March an(d) on

Wow, we have reached March in this awesome year of 08'. Where has the year gone? I know I have stated this before but it so hard to believe that as we turned the corner into 2008 two months ago the realization hit. Nigeria and our work with the Nationals within the most populated African country.

Here is a little trivia for you, Abtstra edition:

Six months ago we met someone for the first time, who is it?

Since I have you in the mind set of meeting new people I want to let you know what is now going on with TAC (Toby, Alycia and Caden). Tonight and every Saturday night during the month of March we have been invited to share our future ministry with 5 different Lifegroups (for those outside of Dallas, Lifegroups are small groups of people within the the Church that meet outside of the Church within the community).

This is a great opportunity for us to meet other members of our Church and for them to meet us and learn about our Future ministry in Nigeria. We are excited to meet so many new people during these nights and to share the Lord's vision for our family.

Please be in prayer for these nights as we seek to enlarge our Abtstra Network. We know and understand the more the Lord and his Children are behind us in our ministry how effective we can be as His hands and voice to the Nigerian people.

Thank you, our Abtstra Network we appreciate your support and prayers.

Love,

TAC

HE's BACK

Thank you for all of your prayers for the little fella.

Well last night around 7pm the Doc asked if we would be alright with discharging him then rather than to keep him one more night. Well we opted for one more night just to play it safe and make sure that all of his numbers and signs were best for him to be home.

So this morning we packed up his room and headed home where we are now to give him the treatments he received at the hospital.

He is happy, smiley and chatty once again so our little fella is doing great.

Prayer request

Please be in prayer for our little man Caden he is now in the Hospital with Pneumonia. It is such a helpless feeling to see our little guy hooked up with three different things in three different places.

So please pray that everything turns out alright and that this will pass in a speedy time. Thank you in advance.

Caden's Big Trip

It was a short trip but we had a lot of fun. We were able to see Toby's brother and his family, as well as Toby's grandma and many friends.

Here are more pics from our trip:

On our way...

God is good! We have started building our support team and have 1/8th of the total funds needed in our account. Praise God! We are so excited about beginning this journey to Nigeria. We have applied to a couple of churches and have a few more to speak with. We also hope to visit with LifeGroups, Sunday school classes and other small groups of people, as well as with individuals. If you would like for us to come and share about our ministry in Nigeria with your small group, please let us know...we would love to share our excitement with you and your friends!!! E-mail us and we will set a date.


We are on our way this weekend, too. On Friday we head to Wisconsin for the weekend. I (Alycia) am worried that Caden and I will freeze! But we are all excited to see snow (Caden is excited - but he doesn't know ir yet!) Toby is especially looking forward to watching the Packer's/Giants play-off game in GREEN BAY!!!! Most of all it will be great to see Toby's brother's family, Grandma, and friends.

The passing of an Uncle

This morning (Saturday) Alycia lost a beloved Uncle who not only made an impact within his family but within his community. He was known to many and greatly respected by so many more due to his position as Athletic Director of Lewisville Independent School District here in high school sports crazy Texas.

We ask for your prayers for the family and community thru this time as they honor and dedicate this time to a great man. The family lost a husband, brother, father, uncle, grandpa, friend etc. while the Lord accepts one of his children home for eternity.

Below is an article from the online version of the Dallas Morning News from today's news.

Former Lewisville athletic director Neal Wilson dies

He started with district in 1965; had been battling leukemia for several months

02:06 PM CST on Saturday, January 5, 2008

From Staff Reports

Longtime Lewisville ISD athletic director Neal Wilson died Saturday morning, a school official said.

DMN file

Neal Wilson

Wilson, who turned 65 on Dec. 28, was hospitalized in late October after being diagnosed with acute monocytic leukemia, according to assistant athletic director Rody Durham.

Wilson had been with the LISD – either as a coach as the athletic director – since 1965.

For his contributions to the district, Flower Mound High School renamed its football stadium after Wilson.The Neal E. Wilson Jaguar Stadium was dedicated in 2005.

Wilson's 40-year career began and ended in Lewisville. In 1965, he took his first coaching position at Lewisville Junior High School after graduating from North Texas State University. He went on to coach football at four other schools, including Lewisville High, where he posted a 67-19-5 record. He became the district's full-time athletic director in 1986.

At that time the district had one high school. The district would add four more – Marcus, The Colony, Hebron and Flower Mound – before his tenure ended.

Staff Writer Damon L. Sayles contributed to this report.

Holiday Travels....

Caden survived his first road trip! He was such a trooper, logging in over 1000 miles in his car seat. Before Christmas we travelled to the Woodlands to visit Alycia's parents. While there, they hosted an "open house" for us so that their friends could meet Caden and hear about our upcoming ministry in Nigeria. It was a very encouraging time for us all.

Where's Caden?

After Christmas we travelled to Hot Springs, AR to visit Alycia's grandmother and family. Caden loved all of the attention that was lavised upon him!

The week before Christmas we enjoyed a Christmas gathering with

family up at the farm - outside Valley View.

It was fun to get together with so many relatives for the holidays!