Category: Pray

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2010-03-21: Homecoming.

*Praise God for the arrival of an annual support check from a church in Virginia.  This check will help with the expenses of Homecoming this summer.  Homecoming is an annua e dayl event for Team Expansion families.  In the past we have had to rent facilities, but this year we are excited to host the event at Emerald Hills.  Pray that many families and singles will schedule to come to Homecoming this summer.
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2010-03-20: Brody.

Praise God for the birth of Brody, a colt born yesterday and donated to missionary kids, In four months, Broday will take up residence at Emerald Hills.  To learn more about Brody and his horse warming party, go to www.brodyhorse.com

 

Here's Doug Lucas's account of how Brody found his destiny at Team Expansion's sending base, Emerald Hills.

It all started when Jon, one of our Team Expansion "missionary kids" (or "MK"), was hard at work at Home Depot in Louisville. Dawn Lott, the smile behind Aurora Acres Equestrian Center in Naples, FL, happened to be shopping at Home Depot — because Dawn and her husband, Danny, are moving to Crestwood, Kentucky. She struck up a conversation with Jon and later remarked how unique it was. "It's kind of funny," Dawn remembered later, "because normally, I have my head focused toward a task and nothing else gets my attention. But this young man was different. He was so … *real* and so engaged in helping me. There are so many young men his age who have such a hard time communicating with adults. This young man, Jon, took time to answer my questions and before we knew it, he had talked to me for a solid hour. He told me all about Team Expansion, … about the Cause… about the reason Team Expansion was at work around the world… and to be honest, I just knew that Danny and I had to do something to help. So we figured we'd give of the most valuable things we have — our horses."

Dawn is right. The Gypsy Vanners (that's the name of the breed) and Drum Horses that the Lotts raise are some of the most unique horses in the world. Jon, bless his heart, had no idea. He told his dad about the encounter … and even passed along the Lotts' phone number. His dad, a vice president at Team Expansion, passed the phone number to Doug.

"I never know what to expect, honestly, when I call a number like this," recalled Doug Lucas, who serves as President of Team Expansion. "I mean — what are the odds, right? Who donates valuable, one-of-a-kind horses like these to people they've only just met? I wondered if they'd even remember Jon… or if they'd explain that they really had to just think about it for awhile. But to my complete surprise, they agreed to meet out at Emerald Hills the very next day.

I invited a couple of people to help me with the meeting, primarily because I know so little about horses. Colleen and Chelsea were willing to meet Danny and Dawn with me. We gave them a quick tour of the place, explained our vision, and there seemed to be an instant appreciation for the way Team Expansion is trying to help people around the world. "They seemed drawn to help people like Jon and the other 200+ missionary kids around the world, serving with their parents in nearly 50 countries. By the end of the one-hour meeting, the Lotts seemed serious: They were going to donate this colt to our organization. They seemed to mean business.

On March 19th, they called with the good news. Brody (the name they gave the newborn colt) had been born. And they were making good on their intention to donate. And all over the world, on nearly every continent, missionary kids are leapin', hoopin' and hollerin' — because tonight, for the first time in all of history, Team Expansion… and all our MK's, have a horse… a horse of course, named Brody!

And that's the story. It's a story of the value of a missionary, missionary children, and a gentle giant horse. It's the story of BrodyHorse.

Brody, with Dawn, Farrah's owner and, with Danny, the donor of Brody to Team Expansion and its more than 200 missionary kids (or MK's).

 

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2010-03-19: Winter.

Winter is ending at Emerald Hills.  It has been a good one.  Thank You, Lord, for the beautiful snows.  Thank You for keeping us well and safe as we traveled to and from work.  Thank You for preventing serious illnesses among our staff.  Thank You that there was no H1N1 outbreak in our office.  You are so good to us……way beyond anything we deserve or would even expect…. more than we would even hope for.  Now the hills are coming alive with the signs of spring and the sounds of music from the beautiful birds you made.  You are Awesome!
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2010-03-16: Multiply the Momentum.

To complete Phase I of our new missions nerve center, we were slated to make 270 relatively low payments toward principal over the next 25 years. Unfortunately, the associated interest cost is the killer. However, if a friend of the Great Commission stepped forward, volunteering to pay just the principal of one of those 270 payments in the name of a particular unreached people group (or loved one), and if we could, by God's grace, find 270 such friends willing to pay each month's principal early (by Dec. 25, 2010), we would save the Kingdom, and Team Expansion, nearly $2 million dollars!

In order to build its capacity for prayer, training, member care and missions mobilization for unreached peoples, Team Expansion is constructing a 61-acre training campus in Louisville, Kentucky. Several close friends of the organization (along with a good number of Team Expansion missionaries as well, actually) have already contributed more than half of the costs associated with Phase I of this exciting new project. Now Team Expansion's leaders are offering the opportunity for others to participate as well. In particular, the organization is praying that God would raise up 270 friends or groups of friends to donate directly toward the principal of the Phase I loan. 

  That's the essence of the campaign: Find 270 partners or "Advocates" to "adopt" a particular month's mortgage payment… but only the payment to principal. Because we'll be paying all the month's payments ahead of the time they're due, the interest payment will never have to be charged. These 270 Advocates will be saving the Kingdom of God nearly $2 million.

If we're successful, we'll owe our deepest apologies to the bank for the profit they'll never see on the loan. Not to worry though — In this case, we know the banker and he'll be celebrating right along with us, the happiest of all. In fact, he's already made a sizeable gift himself. 

  Note that Team Expansion is requesting that the payments be submitted no later than December 25, 2010. This will give us time to process the loan out before 2010 is finished, thus saving every last interest payment possible. (Go to http://www.mtm2010.com for more information.)

 

The first step in this process is to PRAY!  Ask God what part you can play to Multiply the Momentum.

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