The More Stationary Padgetts

Judson!!

2010-05-21T14:15:00.001-07:00

He's finally here! And we are SO in love with the little guy! Yesterday marked his 2 week B-day, and we are definitely turning in to our parents when we say..."time flies!"

Judson was born on May 6th, at 8:17 pm, and weighed 7 lbs, 9 oz, and was 20 and 1/2 inches long.

Our First Family Picture after Judson was born

Labor started sometime around 1:00 ish that day after having my water broken because my blood pressure was high when we came in that morning. Judson was posterior, and that could have been why labor hadn't started on it's own by almost 41 weeks. I was nervous about having my water broken because we were committed to having him that day at that point, but Cherie was confident that this would be all we needed to do to help the little guy come. And she was right! 10 Minutes later I was having regular contractions, and spent the rest of the day just waiting for him to come. Bryan and I were able to walk around the park next door to the Center, and sit outside in between laboring inside where they could monitor me a little closer. Labor was tough, but being able to have Judson naturally was such a wonderful experience, and nothing compares to the moment we finally had him in our arms!

It has been so fun having him here, and we love being his parents. Even though we will be in the learning process for the rest of our lives as parents, it's amazing how natural it is to be a mom. I just love him!!

First day home, not even 24 hours old.

Mommy and baby J hanging out

Daddy and Judson

Bright Eyes!

This week, we had a check up at the Birth & Women's Center, and to get Judson circumcised and his footprints on the wall with all the other babies that were born there.

Our little family with our Midwives! Beverly, Carol and Cherie. They were amazing, and we absolutely loved our experience there!

Getting his footprints on the wall!

I love baby feet!

Mommy and Blackfoot. He hated this! But... he didn't know what was coming next. We kept trying to tell him the circ would be way worse and to save his energy crying, haha.

Driving Home after his not so fun visit :-) But he's still so sweet!

More pictures and post to come...when we finally get around to it between diaper changes and feeding! :-)

40 Weeks, No Baby, and other old updates!

2010-04-28T00:10:00.000-07:00

Well, it's May 1st, Bryan's Birthday and Judson's due date, and we are still without a baby in our arms! Seeing that there is only 45 minutes left of the 1st, I'm pretty positive I wont be in the Guinness Book of World records for fastest labor ever, and he wont be coming today, but there's always tomorrow...or next week- we'll see when he decides to come! But, good thing we were still able to celebrate one Birthday in our family! :-)

Happy 30th Bryan! You're an amazing husband and I'm so thankful for the life God's given you, and that you're in my life- you are such a joy!

(Bryan with his winnings from the daily "Nations Be Glad" twitter Question!) His faces still bring me so much joy...

And now for late updates...

Baby Showers!

We were blessed to have 2 wonderful baby showers for Judson, one in Dallas, and one in Tulsa. They were both wonderful, and such a blessing- thanks to everyone who came, and all of our amazing hostesses!

Page and I at the Dallas shower with the great cake she got, that matched the invites perfectly! She and Jenny Hipp hosted, and somehow I made it out without a picture of the three of us- I can't believe it! It was wonderful though, thanks so much Jenny and Page!

At the Tulsa shower with my mom and sister Kelly, and my mom's wonderful friends Amy, Brenda and Amy. (Lori left before we were able to snap this picture of the hostesses!) You were all such a blessing to me and our new little family, THANK YOU!!!

Me and Harper, my niece.

Beginnings of Judson's room!

My parents got Judson a beautiful white crib and great bedding! (You guys are such great grandparents- thank you!) and Bryan had a lot of fun putting it together.

As he was finishing putting the last screw in, I had the camera ready to capture his elation that his job was done, and this is what I got:
Oh, how I love my hubby!

And finally, Bump Pictures!

Week 36

Week 38

Well, that's it for updates today. Hopefully the next post has some pictures of our new little guy, we're going crazy waiting for him!

Until then, "have a blast doing whatever it is you do for fun!" (from Bryan)

31 1/2 Weeks!

2010-03-02T22:10:00.000-08:00

We love Judson!

We're now in the single digit countdown to his arrival- yeah! 9 weeks to go!

28 Weeks!

2010-03-02T21:42:00.000-08:00

Me and baby J at 28 weeks

I just love him so much!

25!

2010-02-08T19:48:00.001-08:00

2010 is going to be a great year! Our first son is on the way, Bryan turns 30 (Finally- I've been saying he's almost 30 for years...) and I made it halfway to 50!

It was a great birthday- Bryan got me some beautiful flowers and we went out to my favorite Thai restaurant in town, and Tyler and Malika got me the best Birthday cake ever- Cookies and cream ice cream cake! I said I didn't want to eat food anymore- and that everyone should just make the switch to full time Birthday cake for nutrition- but thank goodness that's not actually the case! :-)

It's a Boy!

2010-01-06T23:25:00.000-08:00

We found out Christmas morning that we'll be having a BOY!!! We are so excited and can't wait for this little one to get here!

We are going to name him Judson Alan Padgett, after the first American Missionary, Adoniram Judson. This is one of our heroes of the faith, and we love the heritage that Judson will have behind his name. Take time to read his story at the end of this blog! Judson's middle name is also Bryan's middle name, so we love that, too!

To see the video from the unveiling Christmas morning, click here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o80SbPuRbSw

I'm now 24 weeks pregnant:

and loving feeling Judson move ALL the time! We have determined he's definitely our child, haha. This week, according to a week by week update of how babies grow in the womb, he weighs a little over a pound and is about 8 1/2 inches long—the size of a banana. His unique hand- and footprints are forming, and apparently he frequently gets bouts of hiccups! And my sources say that these hiccups might be what makes me feel like he's in perpetual motion... So, maybe there's hope he'll be mellow??

Either way, we can't wait to meet him and find out who God's made him to be!

Adoniram Judson

By: Alicia Perry

Adoniram Judson was born August 9, 1788 in Malden, Massachusetts.

Despite his father being a Congregational minister, Judson was not saved until he was 20 years old. While studying at Brown University, he was greatly influenced by the Deistic beliefs of Jacob Eames, a close friend. Incredibly, the friend to swayed him away from Jesus also played a large role in Judson's conversion to Christ. He had announced to his parents that he had rejected Christianity and was leaving for New York to become a playwright. One night he was staying at an inn and was adjacent to the room of a dying man. All night he found himself plagued with wondering if the man was prepared to die or where he would spend eternity. The next morning Judson asked about the identity of the man who died that night. Judson was taken aback in realizing that the man was Jacob Eames, his unbelieving friend who had destroyed Judson's faith. With the realization that he was as lost as his now dead friend, Judson overcame his reservations and dedicated his life to the Lord.

In 1808, Judson started attending Andover Theological Seminar, where he became burdened to become a missionary. In 1810, he helped form the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, and then two years later, he and his new bride of seven days, Ann, sailed for India. When the Indian government refused to allow the Judson's to enter the country, they went to Rangoon, Burma. There was not one known Christian among the millions of Burmese people.

After six years, the Judson's saw their first convert baptized. Judson wrote in his journal, "Oh, may it prove to be the beginning of a series of baptisms in the Burman empire which shall continue in uninterrupted success to the end of the age." In the first six years, Judson published tracts, translated the gospel of Matthew and the book of Ephesians, preached publicly, and labored among the Burmese people. Judson decided to contextualize the gospel when he decided to build a Zayat, a Buddhist-style meditation room, on the main street where he could hold meetings and teach passers by in a way that was not foreign to the people. This helped break down barriers between he and his hearers. This is what eventually led to their first convert.

In 1824, the Judson's moved to Ava. When the war between the English and the Burmese started, Judson was imprisoned for two years at Ava for being a British spy. While in prison, Judson continued his Bible translation by hiding the manuscripts in a pillow his wife smuggled into him. His perseverance is recorded in his prayer while imprisoned, "Lord, let me finish my work. Spare me long enough to put Thy saving Word into the hands of a perishing people." It was the faithfulness and persistence of his wife that kept him from starvation. Bribing the jailer, she would creep to the door of Judson's cell, bringing food and whispering words of hope and consolation. Not long after he was released from prison, Ann died from spotted fever. She was just shy of 37 years of age. In his marriage to Ann, they had three children die. The third one died three months after Ann.

After recovering from Ann's death, Judson continued to translate the Burmese Bible. In 1828, he moved to Maulmain where he and his colleague George Boardman were instrumental in the conversion of a member of the Karen People, Ko Tha Byu, who is the virtual founder of Karen Christianity. Ko Tha Byu's ministry resulted in the conversion of thousands. Within 25 years, there were 11,878 baptized Karen believers.

On April 12, 1850, Judson died. Judson had spent thirty-eight years in Burma (minus a few months when he returned to America after thirty-four years in Burma). Adoniram Judson will be remembered for his role in the establishment of U.S. missions, the translation of the complete Burman Bible, and his pioneering work among the Burmese people. As a young man he had cried out, "I will not leave Burma until the cross is planted here forever." Thirty years after his death, Burma had sixty-three Christian churches, one hundred and sixty-three missionaries, and over seven thousand baptized converts. One hundred years later, on the anniversary of his death, there were more than 200,000 Burma Christians.

Sources: Barlow, Fred.Profiles in Evangelism.Sword of the Lord Publishers, 1976. Bradshaw, Robert I. The Life and Work of Adonarim Judson, Missionary to Buma., 1992. Unknown author. Adoniram Judson, 1788-1850, Missionary to Burma., 2003.

