Chrysalis Ministries

Keeping up a Blog!

BUT First things first, namely "where in the world are we?!!"

In a paragraph:

We had a great ministry trip to Serbia in the Spring and SE Asia in May and early June. It’s been very intensive and yet, we have managed to keep up the pace and meet with many younger leaders and speak many, many times! Thanks for your prayers for us as we’ve enjoyed these invitations and opportunities to minister in some unique places. And have been able to see many of our friends who are maturing younger leaders and hopefully, have been an encouragement to them.

Keeping up a Blog – well, it's obviously not our top priority. And Facebook has taken precedence.  So I’m going to try and update everything at once while we are still in South East Asia. While I’m over jet lag, before we fly home in a couple of days and have to go through another 14 days of "jet lag recuperation back in the US."

Realistically, we are about 99% sure that we do not really need a blog, but a simple web site where we can upload pictures now and then and where readers and supporters can learn more about Chrysalis Ministries and what we do. We were rather discouraged when someone "invaded" the blog several months ago and wrote some really inappropriate things. We don’t have time to deal with nastiness – and having a blog opens this door.

So this message is accompanied by a few pictures from the last two trips. And in the meantime, you can contact us via email, Skype and Facebook (which also takes a lot of time but is a great way to keep up with people all over the world without worrying about time zone changes!). Thanks for reading and we’ll update you soon.

Blessings, carol

Thanksgiving is over, but it really never ends!

Or so it should be! 

  This Thanksgiving has been different from normal for John and me.  We have been in Dallas, Texas with our daughter and family (joined by our son and his family from Virginia for a few days).  Families are a blessing and we are always so thankful for the time we can spend with each other.
  The twist this Thanksgiving has been the very serious illness of my sister, Trisha, who is in the Intensive Care Unit at Baylor Hospital in Dallas with an acute kidney infection, brittle diabetes, and ARDS, amongst other things.  It is hard to be thankful when you see a loved one so ill, struggling for each breath, and hanging on to life by loose threads.  Life is so fragile – God has made our bodies to be in balance, and when one small part becomes terribly out of balance, it affects our total beings. 
  Trisha is very slowly, almost imperceptibly, holding her own and each new day is a surprise.  Today’s surprise: she is “holding her own” and possibly a little bit improved.  So each day we give thanks for life, for breath, for God’s care and His holding her in His hand.  And we thank God that so many of you are praying for Trisha’s recovery.  And we are thankful that Trisha seems to be stable.
  Since Trisha’s condition is stable and she has not gotten worse these past two days, I feel comfortable leaving Dallas tomorrow for our short vacation. 
  Tomorrow John and I will fly to Little Cayman Island to visit a relative and take a break.  Little Cayman had two hurricanes this Fall; one was Hurricane Ike which packed 125 mile per hour winds and did a lot of destruction.  Our relative’s house took a direct “hit” and had major damage in most of her house, which was repaired soon after the storm.  About a week after the repairs were finished, another hurricane, Paloma, hit the little island again, but thankfully the repairs stayed intact.  However, many trees and lots of brush and “junk” are all over the place, so John is going prepared to help with the clean up. Electricity and telephone lines are not repaired yet, so we will probably not have internet connectivity for a while.  In some ways that will be nice!  We are very thankful for the chance to get away and to be refreshed.
  The Advent Season will be well underway by the time we return and can communicate again.
  So until then, let me just say: Thanks be to God for the gift of His son, Jesus!

Carol

Happy Thanksgiving!

        In spite of terrible economic times, turmoil in our lives and uncertainties about the future, we have SO MUCH to be thankful for as we look back at 2008.  John and I are grateful for the opportunities for sharing with younger leaders in Central and Eastern Europe and parts of Southeast Asia.  We feel awed by God’s graciousness to allow us the honor of knowing and being a part of the lives of many gifted and unique leaders, many of whom are making a difference for the cause of Christ in the world.  The world is so small and getting smaller, and we are so connected with Skype, email and global telephones.  We are in contact many times a week with people from far away!
         Our year has been filled with ministry travels, speaking and teaching in all kinds of venues, encouraging and mentoring younger leaders in life’s journey and best of all seeing God at work in the world He made and so loves. John and I are always amazed at God’s work in so many places through ordinary people just like us, who are committed to serve Him selflessly and for His glory.  We learn so much from so many people and truly feel blessed to be called to Chrysalis Ministries, particularly at this time in our lives. We are Thankful!
      Thanksgiving for us will be with our family in Texas, our son and daughter and their spouses, and two children each (ages 5, 3, 3  and 20 months).  We will join with extended family in the Dallas area as well.  It will be a short weekend together, but one we will treasure, since we all live so far from each other and family times are few and far between.
 A short vacation in the Cayman Islands, one of our favorite places, follows our family time in Texas.  On Little Cayman we stay with a relative and enjoy the slower pace of island life. John begins to relax and changes to shorts (I make him keep his shoes on until we arrive on Little Cayman!) once we hit Grand Cayman and before the hour flight to the Sister Island.  Electricity and telephone service have not been repaired following Hurricane Paloma in early November, so things will be a bit different without email or online capabilities. (We will have our cell phone, however.)  Hopefully this means a good rest.  However, John will most likely have some “outside work” to do to help clean up debris from Paloma.  
     It will be nice to take a short break.  We’ve been working on the Chrysalis calendar for 2009 and it is almost filled!  Lots to do ahead, and final plans to be made soon.  We’ll update you later as we confirm travels and venues.
     John and I return home just in time to jump into the middle of the Advent Season, and will enjoy celebrating the birth of Jesus in a low-key way since we’ll not be with family this year.  But we always enjoy focusing on the joy that the Christmas Season brings, and this year especially the PEACE that comes from knowing Christ.  It’s hard to imagine how people who do not have faith in the Savior of the world cope during troubled times such as we are experiencing throughout the world.  
     Peace, inner peace, calming peace centers us as we look to the future.  We know that you are facing challenges and uncertainties too, and pray that you’ll find what you need in Christ’s love.
     And may the peace of Christ be with you during this special Season.

Carol