene changes because it's right there! Check it out...

Then there's the time Connor and Cousin Alec (from Texas) went out walking on the college lake....

Of course Cousin Alec was here with his whole family because Cousin Brooke was in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in New York City! Click here to see the photo album for that trip that also has pictures of our visit to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular!

Then click here to see pictures of us cutting down our Christmas Tree.

God is good. We're looking forward to looking at some houses in the new year. Be checking in regularly as we'll probably be doing a lot more now that we have our computer back up and running.

SOLD!

Hello Praying Friends and Family,
We are happy to inform you that as of Friday afternoon, we are no longer homeowners. Escrow closed and things were funded late in the day. We are grateful to God and are acknowledging Him in this timely provision and are thankful to all of you who had a part in it by your prayers on our behalf. Glory to God and thank YOU! Onward we go.......

I Rode Home In the Snow!!!

I (Geoff) just had to write and let you know that after a day of work and a seminary class, I rode my bicycle home in the snow tonight around 9pm. 30 degrees, a light gentle snow falling with an inch or two already covering the ground...... glorious!

Michigan/Indiana Pictures

For those of you interested in seeing some of the people and places Geoff visited in Michigan and Indiana. Click here.

News update - Escrow again plus......

We appreciate those of you who have been praying for the sale of our house. We are actually solidly back in escrow again with a new buyer and we should close by Dec. 3rd.

In other news Connor got his first report card and his GPA (at least the way they do it out here) is over 97%! And that's with 3 honors classes (one of which he has a 101% in......crazy!!!).

Also, BayLynn will be starting basketball this Monday out of the pressure of some of her friends. She's never really played organized ball before, but she's looking forward to the experience and team camaraderie.

Susan and BayLynn spent a whole lot of time last Saturday at a "Girls Night Out" event from some people from the college and community. That had a great time and we were starting to wonder when they were coming home.

Geoff's done travelling for the most part for the rest of the year (except for one little trip to central PA in December). The camps, churches, youth groups and schools have been a blast. He's done a lot of speaking AND singing and has really enjoyed meeting with a variety of people and students - helping them discover God's call and giftedness in their lives. Last weekend he and Connor were privileged to be part of the music team for the "Growing Leaders Conference" at BBC. There was about 110 high school students who came for this event. Geoff also did a workshop on "Relational Artistry" and being a "Worship Servant," called "So You Wanna Be A Rockstar." Connor attended a workshop on risk that he said was awesome. It had to have been something for him to say that. Fun times, PRAISE GOD!!! Onward.....

Snow Day!!!

Well, some of you perhaps heard about the extraordinarily early snow we had here in Clarks Summit a couple of weeks ago. I (Geoff) just happened to be in Michigan when it hit so I saw none of it in person. BUT, boy, did the kids ever have a ball! We new we'd get some snow days, but not until December at the earliest, most likely more like January. But no, October 28th was the day God chose for our first snow day. Word is there was not snow this early in these parts since the 70's. Regardless, it's just plain fun. Here are some pictures (the one with Connor on the phone is when he's talking to me as I'm driving to an appointment outside of Detroit; pretty ingenius phone holder, eh?).

Escrow has left, we're not in it, and it's a bad thing (or is it?)

So, our house fell out of escrow Friday because of some loan problems with the buyer (something we were very thorough to prevent but evidently not thorough enough). But this was only a small problem (a two week delay) because there was somebody else right there ready to buy it again. They were going to go into escrow today but evidently interest rates went up this morning, which pushed this new buyer's monthly payments out of range. Of course we would like to be in escrow, because that, it would seem would be a good thing :-) But really only God is good and so as we do our part, we trust our good God to do His. Thank you for growing, learning and praying with us. Onward with joy and praise!!! (Job 1:21)

Bay Leaves and Soccer

Just good 'ol Fall Fun!

Sundays at Mountain Stream

The last two Sundays we've been privileged to be part of the first two Sundays of a new church-plant in the lower Pocono region called Mountain Stream Church (http://www.mountainstreamchurch.com/) They've had a great kickoff these last two weeks with great preaching from our brother Jamaican, James Richards, and music led by brother Brazilians Rod and Maicol, along with Kiersten, Lindsay, and James' wife Candice. Other team leaders are Jason, Mark and Derek. And don't forget my friends on the tech team - Gary, Tim and Cynthia:-)

Today, Connor was privileged to join their music team by playing drums (which we'll find a picture of here soon), and Geoff and Susan sang a few other songs including "Filled With Your Glory" with the Africa video we put together for it after Connor and Geoff's trip there a couple of years ago (a video you can see by clicking here), and "Love the Lord" (the fun song with all the hand motions - see pictures).

If you're reading this, please take a moment to pray this church, her leaders and the surrounding community. This is an area where many people are moving to from New York City for more affordable housing (but many still work in NYC); it's beautifully diverse in ethnicity.

This is a shot from last week. You can see Geoff's head there in the front (pre-haircut), then BayLynn, Susan and part of Connor on the far left front row.

Then here are two pictures from "Love the Lord" with all the kids and leaders. Good times!!!

Tall Bike

Geoff couldn't resist getting a picture of this bike as we were driving out of Marshall's Creek today after the service at Mountain Stream (being the avid two-wheeled-vehicle-lover that he is). Sure would like to take this one for a spin!

Fall Color!

The seasons, the diversity, the beauty, the glory of God. And we didn't have to drive anywhere :-) These pictures were all taken today except for the first one on the top left. That was taken yesterday? The whole earth is filled with His glory! Isaiah 6:3

(click on picture for larger view)

Africa - filled with His glory!

From Geoff and Connor's time in the fishing villages of Lake Victoria, Tanzania, Africa back in the summer of 2006. Oh, the glory!

Escrow is here, we're in it, and it's a good thing!

That's right, our house went into escrow this week and theoretically we are 30 days from being free from its obligations. Funny thing out here in PA, it seems that they don't use the term "escrow." Evidently they use another term out here but whatever it is, this is a good thing :-)

We are very grateful for that house and the many special and sacred moments that happened there. It's an interesting lesson and experience to relinquish something that seems to have lived and breathed with you over the years. BUT, we know that the reality is that this world is not our home and the spiritual lessons we've learned in a physical place must be packed up and kept in our souls and used to help us grow in God and ultimately reach our real and permanent home.

Thank you for your prayers for us in this regard. We look forward to giving you the "all clear" in just a few weeks. On a different note, check in soon for some pictures of some beautiful fall color!!!!

Long Lost Blog.....Our Summer Family Time!!!!

