DO NOT LOSE HEART!!!

http://www.newsweek.com/id/192583

this newsweek article explains why America has become a post-Christian nation. meaning, we are currently experiencing the decline, and ultimately the end, of Christianity in America.

well...i disagree, but it breaks my heart nonetheless. and i know that if my heart breaks, then how much more does the heart of the FATHER break? this is why matt and i don't take what we do lightly. the future of America is, in every way, most certainly dependent on today's university students.

GOD help us...

time for updates

first off...matt's grandfather (gramps) did pass away only a few days after i last posted. matt had already left for his trip, so i ventured down to corpus christi with my brother-in-law, james to be with the rest of the hoogendoorn (and smith) family. as sad as it was to acknowledge the end of a beautiful life, it was also such a sweet and unexpected time with my new family...who are totally amazing, by the way!
i only knew gramps for a couple of years, but he won my heart from the very first meeting...like he does with EVERYONE he meets! what a precious life lived to serve the KING! he loved the LORD and his family with everything he had and did so much to make their lives the best they could be.

and here are a few pictures from matt's trip. i'll do what i can to try to get him to write about some of the really amazing stories.

the city

the caspian sea
(and my fully-bearded husband)

a monestary

mount ararat in the disatnce