As often happens when it’s time for the Olympic Games to roll around, inspiration and lessons from the Lord, follow. In particular, this time around, I’ve been learning the value of ‘just keep going’. Some of my absolute favorite winter Olympic sports, are biathlon and cross-country skiing. I suppose because they require so much dedication and commitment, which I find to be inspiring. But another sport I’ve grown fond of, is something called ‘Snowboard-Cross’. It’s an event where 6 snowboarders at a time, all race down a hilly and winding course, to see who will get to the finish line first. The race has been described as ‘NASCAR on ski’s’. Snowboard-cross is a wild and woolly race, and lots of things can happen. One person can be at the front, with a huge lead, while others have fallen down in the back, and are seemingly out of the race. Suddenly, the leader might wipe out, taking others with him/her, and the person in the back, who was super far behind, comes to the forefront, and wins the gold medal. Over the years I’ve watched this sport, I’ve seen this happen several times. It’s kind of amazing. I’ve seen the same thing happen with Biathlon, or Cross-Country skiing. I watched a race the other day, where a guy got tangled up with some other skiers at the start of the race, almost completely out of it. But he persevered, and with amazement, everyone watched as he ended up slowly chipping away, and finally winning the whole race!

You can probably guess where I’m going with this, right? But to bring it into our day to day lives, we are often struggling, big-time, with a wide variety of obstacles. In our case, there have been a myriad of things in the last couple of months, that

have been difficult. Family stuff, ministry stuff, physical stuff, friends in need, all have meant a great deal of digging in and trying to stand firm. When I watch these feats of human endurance, I am encouraged to just “KEEP GOING”. These sporting events, are only a metaphor for life, in general. Winning a gold medal is only a temporal thing. But the day to day life we endure, and the way we manage our faith in the Lord, is what truly matters. When I read verses such as II Timothy 2:5 “And also, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules”, I am reminded to keep plugging away. Our ‘competing according to the rules’, is to remain faithful. Verse 13: “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; for He cannot deny Himself.” 

These words bring me great comfort, in a time of upheaval. We pray that they will comfort you, as well. If you’re going through the fire, just keep going..…  Ephesians 6:13
“…and having done everything, to stand firm…..” 

We love and value YOU!!! May the Lord bless you and keep you, both now and always,

Love Wayne & Carol

Prayer points:
Wow, where do we start this month.

• pray for our family, as we still need to see healing come, including Franki June.
• pray for Carol’s re injured/sprained ankle.
• pray for VOB, as we make some recent needed adjustments among food collection efforts.
• pray for worship gathering on Muckleshoot reservation (Wash.State) 1st weekend in March.
• pray for ongoing Mexico work, and continued favor with border crossings.
• prayer need for some added admin & other responsibilities on Wayne’s plate.
• Pray for additional finances needed for ongoing worship event travels to Native American reservations.