Finally

So, after two years and almost six months of planning, recruiting, praying, preparing, raising awareness and training we are finally in Verona. We have been here a week today. I've been sick (read more about that here) for the entire week, so we haven't been able to do everything that we thought we would do, but we have done many things. We have got to meet a few area merchants or pizzeria owners. We have been exploring the streets around our apartment building by visiting stores, looking in windows and walking through neighboring streets. We have been getting our apartment set up, very slowly due to me being sick. Our rental agency has been great, going way above and beyond what we ever expected. They are making sure all problems are taken care of. So this week we have met Marco, and air conditioner repairman, a plumber (whose name we don't know yet) and at some point we are supposed to be meeting an electrician. In two months, all of this will be a faint memory.

Welcome Brandi Davis

In April of this year we welcomed another team member, Brandi Davis. She is a graduate of Manhatten Christian College and is from Wichita, Kansas. Along with all of our team members, once she gets to the field, she will be spending the first year learning the language and studying culture. After that, she will be leading in the areas of Music Outreach and Worship Development. She is a great addition to a wonderfully God-formed team and comes highly recommended. Yesterday, Angie and I got to see Brandi and meet her family. We were leaving a camp in Horton, Kansas so we drove through Wichita on the way home. Soon, you will be reading her thoughts alongside the rest of our team here, as she navigates this life of being a missionary.

As the Wheel Turns

So, as we are in the states, one of the objectives was to recruit the team, which really means trusting in God to form the team and listening to the Spirit as we follow Him. We hope to have recruitment finished within the next month. Then we can shift as a team towards "long-distance-bonding". So far, Angie and I are the only ones who have met or spent time with each of our team members in person! I know it has got to be strange for our team, who is just getting to know who they are going to be ministering with!

Our time for being in the states has been extended from the end of June to the end of September. Having that extra time is important for our team to get more of a base in their financial support, as well as giving us a chance to do more VBS programs and camps.

Everything we do in the states impacts our future work in Verona. It is the foundation for what we will build on as a team once we arrive in Verona. May God's will be ours.

Welcome Brandon and Savannah

As you know we have been recruiting for the Verona team while we are in the states. In fact, it is us along with many of you praying that God forms the team He wants in Verona. About a week ago, we welcomed aboard the latest team members, Brandon and Savannah Eaton. Brandon and Savannah will be leading in the areas of youth and children, which includes outreach, disicipleship ministry, etc... I look forward to sharing more about them as we go along. Praise God for bringing this team together.

Recruiting, Recruiting, Recruiting

We have involved in several facets of the ministry since the first of the year. We have already started visiting churches to talk about our ministry. Last week we started taking a semester long class called "Perspectives". It is really good and you can read more about it on our personal blog (http://www.thecrossers.com/blog/2008/01/perspectives.html). But the aspect of our ministry that is taking the most time right now is recruiting. As you can see on our team's website, we are still recruiting for youth ministry, children's ministry and music outreach/worship ministry. We are spending hours on the phone and writing emails. It is receiving applications and reading them. It is calling references and checking with others who are involved in the decision making process. I love it! I think we are almost at a point of having our initial team formed though and that is a good thing. It allows us to focus on all the other things that need to get done before the initial team is ready to go to the field.

Preparation for Verona

Since arriving back in the states on October 30, 2007 we have been extremely busy. We have done much in the way of preparing for the ministry in Verona. We have been involved in recruiting and promoting the work at the National Missionary Convention and it went really well. Hopefully, soon we can announce some of the news regarding that. Angie and I went to the bi-annual Team Leader summit hosted by Team Expansion where we were trained and encouraged in leading a team. Now we are back in Tulsa and are moving into a new apartment tomorrow morning. In January, we will start giving formal presentations to many churches around the country. If you are interested in having us come and speak just email us and let us know, mcrosser@teamexpansion.org. Thanks for reading!