Trippin'...

To see the video, click on the little arrow at the lower left corner of the blank screen.

Dear Faithful Friends!

You've been so patient! Thank you for your kind words of encouragement - and for letting us know that you've been praying for us!

We've finally got pictures of our trip - and here's part 1: Canada and I-Fest (parts 2 & 3: Jenny's and Chrissy's are coming up next). We hope you enjoy it!

I-Fest was a wonderful time of blessing, refreshing and filling! God did some amazing things that week! We hope you'll pray for the things we learned and the people we've pictured. They're dear friends and fellow servants - and as we came to claim throughout the week: "We're all in this TOGETHER!"

Check out our pictures and post a comment or question by clicking on the "comment" button below. We'd love to hear what you think.

In His arms, 

Lee & Doug

Back in the Eastern Time Zone!

Well, in the last two days, we've traveled over 1000 miles, including six states, five state capitals, and four mountain ranges!

We can only say what a wonderful experience it has been to take in the beauty of our country. You can see in the photos how beautiful it is! We'd have shown you more, but you know, when you see something THIS beautiful, and you're listening to Phillips, Craig & Dean praise music, you don't stop to take pictures - you take in the moment. We had a lot of "moments" today.

best of all, we made it to Chesapeake, VA, the home of Lee's daughter Chrissy, and our one month old grandson, Ty Jackson Puopolo! Lee got to hold him for the first time tonight! What a joy for Gramma Lee!

We're planning to spend the next two days here before returning home on Sunday. Pray with us that we have a good and profitable visit with Ty and his older brother, Sam, who's 5 now.

Thanks for your prayers all along the way. We plan to give you more detailed reports on I-Fest when we get home, but in the mean time, internet access has been hit-or-miss along the way. Thanks for your patience.

God bless you, and thank you for following our progress along the way.

In His arms,

Lee & Doug

P.S. remind us to tell you about the REAL "Dream Team" at I-Fest - the WONDERFUL conference assistants!

Finally made it!

Well, we made it back into the country without a hitch. We stopped at the border so that Christine could obtain a temporary green card, but that was a minor blip on the radar screen. In practically no time at all, we were moving right along.

We arrived safely at Olivet a little before 5:30 NY time (gotta get used to the 1 hour time difference), and hit the ground running. From the moment we got out of the car, friends surrounded us and it was like we'd never left!

One of the neat things about I-Fest is that it has such a deep impact on our lives spiritually, that the people we see here become part of that impact. It's more than just a re-union, it's like coming home from a long vacation.

Lots of smiles & hugs today. We had a staff meeting this evening, after which Lee ran a meeting of the Conference Assistants (she's in charge of them, you know...), and we got off to a good start.

Well, it's late now, and WAY past our bed times! We're going to turn in, but please come back and check again tomorrow. We'll do our best to be faithful with our reports if you're faithful in your praying!

Until tomorrow, God bless & keep you!!

in His arms,

Lee & Doug

on the road again...

Well, by the grace of God, and with the prayerful support of so many dear friends, we donned our brand new "Everlasting Arms Ministries" hats, and headed for I-Fest.

I-Fest is the International Festival of Christian Puppetry and Ventriloquism, sponsored by One Way Street, Inc., and held at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois.

The top photo shows how we look in our new hats (you should see the new Logo shirts we got!), and that's pretty much what our day was about... driving, praying, talking, praying, reading, praying, word processing, more driving, and more praying.

We usually set out on a Saturday for this festival, and we would normally drive from East Rutherford to western Ohio (Toledo), where we would stay the night before finishing the trip on Sunday. However, we received a call 2 days before departing, asking us to leave the country! Well, literally, yes, but not the way it sounds.

Friends of ours in Canada have a mal-functioning car, so we were asked if we could re-route ourselves to include a stop in Ontario to pick them up and bring them to I-Fest. We love the Morelys, and didn't hesitate to grab the opportunity bring them. So, we literally left the country. As a matter of fact, as we're writing this note, we're praying that the same driver's licenses that got us INTO Canada, will be sufficient to get us OUT. God knows - and He's in charge. Pray for packing space, please!

The second photo - the one that looks so pretty - is the park across the street from their house. We got to take a walk through the park and spend some time with Christine Morely, as Paul stayed home to "warm up the barbie". God is SO good! We not only had a wonderful dinner together, but the fellowship is SWEET! We'll send more pictures as they become available.

We have friends who are praying us through every day on this trip. If you'd like to get our daily emails, please send us your address through the web site, and we'll add you in.

But, even if you don't get the emails, please continue to pray! God does GREAT things when His people pray!

Thank you for your continued love and support. We'll see you again soon - - hopefully tomorrow.

In His arms,

Lee & Doug