Half Way to Baby's Arrival!

2009-12-15T10:21:00.000-08:00

This morning we had an appointment for Baby's Anatomy scan, and the Dr. said everything looked great! I was very excited to see her checking off "normal" on all of baby's little parts in the computer before we left! Praise God for a healthy baby!

We also have info on baby's gender...only sealed in an envelope until next week! We'll open the envelope on Christmas morning to find out if we'll be thinking pink or blue. Waiting for Christmas this year feels a little like it did at age 5 again- I love it, and hope I can make it until then!

Second thought- I'll definitely make it to Christmas, because Bryan has hidden the envelope and DVD of the sonogram to ensure that I do! I still think he's the one who would crack before me...haha. We're both pretty determined to wait though, because we really do want to find out together on Christmas. Check back in after Christmas to find out!

Here's baby at week 20:

Baby's tiny feet!

The Dr. said that baby had both legs crossed and over it's head, just hanging out!

I feel baby moving all the time now, too! It's so much fun, and brings a smile to my face every time. It's such a joy getting to carry this tiny little life and pray over this baby, that he or she would know and treasure Christ above everything else. And while we aren't minding the quiet nights right now...we definitely can't wait for baby to get here so we can meet him/her!

PollPub.com VoteGuess Baby Padgett's sex!

O Tannenbaum...

2009-12-06T19:24:00.000-08:00

If there's anything about the Holiday season that I love, it's a beautifully decorated tree to sit by on cool nights with a great cup of warm something! ...Mainly chai. I would say snowy nights, but living in Texas, well, "cool" is just about as good!

And this Christmas was especially fun, as we had our friends, Bryan's Iraqi "brothers" over to help us decorate the tree! Bryan and I hung about 3 ornaments each, and within about 20 minutes they had decorated the whole tree beautifully! It's by far my favorite tree we've had yet.

We made our own pizza for dinner, had homemade apple pie (Thanks Malika!!), watched "The Nativity Story" and listened to some great Iraqi music. Bryan even learned to dance a little, although at one point he ended up being taught how to dance like a woman...better luck next time around learning to dance like a man!

What a great Sunday!

Thanks again for coming, guys, and can't wait to have you back over again!

Bouncy Baby! - Week 11

2009-12-02T19:00:00.002-08:00

Watch the sonogram video here!

Baby Padgett!!

2009-10-12T19:23:00.000-07:00

...is on the way!

We are so excited, and got to see baby Padgett for the first time in September, and are expecting baby's arrival around the beginning of May! The due date the doctor gave us today is May 1st, Bryan's birthday!

Here's how excited Bryan is about baby!

Here's Baby Padgett at about 7 weeks:

Keep track of baby news here with the blog!

Fall-the best season of all!

2009-01-28T15:23:00.000-08:00

I love the fall! And what better way to celebrate than in fall colors- Orange (& a little black!)

An amazing fall tree in my parents neighborhood.

Fall is always better with friends... we love you Jill!

Fall is when Bryan and I met 5 years ago! We took this picture in the exact spot that we met in the OSU student Union 5 years ago almost to the date! November 6th, 2003.

Fall is the best season of year for the best drink in the world- a Big Train Hot Chai Latte! And who better to get it from than your little sister in the Hastings Drive through window on the way to the OU/OSU Bedlam game??

We came inside to say hi in person, too. It was just fun going through the drive through!

I love my little sister!

Bedlam Game! Too bad that the really cool picture with the game actually in the background somehow got deleted from my camera...Too bad we didn't win, either. There's always next year..

Vacation

2009-01-28T15:19:00.000-08:00

Bryan and I took a much needed vacation in October and went to Mexico! It was so beautiful and so relaxing! Here's some favorites from the beach.

The boardwalk to the beach

The resort at sunset

A baby Turtle! It was so cute!

Before dinner one night

Our room

These things were huge!!! I'm actually thankful for our Texas sized little guys now :-)

Bryan getting artsy on the beach

Our Last Week on the Road

2008-11-17T16:07:00.000-08:00

Our last week on the road was spent way north in Minot, North Dakota. It is home of a very larger nuclear hub, and the largest Scandanavian Festival anywhere in the World, the Norsk Fest. Here are some fun pictures of the week!

This is a classic Norweigan church, modeled after one actually in Norway, and built right in Minot.

A model home, typical for most Scandanavian families hundreds of years ago.
We think the people might have been gnomes...

Tad and Bryan found a gnome...

Tad also found...true love?

Two amazing, very local sayings, which we heard often!

While we were in North Dakota, we had the opportunity to go to a corn maze! The boys weren't too excited about this, but they did it for me and served me anyway in it! It had been a dream of mine for about year to go to one, since Amber and I never got to our first semester out. (This one was for you, Amber!) Unfortunately, it happened to be drizzling and really cold, and who knew we'd be too tall for the corn stalks, and that only kids really went to these things?? (Appearantly the boys figured all of this!) But, none the less, we had a good time laughing about all of it and actually did get a little lost at one point, which made it worth our $7 each!

It was all good and laughs until this guy, one of the "Corn Cops" wanted to go home, and was creeping on us the whole time we were in there, and trying to tell us where to go- making all of us upset that he didn't understand the concept of paying $7 to get lost, not paying for a guide to help you get un-lost.

All in all, I had a pretty good time and was very amused at the whole situation. But...the boys felt a little differently by the end...

Good times on the road... :-)

Oh, Canada!

2008-10-03T11:27:00.001-07:00

We are so close to Canada here in North Dakota, we figured we couldn't NOT go a little farther North and get another stamp in our Passports!

We visited Winnepeg,a wonderfully diverse city, and saw A Canadian Mounted Policeman...

...Well, sort of. But it's as close as we got!

In downtown Winnipeg, we went to an area called 'The Forks', a historic site and meeting place located at the confluence of the Red River and Assiniboine River, and saw a really neat bridge, and got a great view of the city from a lookout spot over the River.

We ate in the Forks Marketplace, where there were choices of cuisine from all over the world! It was so fun. We picked Sushi Train- and Tad even got to pick his lunch up from the train (after he sent it back with the waitress and asked her to send it back out on the train!)

It was a great trip, too bad we didn't get to stay longer! Maybe we'll get to go back again someday.

South Dakota!

2008-10-03T11:16:00.000-07:00

We had a great week long run of 7 meetings in South Dakota, topped off with a retreat in a Barn! It was so fun, and humorous to all of us. Bryan did a great job at the retreat giving 4 different talks, and we even got to celebrate and relax with a bonfire after the first night.

We made a video update while we were there. Check it out at YouTube!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwZZ4WPRop8

University of South Dakota, in Vermillion, SD

Tad speaking at a Campus Crusade for Christ Meeting

2 Weeks In

2008-09-27T17:32:00.000-07:00

We've had 10 great meetings so far, great 1-1's, and lots of fun with Tad and in our new region!

Our first meeting in Minneapolis was with the leadership of the college group at Piper's church, and the Tool was planned in to the meeting, so all 60 students there got the packets and info to pass on to others in their Bible studies, etc. Andrew, the campus minister was great, and set up their entire vision for the year around the message that night! It was a great meeting!

One of the students also found a new use for our Bumper sticker.

Tad had really cool housing for the night...

Yep, a closet. Sweet.

We were making jokes about being upset one day, and found out that Tad's mean face consists of him looking down and smiling, (makes sense once we learned he got the “Little Angel” award as a most likely to in 8th grade) while Bryan on the other hand, looks a little more like a comic character...or something.

Tad has also decided to rebel against the status quoe, and refuses to wear his seatbelt, resulting in a strangely familiar alarm everytime we go anywhere. We’re afraid something like Pavlov will result and when he hears alarms go off during meetings might reach for his seatbelt...

We also got to catch a Twins game while we were in Minneapolis at the Metrodome...unfortunately they lost. But, even if I didn’t tell you that, Tad’s mad face could have given that away.

Team 3 Hits the Road with a New Schedule and A New Traveler!

2008-09-11T14:57:00.000-07:00

We'll be traveling in Zone 9 this fall, North and South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado. We have a great semester full of meetings- and lots of fun trying to find Moose and other wildlife...and people in the area!

Here's our schudule for the fall:

September
10 Northwestern C CO
14 SD St U NAVS Leadership
16 SD St U CCC
17 Augustana C CCC
18 U of SD CCC
19 SD St U IVCF
20 SD St U IVCF
23 U of ND CCC
25 Valley City St U CCC
30 ND St U CCC

October
2 MN St U Moorhead CCC
7 Minot St U CCC
9 MT St U—Northern XA/Northern Campus Fellowship
14 U of MT XA
15 U of MT CCC
22 MT St U—Bozeman CCC
23 MT St U—Bozeman IVCF
29 Casper C CV
30 NW Com. C—WY CV

November
4 U of WY CV
10 Johnson and Wales CCC
11 Auraria CCC
12 U of Denver CCC
13 CO Sch of Mines CCC

Tad Kelsay, our new team member for this fall!

He is from Fayetteville, AR and graduated from the University 0f Arkansas with a degree in Education. We are so excited to travel with him and get to know him this fall!

Bryan and Tad at our staff training in April

Bryan's New 'Do

2008-08-28T13:38:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't need a fun new hairdo every once in a while??

Hairstack...football helmet... Molestache....and now this. I have one very talented, well groomed hubby! Haha! I love it!

