Missouri Mission Team                                                January 8- April , 2004 Brenda Lauterbach and Evelyn Hall Evelyn Hall and Brenda Lauterbach are planning to serve at Fellowship Ranch from January 8th to sometime in April.  This will enable the directors to have a second retreat for the marines during the week.  They will be ministering to enlisted men and women stationed at nearby Fort Leonard Wood as they come to the ranch for a relaxing time away from the post and a chance to study and learn from God's Word.  Many of them are reservists called up for active duty.  Fellowship Ranch is owned and operated by Cadence International.     Latest Update (Note: Unfortunately Brenda will not be able to make the trip due to injuries she received when she fell from a ladder in her home on December 28th.  She was taken to the hospital where she was found to have multiple breaks in her leg.  After surgery and a few days in the hospital she is now back home.  Please pray for her speedy recovery.  We know she is disappointed that she won't be able to make the trip with Evelyn.) Wednesday, January 21, 2004 Greetings to all at New Life! After the event of Brenda's accident and the ice storm, I finally left PDX at midnight on Saturday, 1/10, arriving at Ft Leonard Wood at 2:00 pm on Sunday, 1/11, quite weary from the long trip.  I was met by Frank Branham who took me directly to the Ranch where the army retreat was just ending. After introductions to the staff, the bus arrived and good-byes were said to the servicemen/women. The staff met together and read the evaluations, then spent time in prayer for these young men and women as they return to their duties. Though I regretted not being able to be involved with them, I was looking forward to the marine retreat on the 13th. After a tour of the facilities, I settled in to my very comfortable apt. in the duplex next to John & Joan Hobson.  Monday, Joan took me shopping for groceries & cleaning supplies for my apt. for the length of my stay here. Upon returning, I had lunch with Frank & RuthAnn and then learned that the marine retreat had been canceled.  This was a real disappointment to all of us. Since we did not need to prepare for the retreat, I spent that day and the next doing odd jobs around the main building, defrosting the freezer, washing windows, etc., interspersed with quiet time in personal Bible study at my apt.  I also went with Joan Tuesday morning to PWOC, a women's Bible study at the Ft. Leonard Wood chapel. Thursday we began preparations for the weekend army retreat. I spent most of the day baking cakes, brownies & cookies and received my first battle scar - a long burn on my forearm from a pan in the oven. RuthAnn said this is how everyone is initiated to the kitchen, which I believe is true, since the large bottle of aloe vera gel was practically empty! Then on Friday they arrived-young men and women in military fatigues who looked like they should be in high school horsing around with their classmates. Yet they were so serious-minded and so very respectful. It was a joy being here to serve them. Saturday I worked in the kitchen with RuthAnn from 6:30 am til 9:30 pm cooking, serving & cleaning, then repeating the process for each meal. I enjoyed serving in the food line and getting to speak a word to each one as they filed by. I was then able to sit at the tables with these precious young men & women, listening to their personal stories and encouraging them to keep a close walk with God. I discovered, as Nancy Carlson, Brenda and others had shared with me, that they are not just a "group" of servicemen. They are Drew from Rhode Island who has a wife and a four year old whom he misses terribly and Danielle whose best friend is her German shepherd named Sara. Like children, they are hungry for attention and acceptance, and a listening ear. There is James from Bryan, Texas who drove a tow truck in Houston, my home town, during the severe flooding several years ago. He has a girlfriend, Amanda who is studying to be an RN, and he shared about how they listened to their parents and decided to wait a while to be married.  I shared from Proverbs how a wise son listens to the counsel of his parents, and he was pleased that I thought he was making wise decisions. I discussed with him the importance of being involved in a church group when he returns home. I was able to attend one of the services where the Lord impressed upon me to pray for a young man named Travis for his salvation. I was overjoyed when he stood to accept Christ as his Savior.  When he came downstairs after talking with Frank, his smile lit up his whole face.  I pray for them all before I go to bed and I wake up with their names on my mind. And though my back ached from the work, and I was feeling fatigue from the busy schedule, I was sorry to see the retreat come to an end. It was with sorrow that I said good-bye as they boarded the bus on Sunday. As we read their evaluations after they left, it was evident that some did not make decisions and are still searching.  We prayed earnestly for them, that they will remember and consider what they heard from God's Word.  We also prayed for those who did make decisions, that the seed will take root and that there will be others who come alongside them and build them up in the faith. Monday being a holiday, Frank was not able to contact anyone regarding the marines scheduled to come on the 20th, so we planned for a full retreat.  This meant another full day of baking, then grocery shopping. Tuesday morning I went again with Joan to PWOC and while there, she received word that the retreat had once again been canceled. RuthAnn was also at PWOC and talked with a general's wife there, whom she knows well.  She, along with us, was upset about the cancellations and is going to talk with her husband who is a believer and has spoken at the Ranch before.  Hopefully, something will be resolved. But until then, I will keep busy with more small projects and will continue to pray that the marine retreats will happen. I very much appreciate the prayers of all of you there. I feel so blessed to be here, as I know beyond doubt that this is where God directed me.  He has more wonderful things in store and I am ready to receive them, as I submit to Him. Evelyn