This week was the INM men's prayer retreat. It was a good time of renewal and fellowship with men from the different areas. It was also good to hear the mission's plans for the future. This week I tried to be the Apostle Peter and walk across water, but I went a step further and drove a full size truck across a lake. Of course it was frozen, but it is still a weird, nerve-testing experience.

I went into Pikangikum for the first time. Wow! That place needs prayer. It looks like a third world country. The old rundown shacks have graffiti all over them. Even the poor excuse of a Red Roof Inn had graffiti all over it and windows knocked out by kids that are just bored and looking for attention.

I would like to ask that ya'll join me in prayer as I seek God's will for me in the future, whether I am to stay here longer or not. I believe it is God's will that I do stay so I will pursue that, but I will trust God to shut doors for me if it is not His will for me to stay. There's also the question of how long a term I should commit to. Write back sometime or anytime if you get a moment. I'd love to hear more from the church folks.

It's hard to believe Obe & I have been married almost 2 years and that I've been gone from Powhatan for nearly 5 years. Here's a bit about what we've been up to.

Obe is in his second year of teaching fifth grade at Mountain View Elementary School. He's really been focusing on his writing program since he participated in a graduate course, The Writing Project, at the end of last summer. He's also the computer fix-it guy for MVES, a job he loves but that requires a lot of time. He spends his spare time creating SOL practice games, PowerPoint Presentations, and web pages on the computer for his class. He's currently working part-time toward his masters in Technology in Education.

In August, I began teaching freshman and sophomore English at Broadway High School. I think I was born to teach. I've also found a niche coaching volleyball. That is a huge time commitment but is also very rewarding. I coached the Broadway JV girls and am currently coaching the Valley Junior Olympic 14-year-old girls.

Obe and I are both very involved with Ridgeway Mennonite. We've finally found a church where we both feel at home. We are in the process of moving our memberships there. While this was a difficult step for me to make, I have grown to love the people and fellowship there and feel it's important to keep a current membership. Obe plays for their basketball team, and I play for the volleyball team. We were VBS co-coordinators this past summer and recently have spent hours taking photographs, typing and editing for the church directory. Obe leads children's singing. I also sing and play guitar for Praise Band and write and edit the monthly newsletter. My mom says I'm acting just like her!

We have a very active young adult group here in Harrisonburg. A lot of our college friends still live in the area, and we're having fun being young marrieds together.

While our lives feel hectic right now, we've tried to keep family and friends high on the priority list. You have been a huge blessing to us. We try to make it back as often as possible and look forward to hearing the news from home. We'd love to hear from you!

Obe & Jill Hostetter