As I write this I want to let you know of a change to our newsletters. If you are not signed up to receive our newsletter, what are you waiting for? You can sign up on the home page of our website. Anyway, beginning this month we will only publish bi-monthly. That means only six issues per year. If there is some significant news which we feel cannot wait, we will publish a special issue. The time it takes to put the newsletter together is no small task when there is so much going on. Hopefully you will all adjust, just sayin'... I want to invite you to LIKE us on Facebook if you are into social media. We try to post things there like urgent needs and other immediate news. If you see something there you like please share it, that is how the words spreads about what is going on and so much more. To find us, simply type 'Open Hands Midway' into the search bar and you will find us, it is that easy. We are only 3 weeks away from a very busy summer at Open Hands. Kids' Club begins their 8 week run starting on June 15. We will add a second meal each week on Wednesday's from 12-2pm. Road construction will impact getting to and from Open Hands this summer so I urge you to plan accordingly. It seems each time I come here I have some new detour that pops up. I guess the saying is true that Minnesota has two seasons, winter and road construction. Without venting too much I will simply state, 'I am VERY tired of my morning and evening commute' just sayin'... I am a part of a Bible study group that is studying John Ortberg's book titled 'If you want to walk on water you have to get out of the boat'. The boat that Ortberg is referring to is whatever represents safety and security for us. My Bible study group has just begun reading this book but somehow I find a lot of the content pertinent to what I am doing at Open Hands. I have been stepping into new situations and experiences since I came here. I have been leaving my boat and facing my fears. BUT I am stepping out in faith. Fear will always be a part of our lives but that is how we grow, we face those fears. Nobody likes to fail and least of all we never like to have others see us fail. Ortberg says, "Failure is an indispensible, irreplaceable part of learning and growth. Here is the principle involved: Failure does not shape you; the way you respond to failure shapes you." Now you may be asking yourself why I am writing this. I am writing this because when Pastor Steve Slostad asked me about becoming the Director of Open Hands my biggest fear was I would fail and when I did I would never be able to live with that. Sure, there have been things I have tried that have failed and I have adjusted them or done something different. But my point, and I do have one, is that if I never failed, I would never grow and those experiences would have been for naught. Maybe I am trying to say that failing is ok as long as we never give up trying. Therefore I am going to keep getting out of the boat and each time I do I know my fear will not go away but I also know that my fear will not destroy me either. As Ortberg says, "The worst failure is to never get out of the boat." Something else that I want to share is about a recent loss that some of you know about. My faith community, Redeemer Lutheran in White Bear Lake, serves at Open Hands on the second Monday of each month. We now have one less dedicated volunteer who will be serving along side of us. Our friend, Loretta Lashinski, died a week ago from a very rare and unfortunate disease called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, or CJD. Loretta was only 58 years old and such a joyful soul. She will be missed at Open Hands as many other volunteers got to know her as she served. I will remember all the times Loretta and I laughed so hard we nearly cried. Finally, I have to lift your spirits after sharing about Loretta. I was cleaning off my book shelf recently when I found a copy of a book that makes me laugh hysterically every time I pick it up. The book is called 'Young Jesus Chronicles'. If you have never seen this book you are missing out on a few good laughs. I will give you a sneak peak. One illustration shows Mary and Joseph next to Jesus in the manger with the three wise men standing nearby. The caption of the illustration says, "Frankincense and Myrrh?...I thought we agreed on the Diaper Genie." Hey, I thought it was funny, just sayin'....