OK, I (Geoff) really should have done this more than 2 months ago but for reasons too boring to mention, I did not. Due to the extraordinary generosity of Mom and Dad Ellsworth, we all (my family, my brother's family and Mom and Dad E) were able to enjoy a wonderful week at the Lawrence Welk Resort in San Diego this past July. We swam, we ate, we played volleyball, golf, ping-pong (in which all the males won a championship, except G-pa who didn't enter a tournament), went to the beach, worked out, played Wii (thank you Anthony, Nathan and the rest of Connor's buddies) and Dance Praise. We visited Shadow Mountain Community Church, Seaport Village (our profile pic was taken there) and ate at Los Panchos (best fast Mexican food anywhere). I also got a great shot of an osprey eating a fish he had caught in the lake outside our "bungalow." So here it is Mom (who's been reminding me that I neglected to mention this event on our blog), proof that it all happened - the memories, the joy and the thanks (James 1:17).

....with BBC's Jr. Class

Susan and Geoff had the opportunity to share a little bit of their story (both marriage and move to PA) with the Jr. Class at BBC Friday morning. We had a great time sharing the supremacy of God and the promises of His word and letting Him shine. Thanks to "Dean Matt" and the Jr. Class leader for giving us the opportunity.

Maine & Western PA - Pictures from the last week

Well, as promised, here are some pictures. Better than words, I know :-) Remember, you can click on the picture to see them larger.

First, from ministry in Maine - places I (Geoff) stopped and kids I met and got to speak to (Acadia Christian School outside of Ellsworth, Maine (that's their HUGE flag; too bad it wasn't windy); Greater Portland Christian School; Cornerstone Baptist Church) plus the great guest house I stayed at with Jeff and Laura after the college fair in Waldoboro. Other places not pictured: Bangor Christian School, Cornerstone Christian Fellowship, Coastal Christian School, Family Bible Church, Ellsworth Nazarene)
Then some "touristy" pictures along the way, starting with Moody's Diner in Waldoboro (start by a man who's daughter went to BBC for one year WAY back in the day. Ellsworth, Maine shots - Chappel family if you're reading this........ there's the shirt!!! Then, I had to laugh at the "Sr. Discount" on grave markers. Then a Yak or something (what is that animal?). As I was driving I saw this truck and said, "Now there's a Maine-ah!" Then I saw a "fast food lobster place" on the water and couldn't pass up the opp. Only $10 once I returned the shell cracker..... yummy! And oh yes, all the "Watch for Moose" signs. I watched for them but never saw one :-(
Then on to Pittsburgh with Susan on Saturday. We had a GREAT college fair (please be praying for Amy, Andrea, Sean, Nate, Ryan, Haley, Taylor, Cristy, Carlie, Kimberley, Jonathan and Steve and God's leading in their lives) then headed down for a quick stop in Pittsburgh. Here you can see the city (including Heinz field where the Steelers pulled out a win Monday night in overtime against the Ravens; PNC Field where the Pirates play; and downtown. The Allegheny and Monongahela rivers join to form the Ohio river at this point. Frankly, a much more beautiful city than I had imagined. I hope we get to go back someday. We rode the Duchesne Incline (pictured) for cheap and got a priceless view.
Then on to Du Bois where we had a great weekend of ministry at First Baptist Church (Worship Team, Special Music and High School Sunday School) and Du Bois Christian School (chapel). We had a very cool time with Pastor Mark (who we discovered was my elementary school PE teacher - wild!), along with his son Matt and Matt's wife Erin (pictured). I've learned that it's harder to take pictures when your speaking and singing, etc. But I'm going to try better to get more pictures of those kinds of events. In the meantime, some more "touristy" type shots from Pittsburgh and Du Bois, including the Du Bois Harley shop - touted as one of the most unique Harley shops in the country (so we HAD stop by on our way out of town). Notice the "Main Street" look on the inside, complete with "storefronts" and parking meters. And yes, that is the urinal in the men's room and yes, it flushes with the left-hand brake/clutch lever. What a gas! (I know, that's a punny one and a groaner in so many ways...... sorry :-)
I haven't forgotten about our further thoughts and lessons on 1 Thess. 4 and other passages over the last several months. I hope to get to that soon. I also would like to list some names of students for you to pray for - that God would have unhindered access to these kids hearts as He leads them. I've listed some above in red and would appreciate you just mentioning them in your prayers, albeit briefly. Our enemies do NOT want to see them succeed in fulfilling God's will and purposes.

Thanks for reading. You all stay strong yourselves by the grace and power of God. Onward!

Brief update on Maine, Pitt & Du Bois - more coming....

Hello Friends,
Just a short blurb to let you know that I (Geoff) got back safely from Maine last Friday in time to see BayLynn score two goals in her soccer game and she scored another 2 goals in yesterday's game - all with her left foot!!! But when I got back then Susan and I left Saturday morning for Pittsburgh (for a college fair) then to DuBois where we were at Du Bois Christian School and First Baptist for a really good weekend of connecting with kids and leaders through music and speaking. Chantine, we used your video again - they really liked it!

Anyway, I am working on some photo collages of our times in those places. Hopefully I'll get to it tomorrow and post them right away. Gonna call it a day for now - do some seminary reading and hit the sack. Please say a prayer for the kids we came in contact with these last couple of weeks (I'll have names tomorrow on the post) - that God would continue to work in their lives and that they'd listen and follow.

Oh, and one last thing. We would appreciate you saying a unique prayer for the sale of our home. It appears that something may be on the horizon and we're looking forward to God's perfect timing and provision and we'd love to have you join us in that.

Thanks everyone, and love.

Ohio Travelog

Here are some pictures I promised from my week in Ohio. Just click on the picture to enlarge for a better view. Descriptions are below.

Top row: With Don (Pastor @ Faith Baptist) and Beth (former student of my dads) Workman in Streetsboro (you can see the wind from Ike starting to kick up with my tie flying in the air); with youth group at Reimer Road Baptist in Wadsworth after the power went out when the wind blow a tree into the transformer (the work of remnants from Hurricane Ike)

Center: bird in Medina= a certain kind of tern that I've not identified yet :-)

Lower right corner - my setup at my first college fair in Columbus; Center long strip = a narrow panaroma of the college fair. I think there were about 50 other schools there. Tornado warning sign - outside the men's room at the Christian school where the fair was held.

House next to Tornado warning picture = James A. Garfield's house (20th (I think) President of the US) in Mentor, OH

Lower left picture - a scene in Columbus as a result of the remnants of Hurricane Ike. I drove underneath that pole and cable twice in order to get to my destination because I knew no other way to get there.

from Cleveland, OH

I'll be headed home tomorrow after a college fair tonight. I've had a good time visiting churches, schools this week. The car I have really needed a cleaning so I spent some time doing that last night and this morning. I've had trouble connecting to the internet so communication has been low. But I'm here in a great church with a really nice cafe where I can get internet so........ thought I'd use it while I can.

