Some of you have been asking about Kara, so I thought I'd post the letter she just sent to her supporters. If you'd like to receive her updates directly, drop her a line at
kara.kynast@gmail.com"Well, it's been almost 3 weeks and school is about to start for our students. It's been a long road to get here, but overall has been extremely rewarding.
The first few days were really tough. The five staff members have been pushing us to know what to expect- on the first day they had students make a huge mess for us to clean up. With 14 of us interning, it didn't take long- but it was so overwhelming to come downstairs on the first day and be calculating how long it would take individually... it was neat to see how working together made it a lot more manageable.
We've cleaned and painted the house (I got to pick the paint colors!!) and planned and presented small group bible studies and large group bible studies, learned how the ministry runs and operates, had team building exercises (such as being woken up at 5am to hike Stone Mountain together :S), went camping for two nights and shared testimonies, went on an intern retreat- and then last weekend we planned and held a retreat for our individual leadership groups.
There were 53 of the 108 sophomores at the "Branch Bark" retreat (Branch Barks are the sophomores that have signed contracts to be in the servant leadership group of CCF)... and they are so amazing! They are about to run this ministry that I love, and I can't wait. They are enthusiastic and encouraging, talented and loving. There are some students that have clearly been much more "popular" than others all their lives, and yet they reach out to the more awkward students. I was beaming the whole time, thanking God for the freshmen interns last year for collecting such a group that reflected the love of Jesus to each other, even as they are all still figuring out what they believe.
We had all of the Branch Barks tell us what they wanted from this year after a long time of reflection on Saturday night. We heard students say they wanted to figure out what they believed over and over again. I'm going to need your prayers constantly this year as they seem like they are getting ready to ask the hard hitting questions that will define their walk with God. It scares me and excites me at the same time.
I'm no speaker, and so I know it was God that helped me lead Saturday night. I know He'll be there to help me in the small accountability groups with the girls that right now are 'take it or leave it' towards Christianity. I feel so blessed to be able to be used this year, but so nervous and unprepared for the potential heartbreak of not getting through.
So thank you all again for supporting me and for keeping up with this ministry. I love you all!!" -Kara
Kara's home! Tim was at a "sweet 16" party for one of his classmates, so Kara let me take her out for dinner... she is so grown up! We talked about her work with the sophomores and her fellow CCF www.gtccf.org interns and the trip she is planning to tour the ministry of Global Scope in Salamanca, Spain later this year.
This is a "proud papa" entry... Tim's teammates voted him captain along with our two seniors (see picture; Tim is in blue ready for the coin toss). He scored the first two goals (and assisted on our third) in a 3-1 victory over Statesville Christian (a team that beat us 4-3 last year). Go Lions!
Shelby Cogburn has definitely been Lana's favorite of Tim's female classmates... she is an exceptionally mature and sweet-spirited young lady (in a class full of them). She let me snap this picture of her as she was being wheeled away today by paramedics! Doctors can't yet seem to figure out what triggers the symptoms that have hospitalized her periodically the past couple of years, but they do consider them life-threatening, so we take them very seriously. 
I was asked to serve as speaker at the first middle school chapel service of the school year (held this afternoon). I used "Brotherly Kindness" as the theme, 2 Peter 1:5-8 as our focal passage, and started out by sharing that students at my old schools called my wife "Mrs. Kindness", when they found it hard to pronounce our surname. She had a special way of endearing herself to everyone... I took this picture today during our faculty meeting in Mr. Ripmaster's 6th grade classroom... How cool is that?!!
“How are you doing?” is more of a greeting than a question in our society… a couple of weeks ago I was jogging on the Parkway and a biker used the phrase going about 30 mph in the opposite direction… I knew he wasn’t expecting a reply.
Rough weekend for the boys... with four (including Tim) on the sidelines nursing injuries from Friday's match, we went down 6-1 to High Point Christian... ouch! On the bright side, we did score the last goal in each of our games, meaning we never stopped playing. I still feel we have a chance to have a special team this year. We play our first home (and first conference) game next Tuesday at 4:30 against Spartanburg Day. If you are in the area, come out and cheer for our team!
Village Christian beat us 3-1 on a "hat-trick" by their lead striker, "Tyson"... we need to find a way to neutralize our opponents' star player (within the rules of the game, of course). The team we play tomorrow has an equally-talented player in the same position, with an even better supporting cast... I'll be very surprised if High Point Christian is not a final four team this year.
This is the group that gathered for the second annual alumni scrimmage, that pits former ACA players against the current varsity and jv. There was no official score, but it was no defensive battle... some of the fans had it tied at 6; others 7-6... either way it was a lot of fun for players and fans! First game is next Wednesday at Owen HS (JV @5:00/Varsity @7:00).
Here they are... the newest additions to our middle/upper school faculty. Top (L-R) are Alex Panagiotacos (Fine Arts Coordinator/Band); Stephen Owens (Dean of Men); Jeff Herzog (Biology, AP Statistics, Bible); Edgar Silva (Spanish). Seated: Mary Ellen Auten (Math); Hillary Solymosi (Chorus 4th-12th). Those of you in our ACA family are invited to meet them in person next Tuesday 9:30-12:00... they are terrific!
Tim and I spent a good part of the afternoon getting the house ready for me to have our six new teachers over for lunch tomorrow... it is their first day of new faculty orientation, and I thought the least I could do is feed them.
It's my mom's birthday today. She was born and raised on a farm in New Hampshire, and now lives in Davenport, (Central) Florida. She had been married 51 years to my dad, when he went to Heaven last year. Together they raised five kids, of whom I am the oldest. Mom is pictured between her second son (Steve) and second grandson (Tim) headed to the NCA graduation June 7th of this year.
I thought I'd start this blog the way I ended our CaringBridge journal... with a picture of the Dogwood Memorial given by the Class of 2008 to honor a couple of parents who went to Heaven during a season in which their sons became State Champions!