Family

2008-08-14T21:17:00.001-07:00

On the way home from Philly, we got to stop in Atlanta to see my sister and brother in law, Addison, and their beautiful girls, Harper and Elliott. It was great!

Bryan and Harper and Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta

Harper playing in the Olympic Ring Fountain

Superman Vanilla? Ice Cream and an amazing face in the CNN center.

Kelly and Addison

Elliott- she's such a cutie!

After Atlanta, it was on to Tulsa, where my parents had purchased Guitar Hero! Mid- life crisis? Maybe... But lots of fun anyhow!

Dad, becoming and expert on the Guitar- He looks a little crazed....

Dad and Bryan...gotta love a little manly competition!

Me and my hubby!

Another classic, and always expected, Bryan face.

Boo at the Zoo

Driving in our new car

IT Philly

2008-08-14T13:04:00.000-07:00

Filling you in on the last of Philly...

"Wayumi" the New Tribes base in Jersey Shore, PA where we spent a great weekend learning about reaching Tribals all over the world.

Visiting the tribe

A great friend of ours, Jamie Hipp, teaching our students about China. He lived in Northwest China for two years before he came on staff with our church as the International Missions pastor. His wife, Jenny, lived in Taiwan for two years as well. We get to stay with them when we are off the road in Dallas, they are so great! We love the Hipps!

Very excited about the Liberty Bell...

Hindu Temple visit with our students in Bridgewater, NJ

Angela and I with our ER passes when Hannah broke her foot running. Oh what a night!

Last Night of the Project- what a sweet end to an amazing summer!

Mo Town Philly

2008-07-16T23:07:00.000-07:00

Buddhist Temple visit

Ewoo visits Philly! Yeah! Her and Rebecca the day we picked her up (and accidently made it to New Jersey, and ALL the bad parts of Philly) before we made it to this amazing Chocolate Cafe.

Small Group Weekend

2008-06-22T21:00:00.000-07:00

Every year at IT we send the small groups away for a weekend with each other to really bond and have a fun break during the project. Being in Philly- we are only a few hours away from DC and a little over an hour away from New York City, which has been so fun for this weekend!

This summer I don't have a small group so that I can meet with each of our leaders once a week, so my very small group of just me-stayed here in Philly for the weekend, and it was so much fun!

I loved being able to explore the city and just do whatever sounded fun for the weekend. So aside from catching up on sleep (I slept for almost 12 hours Friday night- and it was glorious!) I had a picnic in the park to some Accordian music, saw City Hall all lit up with William Penn on top,

The Philly Museum of Art (and the Rocky Steps!) the 'LOVE' statue,

Independence Hall & some other historical buildings,

Carpenter's Hall, where the first Continental Congress met,

and even made it down to Penn's landing on the river for an Asian festival. It's too bad I had to experience it alone...so I took a little video for you all to enjoy.

I regret not volunteering myself for the dance contest, I feel like I could have given them all a little run for their money...maybe next time.

And to end the day, I had a plate of perfect Chinese dumplings in China town,

and then Bubble tea with my new friend Lin from Beijing!

(Hipps-made me think of you!) Then, I headed home on the train and cried again to P.S. I love you....that movie gets me every time.

What a great weekend!

IT Philly Update

2008-06-20T08:03:00.000-07:00

We can't believe time goes by so fast, but we've already been here in Philly for almost 3 weeks already! It has been an amazing project so far, we LOVE our students and are so thankful they are all here this summer!

IT Philly 2008!

A really fun picture

Our staff... pray for Bryan!

Staff night out to Buca di Beppo before the students arrived
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Angela and I on the boardwalk in Ocean City, NJ- I found my favorite Chai ever-Big Train! Sunshine, the beach, chai...does it get any better than that??

Community night- Rebecca and Angela's small groups and I out for Indian food in downtown Philly

The guys- literally, all of them! Bryan, Miguel, Jaron, ALex and Scott

Alex leading us in praise and worship at Project Night.

2 Year Anniversary!

2008-05-31T18:27:00.000-07:00

We are getting ready to celebrating 2 years of marriage on June 3rd this coming week! I can't believe it's gone by so fast- it's been an amazing two years- and we can't wait for more to come!

Bryan surprised me with plans for an Anniversary trip to NYC back in the spring for this week and it was so much fun!

We picnic-ed all the way up to NYC!

We spent most of one day in Central Park just enjoying the beautiful day and seeing the park. We found some local shops and got a great lunch to picnic in the park with, too.

Us in front of the famous Central Park fountain...literally. You can't see it.
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Afternoon drink at The Boathouse Restaurant in Central Park

Us and a very tiny Lady Liberty

In Times Square right after seeing Prince Caspian

PLEASE blow this one up for your enjoyment!

Brooklyn Bridge

Really fun flower shop outside! I loved this!

Bryan found Zoltar and made a wish.....

And got BIG!!!!

Fun at Home in May

2008-05-26T20:41:00.000-07:00

Bryan's sister, Page, and Bryan and I at a Perspectives class Bryan taught in Dallas

My sister Betsy and I before she left for the Phillipines for the summer. I flew in to the airport 30 minutes before she flew out,

Betsy boarding the plane!

A visit to our office in Conway. I love all these girls!
so we got to hang out in the airport for a while and talk before she left.

And, finally....

Bryan- with a nice molestache!
He didn't shave while he was in Burma, and came back with a beard. He decided when he couldn't take the itch anymore, that he would shave it in stages...
Here's one more!

Betsy has termed this one the "pedosmile".

Home from Burma

2008-05-17T10:54:00.001-07:00

Well, I am back from Thailand/Burma. I got back yesterday morning and have basically been sleeping most of the time. We came back a week early for a couple of different reasons which I will share with you.

One of the main reasons is that we were not granted Visa's into the country, and probably wouldn't the whole time we were there. Our goal in going was to help with relief efforts, but the government is not asking for help only aid that they can distribute. This is obviously frustrating. The good news is that we were able to connect with some local Burmese believers who can take the supplies in and try to pass them out. This, too, is not a guarantee because the government has been confiscating supplies from Burmese who have been passing out food to others. No one but the government seems to be allowed to pass out food. Our hope is that the Burmese believers will be able to get in and pass out the goods. They have many connections in country, plus this will make them shine before their people and not some outsiders.

This is also another reason we came back. If we had stayed we would have been more in the way than we were a help. The group we worked with was working on making connections for long term work and they needed to be able to move freely. Having 5 others to worry about would have made things a little more difficult. Also, by coming home early the money we would have spent on housing, food and transportation is now being given to get more relief supplies to send in with the local Burmese. It was not easy to decide to come home, but the whole team felt this was the wisest decision for each of us and the long term effort.

My heart is still burdened and saddened for the people of Burma. I've noticed that on the news they are not getting much attention anymore, and it will only be a matter of time before they are again forgotten by the popular media. However, my hope is that believers all over the world will engage the Lord in prayer on behalf of these people. I am asking for whoever would like to join me to pray and fast for 3 days for the peoples of Burma. Starting Monday, May 19th I am going to be fasting and praying for three days for Burma.

I will be praying 3 things, 1) That God would move the hearts of government officials to allow others to come in and help with the immediate need of survival and rescue, 2) That God would crush the spirit of Buddhism that has also enslaved these people to darkness and fear and hopelessness, and 3) That God would pour out His Spirit on the peoples and that his kingdom would be advanced among all the people groups of Burma. I invite you to join me in this fast and raise a cry on behalf of those in Burma that have no voice. After being there for just a few days, my heart believes that our response at this time needs to be prayer and fasting. The government is not moved by the UN, the US or the EU. The hope of Burma is not found in political spheres, rather before the God of the universe. Please join me in approaching Him on behalf of the peoples of Burma.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and encouraging words. I was so great to be back in Burma after 7 years. I only wish we could have gone further into the country, but it was not meant to be at this time. The Lord's plans will not fail, and I look forward to what He is doing and what He will do among the peoples of Burma in the coming days, weeks, months and years. Remember these people in your prayers. Thanks again and I love you all!

News from Bryan in Burma

2008-05-12T21:17:00.000-07:00

Here's the latest I have from Bryan from the past few days. Please keep praying for the people of Burma, and the government's decisions. Pray that aid will be welcomed, and that believers who are waiting all around the country would be able to get in and bring light and hope to a dark and hopeless place right now.

May 10th:

We are in Tak, Thailand currently at a "Notel" and Resort...or so the
sign says. Call it a hunch,but I think it's really a Hotel and
Resort. It's really nice and only 10 bucks for the night. Tomorrow
we drive to Mae Sot where we have been told we can a get a daypass
into Burma, and from what we have been told we might be able to get a
30 day Visa once we're in. The Thai officials told one of our members
in the area that people have gotten day passes and not come back.
That could mean they are illegals or they got 30 day Visa's. The Thai
officials seem to think they got 30 day Visa's. So we'll see. This
may be the last email I get out for sometime, but then again who
really knows but the Lord!

May 11:

We are in Mae Sot on the border of Thailand and Burma now.
We found a little free wireless coffee shop that is currently playing
Jack Johnson in the background while I am drinking my iced carmel
machiato. Not Starbucks either!