I hope to post some pictures of this last week, including a tern and a powerpole being held up by power cables (a result of Hurricane Ike). I'll do that when I get back, then on Tuesday it's off to Maine for 3 days. We'll be in touch. You all do the same.

from Medina, OH

I just realized that my laptop doesn't have a cardreader so I'll have to post pictures later but here's the latest from Ohio:
- USC trounced Ohio state (I was pretty quiet about that here).

- had a great college event Saturday meeting some prospective students, parents and alumni.

- had the privilege of teaching High School Sunday School and co-leading the music/worship at Faith Baptist Church in Streetsboro yesterday morning. Pastor Don Workman and his wife Beth are friends of our family. Beth was one of my dad's favorite voice students back in the day. Thanks to Don, Tom, Paul, Sandi, Mike, James and the rest of the worship (music and tech) team for such a great morning. Chantine, if you're reading this, I sang to your video with "What Can I Do?" and it was VERY well-received; a real testimony and model of worship in EVERYTHING we do (Rom. 12:1, 2).

- then after lunch with the Workmans, President Jeffery and the advancement team, it was on to Medina where I would spend the night after I connected with a great youth group in Wadsworth. A great group with some great leaders. The thing was, it was REALLY windy (remnants of one of the latest hurricanes) and the wind blew a tree onto a transormer, shooting sparks all over and thus cutting power to the building. SO, we met in the hallway by the windows; watching all sorts of debris flying through the air. It was a great discussion time led by Jake. Special thanks to him, Autumn and Jen for helping me get there and making me feel welcome. I've got a picture of us all in the dark hallway that I'll post as soon as I'm able.

- when I got back to the hotel (OK, it was a Motel 6), the entire corner (where there are many businesses and restaurants) was completely dark. The power was out. Well, the room was paid for and there weren't going to be any refunds so I stayed and enjoyed the adventure - watching even more transformers blow, giving a dazzling 10 second lightshow of sparks. Sometime before 2:23am the lights came back on. That's when I woke up and noticed the bathroom light was on. So I turned it off and went back to sleep. Fun times! Oh, and I must comment about my first experience eating food from a "Sheets" gas/service center. Very cool. Southern California needs to get some of these. Basically you order from a wide menu on a computer touch screen. It shoots out your number and they make it right there. I can now testify that they have very good Chai tea, french fries and Angus Burgers (I had a VERY big and healthy salad for lunch :-).

- so today I'm headed back down to Wadsworth to connect with the youth pastor and school administrator there, then down to Columbus for my first college fair.

Thanks for reading and praying. Let us know how you are all doing and how we can pray for you. Onward!

Geoff's heading out!!!

Geoff would appreciate your prayers this weekend and next week as he is on his first road trip for BBC (www.bbc.edu) . He will be in the Cleveland and Columbus areas starting tomorrow (Saturday) and will get back home next Friday. The trip includes a special regional event for the school, a couple of college fairs, visiting churches and working with a worship team on Saturday afternoon (rehearsal) and Sunday morning (church gathering). On the college level, pray especially for fruitful connections with God-focused young people and their families and leaders. On the church level, for people to come to Christ and grow in their faith in Him. Geoff will try to post some pictures and keep you updated while he's out. The following week he'll be in Maine and the following weekend he'll be in western PA including the Pittsburgh area with more churches and schools.

We exist to glorify God by developing committed followers of Jesus Christ who attract others to Him. (thank you Grace Church :-)

GOOOAAAALLLLLL!!!!!!

We don't have a picture but BayLynn scored the first goal of the season for her soccer team today. They ended up in a tie, 3-3 but it was a well played game and it was fun for her. She's playing for Summit Christian Academy but as you know she's taking "online school." The school if gracious enough to let "home/online school" kids play on their team. She's having a good time with that and we are grateful.

On the Eve of the the Next Chapter

This week marks the beginning of some significant things. I (Geoff) will start my new position at the college tomorrow and Connor and BayLynn will start at their new schools on Wednesday. We're ready and excited for this week to be here. We're grateful to God for bringing us to this point.

Since today was Labor Day we were able to go to the Italian Festival in Scranton (top pictures). We got some great Italian food including some gnocchi (sp?) and cannoli. We like to see if anyone can beat Nonna's (Susan's mom) gnocchis, but so far nobody can. :-)

Then we came home for a Labor Day BBQ with two very important couples (mid right picture). These are the only two couples here in PA who have known all 4 of us for much longer than the 2+ weeks we've been here; and they're the two PA couples who God used most powerfully to help us discover His call for us to come here. The first couple is my parents, Don and Judy Ellsworth, who's generosity, balance and modeling we have been blessed to receive; and if I were to elaborate on it would make for a very long post. The second couple is Chuck and Loretta Emert. Dr. Emert was both Susan and my Bible teacher at Christian Heritage College in El Cajon back in the late 80's/early 90's. He also spoke at our wedding 17 years ago. And besides knowing me since I was a kid, both Dr. and Mrs. Emert have been a tremendous example to us in how to truly live by faith.

Anyway, the BBQ wasn't really planned (by us anyway) to be THAT meaningful to us, but it was just neat that we were all together on the "eve of the next chapter." We all count it a great privilege to have both family and friends like this (and like so many of you who read this) in our lives to be used by God to guide us and give us great counsel along the faith-way (Proverbs 13:20). Thank God and thank all of you for the role you each play in our lives.

In news from yesterday (Sunday), we were back at Grace Bible Church in Dunmore where I helped lead the music again because Josh (their main leader) was ill. We had a great time again with our friends there. Then that afternoon my Aunt Joan and Uncle Bob came up spontaneously from Orwigsburg and we had a great visit with them for the afternoon and into the evening; a visit that included some playing on the Wii where Gma beat us all in bowling with a 214 or something crazy like that.

On Saturday, Connor played in his first soccer game. He played most of the game actually and did really well. We won 1-0 against North Pocono, the team that Daniel Tarr is on (see here for context of that relationship). It was cool to reconnect with Daniel and his family on the soccer field that day, and then again at Grace Bible on Sunday.

On Friday, we were able to squeeze in a quick trip to the lake to try out a kayak (we hope to get a couple of these sometime) and a paddleboat (lower pictures).

Thank you all for your continue interest in our life. Please feel free to write us a short hello at ellsworthg@gmail.com

Onward! (Philippians 3:12-14)

Thoughts from Matthew 6

"So do not worry about tomorrow...."

