Malibu 2014-- Ready to dive in

Here we are!  Ready to dive into our Malibu assignment.   Jeff, the kids, 2 glowing computer screens in a handicapped accessible hotel room in Bellingham...we'll stumble around at 4:30 AM to meet up with our group and travel across the boarder into Canada for a mid-morning arrival at Malibu!
Our minivan is weighed down with 5 bins, 5 suitcases, 4 backpacks, 1 cooler, a robot dog in a carrier, one duffel bag stuffed with shoes and 3 Stand up paddle boards strapped to the top!
We are READY to go!
Jeff in excited to speak to 300+ campers each week. He is tireless at tinkering with his talks.  He has done this 4 times now, the last time was 5 years ago at Malibu again.  Back then we felt we were far too young to be given such a big responsibility.  But, God showed up and worked.
Now that we are ....gasp.... almost 40, we feel like we are far too young to be given such a big responsibility.  But let's be honest, we are some of the elders in the mission of Young Life now!  Age offers a sense of humility and tenderness that are necessary to boldly make known the mysteries of the gospel to kids who haven't heard or who have heard, but haven't quite caught on!
My (Tanya's) responsibilities include directing a team of 4 adults for a 'Real Life' panel where they share their stories in 3 different episodes through out the week.  I have shared my story in this way, but have never directed this powerful and moving activity!
We are hopeful, cautious, prayerful, humble, happy, and tired.
This year leaving home was a little more difficult than in years past.  For Janna, it's the Chickens--2 chicks, 3 hens who are dependable layers and one who works only part time--apparently. For Deek, it's his beloved canine "Aunt" Bella (Jeff's Mom and Dave's new service dog).  For Jeff and me (Tanya) it's leaving our "small group" friends!  We love all of  these families dearly!  But change is  'acomin' for our wonderful huddle.  One family, the Ingrams, will depart for Malawi Aug 1st!    When we know that when we arrive back home, our beloved friends will be on the other side of the world, (Find a globe, Malawi is an the OPPOSITE SIDE of the EARTH!) it makes it hard to to say goodbye that final time!
 We LOVE Ryan and Kelli's obedience to what God has called them to.   We LOVE that all of us are better human beings and followers of Christ because of their existence.  We will miss their encouraging text messages, frequent 'check ins' and unconditional friendship.  We love how God will use their beautiful family and their teaching gifts to BETTER the people of Malawi-- forever.  These people are game changers! We can't hog them to ourselves here. Ouch.  Love hurts.

This is our 'small group'  on 7/20.  
We laugh, we cry, we pray and we talk a lot about God.  We've been together about 10 years. (Heins, Hubers, Merrifields, Schwenkes, Ingrams)  

Prayer Requests:  Janna would like to have other kids to play with at camp who are her age.  Deek would like prayer for a friend who has legos to play with at camp.  Tanya would like prayer for directing the real life panel  and for the internet to work so that she can complete her summer school teaching duties stress free.  Jeff needs confidence in the power of God to work through his words and his resurrection talk.
Thanks for your partnership in this!  We can't do it without our support from home!