Anyway, we tried to get daypasses, but it was too late in the day when
we went. So we went down to the river and looked over into Burma and
prayed. I hope so badly that we can get in tomorrow.... They are going to try to bring 30 trash cans
full of goods, and if they get confiscated then we will try again the
next day only go a different route. ... I just heard that our bags
are in route to us and we will have them by midnight. That's good
news! Oh, today we bought tons of supplies to make 30 of these trash
cans. In them is food, stuff to make temporary shelters, a pot, some
cooking oil, mosquito netting, dish soap, bath soap, and a bunch of
other supplies to meet immediate needs. Pray with us that over the
next few days a couple of things will happen: 1) That we get 30 day
visa's, 2) that we can get all the supplies in without being
confiscated and 3) that we can actually make it to Yangon.

Today:

Well, the fact that you are getting this email means we did not make
it into the country on a 30 day tourist Visa. I am not too surprised
by this, as it is very rare to get a Visa at a border town. In almost
all countries, you have to get Visa's through the Embassy in a capitol
city. Anyway, we did get a day pass into Burma today. It was so
strange to be walking in Burma again. I tear up now, though not then,
just thinking about these people. I'm tired of reading all these
reports about those who STILL have nothing.

I will know more tomorrow about what we are doing next and will try to
let you know. Keep praying that we can get Visa's and at
least go among the people and offer comfort and pray for them and with
them.

Pray for Burma!

2008-05-10T02:17:00.000-07:00

Bryan left the country yesterday on 2 days notice and flew to Thailand with a team from our church in hopes of getting in to Burma to aid in relief work and help the survivors of the recent cyclone, Nargis, that has already claimed up to 100,000 lives.

The team landed sometime today in Thailand and got there
safely...unfortunately their luggage did not. However, they were
pretty brilliant and checked their luggage, but carried on the 2 water
filters they had flown to LA that purify over 3500 gallons of water a
day. They are hoping they will be able to use this to get clean water
to the survivors who are still without clean water or food.

Here's the update on getting into the country....

They are in an area where the government is issuing day passes into
Burma. The only catch is that they are only allowed to go in about 5
Kilometers, meaning they wont be able to get anywhere near where the
majority of the damage is. They are very excited to be able to at
least prayer walk on Burmese soil.

Another problem: other trucks and people that have gone in have had
everything they had with them confiscated. Also, the UN was allowed to
bring in tons of food today, but it is currently sitting in storage,
and the government is refusing to give it to the survivors. Please
pray that God would sustain the Burmese people until they are able to
receive food and clean water.

Please pray that God would soften the hearts of those in power, that
he would take the blinders off their eyes, and that He would convict
them of their evil hearts and fill them with compassion. Also pray
that the contact that these officials have with foreigners would be
with God fearing men and women, who, even when it seems impossible,
would treat them with respect and mercy, and be a picture of Christ to
them; ultimately glorifying God with their Christ-likeness and
witness, and hopefully gaining trust for the International community
that longs to help the Burmese in this time of need.
Pray that if they are allowed to get in with day passes, that the
government will see how much they want to help, and not confiscate the
filters. Their hope is that since they are only allowed 5 Kilometers
into the country, they will meet nationals (hopefully some believers
if there is any connection to the underground church) who they will be
able to train to use these filters, and take into the hardest hit
areas. Pray that God would lead them to honest, caring, Burmese men
and women of integrity who would follow through with helping their
people. Also, pray that if they are able to pass the filters on to
Believers, that this would strengthen their witness in a very dark
place.
alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198677502146199122" />

They are waiting to see what happens after Burma has it's election
today on some new policies, and they are hoping this will produce some
changes in the way they are handling foreign aid.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7393588.stm

The team will try to apply for visas first thing Monday morning and
see what happens, but for now, pray that God would give them wisdom
and discernment in their decisions and protect them, that he would
lead them to all the right people, that he would strengthen them in
their weaknesses as they may very soon encounter some very difficult
things to see. Pray He would make a way for them, and others into a
place where their immediate felt needs are great, but their Spiritual
needs are even greater.
Pray that what Satan intends for evil, God would use for good; with
the cyclone, the government, and the death and starvation and
diseases. Pray that just as the water and floods tore through the
country this last week, His Spirit would flood the country with an
even great force. Pray that this would serve as a turning point in
Burma's openness to the Gospel, and that in their brokenness and
grieving, they would recognize their great need for a Savior. Pray
that the Burmese see that their idols offer them nothing, that they
can't save them, that they offer no hope, but that there is One who is
greater and offers hope and comfort and eternal life.

Pray that God would raise up laborers (Romans 9:37 & 38) not only for
disaster relief work, but long term workers who would give their lives
to see the Burmese come to know Christ and find true life in Him.

Christ is worthy of the worship from these people and this could be an
amazing time to begin to plant seeds of the Gospel deep in their
broken hearts.

"Worthy are you to take the book and break it's seals; for You were
slain and purchased for God with your blood men from every tribe, and
tongue and people and nation" Revelation 5:9

Thank God for HIS promises, that He is faithful to keep them;

"...I looked and there before me WAS a great multitude that no one
could count from every nation and all tribes and peoples and
tongues..." Revelation 7:9

Praise God for His sovereignty and His hand in all of this, that He
would receive the glory and worship due His name.

Thank you for praying for Burma and the team, I'll keep you updated as
I hear more.

Democratic Voice of Burma http://www.dvb.no
History Makers http://www.historymakers.info/front_line_news.html

Back Home!

2008-05-05T21:54:00.000-07:00

We're finally back home...even if just for a couple of weeks!

We had about a week at home to hang out with my family in Tulsa, then on to staff training, and we're finally back in Dallas until we leave for Philly on the 25th of May.

We're excited to be back for a few weeks and to catch up with friends and family, and really looking forward to heading back out again for another great summer at the IT Project!

Birthday celebration for Bryan, Dad and Betsy

Me & Betsy, I love my sister!

Isn't she cute??

Again...check Bryan out in all the pictures. I think he's picked up the smile from Nacho Libre..Thanks Leah & MaTassel! :-)

Me, Shannon & Rebecca

Some of the staff girls- Rebecca and I thought this was the 'fun' picture. All we heard was sorority pose...

Our amazing office staff, we love you guys!

And one amazing photo...

Hello from Milwaukee!

2008-04-11T11:17:00.000-07:00

Here are our Highlights and adventures from this past week:

1) A great weekend of 5 services at a church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa:
Bryan did a great job teaching the Biblical Basis Of Missions all day this past Sunday. He even got to be in two places at once with a video service! So, technically, he only spoke 4 times that day, but enjoyed being in 2 places at once for the first time a lot! He also had affirmation that he was funny from a 5 year old girl who had recently been adopted from Liberia.
You can listen to the sermon or watch it here: http://www.newcovenantbible.org/NCBC/ASFRoot/040608a/sermon_new.html

2) A 1-29 & 1-23 instead of 1-1's at St Cloud State!

29 Girls and 23 guys stayed after the meeting to meet with us for more information! It was a great mixed meeting of XA & Cru, and they were such a fun group! They were very responsive during the talk, and tracked with Bryan so well. They laughed at all the right places, which was great to know they were listening, and also gave a lot of "Amens" and "yes's" . It always makes the meetings more fun when students are really into the talk!

3) A special visit from a Bethlehem Baptist college pastor and his crew:

Andrew had heard about TTT before, and found out we were going to be in the area from our website. He brought a group of 5 guys he was discipling with him to the meeting, and even planned in extra time to stay after for 1-1’s. Andrew told us he has maps up all over his apartment, and has the guys praying for the world all the time. The guys had a great time chatting with them and said they were great, and were really encouraged that they came, and drove to us to hear what we had to share!

4) A funny moment for me:

When returning for the last of 4 Church services where I clicked through the power point for Bryan, the man helping verified that I was Bryan’s wife, then with intense excitement, asked if I was a ventriloquist! I tried not to laugh, because I could tell he was very excited at the possibility that I was. He told me that someone in the afternoon had told him I was, and a great one at that, and after 4-5 times of telling him I wasn’t, finally convinced him I didn’t have to amazing skill he thought I did. Thankfully, I didn’t laugh, and tried to say maybe someone thought that because I mouthed all of Bryan’s talk along with him or something. Maybe I’ll learn and do this a little on the road next year...

5) A really fun lunch with some new Ethiopian friends we met last time we were in Minneapolis:

Tsion served us lunch at a Somali restaurant the last time we were in Minneapolis, and when we came back through, we got to take her and her husband, Solomon, and son, Noah out for lunch. It was great seeing them.

6) A superman sighting in Minnesota:

7) A great night off at a Brewers game!
This was our table at Friday’s-overlooking the field! It was great, and way better than our actual $6 seats!

This was the guy’s attempt at smiling for me after they ridiculed me for taking a dumb picture that no one would want later. They were NOT amused. Oh well, at least the faces are priceless.

8) A really encouraging lunch with Milwaukee Cru staff:

Steve, who started the Milwaukee area CCC movement about 15 years ago, has had TTT in all 3 times we’ve come through the area. He thanked us so much for what we do and told us about the impact it’s had on his students, then went on to tell us how much the message had impacted him and the Milwaukee staff as well. He said that because of our vision and passion to share this message and coming through a few years back, it’s changed the way they think about ministry and missions, & has helped them gain vision for the World and shaped the way their team focuses on this! Praise God!

Meetings!

