The Streets in Ireland

As you all know, we are now - finally - en route to India!!! It's still a little weird to be past the farewells at the airport that I've been dreading for so long, and to realize that the time changes are not going to be "changing back" for quite a long time, etc. We are VERY much enjoying our time with Jordan, Naomi, Nathanael, and Anna-Joy!! I just relish being able to watch Nathanael stomp his feet in excitement, smile, laugh, or just take everything in with his intense demeanor. Anna-Joy is so beautiful, sweet, and alert, and loves to be held, which I have enjoyed. :) Amos and Justice are having a really good time, as well. Being able to visit with Jordan and Naomi has been so refreshing too, especially since we hardly ever get to see them. Naomi and I connect in many ways through our husbands being pastors of small churches, and through having little children, and so we've had a really good time talking together.
Last night the boys were having a hard time getting to sleep, which gave both Andrew and I some extra individual prayer times. While holding Justice, I decided to sing to him, and the Lord brought to mind the song, "Day by Day." It was so encouraging in this transition time. One part that sticks out to me is where it says something like the Lord mixes toil with joy and peace. During my prayer time the Lord reminded me that while I'm in India, just like when I've gone through trials before, He will give His presence, He will mix joy with hardships, and He won't throw anything at me that I cannot handle. It has been so easy for me to picture this first year as something almost impossible that I will hardly be able to handle - and maybe that will sometimes be the case, but at times I have also forgotten the love, care, and presence of our Lord. I am so thankful for how He does take care of us, and ministers to us exactly what we need in each moment. 
Anyway, we love you ALL and you are all welcome in India!!! 

Pray for Charles and Sharon.  Charles is back from Taiwan however, he still is not able to practice or perform well enough on his violin.  They are trusting the Lord for guidance.

Praise the Lord that Chet is starting a new job this Tuesday.  The company is called Old Castle and it is in Napolean, OH.  They do plastic molding and make cases for underground communications.  When they first offered him a job, he would have had to work nights on Saturdays and Sundays every other week....which would mean he would need to sleep most of the day on Sunday.  He balked and told them he would need to think about it and check out another company.  When he called them back a few days later, Old Castle said they were setting him up for an interview with a M-F job at $2 more per hour.  So, we are praising the Lord for that!
Chet's wife, Mai, may be coming home soon.  Sara McIntosh has been working hard at figuring out ways her prescriptions and medical care can be covered in an affordable way.  Mai is excited and we are too!  We're thankful for the work God is doing in this family.  To have positive anticipation from all sides about her moving home is a miraculous answer to prayer!

We have had some visitors at our new church.  At times, we have had up to 31 people in the McIntosh home.  We're trusting the Lord to build the church as He wants it.  We have purchased a nice prayer stand which we need prayer for that it would be used for souls and His glory.
Tom's widow has been attending some and was in tears several times last service.  Pete (Tom's son) and Angie are still hungry and have attended some as well.  They continue to need prayer in all the decisions that come with seeking the Lord.  Their daughter, who is 11, has expressed to us her desire to live a more godly lifestyle and to be faithful to church.  She gave her heart to the Lord at Salvation Army camp a few weeks ago.  Today, we were able to take her shopping for some more modest clothes as that is one of her desires.

Jordan and Naomi are coming to visit the first two weeks of September so we are excited about that!

Jordan in the hospital

Pray for Jordan as he is in the hospital in Ireland.  They are running tests.  Monday, he should have a colonoscopy.  Other test results should be back Monday or Tuesday.  Jordan is on IV for nutrition as he hasn't been able to eat for a few days and he is feeling better with that little boost.

Coda Mountain Music Academy, 2013

There are no words to describe Coda Academy 2013!  One of the amazing things to me was the rest, enjoyment and camaraderie amongst the students and staff in the midst of very hard work. The students seemed relaxed and safe, laughter ringing out everywhere, yet they were working their little tails off from 7:30   am until 9:30 pm each day. We began each morning and ended most days with optional devotions and every last one attended.

Out of forty-eight students, about thirty received partial or full scholarships thanks to the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation, The Beckley Area Foundation, the County Commission and Senator Laird, BB&T as well as other private and civic donors.  

Forty-eight students came through the door on June 16; some surly and looking for mischief, some terrified, some confused about life, some shy, and everything in between.  In just a few days, forty-seven students, ages 9 to nineteen, and 15 faculty/staff knit together like a family and the overall culture of the camp was one of cooperation and mutual respect for where each one was in their journey.  The musical accomplishments were incredible, but as director, I have to marvel at this aspect first!  It made my job so much easier!  It wasn't long until kids were opening up spiritually both in devotional moments and in one-on-one discussions. We had some kids who didn't have a church background who were really searching.

Congressman Nick Rahall, County Commissioners and the media were amazed at the music pouring out of almost every room!  Sometimes there were over twenty rooms with private lessons, chamber coachings, private practice and bluegrass jams happening at the same time!  One county commissioner came for twenty minutes and stayed for 2 ½ hours. His response was, “This exceeds my wildest expectations.” 

Tommy Siner from WSAZ came out and filmed for several hours.  He is amazed at what is happening and has offered to create a mini-documentary that will air several times in West Virginia, and parts of Kentucky and Ohio.  The Charleston Daily mail ran an amazing article for us full of color pics and a great write-up.  It was 1 ¼ pages!  We are so grateful for this!  http://www.dailymail.com/News/201306270097  To God be the glory.

Coda bluegrass and classical ambassador groups did at least 9 run-out performances in churches, Summersville bluegrass festival, the unveiling of the wall of honor ceremony and at Smokey’s on the Gorge for Leadership West Virginia just to name a few.