These words of Christ have developed a deeper meaning over the last couple of months. Money and basic provisions come to mind of course when we think about this verse. And certainly, those are some of the issues that Jesus is talking about. With a CA house payment still in our life we've naturally given thought to our "financial future." But I'm not sure we've worried..... at least not yet :-) Why? Well, I'm not a seminary graduate (yet :-), but my little computer Bible software tells me that the word for "tomorrow" is actually the word for "next day" (yes, I'm laughing), the literal 24-hour period after NOW. I know, nothing fancy. But why, I wonder, is there such consumption with planning for the future? I'm not sure I've found a good way to articulate these thoughts because I certainly have no problem in planning for retirement, planning for a vacation, etc. But I'm afraid that sometimes I was/am being pushed to plan for things that I was never intended to plan for. We so want to SEE the safety nets in our lives just in case "this main pillar" gives way. It seemed my physical eyes had better vision than my spiritual eyes. How clear is my vision of God and His sufficiency and promises?

Once in this process of the last few months I asked God for 10 million dollars. That way we could just come to PA, live off the interest (no I didn't do a lot of calculations; 10 million just seemed like a good, round number) and do all the ministry we felt God was calling us to do. Then God seemed to say, "Geoff, why are you aiming so low? You know I've got way more than 10 mil. Why do you need to SEE it in your bank account? Isn't it enough for you to know that I know what you need and that I, the timeless God, can just liquidate and transfer in a moment? Come on man, you know Me better than that!" To which I replied, "Yeah God, I know, I was just seein'....." :-) Then I sensed God asking, "Geoff, do you have enough provision for the next month?" "Yes," I said. "How about the next week?" "Yes." "Well," I sensed God saying, "then why are you worrying about months and years from now when you have at least 7 'tomorrows' before you THINK you're in 'trouble.' If you're good for TODAY (and you are), just live on and enjoy today's provision to it's fullest. For beyond today, just be brave (though it's really not that scary) and trust Me. The word is faith. It's the spiritual proof of things you can't physically see, things that are more real than what you can SEE, and you can't make me happy without it (Hebrews 11:6), so walk on.......in FAITH!"

(Selah)

As I said, this lesson applied to more areas than just money for us. The certainty of an income-producing job was absent until just recently (I could actually make a case that none of us have a certainty for an income-producing job tomorrow but I think you understand my point). But again, did that really matter if the thing that was certain above all else was that God was directing us (a key pre-requisite to stepping out) to leave Grace Church and come to Northeastern PA? What is more solid and true than the Word of Almighty God? Nothing of course, and certainly not a job. So again I was confronted with God saying, "Geoff, do you trust the desires I've given you? (Psalm 37:4) You tell people all the time that's your life's guiding principle. Is it really?"

So, we were blessed with an opportunity to exercise and express our faith; a chance to prove God right and to see Him shine. By the way, that's one of my favorite definitions of being glorified - "to be proven right," especially in a case of intense doubt and questioning.

So, tomorrow, retirement, insurance, security, investments, etc........ How do they all fit? There's a balance to be sure. We're just learning the trust lesson on the faith side of the scale. Or maybe we've been learning it well enough to "give it a go." I hope so. Either way, we are blessed and are poised to see God really proven right. THAT is good times.

Thanks for reading.

"Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?" - Matthew 6:26

I (Geoff) took this picture of a Black-capped Chickadee (yes, I have a bird book and yes, I'm really getting into bird-watching) out our front window the other day. We have feeders on the windows and PA is gleefully packed with a variety of beautiful "birds of the air."

The picture at the top of this post was taken by BayLynn in my parents back yard. Quite an artistic eye she has, eh? The cross was a gift to my parents from my Aunt and Uncle in Wheaton (see "Sunday in Wheaton" here). The picture carries the theme of this post from Mathew 6:28-30:
"And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!"

August 26 Update

It's been over a week and a half since you've heard from us so it's time for an update. It's been an active 10 days with Connor finally getting his hair trimmed and then jumping in with the Abington Heights High School soccer team (who had been conditioning already for 2 weeks - he was sore the first few days and has actually played in a few scrimmages against other schools), getting both the kids registered for school (Connor at ABHS and BayLynn with Connections Academy, an online school), both start next week. We also visited our storage unit and got some more clothes and other necessities, gave our van a well-deserved oil change, etc. But really its been about getting the kids settled and ready for their experience here, in both school and church and future friends. The latter two are still somewhat uncertain and/or unknown.

I (Geoff) also went to orientation at the seminary on Saturday. It's likely that I will wait a semester before jumping in full bore, largely because of the work I'll be doing at the college (Baptist Bible College http://www.bbc.edu/). Let me explain. The official title of the position is simply "Admission Counselor." The beauty of the position, however, is that it's for a Christian college and it's riddled with pastoral work. I'm told I'll be travelling an average of 10-12 days a month (and yes, I can take my family with me!) in my assigned region of Western PA, Ohio and Michigan (I'm already scheduled to be in Cleveland and Columbus in just over 2 weeks). I'll be visiting Christian High Schools, churches, youth groups, camps, etc. challenging young people and their parents to consider God's call on their lives and then encouraging them to get training for that calling at a good Bible teaching school like BBC. This challenge will come in the form of speaking and worship leading. It is my ultimate desire to take some students with me on these trips and develop them in worship leading through these experiences. Once contacts are made with high schoolers, I then keep in touch with them and their parents and essentially shepherd them through the process of discovering God's provision for His call on their lives. It's remarkably different and yet remarkably similar to what I've been doing and I'm very excited. Perhaps I can keep you posted on the different people I've met and you can pray for God's work in their lives. Matter of fact, I would love for you to petition Him right now that He would work in the hearts of the young people I'm going to come in contact with. The focus on Bible training (let alone full-time) ministry is pretty low in churched youth right now. That's not a good trend. You'll be hearing more about this in the future (and some opportunities I might be able to provide for YOUR kids, even if you live in CA; click here for a clue for ONE of them) but for now, thank you for praying. Other pending opportunities for the fall are assisting with the music/worship of a launch of a new church plant in the lower Pocono region, speaking on worship ministry for a weekend retreat for 30+ church planters and a 4 day seminary module. I'll look forward to keeping you posted.

OK, I know you're saying, "Enough about you, Geoff. What about Susan? That's who we REALLY care about, plus the kids of course :-)" Honestly, we're all adjusting pretty well so far. We're not out of the woods yet, especially since we haven't experienced winter. But there is a remarkable sense of peace and joyful acceptance and excitement about our future here. Susan's life right now, as all of you moms can attest to, is mostly "all about the kids." She is busy getting the kids (especially BayLynn) ready for school. But she's also enjoying the change of scenery, culture and other unique things about NE PA. God continues to challenge AND bless us in our marriage and we are excited about this new environment in which we can continue to grow. I am a very fortunate man to have a woman like Susan by my side. Hopefully you'll hear from her soon in this blog.

