Hunter's 2nd Birthday

The family of God can be an amazing gift. We have been on the receiving end of the Body reaching out to one another. This week we had Hunter's 2nd birthday. I thought it was going to come and go with very little celebration; Chris was leaving for Beach Break with the teens, it was Father's Day weekend, and many of our friends were already on vacation. I was sharing with a new friend, Renee, how we would probably end up having Hunter's birthday in July sometime.

A few days later Renee calls to invite us to dinner on Saturday night. Her 2 boys love to play with Hunter. I said yes, and told her I would bring some food. She then asked what Hunter was into these days; that was easy, the answer was TRUCKS. We made the plans and settled on the time. When Hunter and I arrived at their house on Saturday evening, Renee had decorated her entire dining room and announced that she had invited 3 other families with kids to come and celebrate Hunter's birthday. It was so moving to have people, whom I barely know step up and act like family. I was so overwhelmed. Then, to top it off, Renee made Hunter a cake and put it in the back of a super Dump Truck...his eyes lit up when he saw the cake. We had a wonderful BBQ and fellowshiped, while the kids played soccer in the yard.

I share this because I think I had a fear of being so far away from my own family, and feeling isolated from all of their lives. I have to say our families have done an awesome job keeping us involved in all the happenings back home...BUT, it has been amazing to me to see people whom I barely know reach out to us and others around them it such a loving way. As one friend shared, we have to depend on one another, because over here we are family. The family of God can be such an amazing witness.

We opened the Coffee House and it was good. We were able to have a good look at how things will run. We will have probably 2 more Coffee Houses this summer before we open up weekly in the fall. There are a lot of new families coming in and we ask you to pray for what God wants to do here in Hohenfels. Next week we will share about Beach break and all that God has done through that trip.