2008-03-31T12:10:00.000-07:00

We just got done speaking at Northwestern College, in Jim Raymo’s missions class. He wrote Marching to A Different Drummer, a great book. Bryan did a great talk on the History of Students in Missions.
And actually, it was his second History talk for the week!
His first came on Monday night when he spoke at Leah VanTassel’s Perspectives Class, Lesson 8! We were just visiting her for the weekend, and had planned to go with her to class for fun. When she realized they were just watching a video, Bryan offered to speak it if she wanted him to. It was so great how it all worked out! With his existing History talk, Claude’s Lesson 8 notes and a couple hours to prepare, he put together a great Lesson 8! The students loved it, and we even ran into some Campus Ministers and students from when we had spoken at their meetings a few weeks back.

Last week we had 3 great IV meetings in the UP, where winter was still in full force and everything froze in our van overnight again. We thought it was Spring, that must just be in all the zones we’re not. Thankfully though, it was beautiful, and we didn’t mind the cold!

And we spent some great time at The Library...
Just kidding, but we did laugh at how clever the name was--cool for all those rebellious freshman, not so cool for the unsuspecting parents.

Tonight we have a meeting at St. Cloud State, just an hour north of Minneapolis, with about 150 students and 3 different ministries represented.

We're nearing the end of our semester, too. We only have a few meetings left! Can't wait to see you all soon!

3 St. Cloud State U XA
6 New Covenant Bible Church
8 UW - Parkside - CCC
8 Marquette University - CCC
10 Milwaukee Sch of Engineering IVCF
15 UW - Milwaukee
17 IA State U CCC

Family News

2008-03-30T13:23:00.000-07:00

We have a new niece!!

This is Elliott Shane Will. She was born on Tuesday, March 25th, and is so beautiful!

She has a proud big sister Harper- who is so adorable! She calls Bryan 'crazy uncle Bryan' because sometimes he forgets his own name, she says. This is such a great picture, she did her own hair this day, Q-tips and all!

My sister Kelly and her husband Addison are such great parents! We can't wait to visit them again soon and meet Elliott, too!
Also, Addison is a great photogropher! Check out his website and the "Baby Series" at AddisonWill.com

My sister Betsy recently chopped off her amazing ringlets for a new look, and it's even cuter than before! She's Emo...and we love the new do!

Betsy and Dad

And... My best friend is getting married!
Michaela just got engaged a few weeks back to Ryan, who was a leader at my first IT Project with The Traveling Team in 2003. They are getting married August 9th, and we are so excited for them! Congrats on the H/W, Mic and Ryan! We love you guys!

Top 10...

2008-03-20T12:37:00.000-07:00

Highlights & Quotes!

I thought I'd update the blog this week with a run down of our top Highlights and favorite things from the past couple weeks on the road. Here they are.

1) A BLIND DATE with some students at a catalytic meeting in Minneapolis. The campus minister had to go to a seminary class last minute, and told us just to show up at the meeting. It was at 2:00 in the afternoon, and started out really awkwardly when the students walked into the room, stared at us for a minute, then asked who we were and what we were doing there.

2) AN AWESOME INTRO at an InterVarsity meeting in Whitewater, Wisconsin: The regular TTT stuff that isn't exactly what we do, then as they introduced each of us, they added these fun bits of info they'd picked up from dinner and conversations before the meeting;
Abbey- Had been on The Price is Right and won
Bryan- Created Facebook??
BV- Can break dance and makes his own pickles

Needless to say, our credibility was pretty high that night with the students.
We actually had a great turn out for 1-1's, too! 13 Girls and 11 Guys stayed after!

3) An unfortunate yet CLASSIC QUOTE from our very own Bryan Padgett at that same meeting:

"I don't want that underwear anyway, it makes my Facebook look funny".

He was talking about the habit of Sending, and how to save money to give more by not buying the dollar gifts on Facebook.

Yikes.

Comparable to his previous quote while in Oregon his first semester on the road. He was talking about the habit of Welcoming Internationals this time, and was telling the students that welcoming was so easy, because there were so many International students on campus there.

He said, "I bet I could swing a dead cat and hit someone from the 10/40 Window"...

It was a joke between he and Todd, his team leader (& TTT's founder). He's never lived that one down.

4) AN AMAZING WEEKEND WITH LEAH VANTASSEL, an IT Project 2005 Alum, and her family in Wisconsin Rapids! We got to relax, eat great home cooked food, go to the family farm, & Sunday family bowling. Thanks for a great weekend Leah!

5) Our 1st visit to a real WISCONSIN CHEESE FACTORY!

Cheese Factory and cheese curds!

The locals motto, “ Be easy with the cheese”.

6) SEEING A GUY GET CHASED down by undercover cops into the middle of the street, pressed up to the wall and handcuffed about 3 feet from me just outside the coffee shop window in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The guys loved the action.

7) Stood in one of the TOP TEN COLDEST PLACES on Earth
...According to David Letterman, and all the students at The University of Wisconsin Eau Claire. It's the bridge connecting the upper and lower parts of campus.

8) MET PAUL BUNYAN and rode his trusty friend, Babe

We think BV is an expert at riding large blue animals.

9) We WENT TRIBAL!
We got to meet some New Tribes Bible Institute staff from the Waukesha campus just outside of Milwaukee. We also got to stay there for the weekend. It was great housing and a great weekend of rest!

10) Visited JELLY BELLY Headquarters!

We took a tour of the factory on a train that drove though it. It was us and 20 small children and one annoying tour guide. Good thing we got free Jelly Beans at the end of it.

I also decided that trying the bad jelly beans is never worth it.
These were Moldy Cheese. I thought it was appropriate since we were in Wisconsin. I was wrong.

As you've seen, we've made some really cool faces in the last couple weeks, too. Here's a few more just for laughs.

The boys got $1 hot dogs at Jelly Belly because they were closing and they couldn’t pas up a steal deal.

Minneapolis

2008-03-14T12:25:00.000-07:00

Minneapolis Skyline

Abbey, Bryan, John Piper & Brian

We visited John Piper's church in Minneapolis over the weekend, and were so refreshed by his teaching. It was amazing to spend time with that body of Believers and be encouraged in the Word after a long couple weeks on the road. After the service, we stocked up on 'Let the Nations Be Glad' at the bookstore to sell to students on the road, and got to meet John. He is a man who has greatly influenced Bryan and I in not only our passion for Christ, but for the Nations to know Him as well. We were able to thank him for the way he's allowed God to use him to speak into our lives, and so many others of our generation. It was a great night!

If you haven't visited already, check out the Desiring God website for some great resources; books, sermons, links and Podcasts. It's an excellent site!

http://www.hopeingod.org/DesiringGod.aspx

We also got to eat some great Somali food while we were there. Minneapolis is said to have the largest Somali population outside of Somalia, and we very excited to eat some great food and meet some Somalis while we were in the city.

99% of the people in Somalia follow Islam, dont know Christ, and have little to no access to the Gospel we hear every week.

Please pray with us for the people in Somalia to know Christ and find life in Him.

Joshua Project has an amazing website where you can find information on the majority of people groups in the world. Here's a link for all the people groups represented in Somalia. Click on the people group name in blue on the left for more info, pictures, maps and specific prayer requests for each people group.

http://www.joshuaproject.net/countries.php?rog3=SO

And, of course, if you visit Minneapolis, you have to visit the Mall of America!

Inside the Mall of America at the Amusement park in the middle of the mall.

Brian outside the Mall

More Iowa Fun

2008-03-12T19:19:00.000-07:00

IT Philly 2007 Alum!

We got to meet up with a bunch of our IT students at Iowa State when we were in Ames for a Reatreat for the church most of the students went to. Bryan did all 4 talks, and did a great job! There were about 100 people who came.

We went out for BBQ with the IT alum and got to catch up, and had a great meeting that night with the Iowa state ministry's Mobilization crew. This was started a few years ago by some students who went to IT and came back and wanted to help mobilize others in their ministry.

There are over 800 college students who are a part of this ministry, and this group is excited about getting into each small group and sharing about God's heart for the nations with the other students. The students are reaching out to International students, studying abroad in groups and being sent out from the church, and praying for the world and teaching others in their ministry to as well.

It is so exciting to see students catching on to God's heart for the Nations and passing it on to others around them! This is what our ministry is all about, and it's so exciting for us to see a little of the fruit of our ministry!

Two of our girls from IT Philly, Jenny & Katie, and their friend Emma (and Jenny's roomate) in their dorm room at Iowa State. Check out the green bumper sticker on the bed!

After a big snow storm, this is what you get along the highway in Iowa- cars broken down everywhere! In just a 2 hour trip, we counted 59 cars along the highway in snow banks! This was #50

Jenny & Kellie, two of the 3 girls in my small group last summer. We're missing Tara from Michigan-we love you Tara!

Sleds, a Frozen Pond, and Some Worms

2008-02-16T18:43:00.000-08:00

After a 12 year hiatus from sledding after falling and breaking my two front teeth out, I dediced to give it another try...it's so much easier sledding on snow instead of ice, who knew? The results were good- no broken teeth. It was a perfect day of some great runs down the hill, wet buts, great weather and lots of laughs. There was one incident, though- a minor wipeout by me, just took out a dog and a small child, no big deal. I would have felt at least a little better if I hadn't hit that dog three times... All in all though, good day!

At the top of the hill

Team 3!

After a great day sledding, we all came back to Craig & Amy's house where we are staying for the week in Iowa City, and Craig took us out to the pond in the back to ice fish! The ice was at least 8 inches thick, no chance of falling through, although I think it would have made for an exciting afternoon and adventure. Maybe next time.

