As I shared in my last update, one of the things I felt the Lord say to me for this year was, “no more coasting.” As I look back over the last 4 months, all I can say is “Wow, Lord, you really really weren’t kidding!!!” Shortly after I sent my last update, things in almost every area of my life shifted into high gear! Last year was all about hope in the waiting. Well friends, it would seem that this season of waiting is very decidedly over!!!

Over the past few months, God has shown again and again his love and faithfulness. There have been projects, deadlines, and travel in addition to the normal daily and weekly things, and a couple of huge gifts (so keep reading!)! Here is a Spring summary:

• Praise the Lord, in a team effort, we overhauled the LOWPC website – both content and design!! Check it out at http://www.lowpc.org. It is much improved and a better reflection of who/what we are!! We also have plans for adding more resources pages for our county wide prayer strategy. This simple strategy has become an equipping tool for unified prayer in other cities across the nation and even internationally!! We are humbled and amazed to see what the Lord is doing with this!
• The month of April was hectic but rich. First, I was blessed to attend the annual leadership conference at Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch with the Promise 23 team. It was encouraging and refreshing, and was about 10% about horses and 90% straight up solid ministry equipping – and the theme was “Deeper – Jesus First.” After getting home, we dove straight into fundraiser mode, with annual fundraisers for both the Prayer Center and Promise 23 in the same weekend. What a joy to be able to share what the Lord is doing with many new friends!! We were blown away by the generous outpouring of support in response to these events. Our only hiccup at the LOWPC event was that we ran out of parking and had to quickly send someone to direct people to another parking lot across the street. It was a good problem to have. You can check out the LOWPC fundraiser and other testimony videos HERE. Finally, at the end of April, two of my dear friends got married and I had the joy of celebrating with them and serving as a bridesmaid.
• Through the spring, the LOWPC core leadership team has been going through a book called “The Advantage” together. The four main points are 1. Build a cohesive leadership team, 2. Create Clarity, 3. Overcommunicate Clarity, and 4. Reinforce Clarity. I get to plan and facilitate these discussions, and they have been challenging (in a good way) and insightful so far! We will continue pressing on through the summer.
• Promise 23 is going for this year’s season. We have welcomed two new session leaders onto the team. We recently celebrated the growth and accomplishments of the ladies we met last year. Engedi continues to grow, and by God’s grace we are growing with them! I have also had the honor of walking alongside a couple of these precious ladies as their Phase 2 mentor. Each is so unique in their journey! I get to meet with them weekly and pray with/for them as we pursue Jesus together.
• This month at LOWPC we held our second training day – we’re calling the session “Intro to LOWPC”. It’s for those who are new to the prayer center and/or have been around for a while, and might want to get more involved. We team-teach the sessions, share our mission/vision/values/strategy, and share how people can get involved at the PC This year we have seen great growth in early morning men’s prayer meetings!! Praise the Lord!

So those are some of the “broad strokes”, as team member Scott Flora is fond of saying, of this year so far for me at LOWPC and Promise 23. So far this year the Lord has also blessed me with two precious gifts that I excited to share with you!

New tools of the trade:

Sometimes we’re too tough for our own good…Over the many years of playing guitar, teaching, leading worship, etc, I’ve played guitars that I have loved the sound of but that haven’t been the best fit ergonomically. Over the past few years, I’ve begun to pay for that, to the point where my right shoulder and wrist have been in fairly constant pain. The only thing that really relieves that pain is if I don’t play guitar for an extended period of time, which for me is not really an option. So I’ve played through the pain. Last summer I got to work with a strength trainer/posture specialist, who confirmed what I was suspecting: I needed a smaller guitar – one about two inches deep. That size takes me out of the realm of normal acoustic guitars into electric guitars. So after much research over many months, I found a guitar that would suit my style and needs in a reasonable price range. Still, it was beyond what I had the means for. A dear friend of mine shouldered this burden with me and started raising money to get me a new guitar. I initially didn’t know she was doing this!! So, thanks to the generosity of the community here, I now have a new (to me) guitar, a case to protect it, a little bitty amp, and a looper pedal!!! I am SO incredibly grateful!! I’ve had it for a month now, and I’m playing a little more than I was, and am in significantly less pain!!! The LOWPC board also covering another round of work with the posture specialist to improve my playing posture and strengthen other muscles for overall better body balance. This is all a huge provision for the long-term sustainability of this work!! I am so very thankful to our Father who knows our needs and his people who generously gave!!