We didn't take many pictures this week but here's one from last Thursday when we went to the Harford Fair. This is the fair I grew up going to. It's a "real" fair where parking is free and you pay just $6 to get in and they actually have...... oh, don't get me started :-) Here's BayLynn standing above the horse arena during barrel racing competition. We also saw the Christian bands "33 Miles" and "Caedmon's Call."

Keep checking in with us as I am still planning to share some of the great lessons we've been learning from scripture and real life. Thank you all again for checking in with us and remembering us in your prayers. We love you all.

New Chapter

Today was Day One of a new chapter. Nothing super-significant happened in it but it was still "Day One." We emptied the van (which allowed the back to raise more than 2 inches) and took "The Box" off of the trailer and got some things packed away. Susan and Bay went with Mom Ellsworth to WalMart to get a few things. We are staying with my parents for awhile until things get settled - probably a couple of months at least. We are VERY grateful to them.

Tonight we went to a Scranton/Wilkes Barre Yankees game (see picture above taken AFTER the game). This is the AAA team that directly feeds the New York Yankees. Ken, an administrator from the college, had tickets for a skybox so we enjoyed a great game from a great spot. Thank you, Ken. It was a good game but they lost to the Lehigh Valley Ironpigs - the team that supplies the Phillies. However, there was a great fireworks show afterwards and then it started to rain again. Ah, life is good :-)

Again, we want to thank you all for your thoughtful and prayerful following of our journey up to this point. It has meant a lot for us to see the clicks on the hit counter and know that many of them are equal to prayers for us. We value that and want you to know that we pray and thank God for you as well. This is a beautiful, reciprocal "Body of Christ" expression. We're so privileged to be a part of it.

We hope you'll continue to check in with us as over the next couple of weeks as I (Geoff) would like to share some things that we have been learning in this whole process. Two of the lessons will be from Matthew 6 and 1 Thessalonians 4. We'll look forward to sharing those with you soon as well as more news on the progress of our getting established here. We have NOT sold our house in Covina yet and that, along with getting the kids set for school, is the next big thing on the "to-do list." Thank you for your prayers on that matter too.

Please feel free to send us a comment from this blog or an email to ellsworthg@gmail.com

Thanks and love to you as together we move forward.

Destination Reached!

At 8:10 tonight (EST) we arrived at our destination in Clarks Summit, PA after leaving GmaC at 12:12pm. We saw more rainfall today than all the days of our trip combined. Matter of fact, we saw more rain today than we saw all last year in CA! They closed the I-80 and sent us on a detour that set us back about an hour. But we made it, and are we ever grateful - to the Lord first of all and to all of you who are praying for us as well. 3,564.6 miles from our house in Covina to my parents house in Clarks Summit. Every mile an expression of God's grace as we're all aware of the many things that could have gone wrong (plus the things we're not aware of :-) We averaged 20.5 mpg - not bad for pulling a trailer and having a luggage carrier on the roof.

On the trip today, Connor solved the "Alexander's Star" that Aunt Jean loaned to him in Wheaton. That's right Aunt Jean, it's done already! That little stinker genius boy :-)

Here's a little picture collage of the day's progress. The "Huntington Beach" sign was from yesterday at Lake Erie. I had an extra slot in the collage so....

Also, sorry for the half PA sign pic. I thought about turning around and getting a better one (like we have for a few other state signs :-) but.......

Moving forward by grace and prayer (including yours - thank you) .

Last Day in Ohio

Job 12:11-12 (CEV) “We hear with our ears, taste with our tongues, and gain some wisdom from those who have lived a long time.”

(Pictures below) Today we started by going to see Grandpa C’s gravesite. Connor and I were there over 2 years ago of course for the funeral. Connor is named after Gpa C (the first name “Jonathan” part; for those of you who don’t know, we call Connor by his middle name. His first name is Jonathan). You can see that they share the same birthday. In the one picture, I think Connor and Bay are acting a little as we weren’t really that “sad.” :-) The top middle picture is of a grave marker of a soldier in the Revolutionary War.

Then we moved on to see where Gma was born and grew up until she was 12 (a big Ohio farm); at which time her appendix burst and she was not expected to live. She did and all is well. Then on to the cemetery where her parents and some siblings are buried and where we had a really nice talk on life perspectives. Then a drive past Uncle Virg’s house (her only living sibling), then around the corner to Middlefield – Ohio Amish Country. We stopped at the Middlefield Cheese Factory where we got the greatest homestyle sandwiches made by Amish People for less than $2 each. Gotta love that. Then we visited Mary Yoder’s Amish kitchen (Restaurant and Shop). The set of “Amish” pictures say the rest. Lots of fun. And oh yeah, corn is BIG out here. Go ethanol! (yep, we've used some in our van on this trip, starting in Nebraska of course :-)

Then we headed back north through a fierce thunderstorm with pelting rain (had to use the super-fast speed on the wipers) and big thunder cracks overhead. We were on the way to Lake Erie where we stopped and stepped in and skipped some rocks. Something about Lake Erie that gives it the best and most plenteous skipping stones I’ve ever seen. As we drove through Fairport Harbor, I learned that my mom marched through these streets as a majorette. Something I never knew. Why is that mom? :-) We came home through downtown Painesville (another place I had NO recollection of), but then when we got home I went and filled up on gas and bought a new tarp for the trailer as part of the first one started falling apart on the drive yesterday. OK, so this is getting a little boring. Sorry about that……

Tomorrow we make our final leg of the trip into Clarks Summit, PA. About 6.5 hours. It will be the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. We look forward to reporting to you from there.

I'm sorry about the sideways picture. Not sure why that's happening. I've tried to fix it numerous times but I must stop now. I'll try to fix it another day but for now, here's to standing on your side :-)

from Mentor (Cleveland), OH

Well, I have no idea how I'm connected here but somehow in Gma's condo complex someone has unsecure wireless internet. So, I'll take advantage of it while I can :-)

We made it here last night around 10pm. We're going today to go see Grandpa's gravesite and some Ohio Amish country. Hopefully we'll have some pictures and post some tonight.

Good onward day to you all.

Pictures are worth....

Here are 7,000 words (7 pictures) that show a little of our day yesterday and a little bit this morning. As though you're reading them: 1- in Buffalo Grove with Ashley (cousin) with Adam and Stephanie (cousin with baby due 12/24) who are leaving Wed. for East Asia where they are language students. 2 - with Ashley and Dave at their place in Waukegan. 3 - on the Wisconsin, Illinois border (for you Amy G.) 4 - this morning with Uncle Wilbur, Aunt Jean, Beth (cousin) and her husband Mike with their sons Benjamin and Nicholas (on Aunt Jean's lap) oh yeah, and don't forget Cody, their new Sheltie. 5 - one of BayLynn's beautiful creations. 6 - Susan and Connor on the Lake Michigan shore at Waukegan Municipal Beach. 7 - on Lake Michigan with Dave while Ashley was at a job interview (if you look hard you can see the Chicago skyline in the background to the right).
So we're off in a few minutes to Cleveland. We'll get a closer look at downtown Chicago on the way but we're planning to be with Great Grandma for dinner tonight. Gotta go. Thanks for reading.

