Dear Team,

Thank you for your prayers this past week for my Malachi presentation at Eaglebrook Church (my church in Minocqua, WI). I was encouraged through numerous conversations with people and I’m excited to welcome some Eaglebrook’ers to the Key Club! We're growing!

This week, I’d like to continue introducing you to students who I've gotten to know over the years, in hopes of giving you an "insiders" view on what it's like to be a teen in the military and how we can pray for the military.

Kaila began coming to youth group in 7th grade and came faithfully until she moved to the states her sophomore year. She’s a very special gal to me, as she never missed anything youth group related - so I got to know her very well! Cool fact, Kaila now lives in North Dakota and is going to the same high school I did in Grand Forks!

^Remember Esther from a few weeks ago? That's her on the far left and that's Kaila on the far right.

I asked Kaila to share some highs and lows of military life....

“One thing that I really like about military life is being able to travel of course. It's so cool to be able to tell people that I lived in Japan for nine years. If my dad wasn't in the military, I'm sure I would have barely been anywhere besides the place that I was born. My favorite part is being able to meet so many different kinds of people. Even within the states, I've noticed that people in North Dakota have different lifestyles than the people in Missouri, and that the people in Missouri are a lot different than the people in South Carolina or Florida. It's also cool, because I've noticed that these different lifestyles effect the way that people view and relate to God. It's helped me realize that people can practice their faith differently, and that their views aren't necessarily wrong even if they weren't the ones I was brought up with.

At the same time though, moving is probably the most challenging part. It's tough when my dad has to be TDY [military acronym for “temporary duty”, like a deployment] for months at a time, but that's something that I can kind of get used to, where it's almost impossible to get used to leaving your friends and making new ones, because the experience is different every time.”

Over the past weeks, you've probably noticed a theme - The thing students love the most about military life is experiencing life in different states/countries and meeting a variety of people. The thing students dislike the most about military life is moving to a different state/country and having to meet new people.

This week, when you see your key, would you pray for ...

1. Students. Because we're created in the image of a Triune God, we've been wired for relationships. Pray that students would be willing to invest in relationships. Many get tired of making deep friendships, only to have to say goodbye after a year or two. Yet, as Kaila shared, relationships are so important to the development of teens. Through some of her relationships her worldview was expanded and she was able to experience God in new, profound ways.

2. Me. My upcoming support raising road trip is shaping up. I'm planning to leave on March 10th for about 3 weeks. I'd appreciate your prayers as I prepare for sharing about Malachi with a variety of groups in Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas.

Thanks for your continued prayers and support!

Because of Christ,

Beth