And…I’ve saved the best for last!!!

Late last fall, on an ordinary Sunday morning, a new person walked in the door at church. Little did I know in that moment that this would become a very special someone to me! He was new in town, just recently arrived from the Midwest. After the service as we were sitting around chatting as usual, he wandered up to the front, sat down at the piano, and started doodling. Since we’re a tiny church plant, we’re always excited about anyone new who joins us, especially a musician :). So my pastor told him that if he wanted to come early next week, he could join us and play, and pretty much threw him on the worship team (which at that point was just me)! And he came back! So began the process of getting to know Kenta Gumbert. I’ll readily admit that I was immediately curious…who was this man who drove halfway across the country, landed in Bellingham, and somehow decided to check out our tiny church?? And he’s a musician…and he’s half Japanese…and…and…and… For the first number of weeks he was pretty busy getting settled and finding work, so we saw each other on Sundays. Toward the end of December we started actually spending some time together, and discovered many common interests beyond music and church. Cooking…a love of animals…languages…passion for justice…music…travel…mountains and water…

As the weeks went by, I found myself drawn to this man. He was (and is) so kind. The kindness wasn’t even directed towards me at first, it just permeated everything he did. But that’s what I first noticed – a profound, fruit-of-the-Spirit kindness. Evidently he noticed something in me too. So at the beginning of February we went on what I consider our first date. A few days later, he initiated the “we’re interested” talk. Then another week, a few long phone conversations, another date, and a DTR (determine the relationship) conversation later, as of the day after Valentine’s Day, we’re dating!! And we’re smitten! 😀

So with great joy, I introduce to you my boyfriend, Kenta Gumbert! He’s kind and compassionate, passionate and hilariously funny, strong and sensitive, joyful, intuitive, adventurous, and completely wonderful! Over the past 5 months we have intentionally pursued getting to know each other, and continue to do so with the addition of discussions about the future – our future! I have become so very fond of this man (the feelings are mutual, I assure you!)! It’s been such fun sharing our journeys to this point with each other. I deeply appreciate his life experience and maturity, and tender heart towards the Lord and people. We work and play well together, and seem to be generally good for each other. 🙂 I step back and look at the unfolding story and I am in awe. God writes really good stories, and I’m living this one!!

Prayer Requests

I could really keep going, but this update is already plenty long… Your prayers are precious to me!! Here’s how you can pray for me this summer:

• Pray for Kenta and me as we continue journeying together. Pray for wisdom, vision, protection, and provision. Pray that we continue to draw nearer together as we each draw nearer to the Lord, and that we would glorify Him in our relationship.
• As we move into the summer season at the Prayer Center, we are continuing to work on clarity and strategy as a leadership team. We are also striving to enter the Lord’s rest (Hebrews 4:11) and work at a balanced and sustainable pace. Pray that we continue in unity, co-laboring with the Lord in the bond of peace, and that we would continue to grow together in love and humility.
• Pray for Promise 23 Ranch Ministries – for the leaders, the volunteers, the horses, and the precious ladies that we serve. Pray that the love of God will shine through everything we do, that we would be sensitive to the leading of the Spirit. There is great joy but also sometimes heartache in this work. Please pray for one lady, dear to me, who recently suddenly and unexpectedly left Engedi’s program. She accepted Christ earlier this year (praise the Lord!!), but has gone incommunicado. Pray for her safety and that if she is trapped again, that she would be rescued.
• Please join me in praying for increased financial provision for the rest of this year. The Lord provides in wonderful and sometimes surprising ways, and I am so thankful to the ones who faithfully give, allowing me to be devoted to ministry! As time goes, support will ebb and flow – this is natural. The reality, however, is that since the beginning of the year support has been a chunk less than it consistently was last year. Between that and some unforeseeable expenses, I’ve had to eat into my meager savings. Please join me in prayer for 5 new monthly supporters! Would you be interested in partnering with me financially? Giving through LOWPC is tax deductible (in the US), and giving details are here.

Phew!! For now, that’s all she wrote!! Thank you so much for journeying with me! The adventure continues, and with the Lord, what a grand adventure it is!!