Barnes family 2007 year-end report

It’s the last day of the year. It’s so important in the hurly-burly of modern life that we take time to look back and reflect on what has happened to us and what it means. Our family just went thru that exercise. Here’s our report:

As a family, our
most exciting news is that Leah (18) (with a wig on here) had a breakthrough in being admitted to a
school that focuses on her needs.

The
school is located only three miles from our house. It has four teachers and fifteen
students. She has made tons of friends,
wakes up smiling, sings around the house and keeps us laughing. For all of you who have been praying for this
breakthrough, please know how thankful we are for your prayers. She says:

“For me I’m in school, making friends and I
love it!”

Emily (19) is
currently working two jobs – as a dance teacher, and as a waitress. She has acted in a film for the Art Institute of Atlanta as well
as a commercial and some modeling.

She
excels in her acting classes – her professors say that her talent accompanied
with her ambition give her a real chance at a career in acting. While pursuing acting, she says:

“Life is in
transition for me, I am discovering who I am and how to pursue my dreams. I am learning to work hard and hear the
Lord’s voice better. This part of life
is hard but good and building lots of character.”

Estie (21) is in
her second year at nursing school at Indiana Wesleyan University.
She says:

“I am learning the dedication nursing
school requires. After my first semester courses I feel a bit overwhelmed with
the amount of studying that I know these next two years will demand. However, I
enjoy clinicals (practicing in the hospitals) and am looking forward to next
semester’s clinicals in maternal health and pediatrics. Please pray for growth
in my relationship with the Lord and my friends.”

Seth Jr. (23)
graduated from college in May and soon after joined his sister on the World
Race.

He is currently going into his
fourth out of eleven month journey around the world.

He enjoys hearing from
loved ones so if you’d like to write him a personal note please feel free to
email him at barnes.seth@gmail.com or visit his blog at sethbarnesjr.theworldrace.org.

He says:

“My life couldn’t
be better. I am traveling the world, eating exotic foods, caring for the orphan
and the widow, praying healing over the sick, loving the unloved, and
discovering myself in the process.”

Talia (24)
returned from the World Race in time for Thanksgiving and is slowly adjusting
to a new season of life.

“All in all, the
year was wonderful. I learned to live in
community, worked hard at relationships and went to a new level of intimacy in
my relationship with the Lord. As for
now, I’m continuing to recover. I just started
working as a waitress (I like the hospitality industry) while
simultaneously helping start an import business benefiting orphans with a fellow
Racer. Thanks everyone for your prayers
and love this last year.”

Here are some highlights of her past year:

Top World Race
moments:

1. Roasting
marshmallows atop of an active volcano
2. Learning to
love the unlovable
3. Laughing with
teammates
4. Climbing Machu
Picchu for a second time
5. Deep sea
fishing off the coast of Mozambique
6. Safari in
South Africa
7. Angkor Wat in
Cambodia
8. Cu-Chi tunnels
in Vietnam
9. Hiking 3 km on
the Great Wall of China
10. Cape of Good
Hope in Africa

Karen (age
unknown) says:

“What a great year this has been! I’ve had the privilege of traveling to the
World Racers and debriefing many of the ladies. Hearing what God is teaching
them and helping them to discern His hand and movement in their lives is
something that I hope to be able to do long term.

I’ve learned and grown alongside of them.
Sometimes it’s hard to see all the yucky stuff I still have inside me, but it’s
good too to be growing in new ways again.

“And, as usual, I’m hoping this is the year I’ll get ORGANIZED. (Don’t
any of you hold your breath on that one!) I still love reading, backpacking and
cooking. I’m hoping this year I’ll get
back on the trail and enjoy God’s beautiful creation and cook some new tasty
treats!”

Seth Barnes Sr.
(49) says:

We transitioned
to an almost-empty nest at the same time the revolving front door spun at a
high rate. Emily came home, Seth came
home and left, Talia is back home and leaving in a few weeks, Molly (Leah’s
teacher) came and left, Estie returned on school breaks, and we entertained a
seemingly endless parade of visitors.

The good news is that Karen and I have found
something we both like to do and we get to do it together – coach young people
as they go thru AIM’s discipling programs.
In 2007 this took us to Mexico, Nicaragua, Swaziland, Thailand, and Hong
Kong. The first week in January I will
help launch a World Race team in the earthquake-ravaged village of Chincha,
Peru. The challenge for me in all of
this is to stay centered in the midst of what often seems like chaos.

AIM continues to
grow. Relational discipling is our focus. Raising up a generation of radically committed
disciples of Jesus has been our vision for a while and we’re actually starting
to see signs that it could happen.The
fruit of a year of intensive discipleship is the best we’ve seen in 19 years. We’re blessed to work with a wonderful group
of staff whom we call covenantal friends and an extended family of friends
around the globe who have joined with us in serving Christ wherever the need
seems greatest. If you’re one of these people – thanks for being in our lives – we love you!