Chicago-area Monday

Well, it is very late so we'll send pictures and update a little more tomorrow but today was a really fun day with the most significant things being the visiting time with 3 more cousins (Ashley, Stephanie and Beth) and their spouses (Adam, Dave and Mike). Also included was a walk along the shore of Lake Michigan and a quick jaunt (sp?) into Wisconsin. Amy G. if you're reading this, we have a fun little picture for you :-)

It's 2:35am and Beth, Mike and the boys left about a half hour ago so....... since we plan to get up and get to Grandma C's in Cleveland tomorrow, we'll try to check in late morning before we go and post a few pictures.

Thanks and love.

Sunday in Wheaton

We started the day at Uncle Wilbur's Church - Holy Transfiguration Antiochian Orthodox Church. Needless to say it was a church experience unlike any other we've had before. A lot of interesting and thought-provoking things. We really enjoyed being there and appreciated the fellowship we shared with this unique congregation.

Then, after a little nap at the house, we went out to Cantigny Park to hear the Air Force Band which turned out to be a jazz version of the band. We walked around the gardens, and looked at a bunch of old tanks then went into the museum where they had some really great displays of real war scenes (see lower set of pictures). We then came home and walked my Aunt and Uncle's new dog, Cody, a Sheltie. We don't have any pictures yet of Aunt Jean or Cody but we'll get them before we leave town.

Tomorrow we connect with two cousins and their husbands. We'll share pictures of that with you tomorrow.

My Uncle's homily from the Gospels (Mt. 14; Mk. 6; Lk. 9; Jn. 6) today was from Jesus' feeding of the five thousand. The disciples plea to "send them away so they can take care of themselves" was met by Jesus in essence saying, "No, you bring them to me and let me take care of them." A great lesson in loving people, no matter how inconvenient.

Onward in love.

from Wheaton, IL

(remember, you can click on any of the pictures in our blog to view them in larger size)

Hello! It's late here in Chicago-land (I think they call it that here) but we wanted to let you know that we made it safely to our destination for the weekend (plus Monday). We're here at my Uncle Wilbur and Aunt Jean's house in Wheaton where we'll be staying for the next two nights at least. We crossed the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers today and we spent about an hour in the Bass Pro Shop in Iowa across the river from Omaha where we did $2 worth of their shooting gallery (the middle set of pictures). Cool place! We also checked out prices on kayaks and canoes and the street legality of ATV's :-) We also saw them (Iowa workers, not Bass Pro Shop) constructing one of those windmills (upper right picture) you see out by Palm Springs. Always wondered how they did that. Basically it's just big cranes. REALLY big cranes.

Anyway, tomorrow morning we're visiting the Holy Transfiguration Antiochian Orthodox Church in Warrenville where my Uncle is priest. It will be a unique experience I'm sure. Divine Liturgy starts at 9:30am. We'll talk to you more tomorrow about it tomorrow but for now we just wanted to let you know we made it. Thanks for your prayers.

The cloud pictures are courtesy of BayLynn. We've seen a lot of those along the way. Reminders of Psalm 57:10 - Your lovingkindness is great to the heavens, Your truth to the clouds.

Onward, to celebrate it, live it and love it.

from Lincoln, NE

Well, we wanted to get to Omaha, and we could have, but we stopped at a few places today and there was no big need to push ourselves. Plus we got to see that last few minutes of the Olympic opening ceremonies.

The drive out of Laramie to Cheyenne was really cool. Beautiful scenery! We sure would like to come back. Wyoming is soon becoming a favorite, right there next to Montana and Colorado. That drive included that big bronze bust of Abe Lincoln you see in the collage. We learned that I-80 was named the Lincoln Highway on the centennial of his birth. This statue commemorates that.

We fulfilled our plan to stop in North Platte, NE and check out Buffalo Bill State Park where "Mr. Wild West" had a home and barn with some really cool stuff from his shows and all kinds of neat Old West history. The frog, barn and turkey shots are from there. Click here for some additional, perhaps "less interesting" shots from this stop :-)

We left North Platte at 6pm thinking we were going to drive straight to Omaha. Then we saw a sign for an Original Pony Express building in Gothenburg, so we stopped. That was really interesting. The last two pictures are from there.

We listened to a little "book on tape" of Pastor Jeremiah's thoughts on angels. Then we listened to the "message-version" of "The Barbarian Way" by our latest favorite, Erwin McManus (I think you can still download this message at the podcast section of http://www.mosaic.org/ ) Geoff read the book a few months ago. Then Connor read it. To say the least, it was a very impacting book and I (Geoff) would recommend it to anyone fighting "faith domestication." I would like to blog someday soon about all the lessons that God has been teaching us in this process. There have been many. But to part with today, a reminder that God's main concern is not our comfort and safety, but rather His glory and our sanctification. Starting in 2 Corinthians 11:23, Paul lists things that were neither physically safe OR comfortable, and surely Paul knew something about God's main concerns. Was Paul outside the will of God? No, God was working IN him and THROUGH him to bring glory to Himself and to accomplish his purposes, regardless of physical safety. This is outrageously purpose-filled life adventure that God calls us to; and the safety and vibrance of our soul in this context couldn't be greater.

Well, like we said yesterday, we hope to make it to the Chicago area tomorrow. 500 miles seems to be our daily average. Should be the same tomorrow. We should make it to my Aunt and Uncle's house in Wheaton where we'll likely take a bit of a break from long travel days and catch up with a variety of family in the area. Thank you again for your love for us and the many ways you express it. Especially in your conversations with God. We look forward to keeping you posted. Onward, for God's glory and fame!

from Laramie, WY

I (Geoff) love Wyoming. The open space, the antelope, the lightning and thunder shows, the torrential downpours, the beautiful sunsets, the older-middle-age couples riding to McDonald's on their ATV. . . . Yep, we saw all that today. We started in Nevada, went into Utah via the Bonneville Salt Flats, the Great Salt Lake and Salt Lake City and up into Park City. WOW! Park City was beautiful. Some rolling thunder and the view of the mountains where the Olympics were held. We were able to see the ski jump clear as day. Then we hit Wyoming, our third state for the day. The old west feel just permeates the air and I love it.

