June June June

Busy, busy, busy. The word that most aptly describes our life right now! It feels like we haven't stopped running since school got out in May. Summer activities are in full swing right now, keeping Caleb and the staff very busy through the week. Every Tuesday and Thursday from 1-3pm, they take 40-45 kids to the local pool. On Wednesdays, it's open clubhouse for a few hours. Open Gym is on Tuesday nights for Jr. and Sr. High boys, while across the street, the BBQ at the River Run Apartments is underway. And I can't forget the non-scheduled activities, where we build relationships in smaller groups. We are enjoying the informal schedule of the summer, where we can focus on building the kids up, building our relationships with them, and just plain hangin' out. There is nothing better than having thirty kids voicing their excitement to see you :)

Here are some highlights from the last month:

• Caleb's counseling training: Every Monday until August 20th, Caleb travels to Lafayette, IN to take classes in biblical counseling training. It goes from 9am to 9pm, and the end half of the day is spent observing actual counseling sessions. 
• Jenna's trip home: Jenna took a quick trip back to Spokane to see her brother, Chris, graduate from high school. We are VERY proud of him and his accomplishments. It was very good to be home for even a few days. 
• Indianapolis: Jenna's birthday was June 17th, so we spent the weekend in Indianapolis as a birthday get-away weekend. We visited the zoo, watched a dolpin show, ate delicious food, shopped, and visited an art musuem. It was a great time, and Caleb enjoyed his first days off in two weeks. 
• VBS/Camp: This week, our church put on their VBS program. Six elementary kids from Lifeline joined Caleb and our new intern, Jessica, at Sugar Grove Church and got "Zapped" this week. From what we hear, the kids are enjoying it alot! We also had six kids up at a week-long camp with another church. We picked them up today, and found out that two of our girls who went up to camp committed their lives to Christ!!! And a boy who attended VBS also accepted Christ!! Praise Jesus! This is a huge highlight for us, to see the Lord moving in our kids' hearts. 

Some things to pray for:

• A house: We have been looking to buy a house in the next few months. Please pray that God leads us to a house that serves our ministry but also is a space to relax when we aren't at Lifeline. 
• Energy: The summer activities require a lot of energy. Pray that we can keep up with these crazy kids.
• New believers: Pray that the Lord guides our words and actions as we help our three new believers learn how to be followers of Jesus.

Thank you for being such wonderful friends, family, and support for us. It has been a long year and we are so thankful to have you behind us, even though we may no longer live near some of you. If you ever have any questions, or want to get involved, please let us know!! God Bless!

Fishing Tournament

One of Caleb's many roles at Lifeline is being the Sports Director and being a member of a local sports league. During the summer, the Michiana Youth Sports League puts on a fishing tournament as one activity for kids to take part in. We brought twelve kids from nine to sixteen years old, along with three very helpful volunteers! The tournament was held at Potato Creek State Park (the site of our future camping adventures in the next couple months.) The league includes Boys and Girls Clubs from the area, so we had some stiff competition. However!!! We dominated :) Overall, the group caught 104 inches of fish, the longest being a 9 1/2" fish caught by Demetrius. The second place team only caught 45 inches. It was a fun morning of fishing, baiting the hooks with worms, untangling lines, teaching kids how to cast, and pulling the hook out of a fish's mouth. Reminded me of when my dad (Mark Ainslie) taught me how to fish and had so much patience with me as I learned. Here are some pictures of the successful fishermen and fisherwomen!

Ashley and Isabell

Eager fishermen!

These guys caught the most fish in the entire group!

Daniel and Christian :)

Tyshawn Knight, who, on the banner we received, wrote Tyshawn Stanton instead :) 

Andrea kicked butt, catching three fish!

The whole group minus volunteers. So proud of them and first place!!

Soccer Team :)

Back in April and May, Caleb coached our Lifeline soccer team. Thought we would put up a picture of the team and our post-tournament celebration!

We placed second in the tournament, and came back from a four game losing streak to winning our next three. So proud of the team and how hard they worked. Excited for next year!!

As a celebration of the season, we all went out to pizza. Seven pizzas and five baskets of breadsticks later, they were still tired but at least full!