Furlough schedule for June and July

I know it's about two months late, but here is our furlough schedule for June and July. We still have many supporters we are hoping to meet with, so if you support us and want to get together, contact us please!

• June 1-7, Millersburg PA. 
• June 8-12, CEF day camp, Pine Grove, PA
• June 12-20, CEF Christian Youth In Action training, Chambersburg, PA
• June 21-26, Millersburg BUT not available June 23-26.
• June 27-28 Easton, MD
• June 29-July 5, Millersburg, PA
• June 6-10, CEF day camp, Valley View, PA
• June 11-15, Pine Grove, PA
• July 16-19, Marion, NY
• July 20-26, Schroon Lake, NY
• July 27-28, fly back to Switzerland!

Happy birthday Jen!

On Saturday we celebrated Jen's birthday with a game of minigolf and swimming. Amy loved the pool and Christopher finally warmed up to it. Jen's father was able to meet up with us in Hempfield, Lancaster County. We met with the missions committee of the Hempfield United Methodist Church where they treated us to dinner and birthday cake. It was a special time and we are grateful to be able to share the special day with those who pray and give to us and our ministry.

The Hautles in Hershey

We arrived in Hershey a week ago, and have been enjoying getting together with so many friends and supporters. The missionary house we're staying at is absolutely wonderful, with an office space for Brent, a well-stocked kitchen, large back yard for playing and plenty of books for Amy and Chris. Thank you Hershey Free! There are bicycle routes nearby and several nice parks for the kids to play at. It's been a great place to come back to after a day on the road.

Hike to Goose Pond

Chris and I had a nice, long hike with my dad, going to Goose Pond near Schroon Lake. It was a beautiful day, and once we got Chris out of the hiking pack, dad went running after him. On the way back we stopped by some waterfalls, enjoyed a nearby woodpecker and basked in the sun.

Family time

It's been a whole lot of fun visiting with Brent's parents. The meals have been excellent, and the weather has been wonderful. Amy has enjoyed putting together a gingerbread house with Poppi, and Grammere makes Christopher giggle a whole lot. The men went out on a couple of short hikes already, taking in the beautiful wilderness. (Look for another posting for our hike to Goose Pond). The kids love the playground at the school just a couple of blocks away.

One highlight was going to both the morning and evening services at Mountainside Church. For the first time in years we had the privilege of being at a baptismal service. What a time of rejoicing! The preaching was wonderful and it was great to see how active the teens are in the church. We spend a few more days here until heading down to Pennsylvania. Keep in touch!

What a gift!

We arrived safely and even a little early at the Zurich airport on Wednesday. Because we were early, there were only two other people in front of us at the check-in line – something that's certainly never happened to us before! We checked in without problems but couldn't make our way to the gate because we didn't know which one we needed to go to. We had to wait a little bit, eating a snack and finding a quiet location until our gate was announced. Finally, E53 flashed on the announcement board and we headed toward our destination. Amy guided us to terminal E and we took the small train, which was fun. We were ushered to the front of the security line – one bonus of having children, and then headed for our gate. That's when we saw the sign for the children's play area. We thought we were dreaming. We made our way to the playroom and entered a wonderful world. This wasn't just a small room with a few toys, this was an indoor playground with changing stations, microwaves for heating snacks and friendly staff. It had just been installed in September, and has been a major success. I wrote a quick thank you in the guest book, saying it was a "gift from God." Our hour and a half wait seemed more like 15 minutes, and both Amy and Christopher were able to get a respite from mommy or daddy saying "no!".

Almost ready

The bags are nearly packed. The house is almost clean. Most of the Hautles are asleep. In a few hours, we start our long journey to the States. Amy was really laughing tonight when I told her we need to practice flying by jumping up and down and flapping our wings. Christopher just wanted to be tossed in the air. We're so excited at getting a chance to see family, friends and ministry partners again.

It's a surreal feeling. I still have a list of things to do, but I don't feel like everything is really frantic at this time. I feel like I can still get them done before Midnight. As the the psalmist says, "The Lord is my strength and my shield." I can feel Him even now, strengthening me for the journey.

Bis später,

-Brent

Talking about God

For Amy's birthday, we got her a Wonder Devotional Book – Early Reader Edition. Unfortunately, it's been a bit of a fight reading it to her. That doesn't mean we don't have chances to share with her, in fact last night was pretty funny.

Jen was explaining to Amy all she can tell God when she prays. Amy answered, "Sometimes God dies for me when I'm bad."

Jen responded, "but Jesus only had to die once."

Amy quickly interjected "and then He was alive again!"

Jen continued, "and God would like you to live in Heaven with Him."

"I don't like coffee. I only like tea" was Amy's reply.

"That's okay. God has tea."

Happy birthday Amy!

Amy turns 4 today! We celebrated with a small party on Sunday with her grown-up friends and had ice cream cake, games and prizes. We're thankful for our beautiful little girl and ask for your prayers that we would be Godly examples in her life.