Very exciting things have been happening at the Schmidt household and I think it is time to share! Last weekend Luke went to Fairplay, Colorado for a "missions retreat." It was the same weekend I wanted to be in Muscatine, Iowa to hear Scott Harrison speak from Charity Water (water4christmas) but things never materialized. However, Luke still got an opportunity to hear more about a missions project being planned in January 2010 in Monrovia, Liberia.
First, let me take you back a year or two in our lives. I will try to make this brief but no promises! Two years ago Luke and I took a Perspectives Class in our church which changed our lives....As a result of this class, Luke and I decided that I needed a career change. I had been working roughly 11 years as a Director of Juvenile Services (in and out of home placements/prevention) and an Intensive Supervision Officer for Adults & Juveniles. It was very stressful and my family was suffering as a result. We decided I should stay at home for awhile so I could be more involved in Bible Studies, Church and with our family. My last day was July 3, 2008.
During Perspectives we met a speaker by the name of Tony Weedor. Tony talked of his life-story walking out of Liberia with his wife and young daughter during a civil war, one in which Christians were being persecuted. Tony arrived at a refugee camp still proclaiming his love for Christ and Liberia. Tony had a vision that he would one day return to Liberia and provide a safe place for family/community gatherings and a place where one could learn about our God and Savior without fear. That night at Perspectives, Tony handed out a brochure called Center Point International after Tony's "mission." Something about Tony's testimony lit a fire in Luke that he hadn't experienced since he was at Thomas-Moore Prep. That night Luke came home and put the brochure on our bathroom mirror and it has been there ever since so we can remember to pray for Tony and Center Point.
Second, 2 weeks after I quit my job we found out the spot on Luke's lung had "doubled in size 8 times in 6 months" and needed to come out immediately. These spots on Luke's lungs were found "accidentally" during a CT scan of his lower back. We had been watching them so this growth was unexpected as Luke was not a smoker. The surgeon informed me during the surgery that the spot on Luke's lung was cancer and they had to remove not only the middle but also the upper lobe of his right lung. We were thankful Luke did not have to have radiation or chemotherapy. The recovery has been a long process but we continue to praise God that the cancer was found, it didn't spread and that Luke is still with us today.
Now to the present.......Roughly 3 weeks ago we got a call from a friend who asked if Luke wanted to go on a short term missions trip to Monrovia, Liberia. They were needing someone who knew how to do electrical work for a library and they thought of him. Of course, Luke wanted to go but when he found out it would be with Tony Weedor at Center Point, he was ELATED.
I am so excited for Luke and this opportunity he has been given to serve God. He has written letters to friends and family asking for prayer and financial support. Luke will be leaving January 7, 2010 and returning January 19th. There are only two men from Kansas going on the trip and the rest are from Colorado. We will be starting a separate blog for their trip sometime this week ( I will keep you posted). We are no where near our financial support and airline tickets will need to be purchased soon so continued prayers would be welcomed!
Here is part of the group going to Liberia. Tony Weedor is directly below Luke. Luke will be traveling with Eric Buller who was at Water Weekend (lucky) and not in the picture...
To learn more about Tony's mission please visit http://www.centerpointinternational.org/. This group will be working on the library at Center Point's Compound. If anyone would like to be part of Luke's prayer team, please email him at luke7710@hotmail.com or leave a comment and I will pass it on to him. 
This pictures humbles me.......This was a recent picture taken by Jody's team while visiting the villages in Liberia who have received the wells for clean water.
