Josiah Venture 2x3 campaign

One Percent from Josiah Venture on Vimeo.

There are 32.5 million students between the ages of 15-29 in the 11 JV countries. 32.15 million of them don't know Jesus! We want to see these young people reached! We are asking God for the opportunity to stretch our boundaries. To see God double the fruitfulness of this ministry in the next three years.

As part of this vision, Josiah Venture will host a fall vision tour in 11 cities in North America:

Seattle –Oct 26
Portland – Oct 28
Phoenix – Oct 30
San Jose – Nov 1
Pasadena – Nov 3
Atlanta – Nov 6
Hamilton, Canada – Nov 7
Peoria – Nov 8
Minneapolis – Nov 10
Denver – Nov 11
Chicago – Nov 13

I realize that some of you live far from the cities mentioned above, but if it would be at all possible for you to be at one of these, I would encourage you to go! It's going to be a great time of reconnecting, sharing the vision, and hearing stories of what God is doing here in Europe! For more information, or to rsvp, go here

Hope to see you soon!

Sour Cream Apple Pie

We've had some beautiful fall days. And this past weekend I decided it was the perfect day to bake a pie. So I did. It was delicious.

Sour Cream Apple Pie

Topping

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/4 c. plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 t. cinnamon
2 tablespoons flour

Filling

1 1/3 c. sour cream
2/3 c. sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 or 5 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced

Pie crust (you can make your own, or use a pre-made one from the refrigerator section of the grocery store — I always do) fitted into a deep-dish 9" or 10" pie plate and chilled

To make the topping, in a bowl blend the butter, sugar, cinnamon, and flour until the mixture is combined well. Cover and chill the topping.

To make the filling, whisk together the sour cream, sugar, salt, vanilla, eggs, and flour until the mixture is smooth. Add the peeled, cored, and thinly sliced apples and stir the filling and apples together.

Spoon the filling into the chilled shell and crumble the topping evenly over it. Bake the pie on a baking sheet in the middle of a pre-heated 350-degree oven, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. (You might need to put a bit of tinfoil on top of the pie during the last 15 minutes to prevent the top from burning.) Transfer it to a rack and let it cool completely. Dig it.

I got the recipe here.

Coming soon.....

www.2x3campaign.com

FALL

" Fall always makes me want to rush out and buy school supplies. If I knew your name and address I would send you a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils".

(Tom Hanks in 'You've Got Mail')

End of the summer

We finished our third camp, said good-bye to our interns, and also to the summer. It was strange to go home, and to be on my own again, to not have to buy groceries for three, to not always have someone around, ... I definitely had to adjust. The interns did an awesome job this summer. They arrived, mostly having no clue as to what to expect, and jumped right into things. They did their best with the language (and did really well!), dealt with cultural differences, and really stepped out of their comfort zones daily! It was so great to see them build relationships, and to pour into students! God used them in many ways this summer!

Charis, Josh, and I at our last camp

There were 39 students that trusted Christ at camps in Slovakia this summer, that we know of! Praise God!! Camps may be over, but the work continues. Camp is only one week out of 52! We are praying for follow up work. That students would stay connected with the youth group. That they would see what life with God is about as they go about their days, going back to school, meeting up with their friends, and living life with their families.

I had a conversation with a girl in my youth group last week. We were talking about school, the fall, and the busyness of life. Afterward, she asked me to pray for her. She wants God to help her manage her time well. She wants to make sure she spends time with God, and does not forget about Him because of everything else taking up her time. I have been thinking about that since my conversation with her. How that is a struggle for me sometimes. How I sometimes have too much to do to "just stop and be with God". And how I need to stop seeing it that way because it's not an either/or kind of thing, but instead I just need to invite God into everything I am doing. Allow Him to be a part of my day, no matter what I am doing. And I am praying this for the girl, and for the girls in my small group, and for our youth group, and the students in Slovakia. May we be people who do not just add God to their "to do" lists! May we learn what it means to dwell in Him, to draw from Him, to live life with Him.