In addition to the run-out gigs, Coda Academy and Coda Kidz provided 6 concerts and 2 master-classes which were open to the public within a two week span.  The final concerts of the Academy and the Kidz were packed out with standing room only (about 230 people).  We are considering a larger venue next year.  

I wish you could have experienced the quality daily workshops that the faculty prepared.  They dealt with everything from electronic looping to musical careers to how to protect your body while playing your instrument.  The piano improv class was a real hit as we had 8 digital pianos in one room learning and improvising praise and worship songs together.  They did so well! Too much fun!

Three companies did some amazing ‘in kind’ donations.  Harry Gillum at Showtime Music provided, transported and set up 8 large quality digital keyboards at NO cost to us.  Shane Lowther of CSA pianos provided and transported 6 real pianos including a brand new baby grand for only the cost of the truck and the driver. Class VI provided an incredible evening of recreation with Timber Trek, swimming and disc golf for only $29 per student.

The good news is that it seems that 100% of the faculty want to return next year with several more waiting in line to be hired (including two teachers interested in opening a percussion track).  All of the students said they had a wonderful experience and almost all left camp assuring us that they will be back.  Parents/students expressed interest in siblings and/or friends coming next year.  This is great news and evidence of the grace of God and the excellence of the team and their work.

Oh – and the food.  Jenny Robinson and her amazing crew wowed us each and every day with cuisine such as cappuccino pancakes, Indian curry, Mexican dishes, giant mixed green salads with blue berries, strawberries and scallions on top, etc.  And she did this for under $8 per person per DAY.  All homemade.  Am I fooling myself to think these kids come for the music….?!  A recent facebook post by one of student cellists:  “I'm gonna miss the Coda food. For the past two weeks I've been eating potato soup, quiche, cappuccino pancakes, chicken curry and chocolate mocha cake. This morning I sat down alone with a bowl of cheerios. It's just not the same.”  Community and parent volunteers sunk elbow deep in dish water, set up the food table and served us all with generosity and love.

The New River Gorge Gateway facility was loved by all.  After surveying the faculty and many students, the consensus is to stay in Fayetteville rather than pursuing a college campus.  Everyone loves the natural setting and the awesome community support that Fayetteville gives.  The huge drawback to this is that we have almost maxed out the facility’s capacity already.  I truly believe that we will have at least 80 – 100 students next year and none of us are keen on turning students away.

Soooo much more to tell, but this hopefully gives you a taste of our incredible experience at Coda Academy 2013.  There is much to tell about Coda Kidz day camp as well.  It was the best ever.

God’s grace and the dedication of the team and community were so evident and appreciated beyond words.  Thank you for your prayers.

Esther 

Praise and Prayer

1)  Mikah is home for the summer and is trusting to get a job to help pay for school next year.  Nothing has opened up so keep praying!  She has sold things on the internet and is doing some work for a lady and making a little bit of money.
2) Chet is home and looking for work.
3) Praise the Lord that we had the first baptismal in our pond last night.  Joy McIntosh, 11 years old, testified that Jesus told her a few months ago that she was to be baptized.  Both sets of grandparents were able to be there, and her father participated in the baptism.  We could feel God's presence.  It was a sweet time.  We had some neighbors quietly watching from a distance.
4) Praise the Lord that Pastor Don has started a weekly Bible study with the son of Tom Ankney (the neighbor of the McIntoshes who was saved on his deathbed).  This last week, Pete invited an unsaved employee and a believing neighbor to the study as well.  Pete's wife may attend next week.  Appreciate continued prayers for this.
5)  We're rejoicing in the meaningful times of prayer we have had with the McIntosh family on Thursday nights.
6) Next week, Mikah, Grace and Hannah McIntosh will be doing a backyard Bible club at our home for an hour each evening.  We're praying the children in our neighborhoods will attend and be moved by the Lord to give all to Him.
7)  Next weekend, we will have a seminar in our homes on evangelizing.  Trusting the Lord to use that for His glory.

Continuing to trust the Lord that we will not miss anything the Lord has for us.

Big News for the Streets

Here's what's been going on around here, for those who haven't already heard:

1. First off, I think most everyone (if not everyone) has heard that we are expecting another little bundle of joy this year! It's kinda reworked our plans, but the Lord seems to have a special way of doing that. November 20th is the due date, so the baby will be born in India as long as all goes well (which is expected).  I have yet to research exactly how that's all going to work out, but my midwife assured us that she thinks we would do fine as an unattended home birth if it comes to that, although we are hoping to find a midwife to assist if possible. Grandma Schultze is always welcome to come over and help if she wants to stay for a couple weeks and pay for the flight over...:)

2. As Mom may have already mentioned, the visas did come in on May 6th, I think it was. We are very excited about the Lord paving that way for us! They are one year student visas, so we will need to renew them in India next spring. We have heard that it is really easy to renew them - hopefully that will prove true.

3. After we found out the above news, Andrew got right onto purchasing tickets. It has worked out that, en route to India, we will be able to stay a week at Jordan and Naomi's in Ireland, and the following week in Corsica, France, with Andrew's sister, Anna, and her family!!! I'm thrilled!!! Our departure date is Wednesday, August 7, and we are due to arrive in Allahabad, India, on the 22nd of August I think it is.

Monday, May 6th

Today Andrew and Morgan should find out if their visa was accepted for India.

Grandma Schultze is at Cleveland Clinic being checked for an irregular heartbeat.

Charles has prolonged his stay in Taiwan.  His knee joints are getting much more help than his elbow.  They are looking into the cause of his pain as well.