Hughes Update

So much has happened since our last update, it is hard to decide where to begin! We have recovered from summer camps and are now back into full swing. It has been really wonderful to resume a "normal" schedule and to see some prayer requests answered!

Lily started her first day of first grade on September 1st. She is attending a small private school that is just perfect for her. There are only 8 other students in her class, which allows her teacher to have a little more time for Lily and her language needs. We are so thankful for the provision of this school and that Lily seems to like it! Thanks so much to all of you who have prayed for her in this transition.

Jay and Brittney were able to attend a camp follow-up celebration in early September. A girl named Olessa from our church in the city was also able to attend. Olessa had participated in this particular camp, and it was a great opportunity for Jay and Brittney to spend more time with her, as well as for her to see her friends from camp. Following the celebration, Jay spent the evening with some missionaries working in a neighboring town to discuss with them about the possibility of starting a sports camp. We are glad to be taking some steps into adventure sports and athletic camps in the summer of 2009.

In mid September, Jay boarded a train with the choir from our church for a 20 hour ride to a city in the Eastern part of our country. Our church sent our choir to "reciprocate" participating in a sister churches service. The choir sang for the congregation, and Jay was honored to preach. It was a great chance to see the far eastern side of the country and a great time of extended conversation in their language with our brothers and sisters from our church.

At the end of September, our team attended the Josiah Venture Fall Conference. This conference is focused on bringing national leaders from all the individual countries that Josiah Venture serves in order to serve them and give them a greater view of the mission and vision of Josiah Venture. We were so pleased to have three foreign leaders attend with our team. Ihor and his wife, Elena who is a pastor of a local church in the city, as well as Sava, who is the youth leader at the church that our teammates Ben and Kristy Williams attend. It was time well spent of brainstorming about ministry opportunities alongside our foreign leaders.

After the conference, Cameron took an 11 hour train ride with the girls to meet Jay. We then drove to Salzburg, Austria to meet Jay's parents. We spent a week in Austria and Germany seeing Western Europe for our first time and spending time with Grandma and Grandpa. We had a great time and were sad to have our time together come to an end.

This summer we bought a used car in Alabama and had it shipped to Europe. Why? Because choosing to send a car rather than buy a comparable car here has saved us nearly half the price. Our Van served us well, but our roads here and our busy summer are tough on vehicles and it has became more and more clear that the time is right to sell our van and start anew. It has been great to see God's great timing in this whole process and His provision of a working car at just the right time.

Jay will be coming to the States in early November to be a part of the Josiah Venture 2 X 3 campaign in Atlanta. We are excited for him to be a part of JV's desire for its supporters to learn more about our organization as well as opportunities to be a part of larger planned projects. There will be 11 venues in various cities across North America. If you are interested in possibly attending this evening of dessert and vision casting, or learning more about what we will be doing in the next three years, you can go to www.2x3campaign.com. Our team is excited about the challenge to double our fruit in the next three years and we want to share our vision, as well as how you can participate.

As always, we are so very thankful for each and every one of you and all you do for us and our ministry. We know that these are uncertain times in the American economy and that finances are tight. The sacrifices that you are making to support this ministry do not go un-noticed! We couldn't do this without you and your great generosity. We pray that God will bless you and your families for the blessings you have given to us!

Much love and many thanks, Jay, Cameron, Lily, Paige, and Kate Hughes