Kameron and Bella, his newest buddy
Happy Thanksgiving! (belated to our Canadian friends... :-))
It's been a little while since we've updated our blog, but as the Christmas season begins, we just wanted to thank you all for your prayers and support this year; and...give you a little update on our lives this fall.
September was spent catching up on some much needed work around our office and home. Kameron began 4th grade, played on a soccer team, continued his piano lessons, and tried out and made the His Kids choir at school! Way to go! We also traveled together to visit one of our supporting churches in Marion, Kansas.
In October, Randy and Shelly really hit the road! We went to Atlanta, Georgia for the Fellowship of Short-Term Mission Leaders (FSTML) Conference, which Randy is on the steering committee for, and enjoyed being with 100+ others who are involved as leaders in short-term missions as we are. Daniel Rickett and Dr. Jin Kim were engaging speakers at this conference talking about partnership and diversity in Kingdom work. We also headed together to Edmonton, Alberta for a multi-church mission conference and a personal visit to a church that is a new supporter of our ministry. In Edmonton, we had also been invited to do one of our Gateway Teams Leader Training Events at Taylor University College & Seminary and had a great time staying in the area with some great friends to boot! Randy then headed straight from Edmonton to Sioux Falls, South Dakota for another mission conference at Sioux Falls Seminary and another supporting church visit to Avon, SD. The SFS mission conference was quite a busy 4 days in classes and other forums, but the relevant theme of "Sharing the Story/Orality" was quite engaging and worthwhile.
And so now, as we head into November, we'll all be heading to Iowa tomorrow for a gathering of Youth Pastors/Workers from around the US and Canada as well as our annual trek to Oklahoma next week to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas.
As always, inter-mixed in all this travel (and over the phone and internet) are developing relationships with people who support and pray for us and what we do, join us in the ministry of short-term missions as 'goers' and 'receivers', and challenge and encourage us in our journeys with Jesus.
No matter where you fit in to that...thanks! Thanks for your part in the lives of the Schmors and our work. Enjoy the season!
Randy
