....buyers market

Check out our mess!!  

    (I have prayed for transparency- so this is it!)

Where's Waldo?  I mean... Chris... with an african mask?

This Saturday is our HUGE YARD SALE (May 31st).  We are frantically trying to get ready for it.  If you are in need of a sneak peek, just give us a call and drop by!  PLEASE TELL EVERYONE!  There is a ton of stuff!

Everything MUST go!

Just for fun

At first I was hesitant on blogging this because it wasn't really "ministry related."  But then I thought- Oh yes it is.  We are sitting at 3 week before we leave and we are super busy.  Busy with ministry stuff to iron out and busy with lots of "last hoo-rah's".  So today I'm blogging about my last "hoo-rah" with my best friend, Joy.  I met Joy the same summer I met my husband.  It is ridiculous how much alike we are- you would think we would get tired of being around each other.... no chance.  We love growing in God's love - together! 

I left T-ville Thursday  evening to start our wild wilderness weekend in Boone, NC.  We willingly went to fight bugs, rain, bears (not), attack cows (fo real!), and the dark. 

That's right- we went camping... just the 2 of us.  It was so much fun!  At the end of our time together, our number one question was: why in the world hadn't we done this before??  We hiked (and napped along the way)  for over 5 hours Friday after setting up camp (FYI: tent stakes are a great idea to ACTUALLY TAKE along- it makes setting up the tent way easier.  But good ol' quick thinkin' Joy found some rocks and sticks which worked rather well.)   

   

We thought we were being super rugged- cooking on our alcohol stove.  Yes sir'ee, we had rice and popcorn.  Go ahead and laugh, but we were about to bust!  After dinner, we read exerts of a book about missions in the 21st century.  When God turned out the lights, we realized- we had no other source except our camera.  So naturally- we crawled in our tent, curled up in our sleeping bags and began taking photos whilst laughing our heads off.  I know it's impossible to enjoy these as much as we did, but if you have time please try- just for fun!

Meeting fellow servants...

Thursday night Joy came in from Boone and we drove to Charlotte to her friend's place.  I must say we hadn't had much time to talk, so I thought we were going down there to hear David Johnson speak at a church or auditorium.  Well, I learn as we are pulling in that we were there just to "hang out" with fellow believers that have hearts for the oppressed.  I asked Joy: "So David Johnson (1) is coming to just 'hang out'"?  She looked at me kinda funny and said "well, Yea."  You see, in my mind he's kind of famous in a way due to his involvement in helping the oppressed people of Sudan.  He is doing something I have dreaming of for the past year and a half.   

Here Chris was trying to send me with a video camera to tape the "speakers", but I told him I wasn't going to take it because I'd be the only dork with a camera.  Boy would I have felt like a ding dong walking up in there with my video camera.  Sure am glad Joy saved the day.  Poor Chris, just wanted to be able to hear. 

Any way, so we ended up being the first ones there. We walk into this super cool apartment in downtown Charlotte and meet the most precious couple.  They were so down to earth and on fire!  There were 12 of us there all together; a few couples, David, Joy and I.  Well, a long story short, David has actually been to the Livingstone House and stayed there!  Later on in the night I asked if he could remember when he first started learning about the horrific acts happening in Sudan.  To which he replied "I was actually sitting at your kitchen table at the Livingstone house about a year and a half ago."  The guy he had traveled to Ethiopia with wanted him to know what he was getting himself into if he wanted to shoot in Sudan.  So he slid him some papers and a book to him, sitting at that kitchen table.  I'm flippin' out!  I just thought that was the coolest thing ever!  I had a million other questions to ask him about Sudan, but forgot most of them.  

... Who knows though, maybe he'll come back to the Livingstone house one day.  

(1.) David has traveled around the world doing documentaries  of oppressed, persecuted, and suffering individuals.  His heaviest involvement being in Sudan.  Purchasing Voices of Sudan is well worth your money as ALL of the proceeds go to provide relief efforts to the Sudanese.  The book is only $20 and is a great way to educate others on what is happening in Sudan. 

