Not in Kansas (or Colorado) anymore
I was thankful to reach New Hampshire safely on August 31st after a ten-day trek across the country. Many thanks to those who were praying! The Lord blessed me with an uneventful trip and wonderful visits with friends along the way. My puppet Chef Soufflé insisted on doing most of the driving (I wish!). One of the highlights of the trip was a stop in Toronto, Canada, to see the Daniel Olson family. They have recently begun serving with a church-planting team. While walking downtown with Amber Olson, a man walked up to us, muttering French under his breath. Without any warning he reached over and tried to knock a can of pop out of Amber’s hand. That was only the beginning of his bizarre rampage. As we stood there open-mouthed with astonishment, he knocked all the condiments off a hot-dog stand, spraying ketchup and relish on a customer, and proceeded to kick an elderly lady who was passing by! “Welcome to the big city,” Amber remarked. After he was gone I wished I had tried my karate kick on him. Click on the following link to see an online album of my trip.

kristi's cross-country trip Aug. 2007

God’s provision through children and for children
While on my trip East, I was given a Ziploc bag full of change from children in the junior church department of Morningstar Baptist Church in Rockford, IL. While I appreciated the kindness of the children, I did not anticipate how important that money would become the very next day. As I drove from Illinois to Michigan, I had to take a toll road. “Uh oh!” I thought. “I don’t have any cash with me! This is very, very bad.” Then I remembered that Ziploc bag. The change in the bag ended up being just enough money to cover my tolls that day. Another display of the providence of God. Also, He provided a huge stack of CEF missionary stories and songs for my future ministry in France through the gift of a family member. The local CEF center in Denver just “happened” to have a special sale the last weekend I was in town. I now have enough junior church material for years to come!

Moving ahead by faith
Now that I am back in New Hampshire I hope to transfer my state residency and begin the application process for a long-term visa. My goals are to obtain the visa, reach full support by Thanksgiving, be commissioned by my sending church on December 2, and depart for France in early January in time for the spring semester at the University of Paris-Sorbonne. Lofty goals? Yes, especially because I cannot make any of them happen. Only the Lord of Hosts can bring them to pass. Please pray for His will to be done, and for me to wait patiently on His timing.

Prayer requests for September:
1) for increase in support (still at 57%)
2) for wisdom as I visit unsaved friends in the area
3) for me to rely completely on the Lord (see the story of King Asa in 2 Chron. 14-16)

For His glory,

Kristi Colas