Fall 2012 - Thompson Family Update

Summer time in Southern Oregon is a good time to appreciate the outdoor activities. Our community is a rural farming community and summer means production, harvesting and the growers market. Going to the market just a half mile from our home allows us to visit with members of the community and outreach to the locals with whom we have become familiar. We love the opportunities we have to share our lives with our neighbors and inspire dialogue about our family, work, and beliefs. 

Tim's volunteer work at Pacifica is beginning to show fruit. The organization is moving a local mail order nursery to the land to help generate revenue for the non-profit. As Chairman, Tim is active in the  exchange and is organizing the efforts to make the new operation functional and profitable in the years to come. The work is all volunteer, but the experience is invaluable for our own ministry. Tim's leadership is appreciated by the board of directors and the 23 employees. We are praying for strength and wisdom to guide and be a witness to this organization.

In September are hosting the wedding of our niece Jennifer, who has lived with us for the past two years. It is a true blessing to have her part of our lives and bring some femininity to our family. She is marrying  wonderful man, Michael, and they are moving back to Portland after the wedding. We will miss her. Please pray for Michael and Jennifer as they begin their life together. 

As we prepared for the fall, we are planning weekly classes to further last years World View classes. We hope to organize two missions trips this year, to San Francisco and Seattle, where we take the time the serve as well as engage the culture and learn of the competing accepted worldviews that oppose Christianity. The students will be able to engage and dialogue with others of different beliefs and spend time defending their faith. 

Please pray for:

• Our students. We have interested individuals for this fall. Some are coming from difficult situations in church and family.
• Our programs. We are defining new objectives for short term programs and weekly meeting times. 
• Outreach. Pray the Lord guides our efforts and softens the hearts of our community for us to make an impact. 
• Our family. As we move forward into a busy season, our family needs guidance and protection.

Away in Canada but still taking away from NEXT

I can't believe we have been away for 4 months already. I grieve the home and family I came to know in Oregon but I have to say that God sure did move and work in that place and continues to in my life even while we are 4600km away. For those who don't know how far that is, it's the distance from California to New York.

Every day I use the things I learned at NEXT. And what's next for us? I don't really know but it looks like whatever and wherever we are, we will constantly be using the knowledge taken from Oregon from the NEXT program, to Household of Faith, to our friends Tim and Katie, to the work at the ranch Pacifica. I could go on and on. I have not learned as much in my life, about life as I did in Oregon and I pray that God keeps doing that in my life even while away.

We miss you Oregon people :D God bless you this year.

Getting to Know the Community

Hey,

I just wanted to share a bit about some of the ministry we've been doing from this big gorgeous house. I should start off by telling you about how it all started...

For the first few months feelings for me had been up in the air. Having just moved away from everything I knew for the first time in my life, I didn't really know where I was to fit in; as a mother, a wife and as someone wanting to serve God and reach out to other people too. Then I reached breaking point. I didn't know what in the world God had me here for. He was clearly telling Dan what he was supposed to be doing but as for me, I just had no idea. I started reading James one night and stopped at James 1:26. Then, as most peoples brains do when they're tired, mine started wandering away and I was thinking about the community again and how to get involved. I thought, "Maybe I'll write to the community and see if anyone would like to come over for dinner. Maybe somehow I could find the hungry people and the lonely people and have them over for dinner." I realized my mind had gone off on a tangent and this is what James 1:27 reads: "Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world." Isn't that just crazy! So right away I put out a message on our local email list opening up our house to dinner for the people in the community.

It has been fruitful. Some nights are not as full as others but each week we are able to minister to a great group of people. Dinner's usually start at 6 or 630. Well, I had gotten many RSVP's for dinner yet no one was there by 630. Dan asked me to pray for dinner and I actually said no the first time...then he asked me again and I got the point; he wasn't asking. So I prayed, thanked God for the food and asked Him to please do with Thursday dinners as He wishes. I was discouraged as you can tell by the prayer. Well, within 5 minutes, our guests arrived. They were wonderful. All three of them piled out of the car with open arms and as I greeted them, they embraced me as if they were hugging a friend they hadn't seen in years. It was a wonderful evening. Our neighbors on our property also came up later and we had a great conversation.

This ministry has meant a lot to me. Wednesdays (Chapel) and Thursday nights are my favorite nights of the week. I guess it's because this house is being used for it's purpose. To reach out to people here and that is really what it has become. Thank you to all who are helping to make this happen here. It means the world to me!

Amy