First frozen body of water to stand on ever!

Bryan and Craig drilling the hole

Ladle-ing out the slush

Katie, Andrew & Craig....waiting Waiting...

Waiting...

...Still waiting..

Well, at the end of the day, does it really matter if you caught no fish? I say, it's the memories made, and the pictures you got, that really count.

Marshalltown, Iowa

2008-02-14T10:50:00.000-08:00

...home of Carrie Clement who travels on Team 5 of The Traveling Team. We had an amazing weekend with Carrie's mom, Diane, who took care of us all weekend, made us every meal, made us relax and helped all three of us heal from being sick! It was so great, and we loved getting to spend time with Diane! Here's some pictures from the weekend.

5:45 in the evening, way too early to have temperatures like this!

4 more inches of snow on the existing foot!

The Round House, Carrie's High School Gym.

Team 3, Pebbles: the high school Newspaper Publication- and the Round House in the background.

A little something for fans of Carrie, pictures from every grade growing up. Isn't she so cute?? (By the way, if you want to see this picture larger, you can just double click it!)

Thanks for an amazing weekend in Marshalltown, Diane! Can't wait to see you again soon, Maahm!

More Nebraska

2008-02-14T10:10:00.000-08:00

Snow! It's so beautiful and so much fun!

Doane College, great meeting, and beautiful Winter Wonderland Snowfall.

This might not look like much, however, it's said to be the best Coffee Shop in all of Lincoln (By the locals) - I loved it! Also, where Chelsea Clinton spoke the day we were there. Unfortunately, we had to leave right before she came because it was getting a little too crowded and we felt like we might get stuck in the crowd and not be able to get out in time for our meeting. Unfortunate that we missed her, but still an exciting afternoon waiting for her with all the Hillary fans in Lincoln.

Appearantly this is what happens when you ask a Congressman to take your picture in front of the Capital...

Try #5-much better

Nebraska!

2008-02-06T12:50:00.000-08:00

Wendy's "Stack Attack" burger-more like White Castle burgers...

My Crackers for my Chili-wrapped in tin foil- 3 packs of 2....SHADY!

The Buckle started in Kearney, Nebraska! Who knew the middle of nowhere could produce so much style?

Bryan and Brian at the museum over the Highway with the guy with guns up

The Museum over the Highway-We learned about the Oregon & Mormon trails, the 49ers and the changes the Lincoln HIghway brought through the Midwest. It was great!

Columbus, Nebraska!

Abbey & Brian in Crackers to Caviar-the coffee shop? Or wait- is it Hallmark? Well, we're really not sure. You do what you can in small towns. It was better, however, than the grocery store we had our team meeting that morning in!

More stuff!

Bryan working in the coffee/gift shop.

Bryan's artwork of the Columbus sunset

The blizzard in Nebraska

Road conditions were crazy! (Well, for us Texans, anyway)

New Spring Schedule!

2008-01-24T11:59:00.000-08:00

We're heading out for the semester again, and this time with a team of three; Bryan, myself, and Brian Villarias who we traveled with last semester. We'd love for you to track with us as we go and pray for us!

Here are some specific prayer points for us this semester.

-Safe travel through all the snow and ice!
-Favor with campus ministers
-Students to truly grasp the message of what God is doing in the world and to understand their responsibility in that.
-Students to respond well and sign up to meet with us one to one
-Great rest & energy, this is a little bit longer semester.
-Perspectives classes, retreats and church meetings to go well.
-Extra energy for Abbey being the only one meeting and emailing girls on the road this semester
-Time management for all of us
-Bryan, as he is planning for and scheduling speakers for IT Philly

Spring 2008
Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota

January
24 U of NE-Kearney NAVS
28 Columbus Community C CCC
30 U of NE-Lincoln CSF
31 U of NE-Omaha CCC

February
1 U of NE-Lincoln NAVS
3 Cedar Falls, IA Perspectives
5 Doane C CCC
7 U of NE-Lincoln CCC
13 U of IA CSF
14 Parkview+ 24-7
19 U of Northern IA NAVS
20 Dana C CCC
21 Christ Community+ Thursday Night 8:08
23 Cornerstone+ Perspectives Exposure
25 U of WI-Stevens Point IVCF
26 Black Hawk+
27 U of WI-Whitewater NAVS
28 U of WI-Madison IVCF
29 U of WI-Stevens Point CCC Leadership

March
2 U of WI-River Falls CCC/AIA Leadership
4 Minneapolis Community C CCC
4 U of WI-River Falls CCC
5 North Hennepin Community C CCC
6 U of WI-Whitewater IVCF
10 U of WI-Eau Claire IVCF
13 Carroll C IVCF
20 Chicago, IL Perspectives
26 Lake Superior State IVCF
27 Northern MI U CCC/IVCF
28 MI Technological U IVCF

April
1 U of MN-Duluth CCC
3 St. Cloud State U XA
6 New Covenant Bible+
10 Milwaukee Sch of Engineering IVCF
17 IA State U CCC

2008-01-13T19:59:00.000-08:00

In the summer of 2002, I had the privilege of taking the course Perspectives on the World Christian Movement. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but happened over the 15 lessons has changed my life forever. I do not mean this to be taken as cliche. It is anything but that. God used this class to transform the way I think, live, spend, etc. It transformed the way I viewed the Bible, History and Culture. It taught me to see my life as purposeful in God's global agenda.

This course is not for everyone, though I wish it was. It has a lot of reading which eliminates many, but do not let that scare you. The reading takes some time, but it's not impossible. What you will be required to read over 15 weeks, I read in 15 days. (That's the length of the course I took.) You can do it! You will hear from some amazing speakers who will challenge your way of thinking about such words as missions, church planting, contextualization, etc. You will meet other believers from churches in your area who will embrace God's heart for the nations with you and bring a unity that is desperately needed among believers. This course will change your life, your plans, your future, your present!

I want to recommend taking this course this semester in your area. To find the class closest to you go to www.perspectives.org and type in your zip code. This class in taking place in over 200 cities in America, and has been taken by over 70,000 believers since 1974 when it started. Also, don't let the costs scare you away. It is an investment, but trust me it is a worthy investment. Also, please note that this class is NOT and I repeat, NOT for missionaries only. In fact, the desire is for believers from all walks of life to take this course and become united around God's global agenda no matter where they are and what they are doing. So please pray and consider this course this semester. Don't go alone either, bring a friend, family member, Sunday School class, your whole church.

If you'd like to know more or have any questions, please contact us. We would love to answer any questions or help however we can!

www.perspectives.org

Check out the video on this link:
http://www.perspectives.org/site/c.eqLLI0OFKrF/b.3222967/

Fiesta!

2008-01-13T19:18:00.000-08:00

We got to hang out with our home group one last time tonight before we leave Dallas until May. We love our home group and will miss them so much! They've been such a blessing to us and we are so thankful for the friendships and fellowship God has blessed us with here in Dallas. We can't wait to get back and hang out again in May!

Staci with her Birthday 7 layer dip! (& Kaydon, too!)

Jamie and Brian and Kristi

Adam & Lisa, and Jeremy and Kaydon

Ryan & MaryKay

Chris & Jennifer and Bryan & Abbey - old neighbors back together again!

Dean & Cherry's Wedding!

2008-01-08T18:26:00.000-08:00

One of our great friends Dean got married this weekend in Arkansas to an amazing girl, Cherry. Bryan and Dean traveled together the fall of 2005, and the three of us spent that summer together in LA at our IT Project. Dean asked Bryan to be a groomsman in the wedding, and it was such an honor to be a part of their special day. We're so excited for them and love them so much. Congrats D & C!

The Traveling Team (some of TTT anyway) at the wedding. Dean & Cherry are such a good looking couple!

(Todd, Jess & Cam, Rebecca, Claude, Bryan & Abbey, Dean & Cherry, Alicia, Brian, Rebecca, and Erin & Aiden)

Us & Alicia! Alicia said this was a 'fun' picture, interesting how Bryan and I both made similar faces and Alicia looks so cute :-) Bryan's faces are always good for a good laugh though, that's for sure!

Christmas #3

2007-12-29T13:37:00.000-08:00

We left Dallas late Christmas Eve and surprised my parents by being there when everyone woke up Christmas morning. It was so much fun being with my family on Christmas- we just sat around and talked all morning about all that God has done in our lives this year, about the true worth of Christ, then prayed together and finally opened gifts sometime before dinner. We also went over to my aunt and uncle's house that evening- a Christmas day tradition, and hung out and played games. This was definitely one of the best Christmas' I can ever remember.

When a rare moment like this comes- you just have to get a picture of it! My dad was really excited about the stockings we gave them, and even more excited when he realized that they were matching and he could wear them, along with the reindeer antler headband my mom gave Betsy and I.

A REAL Christmas tree! First one in 15-20 years? It smelled so great!

"Quiet Morning"

Bryan & I

Everybody hanging out

Uncle Gary and Aunt Ann

My beautiful sister, Betsy

Family Games

Christmas #2

2007-12-29T13:20:00.000-08:00

Christmas #2 was at Bryan's Grandparents on Christmas Eve with all his siblings and all the aunts and uncles. We all drew names for gifts, the best way to go with big families, and got to hang out all day and catch up on everyone's lives. Christmas #2 was tons of fun and lots of laughs this year.

Bryan's beautiful sisters-Page and Stacy

Stacy & her husband Erik

Aunt Melanie from Florida

Abbey & Page and new Christmas earrings- I was a little jealous that Page's had jingle bells, maybe next year.

