Hmmm...things must be really busy....

Hey all!

Surprise! Late again! Things are definitely getting busier, and not likely to stop or slow down for a long time...

A quick note on the above photos...for those of you who scoffed at the idea that I'm a trend setter, look no further for proof in the matter...be it here known, that I, Todd Stoller, have put the "cool" back in being ugly. If that's not an accomplishment worthy of a true Studmuffin, what is?

Let's see...Over spring break, after work teams from ISU, Purdue, Bluffton, and Roanoke, I got to go home for a week and see all my family in one spot! (Rare occasion, anymore.) My brother Doug and his wife Krista were there from Dallas with their daughter Ashlyn, Alex and Cassie drove in from Ft. Wayne with Caitlyn (Nubbins), Gavin (Gavinator), and Ian (IceMan or Chunk), and of course Mom, Dad, Mark and Kate, and Ryan were all there. Good times had by all, and I had a chance to visit grandparents, neighbors, and church folk, though there's never time and opportunity for everything you'd like to get done. It was also nice that Kirk and Keri were back from Jamaica, staying with their parents just a block from my house, and Clint and Bethany were in from Leo, so it was almost a Gateway Woods reunion again.

Prayer requests and other things...we have national standardized testing coming up for the kids this week, so please pray about that, as the results will reflect on our school and hopefully lend credibility to what we're doing. Immediately after that, we leave with Bill and Joan, their kids, the teachers, and the secondary school students (an entourage of about 16, in two vans) for a two-day, 20-plus hour trip to Ixtlan for Jonathon Aupperle and Bere Navarro's wedding, via Culiacan and Guadalajara, so please pray for safety and sanity and a strong marriage that can be a light to a world where lifelong marital faithfulness is considered an accesory item when it comes to love. The trip will last 6 days in all...long time in a van with only a handful of drivers. Also, we still don't have all the permits we need for the vehicles, nor do we know when the testing will be done (administered by CONAFE) so we can set a departure date and time...more things to pray about. Immediately after that, we will be having testing for our Bloque 4 (two month period) to fulfill CONAFE requirments.

We have a new boy, Eduardo (aka Lalo or Lalito), age 7, pretty thin, with a lot to learn and a fairly teachable heart, who looks a lot like Ramses (profiled earlier). Hopefully I can get some pictures of him and post them on the next blog. Many of you probably already know this, but the premie baby we had as of my last posting, Josiah, had to be sent to Hermosillo for hospitalization (not eating) and will probably not return. Please pray for God's intervention in both their hearts.

Summer school will start in a few months, so please pray for the staff as we figure out the schedule, etc. Also, pray for the volunteers...Zach Knobloch (Peoria), Sarah Frank (ISU), Ryan Eisenmann (Chicago), and Laura Tucker (Champaign).

Also, we are still in the process of looking for teachers for next fall, so please keep in prayer for the right people at the right time and the wisdom to discern.

Frankie is the profile kid for today, he's the one in red in the group photo above. Frankie is one of the three boys currently living in my dorm, along with Fede (not profiled yet) and Michel (profiled). He sleeps above me, likes rap music and the Mexican version of country music (definitely not rap), loves to run and play soccer, and has a boatload of energy. He hates school, loves to work in the garden or with machinery, and has frequent dreams where he yells and hits the wall in his sleep...rather entertaining. He believes (generally speaking) in the God of the Bible but has not given his life up in submission to Him. He is definitely maturing, but still very impulsive and short-sighted, and finds it rather hard to focus on one thing for long periods of time. Please pray for Frankie, as it will be very hard for him to make that big commitment to Christ. However, as Seth Gerber says, if he ever does commit, he has enough energy to convert the entire Middle East to Christ. As with all of us, he has much potential, for good or evil.

I think that's all for now...provided I have sanity left after the trip to Michoacan, I can hopefully find the time to write about that next time!

Thanks,

Todd