Sending them off with a Bible, a Webcam and a prayer

(By Erik)

Jeanie and I are in the Just Starting Out Bible class at Memorial Road. Once per month our class (and all the classes at church) break into groups and meet after Sunday night service for Brother’s Keeper, a get-to-know-you type fellowship deal (with food, of course).

This month we had a combined Brother’s Keeper meal at the Norths’ home (complete with ice cream cake roll — thank you Jo Anne!) to say goodbye to the Vienna team.


Four couples from our church (three of them from our class) are headed for Austria next month to work as missionaries. The team members are:

• Jake and Amanda Haskew — and Abby (I actually got Jake to admit to reading this blog once.)
• Josh and Kim Hensal — and Carli, Caleb, and Cotter. (They like the letter ‘C,’ and they’re in the Young Couples class that I’m teaching this quarter. Josh accidentally knocked a Coke out of my hand at the Tulsa International Soul-Winning Workshop a couple of years ago. Crazy times, man. Crazy times.)
• Ira and Kari Lockwood — and Zaden (Zaden thinks that almost everything I say is hilarious, by the way.)
• Brian and Alisha Rusher (When I told him there was another Indiana Jones movie coming out, Brian’s response was — and I’m paraphrasing here — “George Lucas has already ruined his Star Wars legacy, so why not?”)

I’m including a few photos from the sendoff. Our class gave the couples a Bible (with verses we highlighted) and Webcams (so they can use Skype or some other communications program to stay in touch with us). Then Clyde Antwine, a former missionary to Germany, led a prayer for the team.

Jeanie and I really admire these young families for the commitment they’ve made to spread the gospel in a challenging location. Vienna team, you’ll be in all of our prayers.

If you want to keep up with the team, check out the Web site viennateam.org. Or read the team’s blog.

Kudos to everyone who helped with the event (especially to whoever brought the chicken tortilla soup-type dish. Delicious!)