The van and trailer seem to be doing great. We take the trailer off the van each night just to give the shocks and tires some relief. I don't know if they care or not but it makes me feel better. The rooftop carrier and the trailer got their first real waterproofing test today with all the rain. They seemed to have passed just fine.

For all you CA friends who forget what precipitation is like, I include this brief video from just outside Green River, WY. This shows about a third of the strength of the strongest downpour we had, but at least it's something :-)

Tomorrow we hope to make it to Omaha (that's Nebraska) after maybe stopping briefly in North Platte to checkout Buffalo Bill State Park where they have some cool stuff to see. This way we hope to make it to the Chicago area by Saturday night and spend a couple of days there with numerous family members.

Today we listened to a talk by Erwin McManus on relationships. He started in John 17 where Jesus prays for our unity with one another. The character refining and relational art skills that unified relationships demand are at least half (Matthew 22:36-40) of the fulfilment of God's will (sanctification - 1 Thess. 4:3) for us. May we all enter the process with soft, teachable hearts.

Onward, with love and thanks.

from Wells, NV

Greetings! We made it to Wells, NV tonight. We had a great swim and some fun time watching the Discovery Channel (Mythbusters and Man vs. Wild). We left Scott and Annette's house (first picture minus Scott who was at work) and stopped briefly in Placerville (see "Hangtown" picture) then had a beautiful drive over the Sierra's down into South Lake Tahoe (3rd picture). We left California around 12:30pm (last picture). We drove through Winnemuca and Elko, NV, towns where Geoff sang back in college. We hit a few rain showers and a little lightning and a beautiful rainbow (see * at end). We'll be in the Pacific time zone very briefly tomorrow as we have just about an hour's drive to Utah and the Mountain Time Zone. We'll get through Utah and probably stay somewhere in Wyoming tomorrow. We'll hope to connect with you all again then. Please feel free to send us a comment or an email. We'd love to hear from you. Thanks for reading. Onward!

click here for a link to a couple more pictures.

* - It's always been powerful to me to read God's words in Genesis 9:16 - "When the bow is in the cloud, then I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." Now, I know that God sees everything we do and everyplace we are. But there's something special about looking at something that God says he looks at too whenever it appears. The rainbow is that for me. Truly Emmanuel.

Eastward Bound!

Bright and early tomorrow (Wed) morning we will head east out of El Dorado Hills, CA and connect with I-80 somewhere around Lake Tahoe and stick with I-80 most of the way out. I think we've forgone the "Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore, I-90 idea," in favor of less travel time and love for our van.

We've had a great time with Susan's family these last several days. Thanks very much to Nonno, Nonna, Tia Corina, Aunt Annette and Uncle Scott and boys for all the great food, hospitality, fun (including the great time out on the lake yesterday - Thanks Uncle Scott for driving all day). From the awesome weather in Santa Maria, to the good time at David and Andrea's wedding to all the fun here in El Dorado Hillls, We are very blessed (see a couple pictures below).

We will likely arrive in the Chicago area on Sunday. We'll spend a few days there seeing a number of different family members. Then on to Cleveland to see Geoff's grandma for a day or so, then on to Clarks Summit, PA. We hope to keep in touch along the way. It depends on the reliability of the internet access we have as we go.

Thank you for your prayers for us, the van, trailer, roads, etc. We're looking forward to seeing more of America and seeing more of the story that God has written for us to bring Him more glory and fame. Onward!

Yesterday's Details

Well after a long, hot shower, some of Nonna and Tia Corina's AWESOME lasagna and cannoli, a good night of rest and a lot of therapeutic stretching, we're up to a little more communicating :-)

So yeah, around 4:30 yesterday morning we had everything loaded and hooked up but I wanted to test drive the van/trailer combo because I had some concerns about weight balance and all. When we first tested it slowly coming out of the driveway (after some long, major scraping of the hitch on the driveway which I'm sure will be present for future generations to see (see * below for a funny related story involving BayLynn)), Connor noticed a very faint sound coming from the back tires. After a few drives around the block and a few times up and down the street (some with Connor driving so I could hear the sounds), I was very uncomfortable starting a 3500 mile trip like this.

To make a long story just a little bit shorter (heehee), at around 5:30am we decided to wait until I could go to Sam's Club and get the tires rotated because the front tires were rated for more weight and higher pressure. When we did that, the major parts of my concern were alleviated as the tires looked better, there was no noise (which seemed to be just the lower rated tires being squished down on the road under all the pressure) and I had a stronger tire supporting all the back weight. I was still a little concerned about the "low riding" (which I'll get a close up picture on here sometime so you can see how funny it is) but I was much more satisfied and certainly willing to make the short 3 hour trip to Santa Maria. The major part of the trailer tongue load is the ingenius (thank you Loren!) addition of that Rubbermaid yard box. Everything in it is really quite light but as Susan said, "It's all about leverage." So I figured if the trip yesterday was not tolerable for tongue weight, than I could just leave the yard box as a gift with Mom and Dad Ferro. It appears that we will not have to do that.

Today we've been getting ready for the trek tomorrow AND playing the Wii with Nonno, Nonna and Tia Corina (from Argentina) and we hope to go get a few holes of Frisbee golf in at a very cool course here in Santa Maria before we leave.

Early tomorrow morning we head north to the Sacramento area to El Dorado Hills (to see Susan's sister Annette and her family) and Grass Valley for the wedding of Andrea and David (Susan's brother). We're looking forward to this time with Susan's family. We will likely be in that area until Tuesday morning at which point we head east. Each day's destination is not completely known but we'll keep you posted as much as we can. Should be a fun time. Gotta love the adventure.

* - BayLynn was sleeping in the van all night because we didn't have any beds and all the floors were vacuumed, etc. So she was in the van during that first pullout of the driveway. When I pulled out, the hitch scraped pretty hard. This stirred BayLynn halfway out of her sleep and she let out a scream as she thought she was rolling away in the van all by herself. In her half-awake stupor I assured her that everything was fine. Her Garfield-style half-open eyes seemed to communicate that she was fine or that she didn't even know what had just happened. It was funny :-)

Here is the time/date shot just before we pulled away from the house:
One of our favorite scenes as we drive up to Santa Maria (somewhere between Ventura and Santa Barbara I think):

We have liftoff!

Hello Everybody! I am writing to you now safe and sound in Santa Maria, CA (Susan's parents house). At 11:52 this morning, we drove away from 1221 Reeder Ave - about a day and half later than planned. BUT, we did it right and all is well. I will try to document all the things we ran into in a later post (the picture of our modern, low-ridin'- Beverly HillbillyMobile will explain some of it), but, despite the fact that we were up until 5:30 this morning and we're really tired now, we just wanted to let you know that all is well.