Getting Closer

I know, this update is long overdue.  It is getting harder to blog the closer we get to leaving.  June 16th is the official date for those who haven't heard.  Just to catch you up on what we've been doing, here are a few pictures (y'all know I'm crazy about capturing every precious last moment on camera):

Beth, Elizabeth, Levi, and I battled the wind at "Spring Daze" (or May Days) selling jewelry to benefit missions.  Despite the ferocious wind,  we actually did have a lot of fun!

Dinner at Dr. Ben, Hyrine, and Benji Omungu's home.  Hyrine added her Kenyan touch for a delicious meal and wonderful fellowship last night.  What a blessing this family has been to us!  We can't wait to discover how we can help in their visions for Kenya.  We hope to serve along side them in July!

We took our last trip to the coast (with my family in tow) to see Chris' family and speak at Salem Baptist.  It was so fun having both families together and in full support. 

A proud Aunt and Uncle right here.  (I'm always trying to think of ways to sneak pics of our niece and nephew on the ministry blog.)  

   Dad and Levi catching some Z's before Dinner.

We will do our best to keep you updated between trying to spend time with family and friends, pack up, sell, and move. 

I will try to post after this Thursday's trip to Charlotte to hear David Johnson (Voices of Sudan) speak more about genocide.

Darfur Genocide

If you want to know more about this heinous act happening right now, click here and read Darfur for Dummies.  

"Benefit'n it up"

In Random Order- Here are the pics we promised from Saturday night:

Aunt Vicki- servin' it up with her mad sketti skills.

Jennifer and Courtney could sell a pair of running shoes to a turtle.  They were perfect for this table! "Someone's in the kitchen with Dina" or as Chris would say "Someone's in the kitchen with Dianna"  hehe
ahhh... my favorite.  DESSERT!  We had a secret contest on the desserts and Matt Rollins wins with his massively delicious homemade oatmeal cookies.  They were 'slap yo mama" good.  (Unfortunately, I did not get to taste ALL the desserts as I originally planned, but I did manage an oatmeal cookie)

Levi sportin' his Kenya braclet he got for being a helper Saturday Night.  

(He tried to pay me for it, but I snuck it back in his pocket.)

Joy and Emma getting a power snack (aka: cheerio's) before the big night
 If you just thought you didn't want anything, just talk to Courtney about the little naked boy from the bush... that'll get em' every time. 

Praise and Worship with Josh squared, Thad show.  It was nothing short of AWESOME!
Mom, slaving away in the kitchen.  

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO PUT ANYTHING INTO THIS EVENING.  ALL YOUR HARD WORK PAID OFF!  WE LOVE YOU ALL FOR BLESSING US WITH YOUR TIME, DEDICATION, AND SWEAT.  THE KINGDOM FURTHERS!

Empty

"I know that you can do all things;  No plan of yours can be thwarted."

Job 42:2

God's word never returns to him void.  We have that assurance from scripture.  This truth was proven, yet again, this past weekend.  We'd like to share how good our Father was and is to us through this past weekend's events:

God did it!  It wasn't Chris & Lindy's plan.  It wasn't our reason for having this event.  This was for His glory and the kingdom's purpose.  Do you know how God blessed these efforts?  Do you have any idea how God blessed us through the giving over this past weekend?  Let me share with you, because you are probably reading this with great anticipation:

God blessed us with over 200!  You read that correctly; over 200!  We are absolutely humbled by that number!  Lindy and I both were so excited Saturday night as we laid in bed talking about the evening.  Can anybody be more rich than us?  Nope, cause we got 200!  200 real, quality-filled, earnestly devoted, proudly supportive, humbly generous family members reminded us that we aren't leaving the palace on June 16th after all.   We will be carrying the wealth of those relationships with us to the uttermost!  Therefore, we are truly rich!

God puts blessings in open hands.  The preliminary monetary total for the evening:  $9634.00 This number has left us speechless.  We are amazed as God did what God said He would.   Yet, even before this weekend, we began to see the most impressive evidence of God's blessing.  And as the evening wore on  we realized that this number was no where near as impressive as watching YOU give us your devotion and love.  

We truly are empty of words.  

~Thomas Christopher Thompson & Lindy Rollins Thompson

PS:  We will give you more highlights and pictures of the evening later this week.