New Home for Diesel

I don't know what it is. Probably the approaching fall. We've been on an academic calendar our whole lives so fall seems like a time of newness. And its approaching. I'm starting to realize how much stuff we have. No matter what room I go into in my home, all I see is the many, many things that need to be given away, sold, thrown away, stored, etc. Ahhh. Anyway, we are starting to slowly find homes for most of our belongings. Okay, so Diesel isn't a "belonging", he's a family member. But along with Diesel comes many belongings (dog dishes, food, kennel, blankets, toys). And it's time to find Diesel and his things a new home.
Can you please help us by thinking of who you know that might like to be Diesel's new family?
Diesel is a 7 year old purebred Boxer. He has been with our family since he was 18 months old. He is extremely friendly and submissive. He is great with kids. He allows them to climb all over him, pull his ears, etc, and just enjoys the attention. He is a great guard dog. He only barks when people approach our house or when he can sense that I am afraid. And his bark is intimidating! He is also great with cats. Seeing as he has not been neutered, he should be the only dog in a home. He likes Chris and Luke but he is really attached to me and tends to be fond of and protective of women. So he should be in a home with at least one lady.
We have thought through taking him with us to Haiti and it just will not work. The climate change would be far too difficult for him along with plenty of other hardships. Even though we aren't moving for about 11 or 12 more months we really feel like now is the time to find him a new home. Luke is very attached to Diesel and giving Luke time to grieve his absence before a huge transition to Haiti will be helpful. We are trying to space out our "good-byes".
Please let us know if you or someone you know would like to be Diesel's new owners. THANK YOU!

Bit by Bit

Chris and I are truly blessed to watch as God reveals to us our support team! Having full confidence that the Lord will supply all our needs, support raising has become sort of an unveiling of a great gift from God. And bit by bit we are reaching our goal. As of today we are at 35% of our goal for monthly support. We are more than a third of the way there!

Further Encouragement

“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. “

Matthew 16:18

Last week, as part of our training, we spent 4 days at a church planting school with the EFCA. We learned a lot an enjoyed many aspects of the class, but for me the most encouraging for us was meeting and hearing the testimony of a Haitian seminary professor who will be partnering with our organization. Wadestrant Jean-Baptiste (or Wawa as he is also called) was born in a family steeped in voodoo as his father was a voodoo priest. Through a series of events he became a believer and ended up at seminary in the US, and now back in the evangelical seminary of Port-au-Prince. What was the most encouraging though is that despite immense hostility from his father regarding his conversion, he continued to share and live the Gospel with him and about three years ago his father gave his life to Christ, and more recently helped plant a church on the site where he used to practice witchcraft.

I am so excited to hear more about what God is already doing in Haiti and finding out how he can help use us in this process of proclaiming the Gospel and planting churches to be a light in the darkness. While we have seen this in the US, it is amazing to hear about specific people and places where the kingdom of darkness is in retreat. Praise God!

This is from last Friday's Twins game vs the Brewers. We took Wawa to see a bit of American culture and ended up waiting over two hours to start the game due to rain and to my surprise almost all the fans were still there for the first pitch. As we were leaving I asked Wawa if he learned anything about American culture after seeing the game and he said that we were patient.

Chicago

We have been neglecting our blog! So sorry. This week has been a tiring yet encouraging week as we are at a conference called, "Multiplying Churches Globally". We've had the opportunity to meet some team members and connect with others as well as learn. More on that later.

Our family is headed to Chicago July 6th - 11th. We are planning on visiting family and friends. If you are in the Milwaukee/Rockford/Chicago or surrounding areas we'd love to meet with you to share more about our vision for ministry in Haiti. Just let us know and we can find a time that works for us both.
sara: sara.thompson@efca.org
chris: chris.thompson@efca.org

Random Springtime Performances

We have learned in the past year we have some major performers in the family. Here are two of there more recent efforts.

Heat Wave!

I'm not sure if any of you have ever ventured to the very bottom of this blog or not. But if you have you will have noticed a side by side thermometer of Port au Prince and Minneapolis. The idea, when I created the blog in January, was to show how crazy different the climates are and maybe my preference as well.

Today was quite the heat wave in Minneapolis as evidenced by the photo above. Craziness, especially considering it was snowing a week ago. On my way home from work the car temp guage read 91 degrees as I passed by an interested sight. There was an African American man lounging in a chair in front of a hip-hop clothing store wearing military fatigues. I did a double take and momentarily felt like I might just be in Port-au-Prince. Especially since doing the double take meant hitting yet another pot hole.

I sure do like my neighborhood. I've come to love it. And I certainly will miss it. Here's a few things I find entertaining about my neighborhood:

1) The slushy machine at the corner store has a sign attached that reads, "Not a WIC item"

2) Troy and Luke go to said corner store to buy hot cheetos, red soda, and friend chicken - no joke

3) Luke and some other neighborhood friends created a ghetto game that they play in the summer called "Foreclosure"

All true.

Here's some other things I love about our neighborhood.

1) There are at least 5 vibrant, gospel preaching, praying, African American churches within a couple blocks of our home.

2) There are at least 30 kids on our immediate block

3) Our immediate block is home to 2 white families (yes another moved in last year), a Hmong family, a Somali family, a group of European Muslims, a Native American family, several African American families, and several Hispanic families.

I'm going to miss this street. I'm going to miss these "summer" days. I am NOT going to miss winter.

Mother's Day

Today was an odd mother's day for me. I am overwhelmingly thankful for my mother as well as other mother figures in my life - my aunt Joanne, and my mother-in-law, Patty. I am thankful for a wonderful husband who makes mothering so easy. And I am thankful for my kiddos - who blessed me with clean bedrooms and plenty of artwork from school.


But today I was quite sad for the motherless. A couple of my girlfriends are mothering their babies without their own mothers here on earth with them. And all mothers know that you just have those days when you have to call your mom and vent, "Mom, is this normal?", "Mom, tell me this is a stage", "Mom, I'm sorry I was so annoying", etc. You just need your mom when you are a mother.

This morning I made the mistake of asking my son's best friend if he was going to see his mother today. He answered that his mom moved 2 years ago, changed her number, and he hasn't seen or talked to her since. Out of these random thoughts of sadness for those who are motherless and blessing for all I have been given - one thing stuck out...

The best mother's day gift I could ever receive. A text/facebook message from a neighborhood youth and #80205 of why leaving this neighorhood is going to break my heart:

@[519510835:Sara Murphy Thompson] aka mom#3 dont know where to start with you haha you are so so so funny even if you dont try to be! your also the mom that always always talking about how bright i a kid i am and i can do it even when i think i cant! - Markus