AND, we HAVE to fill you in on the "Cassie and Ginger Saga." We were so excited that about an hour after some very intentional prayers :-) last Friday, our neighbor Chad called and said that he had found homes for the dogs. We were thrilled. So Monday was taken up largely with getting the dogs ready to go (vet, bath, etc) but it was worth it to know that they had a good home and that as much as we would have loved to have them with us in PA, it was really best that they stay. Thank you God and thank you Chad and Kathy for helping this be a reality.

And thank you to Laura who graciously took our rabbits. That's right, we're travelling without any extra living beings. We did however bring rabbit cages with us so...... :-)

So, like I said, we have much to share and will be communicating with you in the days to come. Thank you for your continued prayers - especially for our van as it has quite a job on it's hands.

Love you all!

Help with our dogs (Cassie and Ginger)

This is somewhat of an urgent and desperate request. We have one last significant obstacle, at least in the emotional sense. Geoff and Connor were not really successful in locating a suitable place for our dogs in the time they had in PA. We've also checked with a number of you here in CA to see if you either have an interest or know someone who would be interested in a pair of good dogs and so far, nothing has surfaced short of taking them to the Baldwin Park Animal Shelter (something we're not really eager to do). This has been a VERY difficult thing for all of us. For those of you who aren't animal lovers, just stop reading now and pray for us (smile). For the rest of you, we'd sure love for you to think about people you may know who would like some good loyal dogs in their life. We are VERY sad that it looks like we can't take them, but it seems to be the right thing to do. If you are in PA and know of someone who wouldn't mind keeping our dogs until we find the right place to live, we'd love to know about that too. But it just seems that these dogs were not meant to join us in PA. Of course, if you have any other thoughts or ideas, please send us an email at ellsworthg@gmail.com

Thanks for your thoughts, efforts and prayers.

Return trip & update

Well, Connor and I fly out early tomorrow and will be back in CA around 10:30am (PST). I've had a LOT of meetings with various leaders and ministries and my excitement continues to grow. We also looked at a lot of housing options. Nothing solid on that yet but that's OK. We are so grateful to all of you in your partnership with us through your prayers. It's been a very good and productive couple of weeks and we can see the future a lot more clearly. More on that in a future post. But for now....
I promised you all a picture of a male Cardinal. Well, here it is:


Pretty cool, huh? From right out the back door. The picture was taken through a screen door which is why it's a bit blurry, but you get the (very cool) idea that God had when he made these.

Next we have one of the many chipmunks that populate the area:

And finally, pictures from Connor's time out in the country woods with new friend Daniel Tarr. Big thanks to the Tarr family for their hospitality to Connor and me this week. Captain Tarr gave his approval for us to light some fireworks Tuesday night and we had a great time, and we only went through about half of what we had!

We just want to thank everyone here in NE PA who made Connor and I feel so welcome and EXCITED TO RETURN!!! We look forward to coming back as a complete family next month. Which reminds me, many of you know the conflict we're experiencing with our dogs and whether or not to bring them out. We want to be responsible in this matter but, for us at least, it's a little complicated; mainly in the area of an appropriate place for them here in PA. And because an ideal housing situation didn't present itself yet, we're just not exactly sure what to do. So, for those of you who are animal lovers, you understand the conflict and if you feel so led, we'd appreciate your prayers on this matter as well as the sale of our CA home. 'Til next time!

Sunday's Events

We had a great time in the morning service of Grace Bible Church. We were received extraordinarily well and God really seemed to bless the people through us. Afterwards we were treated to a delicious steak dinner at Pastor Terry's house, although we had to eat and run because......

...we met the "Lower Pocono Project Jerusalem Team" back at the seminary to travel just over an hour to a location just past Stroudsburg. "Mountain Stream Church" is scheduled to be planted in this area this fall. For now though, they're "working the soil" to develop a core group of people and believers in preparation for the fall launch. They're currently meeting in the hall of the Bushkill Fire Department - complete with Bingo equipment :-) We met team leader/pastor James Richards and his wife, Candace, both native Jamaicans. We both helped with room and equipment setup and Connor helped with the kids.

More pictures of these two events can be found by clicking here. Big thanks to genius Powerpoint Tech-Op Daniel Walton for the great pictures from Grace Bible.

After the Lower Poconos we headed back another hour to the seminary (where our car was) and called the family from Grace Bible who was hosting the youth group at their house. It was 8pm and they lived 30 minutes away but they said to come on over and boy are we glad they did. We drove up to this beautiful house in the country woods and the place was CRAWLING with kids. I think they said 60-70. Anyway, they some great food going and many of the kids got right down to greeting Connor and getting to know him. I didn't see him for a long time but when I did he was having a great time with a bunch of the kids. We were there til 11:30 so we got home at midnight with full and grateful hearts for a really outstanding day. And oh yeah, the heavy rain, steamy roads and lightning didn't hurt either :-)

Today, we're looking at 6 or 7 more houses, and the college just called. I have 3 meetings scheduled out there tomorrow. Onward always, for God's glory and fame!

Good On'ya Mate

Connor and I just got back from a party next door put on by our Australian neighbor's (yep, complete with Foster's, but no, we didn't have any). One of the Aussie visitors was "Jeff with a G" so we had to take a picture. That's the two Geoff's in the middle with Connor and Sid (the man of the house) on the ends. They had a game where we each took a name of a horse in a race (Sunshine Coast Brewery Handicap) that was happening live in Australia (tomorrow afternoon). These guys had some connection to the commentators and those same commentators sent out "cheery-ohs" (sp?) to "the party in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania," all live on the radio as we listened. My horse, UPI Bay (chosen in honor of BayLynn) was favored but didn't win. After a brief summer swim in their pool we headed out, but not before "Jeff with a G" gave me this cool Australian hat (picture number 2).




The house hunting went well today. Nothing's jumping out yet, but we're sure getting an education. We'll be doing more on Monday. Tomorrow morning we're at Grace Bible Church in Dunmore co-leading the music (Geoff) and drumming (Connor). Then off to the lower Pocono region for a gathering at a church plant site in the afternoon.


Click here for a few cool animal shots outside my parents front window.


God's good on'ya mates!

Headed North

Thought some of you might like to see some of the Canadian Geese that make a stop at the college lake on their way home for the summer.

I (Geoff) had some good meetings today and Connor and I will be looking at houses tomorrow. Susan has a yard sale in Covina tomorrow as well. Thank you for your continued prayers. Your trust in God is an encouragement to us.

Biker's Night

So we were driving home tonight past Damon's Grill and noticed all these motorcycles. We learned that every Thursday night "during the riding season" (that's summertime for you CA folks) in "Biker Night at Damon's." These stunt rider guys were there and put on pretty good show. Here a few video clips preceded by a couple of pictures of groundhogs (we assume) from just outside the college driveway.