Hello All! Well I am sorry for my long absence in bloggerland. We have been very busy preparing for school and life after our return for Texas. I must say we are currently seeking God's direction for our family as far as international service. We had some sad news while at Mercy Ships. The family cabins on the new Ship the Africa Mercy are only equipped for families with four children or less. So we know by the time we hope to be able to serve we will most likely have five children. We made a commitment long ago to God and to whoever he brought into our home that we would at least adopt twice. We feel this will be a huge blessing for us all, but especially for Luke and his future brother. So this is where we are. We are now praying and asking God what his direction is for us. Please pray for us as we seek his will and we look forward to the school year beginning, baby Hope's birth and life as a family of six. September 4th is a big day for all the Briden girls(except maybe Hope), Grace will start kindergarten, Faith will begin three day pre-school and mommy will turn 32 years old : ) What fun we will have! God Bless you all and have a blessed Labor day weekend. Love, Crystal

Hello All! Well summer continues to slip away. It is hard for me to believe we are already in August!! Time flies when you are feeding and caring for little people : ) This next week, Thursday, we are off to Texas. I already hear many of you saying " Texas in August, are you nuts?" First let me reassure ya'll, we are sane. The main reason for our trip is quite exciting for our family. We will be attending a week long "Introduction to Mercy Ships" course at the Mercy Ships international headquarters in Texas. Mercy Ships (http://www.mercyships.org/) is a not for profit Christian mission organization that sends large hospital ships to various countries in the world in great need of medical care. We have long been praying and asking God to show us if this is where we should serve in Mission work. We are thrilled to get to Texas to learn more about the process of life as missionaries on one of these ships. We hope this will give us more clarity as far as where to serve. Will Mercy Ships be a good fit for our family? How does life work on a ship for a family six, possibly seven by the time we are ready to commit to serving ? How do you walk away from life as we know it and trust God to provide even the most basic needs? How do you do your laundry?

We know many things about the ships. The largest and newly renovated "Africa Mercy" has surgical suites and a fully functioning hospital. The ship also has a library, hair salon and school for the children of long term volunteers. But after this week long course we will learn so much more. I can't wait!!

This has been years in coming for us as many of you know. It is the beginning of a dream, a young man's dream to become a Physician to serve God, a wife's dream to respect that dream and support her husband, our dream that our children will learn to self sacrificially love and give of themselves to other's through this experience, but most importantly God's dream to mold us into the people he wants us to be. I hope you know that I do not boast of any of this. This is all God's work in our lives and family. He alone is magnificent and merciful. I am blessed every day by just knowing he would want little old me to be on his team. I see now that when God gives you a dream or a desire you can't assume it will easily fall into your lap. But, just because it doesn't easily happen doesn't mean you should abandon it either. God is so amazing to us!! I ask for your prayers please as we begin this exciting journey. One last request for me, a Northerner for generations, pray that I can withstand the West Texas heat : ) May God Bless you all - Crystal