The next day we went back with my parents to get the car. We measured the path we had taken the day before and found that after three and a half hours we had hiked 9 miles. When we got back to the car my dad just started it right up. Leslie thought this was funny, much to my relief. (Upon further inspection we discovered that the starter was going out) But now with the car running and a little time to kill we had lunch and then spent another 45 minutes chopping up the tree in to smaller pieces and pulling it out of the way.

We dove about a hundred yards and came to another down tree. It was getting late so we turned around and went back. On the way we found a privy in the middle of the woods and a lake that was frozen over. It looked really thick so my dad tested it out.

Carefully he inched his way out on to the white ground. The top two inches were slush and as he walked his foot prints gave us a great idea. If he didn’t do it himself we would make a hole at the end of his tracks and then have him back out so it looked like someone fell in. We tossed him a shovel and he tried to break the ice. We soon discovered that the ice was too thick to break with the shovel. So again I fired up the chainsaw and cut right through. It was about a foot thick but we didn’t know how deep the water was underneath. So I lowered the shovel into the fridged water to find the bottom. I couldn’t find it and began to draw the shovel back out of the hole. It was then that I caught it on the ice and lost my grip. It dropped into the brown water below the white shelf where I stood.

Very quickly we began to rationalize who would be best suited to jump in and retrieve the lost shovel. First it was me, then mom, then dad. Leslie, seeing where the conversation was going piped up and said aloud the next logical step. And she would not be taking it.

So it was back to my dad. He was a sport and after rigging him with a makeshift waist and chest harness he lowered his skivvie covered body into the water. He grabbed the shovel with his feet and back up we pulled him. It was then a long drive home where my dad warmed up and we were thankful for adventures and daring fathers.

Life is never dull…
We’ll since the last time we wrote you we have had a great adventure and found more clarity in the paths that the Lord is guiding us in.

Our adventure started after a hard day of tough conversations and work. As we were getting to bed, Matthew said, “Lets go for a hike tomorrow, we haven’t done something like that in a while.” Leslie thought that it was a great idea. The next day we got our stuff together and threw it in the back of the car, along with a chainsaw because the last time we wanted to go for a hike we were stopped by a downed tree.
After about an hour of driving, and cutting one tree, we had to chose between another hour of driving but hikeing in the high desert or a closer hike in knee deep snow. We chose the latter.

Now if you are not familiar with Matthew’s idea of fun then what happened next will resonate with you much the same way it resonated with Leslie. After choosing to hike in the snow we started to drive uphill and continue to gain elevation. Soon we were in deep snow and even with the chains on it was slow going. After ten minutes of breaking trail we came to an old growth Doug-Fir across the road.

I jumped out of the car and got the chainsaw fired back up in no time flat barely containing my joy for the challenge before me, the overwhelming sense of purpose and drive to clear the road and rescue my bride from the eminent danger from this tree. Leslie on the other hand could not fathom why we were wasting such valuable “us” time on cutting up a tree when we could be hiking. But being the supporting wife that she is, she let me have my fun and just prayed for me in the warm car as I showed that behemoth of a plant who was boss.

At hour mark Leslie was changing her prayers from encouragement for me to patience while I remained clueless to anything but bliss from this situation. It was also about this time that we used the winch to try and move the cut sections of the tree out of the road. Now I was using a 9,000 lbs winch with a pulley system that had 18,000 lbs of moving strength and I could not get it to budge. So much to my disappointment I decided to give it up and come back another day with more equipment. We started cleaning up and then went to leave.

The car was absolutely dead.

Now I have mentioned that we first drove about an hour away from our house before we made the decision to hike in the snow. And from there another ten minutes in deep snow. What I have failed to mention is that all this driving was into the forest. So we were not only with a two ton paper weight on wheels, we were in the middle of nowhere. It was about ten to three in the afternoon when we started to hike. Needless to say it was a very silent walk for the first bit. But after a good pow wow, we were not only able to have a great hike, but also a great time doing it. So we decisded to hike home

The Hike

We started to walk. At first it was up hill in the snow (both ways, barefoot and only barbed wire for traction) but soon we made it to the crest of the hill we had driven to and started our decent. I figured that it would be at least 8 miles as the crow flies to the nearest phone and 11 miles if we took a road. There was also a cliff and a stream between us and that phone. But that does not deter the likes of us.

We went cross country straight off the cliff. It was about a 65 degree cliff and every two steps would take us almost 6 feet down. It was very slippery but because there was snow we could make plunge steps and keep our footing most of the time. We did this for an hour until we came to the road we were aiming for and then took the road several miles until we made it to pavement. Once on the pavement we hike for 4 miles. We tried to wave down two motorist. They looked, paused, and then drove away. Quickly.

