From: David Jones [david.jones@lbfc.org]
Sent: Sat 8/21/2003
Subject:Keeping up with the Joneses

August 21, 2003

Long Beach Friends,

It has been 10 days since our last letter to you, and they have been full days. Emily started school tonight and I have been working at Schlagle High School since Monday. With the hustle and bustle ahead, I am definitely thankful that Emily and I had time to spiritually and relationally "refuel" this summer. We have been able to spend a lot of quality time together: Emily only had one class and then a month break, and I was off work and not in school for the first summer since we married. I think we used that time to really invest in each other, settle into life in the very hot state of Kansas, and seek God's purpose for us in this place. We have started daily reading the Bible together and that is producing fruit in our relationship. We will need to draw on it in the crazy weeks ahead. I mentioned "refueling" earlier. If some of you are feeling loaded down and in need of prayer, write us a quick note. I have a 40 minute commute (one-way) and I do a lot of praying during that time. I would love to include your specific needs in those prayers. You don't need to write a novel, just a simple request is great. Anyway, it is an offer for any of you.

Last weekend, Emily and I went on a short trip with some of the parents of youth in the church. We floated down the Niangua River (more like a trickle of water than a river), paddled over rocks, and got sunburned. My sunburn is quite interesting. Somehow we didn't do a very good job applying the sun block and my body looks more like a poorly designed puzzle than burned human skin. Emily only has a couple of spots on her back that I missed (I must say that my poor application was mostly my own doing). While we don't appreciate the sunburns, we are grateful for the opportunity we had to develop relationships with the parents of some of the youth in the church.

This will be a short letter as we have a lot of demands on our time right now, but hopefully we will get a window of time this next week to fill you in on more details (If only I could write email while driving-I bet Joe Ginder could make that happen!). We continue to think and pray for you!

Trusting in His promises,

Dave and Emily