Linda learning Dean's classic sorority pose

Linda, Page & Abbey with great new Christmas earrings from our stockings- thanks Grandma!

Jackie & JoJo

Grandpa eating Christmas dinner

JoJo & Jonathan

Christmas #1

2007-12-29T11:56:00.000-08:00

Sunday before Christmas we were able to get together with Bryan's dad and Aunt Sue to celebrate. Page & Shane, Bryan's brother and sister were there, and Page's friend from church, Simeon. Simeon told us all great stories of growing up in Zambia and what's its been like for him to come to the US. We even got to go to our Christmas service at The Village that evening, it was a great day!

Pat, Shane, Page, Aunt Sue, Simeon, Bryan and Abbey

Bryan's football shaped Raisin Pie-good thing it tasted so good!

Page & Abbey

Date Nights!

2007-12-26T09:56:00.000-08:00

Its so wonderful to be back in Dallas for a break and get some real dates with my hubby! We dont get a ton of alone time on the road, and it's definitely a great opportunity to learn to be creative, but it's been great getting some real dates while we're back.

Fun Thai restaurant and a new great movie, Bella. Check it out here: http://www.bellamoviesite.com/site/

Driving through "Prairie Lights"- there were over 3 million lights, who doesn't love looking at Christmas lights??

Halfway through Prairie Lights was a small carnival where we got Kettle corn and hot apple cider- great date!

The tunnel of lights

Thanksgiving in Dallas

2007-12-26T09:46:00.001-08:00

We got to spend Thanksgiving with both families this year in Dallas, it was great. And, miracle of all miracles, it snowed Thanksgiving day! Although it didn't stick as usual, it did come down in the form of snowballs -Bryan tried to catch a few, it was pretty fun to watch. We also got to watch OSU lose to OU yet again, but the company and enchiladas were good!

Bryan catch snowballs in his mouth

Kissing in the falling snow!

Bryan and Mic

Christy and Michaela

The Murphy/Padgett clan -Richard, Mary, Betsy & Bryan and I

Chicago!

2007-12-23T18:54:00.000-08:00

Chicago was so much fun! We got the grand tour from some great friends, Steven and Lauren (soon to be married!) with an itinerary and all! We should have taken a picture of it, it had a great title-'The Traveling Team does Chicago'. We also got to hang out with Josh, Stevens brother and his girlfriend Katie and another friend Jasmine, too. It was such a great day! Thanks guys, you're the best!

The whole group on our Architecture tour. It was a great way to see the city!

The gang in front of "The Bean"

Chicago skyline reflection in The Bean

View from the lake on the Architecture tour

The guys on the boat

Best Pizza in Chicago!

The group at Gino's

The graffiti walls at Gino's

Classic Chicago style popcorn

Celebration Dinner and... Crash??

2007-12-22T20:47:00.001-08:00

We got to celebrate a GREAT semester our last week on the road in Chicago with a fun dinner together! The four of us had a great time talking about the semester and enjoyed some superb desserts-especially the boys. After our celebration dinner we headed to our very last meeting at Columbia College in downtown Chicago and then home to sleep to enjoy some sightseeing in Chicago the next day before we headed home.

However, instead of getting home to our great hotel beds, we fell prey to a stolen car hit and run! It was midnight in Chicago and traffic was still crazy- and not just us but 3 other cars got hit too! We were all sent to a parking lot off the highway where we found out from the cops that the woman driving the car hit all 4 of us, then sped of in her stolen car only to have the tires catch on fire and blow out, run from the car and not get caught! It was definitely a crazy night. God is so good, though! I mean, if you're going to get hit, not bad timing, 10 minutes after our very last meeting, none of us got hurt, and we were still able to drive the car all the way home to Oklahoma. Pretty exciting story, just not cool for the van.

Dinner at Claim Jumper

MMMM!!! & really cool face from Bryan :-)

Well....????

Us, the cops and the other 3 cars that got hit.

Illinois

2007-12-22T20:36:00.000-08:00

More fun from the road!

The "Tool"

Abbey meeting with some girls from University of Illinois

More coffee shops and free wifi! Bryan, Brian and Amber.

Brian giving his testimony at a Crusade meeting at U of I

Bryan giving the Biblical Basis at U of I

Partnering Agencies and really great people!

2007-12-12T16:11:00.000-08:00

One of the really neat things about traveling all over the country is that we often get to hang out with some of our partnering Agencies and some of our favorite people! In Indianapolis, we met up with Jennifer from Cafe 10/40 and got to hear her speak (she did a great job!) at a conference and then head to lunch afterwards. It was great getting to catch up with her and hear more about how we can best mobilize students to their summer project in North Africa. As an added bonus to getting to hang out with her, she also gave everyone on the team iTunes gift certificates, a much appreciated gift as a Traveler! Thank Jennifer- you're the best!

Lunch with Jennifer

When we were in Chicago, we got to visit TEAM's headquarters and meet a lot of the staff there. We got a fun welcome when we came in, the official tour of the office, insiders info about the best pizza joints in Chicago, where we could find members of the mob, and the royal treatment of donuts and Starbucks and a panel of a few staff members to tell us more about current opportunities with the organization. It was a great visit- we wish we could have stayed longer!

We also got to hang out with one of TTT's favorites, Justin Kron who speaks at IT every year. We finally got to meet his beautiful family, but sadly, somehow we didn't get any pictures of the day. He introduced us to the "Italian Beef", Chicago's version of the Philly Cheese Steak. We all approved- and wanted more.

We love getting to meet up with our partnering Agencies! It allows us to meet the people we are working with and emailing all of the student's info to, and we get to learn more about their hearts and their vision to reach the Nations. We can also learn what opportunities there are for students with different majors and skills, and how to best mobilize to their Agency. And we get to hang out with some of the coolest people around!

Halloween on the Road

2007-11-03T14:12:00.000-07:00

When you have a meeting on Halloween night, there's not much hope of trick-or-treating. Forget the fact that you're already over-age for that sort of thing, and you have no children with you as your excuse, but you can't go because you're working. Well, when you're on the road, have a little extra time and no where to go, you might just get creative with some crayons and your dinner plates from the restaurant you just ate at. When Amber and I realized we had a whole hour before we had to be at the meeting, our creative juices started flowing, and we came up with a way to get costumes and trick-or-treat. Amber ended up going as a Pumpkin, and I was a Pig, tail and all. We made it to about 5 or 6 houses, and had half a bag full of candy to share with the boys who followed us in the van before the meeting. What a great Halloween! We also got to carve a team pumpkin and roast the seeds a while back so I posted the pics here with the other Halloween fun.

Dearborn, Michigan: the REAL Ford Country

2007-11-02T13:08:00.000-07:00

Our amazing friends in Ypsilanti, MI, Eric & Sherry, set us up with tickets to the Ford Rouge factory where they assemble all their F-150's, the Ford Museum & Greenwich Village, where Ford brought in all kinds of historical buildings and Model T's are still driving around. It was so much fun, and a 'have to' they say, when you're in Michigan. Eric works at Ford, so it was even more fun getting to see a little of his world. We also got to spend some time on the University of Michigan's campus sharing the gospel with students. It's great and refreshing to be able to share the gospel with students when we work with Christian groups most of the time we are on the road. We got to see the first Mustang, the actual bus Rosa Parks sat on, The chair Lincoln was shot in, the farm house Henry Ford grew up in and a remake of the original Henry Ford motor company building from downtown Detroit. Enjoy the pics!

Random Fun

2007-10-29T12:25:00.001-07:00

This post doesn't need too much explanation...it's just for a few good laughs!

We picked our own team pumpkin from a real pumpkin patch in Michigan our last week there and carved a Jack-O-Lantern of an alien for our friends we stayed with. Also during the week, we found some great look-a-like pumpkins of each of us! It's unfortunate how similar that pumpkin and I really do look alike....

We also had the privilege of receiving a ticket from a cop in training for turning right on red on Michigan State's campus "because we were from out of town". He told us we had to pay $100 cash to get our license back, and when we only had $55, he asked if anyone else in the van had a $20 bill. We didn't, so he told us he'd take the $55 instead of the full $100. Shady... not to mention, what happened to grace BECAUSE you're from out of town?? It did, however, get even better than that. We were late for our meeting because the cop in training took so long, but we just happened to get pulled over directly in front of the room where our meeting was. The campus minister welcomed us to his meeting by walking out the door asking, "Are you the law-breakers?" Smooth...But it did provide some great laughs, and a good picture. You can even see the window of the room we spoke in in the background!

Campus Meetings

2007-10-29T11:18:00.000-07:00

Bryan speaking at Eastern Michigan

Abbey sharing testimony at University of Michigan

Bryan speaking at Saginaw Valley State University

Brian in a one-to-one meeting

Abbey meeting with girls at Central Michigan

When cruise time in the family van is over and we set foot on the campus for the day's meeting, we usually first meet up with the campus minister and leadership team for dinner to get to know them, and then head on to the ministry's large group meeting for the week.

