Exhausted!

It's Thursday but I can honestly say the first thing I wrote in this post is "It's Wednesday." That's how exhausted we are after an amazing trip south. Me, Kelli, Jagen and Rylan were able to spend an amazing 10 days in Texas and Oklahoma and we are still recovering! I can honestly say this was one of the best and most encouraging trips we have taken since moving to the Northwest in 2008. We were able to meet with some of our current partners and share with them in person how much their support is impacting the people of Tacoma for the gospel of Jesus and to honestly share with them that we need their continued support into the future.

We were able to meet with some new churches as well, some of whom have already decided to partner with The Pathway and some that are praying about the role they will play in the Northwest. We also got to spend some time with the Lohman and Campbell families in Oklahoma who are like a second family to us. They pray for us, support us and encourage us in so many ways and it was refreshing to spend 24 hours with them just getting loved on!

Thank you all for your continued prayers for The Pathway. Sorry for the sporadic posts the last couple of weeks but we'll be back on schedule with posts this Monday! Please pray that Jagen and Rylan recover from our travels. And remember, NEVER take 11 month old twins on a plane!!!

LDS at UPS

As many of you know God has finally been opening some doors for The Pathway to connect with college students at the University of Puget Sound (UPS). Right now we are just showing up to Intervarsity meetings on campus (they are the only outside Christian influence allowed on campus), hanging out with students, learning what Jesus is up to and trying to walk through any open doors he gives us. Well, last night Tommy and me were able to hang out with some of the guys before the meeting which was great. The meeting was good and we brainstormed ways to partner with an organization in India called Freeset whose sole purpose is to buy back women who have been sold into prostitution and employ them in their factory making t-shirts and bags. Pretty amazing... but that wasn't what stuck out about the night.

Before the meeting a student named Jasmine told me that she was so excited that finally, this Wednesday night, all the Christian organizations on campus (all 6 of them) would be doing something together for the first time. They are having a prayer time around the big fountain in the center of campus. I asked her what other Christian groups were on campus and she went through the short list but one of the groups she mentioned was the LDS club... as in Latter Day Saints... as in Mormon. That's right, a Christian club! My mind went back to my first meeting a year ago with the UPS chaplain when he gave me a list of the Christian clubs and the LDS club was included.

I don't even know where to begin with how my heart feels about this. I'm sad that Christ is so masked in our city and on this campus that Christians don't know a cult when they see it. I'm frustrated that the so called "christian" chaplain encourages students to chose whatever faith or lack of faith works for them... and he thinks they'll be okay in the end. But I'm also hopeful.

First of all, the Holy Spirit is working in Tacoma and that always brings hope. Second, at the end of the meeting last night Jasmine invited not just me, but our church to come to the prayer meeting on Wednesday night! You better believe we'll be there. Finally, the Bible says in the last days so many false gospels will be preached. But we know who already has the victory won and his name is Jesus. Pray for us on Wednesday at 9pm pacific time. Pray that we would have opportunities to speak truth. Pray for boldness. And pray that the true gospel would win the victory at UPS and that the LDS students would put their faith in the real Jesus!

Red Lobster and Small Prayers

If you've been following The Pathway or the Higginbotham family for the last month or so you know it has been all but an encouraging time. We have been under what feels like constant spiritual attack as a family, a leadership team and as a church and we have really been fighting discouragement and frustration. Well, things are not all roses and we are still battling but God encouraged our hearts in a major way on Saturday and reminded us how much he cares, how much he knows us and how he always provides in every way.

The week had been rough and Kelli came to me on Thursday night and told me she really needed to go out on a date with just me. No babies, no friends, just me and her. She asked me to take her to Red Lobster. Most of you know that my wife and I date pretty regularly. Thursday morning is date morning at the Higginbotham house and Saturdays are family days. However, with twins and a Tiffany our dates are not always just the two of us! On top of that, Kelli has never asked me specifically to go to Red Lobster. Those of you who know Kelli well know that she is incredibly indecisive and her favorite line is when I ask her where she wants to go or what she wants to do is, "I choose that you should choose!"

Well, I set up for Tiff to watch the babies Saturday night and I asked Kelli to go out to Red Lobster. Thankfully we had just gotten paid on Friday but Red Lobster is not McDonald's. It's a little pricey but when my wife makes such a specific request I know it needs to happen. Well, Saturday morning came around and we were spending time as a family as usual. I went outside and checked the mail and we had received a card from our local church association. Here's where God is just so intimate, so personal, so relational, so good. I opened the card and out fell a gift card... to Red Lobster! Kelli and I just laughed... as we often do... when God provides in a way that we never would have asked. Not flashy, not extravagant... just God. Praise Jesus for Red Lobster!

Please continue to pray for all of us going forward. This past Sunday at our second worship service I prayed a small prayer beforehand as I often do. It's a small prayer but a dangerous one. I prayed that God would bring the "right people" to our service. We had a great turnout the week before but I really wanted the right people to come this past week as we were going to be preaching on our specific vision as a church (you can hear it at www.thepathwaytacoma.com). Well, not many people showed up and I found myself doubting God's answer to the prayer. Small prayers can be dangerous, can be risky, but God's answers and his ways are always right. Please pray that I would have the faith to believe the right people were there and that those people would buy into the vision God has given us in such a powerful way that we would begin to see dramatic life change and the church in Tacoma would flourish!