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. As I sit here watching the snow come down I can't help but think about the ability of the snow and cold to slow people down. You have to drive slowly, you move slow and when you are cold you just think slower.
Slow has been the operative word for these last 2 months. And even though is has been slow it has also been a bit of a whopper for us. I am afraid that in keeping everyone out of the loop we have alienated many readers. For this I am sorry. For those of you who continue to check our blog I hope the next few entries provide some much needed information and brings you up to date on our little adventures.
It was January 3 ish that we where completely done with our application process and left it in the hands of the Board of Directors to approve us. After a few weeks we were sent a very peculiar email from the founders that left us feeling perplexed and a little discouraged. In it they mentioned one of the staff in SA was leaving and that they had some concerns about our expectations in going. They also said that we would most likely not use our business and counseling skills; a key reason we chose this group. They said that because they were just starting the boarding school we would spend most of our time doing labor, building and cleaning. We then corresponded with the staff member who was leaving to understand what had happened. She said that it was just a change in direction and that she would still recommend us to BHI. So we wrote back to the founders with our continued desire to come. We wrote out our expectations and understanding of the situation, along with some clarifying questions.
For a week we did not hear from them and then they wrote us to say they would consider our application on January 30. Again a week past and we heard nothing. The date came and went and another week passed. I finally called them a few days after our last blog entry to see what had been the hold up. They said that they had considered our application but had not made a decision. I asked them when the next time they might be able to make that decision. The first of March was the reply.
Needless to say this was more then a little discouraging. We then asked why they had not made a decision about us in the last meeting. They said that another staff member was leaving and they wanted us to have the opportunity to talk to him before we decided to go. We wrote him an email and asked what was going on. He didn’t reply for a week. So we started to make a plan.
We went to the beach cabin for four days; from February 11th to the 15th. The day we began our retreat to the cabin we fasted, prayed and sought God and His direction for us. We didn’t speak a lot and spent most of the seeking God individually. At the end of the day we compared notes and found that He had been telling us both, South Africa was not where he wanted us now.
Needless to say this was tough to take. We had worked for so long, tried so many different organizations, and had seen God move in incredible ways to get us there. We had quit both of our jobs, saved our money and rented out our house in preparation to go. We felt like we would be a great fit for this ministry. We had very deep and difficult feelings as God shut the door. I (Matthew) felt almost like I was in a state of morning, like my purpose in missions had ended. But God being God kept steering me back to his faithfulness. It wasn’t long after that I started to feel my heat awake to new ideas that He could be calling us too.
For Leslie it was even more freeing. Throughout the time of fasting God revealed to Leslie that she was holding on to Africa believing that this would be her only chance to serve there. God then asked her to trust him and this wasn’t the right time to go. Since the coast God had been working on her heart and using other women in Sisters to mend places in her heart by breaking down walls of protection and revealing lies she believed about herself. Things which she might not have taken the time to work on if we were preparing to go to SA.
As always, God has a plan for us and it is as adventurous as anything we could have come up with ourselves.
The rest of the vacation went great with Valentines Day and just a break from the stress of waiting. When we got back we told our parents what had happened and then wrote Bridges of Hope to withdraw our application. We also wrote to the staff member who had most recently quit and found that he had also quit on good terms.
It was awesome to see what God did next. He is so Faithful! Within three days of getting back we were already given three different ministries that could use help right now! As we prayerfully consider God’s calling in our lives be it overseas or here at home we would ask for your continued prayer for guidance.

We love you all and look forward to the adventure that awaits!

To God Be the GLORY!

Matthew and Leslie

Hey all we just wanted to keep you in the loop. We have not been officially accepted by BHI yet but that is not uncommon as we are told by other staff. It has taken months for others to be accepted. So we will just sit back relax and try to learn what ever God has for us in this time of transition.

In the mean time Leslie works at a local coffee shop in town and is enjoying being around coffee. She recently rediscovered her love of HOT coffee drinks and is even more alert in the mornings then usual, if that were possible.

I have spent my time remolding my parents bathroom. It has been a bit of a laborious task but in the end it will be worth it. Replacing 30 year old linoleum for heated tile floors. Very Cool.

Tonight we are off to a BUNCO game in Sisters with Campus Crusade, bring on the dice,

Peace,

M&L

PS Please continue to pray for us as we try to continue to seek His face in these life choices.

Wow it has been 2 weeks since I last posted anything on the blog. I am sorry. Lets see if I can recap.

Snow camping was an adventure. We hauled a homemade sled about a mile before we gave up and left it for my brother with a snowmobile that we were borrowing for the trip. There were 18 of us and we went 3.5 miles through beautiful country to a warming shelter in the woods. My brother and I went out looking for it the day before everyone arrived and tried to pack down a trail. Over night a huge storm dumped a foot of new snow on the ground and blew it into drifts 3 feet high. So we broke trail the whole way again. It was stormy almost the whole time and it never got above 20 degrees. The wind broke a tent pole in half during the night. IT WAS AWESOME! We all made it out safe thanks to some friends that showed up late with a couple more snowmobiles. I love being out doors in storms but not everyone was as excited about the 50 mph wind gusts as I. Overall, I think people had a good time.

The last two weeks have been tough for us. We still have not been officially accepted and it is tough to have to wait and wait. It has taught us that we still have a lot to lean about the way we communicate. It is amazing to me (Matt) how much I just don't understand women (I am supposed to be this great woo-er). I have been learning that love in deed is much more effective when needs are met first. ("thank you honey for the rose but you forgot to pay the bills again today").

As we continue to wait we ask for your prayers as we now have to weigh how to find temporary work, hiring the right contractor and continued patience.

We love you all,

M&L

(My Parents house in Camp Sherman)

It is time to go snow camping!! Hope you all have a great day!

God Bless

M&L