How It's All Falling Together....For Our Good and For God's Glory

So, the idea to go to Staten Island wasn't orignal to me or to Kody.  A group from our little church in the middle of no where went last spring to help our friend, Ray Desiderio with his youth ministry to inner-city kids in Staten Island....but Ray actually lives an hour and a half away in New Jersey.  But my adventures with Ray go way back...about 10 years!  I met Ray in Miami, Florida when a bunch...about 600 teens met all the adult leaders there for the Brio mission trip to Caracas, Venezuela in June 2001.  Seems like a distant memory looking back.  Ray has made a trip out here almost every year to hang out with the Blair clan and me, and to go skiing out here on a "real" mountain :)  Little did I expect that I would be going to his stomping grounds 10 years later to help him with his ministry to kids to desperately need to know the love of Jesus.

Kody doesn't know Ray, but Kody has an amazing heart and he loves Jesus.  That's about all ya need if you ask me.  He isn't tied to much here, and is in a cool spot to be in as a young person.  Be praying that God would use him mightily in the lives of these kids, and that God would work in and through Kody.  This young man can be a world changer.  He has the heart of a lion :) 

My situation is a little more unique.  I got hurt on the job almost a year ago, and the surgeon told me at the beginning of September that the odds were unlikely that I would be able to lift over 125 lbs ever again with the condition of my thumb.  That means my days of working on the ambulance are over.  The cool thing is that I am perfectly ok with that.  It frees me up to have a new adventure!!  Mike Blair and I had talked about it, and that SAME day Ray was venting to Mike about needing fresh people to help him with his ministry...Mike dropped my name and the ball started rolling.  I am technically still employed with AMR, but I am not able to work.  They have to decided to either place me in another spot within the company or to settle with me and send me down the road.  Either way, PRAISE GOD.  But right now, I have the time and the freedom to go hang with Ray and help him love on these kids.  They are just younger versions of what I used to be.  Broken hearted, angry, hurting, and needing Jesus and a friend.  I can do this thing!!!

So, Kody and I are taking off October 11th in the morning.  We are driving my little Honda Civic accross the US to get to these kids and to Ray.  We covet your prayers!  Pray for our safety and sanity.  For God to use us however He sees fit.  Pray that WE stay out of the way and that we be God's instruments in these kids' lives and in Ray's ministry.  Pray that my gut behaves itself while I'm over there.  Pray that I would know in this 4-5 weeks if this could be a permanent fixture for me.  Pray that God would speak to Kody's heart about a direction for his life.  Pray that my little car be the most amazing car on the road!!!  Pray that we would have amazing amounts of fun and that we would be amazing ambassadors for Jesus Christ and for South Clackamas Community Church.  We love our little body who is sending us and we love our families!!!  I will do my best to throw updates on here and to post pictures as I can.