We'll typically have anywhere from 20-500 students at the large group meetings where we share our 45 minute presentation. Brian Villarias kicks us off by introducing us and sharing his story of how God gave him a heart for the world, followed by 30 minutes of Bryan going Genesis to Revelation showing that God's heart for the Nations is evident beginning to end and that He desires and deserves worship from every tongue, tribe, people and nation. After Bryan shares the conclusion, Revelation 7:9, he explains the task remaining and about the almost 2 Billion unreached who have never once heard the gospel. Amber and I come up after that and each share how God used this message in our lives and how we've lived differently as a result. Bryan comes back up after us and challenges the students to embrace God's heart for the nations and be a part of what He's doing in the world by giving them practical applications and steps they can take to begin growing in what we call a 'World Christian lifestyle' (praying for the world, sending others, going yourself, welcoming Internationals and mobilizing others to be a part of what God is doing in the world).

After a meeting is over, we'll normally hang around for a while, talking to students and helping them get more resources at our book table, and invite them to meet with us 1-1 for more information if they are interested.

In the 1-1 time, we might have just one student, or a group of 5-10, and we walk them through an illustration that looks further into what a World Christian's lifestyle looks like and how they can mobilize others on their campus and home churches. We also connect them with specific opportunities to go overseas with 10 partnering mission agencies, and opportunities to get more training as well as prayer maps, books and videos to help them learn more about what God is doing in the world and how they can be a part.

Because we have such a short time on each campus, we keep in touch with students through email regularly, and by the end of a semester, we might have anywhere from 75-150 students we've met with personally. So far, I've met with 122 girls, and we still have 14 meetings left to go! We also pass the student's info on to our partnering agencies and our home office, so not only are they getting personal emails from us, but they are getting all kinds of info, resources, opportunities and personal emails from our contacts at each of our agencies as well. This is a great reminder and encouragement to them that they have a responsibility in World Evangelization, and a specific part to play in that.

We love getting to be a part of seeing students all across the nation catch this vision of what God is after, worship from among the nations, and their eyes light up and light bulbs go on as they begin to understand that they are part of something so much bigger than themselves. It is such a joy connecting with these students, we love our job!

More Pictures for Going Back in Time

2007-10-19T14:13:00.000-07:00

Zone 7

Donuts and Cider, MMM!

Going Back in Time

2007-10-19T13:35:00.000-07:00

It's nearing the end of October, but I'm going to go back in time a little and fill you in on all that you've missed between the last post and now, almost a month ago! I'm still learning to blog and keep up with life- I'll eventually get better about posting more regularly! Once October hit, meetings doubled, our numbers did more than that, we ran out of agency packets to give to students, sold out of books (almost twice now) and have had a whirlwind of a month! It's been such a great semester so far! I'll do a different post for each week and finally catch you all up to speed with where we are now, Bloomington, Indiana! Enjoy your journey back over our last month!

After the Apple Orchard, we headed on to our next campus, but not before getting to visit Rob Bell's church in Grand Rapids, Michigan (It was great!) and seeing an old friend and IT Alum, Jessica, who was in my small group at IT '05 in LA. We also got to visit and stay at the New Tribes Bible Institute for a few days. One of the girls from my small group this summer in Philly, Tara, is a student there now after enrolling this past fall and loves it! It was so fun seeing her, and we had such a great and refreshing time! The staff hooked us up with amazing housing, our own apartment, food for three days, New Tribes T-shirts and coffee mugs, and a tour of the campus and a whole morning sitting in on classes. Bryan also got to speak in their chapel for a few minutes! The speaker didn't show up on time for the chapel that morning, and the President asked Bryan if he could throw something together last minute. That just happens to be his speciality, and we always give the same presentation, anyway, so we were ready. The speaker ended up showing up, but Bryan still got to share for a few minutes, and the students were actually really challenged and impacted by all that he managed to squeeze into his 5 minutes. It was great fun, and we learned first hand what a great Bible Institute it was! If you are interested, check it out here: http://www.ntm.org/ntbi/bi_overview.php?page=ntbi

From there we headed on to Detroit to meet up with a great friend, and new Traveling Team staff member, Shannon. She had an amazing weekend planned for us, complete with tickets to a Detroit Tigers game, lots of football, darts and great ethnic food, a 150 year old Cider mill with great cold CIder and cider donuts, and a meeting with her friends and supporters from church to give them a better picture of life on staff with TTT. The Tigers game was very exciting- we sat 10 rows up from the field behind 3rd base and were blessed with multiple foul balls. The guys thought it was really cool, Amber and I realized we were safe nowhere and feared for our lives. The guys left to get some food during an inning, and they missed all the action of a home run, lots of high 5's with our new friends sitting around us, and one man being taken out on a stretcher after he was hit in the head with one of those foul balls. They missed all the action, but we felt much safer on their return. The Tigers ended up winning the game and there was a great fireworks show afterwards, too. What a fun weekend in Detroit, thanks Shannon!

The Perfect Saturday

2007-09-26T11:38:00.000-07:00

What better way to spend a Saturday than hanging out in an Orchard in Michigan picking your own apples and raspberries, eating fresh apple pie and seeing Lake Michigan? The day started out pretty good, too. We got to sleep in, run in the beautiful crisp air of Michigan, have amazing Middle Eastern food, the best Baklava I've ever eaten, and see a "G Sale". The picture doesn't even need explaining, it was just that good it explains itself. It was so beautiful at the orchard, it almost looked like a painting, but it wasn't, God is just that good! It was wonderful to get some fresh air and actually pick and eat our own apples. BV had a knife with him and cut us each pieces so we could taste each one before we picked them (or left them if they were too sour). We had our fill of fiber for the day for sure :-). The orchard was about 5 miles from the Lake, and even though we didn't get to walk the shoreline, the view was incredible. It doesn't even look like a lake, but more like an ocean. It was great. We also got to hang out with some new friends from the road, a really fun couple (campus ministers) and eat a home cooked meal and watch some fun re-runs of The Office. Does it get any better than that? It really was the perfect Saturday!

Fun on the Road

2007-09-20T12:31:00.001-07:00

Downtown Chicago from the Highway

Two weeks into our time on the road, we've had tons of fun in the van, seen some great friends & IT alum in The Windy City, Steven & Lauren, eaten some amazing Greek food, stayed at The Hilton (thanks Steven & Lauren!!), laid eyes (& fingers) on a Rolls Royce without setting off an alarm, spent countless hours in coffee shops, attended a bonfire and spoken to over 500 students and had about 50 one to one meetings with students giving them more resources and information on what God is doing in the world and challenging them to see how they fit into that. So far...really great!

Meeting #1!

2007-09-20T12:21:00.001-07:00

Our very first meeting of the semester was a Chapel at a Baptist College in Arkansas with over 400 students. It was a great meeting and we had some good one to one meetings with a few of the students afterwards. On our way to the meeting from Tulsa, we got to hang out with Todd & Jess Ahrend and baby Cam where the guys played golf and the girls just stared at Cam and got to talk to Jess all day. On the way back from the meeting, we stopped in Conway and had lunch with our amazing office staff, then headed on to Tulsa to speak at Asbury before we officialy made it to Zone 7. What a great start to the semester!

And We're Off...

2007-09-20T12:01:00.001-07:00

The Team & our scheduler Brian, Amber, Erin, Abbey & Bryan

We are finally traveling after committing to TTT over 2 years ago, and are so excited! We have a great team, Bryan & I, Brian Villarias from Seattle, WA and Amber Osborne from Alma, AR. The four of us will be traveling from the beginning of September until Thanksgiving through Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. We have an amazing schedule thanks to Erin who works in our office. Here's our schedule for the semester. Wed love for you to track with us and pray for us as we go!

Team 3 Zone 7
September
5 Williams Baptist
6 Asbury United Methodist Church
7-8 Evansville, IN
11 Ferris State IVCF
13 Grand Valley State IVCF
18 Central Michigan IVCF
20 Western Michigan His House
27 Eastern Michigan His House
28 Univ. of Michigan CCC

October
2 Saginaw Valley His House
3 Northwood Univ. XA
4 Central Michigan His House
5 Michigan State IVCF Grad
8 Bethel College
10 Indiana State CO
11 IUPUI Fort Wayne IVCF
16 IU Bloomington CCC
17 Univ of Southern Indiana CO
18 Vincennes CCF
19 IU Bloomington Navs
24 Univ of Indianapolis CCC
25 Ball State CCC
26 Purdue IVCF
29 Illinois College BASIC
30 Eureka CCC
31 Monmouth CCC

November
1 Northern Illinois CCC
3 Illinois State CCC
4 Eastview Christian Church FUEL
6 Lincoln College CCC
7 Bradley Univ CCC
8 Univ of Illinois Champaign IVCF
9 Univ of Illinois Urbana IVCF
11 Univ of Illinois CCC Leadership
12 Univ of Illinois CCC
15 Elmhurst CCC
16 Columbia College CCC

**Campus Minitries
CCC- Campus Crusade for Christ
IVCF - Intervarsity Christian Fellowship
XA - Chi Alpha
BASIC - Brothers and Sisters in Christ

Learning to Blog...

2007-09-20T11:47:00.000-07:00

I have finally caught on to the blogging phenomenon that has swept through my generation, but somehow left me untouched. I'll use the term 'caught on' loosely though. After promising to start one 5 months ago to keep friends and family updated on our lives, and two months of trying to figure out how to make this thing work, I think I may have 1 succesful post... we'll see. Most of our life and ministry happens on the road while we're gone from home and we want to be able to share that with you. Hopefully, this is a place where that can happen! Bear with me as I learn to use the internet, haha, and blog. Hope you enjoy stories and pictures from our life on the road, what an adventure! Happy Reading!