HE WILL COME THROUGH!

Good News. Good News. After much prayer and
seeking the Lord, we have an answer on
the HAAVIG CENTER. I received a call regarding the
building that we will officially be getting a long-term
renter to occupy the building for the next 5 years.
What a blessing! Thank You Lord!
And thank you to many of you who have been praying for
close to 2 years about this situation. I was reminded of a song written
and recorded nearly 12 years ago. The song is called
"RIGHT PLACE" Here are the lyrics:
____________________________________
Right Place
Words by Bob Hartman
Based on 1 Peter 4:12,13

Got no place to run, gotta look up to see the bottom
No visible support - no one there you can lean on
You're all on your own - you know it's sink or swim
There is no doubt about it, you have to look to Him
When you think you've had enough No more you can do
When you feel like giving up Deadline is in view
When your time is almost gone You haven't got a clue
Now's the time to turn your face

(Chorus)
You're in the right place - trusting only Him
You're in the right place - kick back and just depend
You're in the right place - to see what He can do
You're in the right place - He will come through

When you're sinking fast - takin' water in your boat
No one to bail you out - you think it's all she wrote
The odds are against you - your chances slim to none
A hopeless situation - you got no place to run
No one has a rescue plan Waiting in the wings
Now's the time to call His name He can do all things
When your self-reliance fails You still have a prayer
You will have to trust His grace

[Bridge]
When you abide, He will provide Never shorthanded
When you will pray, He'll make a way
He won't leave you stranded
_____________________________

No doubt about it folks.
When you look to Him, He will come through!

NEW LOOK HEADER
(Finally... see above)

Thanks to my good friend Greg
from MASI (see my links)
Seriously check out his site.
A fantastic website really.
Greg knows a few tricks that I don't
about blogs and html. If you ever need
a guy to come and do some wonderful
worship at your church or event,
give him a call... or email.

http://www.musicandsoul.org/

We have been great friends for past couple years.
Neat guy. I just love his heart for worship and youth.

HAAVIG CENTER
ROOF RENOVATION
CHALLENGE!!!


MATCHING FUNDS NEEDED

Over the past 18 months we have been praying for the sale of the building that once housed Mainstream Studios and our outreach to Morris high school & college students. Since transitioning the ministry into what is now LIFT-OFF we no longer have need of the space. We are believing God for another interested party (buyer or renter) who can run with it and help cover the cost of property taxes, insurance and monthly utilities. In the meantime, we have had probems with an aging flat/rubber roof that has needed some repair. Our friend, Ron Nieland, who worked tirelessly on the initial building renovation, has offered up his services to fix this problem. And so we have been in need of funds to cover that expense. And Praise God! The Lord has provided a person who is offering up matching funds for the remaining work needed to be done on the HAAVIG CENTER roof.
We are looking at a:

Dollar for Dollar match up to $750. (which would then raise the needed $1500)

That would pay for our repairman, Ron, his time, and the parts to fix it. So we are looking for SPECIFIC donations to come in for the ROOF FUND. Whatever comes in will be matched. SO we are looking for $15, $25, $50, $100 gifts to come in by the end of OCTOBER.
October 31st is the deadline for the matching funds.
Send your donation to the address below. Write ROOF in the Memo.

LIFT-OFF
PO Box 24136
Edina, MN 55424

THREE LESSONS FROM GOD IN EVERYDAY LIFE


1) “GOD WANTS TO CONNECT US WITH OTHER BELIEVERS”
What a privilege it is to have brothers and sisters in the body of Christ. Today I went to a park in Minneapolis. And saw an African-American mom reading her Bible with her two small children. My heart warmed to her and I felt an instant connection without saying a word. God is knitting together Christians all over the world in unique ways. Keep your eyes open for the Christians God is connecting you with as you go about your daily routines. God’s master web of relationships in my life is really awesome. Here is an example of a “God Connection” that I observed while in the Czech Republic.
One of the girls on our team was from England. It was quite a miracle how she came to be on our team and I still marvel at it. Anyway, we were told at Freak Fest that we should meet this guy named Sasha who has vision for 24-7 prayer. When we got to his place, he found out that Emma was from England. He said it had been his dream to take his wife to England and he was going there the following month, but didn’t have a place to stay. “Oh, you can stay at my place” Emma said. God found Sasha and his wife a free place to stay. I love it!

2) “GOD WANTS TO TAKE CARE OF OUR NEEDS”
By moving to the Cities, we are stepping out in faith. Our income is not enough to pay for our expenses, so we are trusting in God – big time! Some might say this is ridiculous (myself included most days), but the Bible is full of “ridiculous” faith. The week we moved, we had two large one-time gifts from supporters. To me, it was a sign of God’s blessing. Mark also had someone he had never met before ask him to speak at a youth group and he was also asked to do a music/mix for a group at Eden Prairie Highschool. He did absolutely nothing to find these opportunities to make a little extra money. It was all God!

3) “GOD WANTS TO QUIET OUR HEARTS”
As the world around us gets faster and faster paced, God seems to be emphasizing themes like rest and peace. I am looking forward to studying the topic of peace. Have you ever thought of peace as a weapon against the enemy? Romans 16:20 says “The God of peace will soon crush Satan underneath your feet.” My Dad always used to say “When we rest, God works”

The Eagles Have Landed... Safely

Just dropping a quick note to everyone that we have arrived safely on
planet Minneap. We had a fantastically quick load in thanks to my
boys from all over the cities. I want to thank Jon Williams, Yusef Orest,
Andy Lange, Charlie Oglesby, John Kess, Mark & Christy Daigle, D[Know], My parents,
Jamie & Pam Buchanan, and I know I am forgetting someone.
Darn. Anyway, we are yet to have internet. So I am typing away at Panera Bread
for now. Hopefully by tomorrow we will have unpacked all the boxes, gone online, and the Twins will have a 1-0 lead in the playoffs. We had a chance to meet our neighbors down the street.
Tons of kids. Great for Ellie and Tab. Pictures will be forthcoming. Bless you all.
Thanks for your prayers. We are safe in His Hands.
Mark & Anna

Now We Must Say Goodbye... for now...

Today is the day! And I am up unusually early.
We are actually going to head to church this morning
and say our last farewell. We started at 6:30 AM yesterday packing
and cleaning, finally finishing around 5 PM!
We want to say huge "thank yous" to the crew that helped us out yesterday.
Dan Odegaard, Josh Kurpiers, Stefan Ronchetti (all the way from Japan),
and the Oglesby's (Russ and Joanne)! We could not have done it without you.
Also, we want to shout out to my parents, Roger & Karen Haugen for
getting the ball rolling, and jump starting the process on Wednesday.
No doubt about it, moving is a lot of work, and it is hard to say goodbye.
The emotions I feel have been best summed up in the words of a song
from when I was growing up, and have recently rediscovered.
It is called "I'll Meet You There" by Whiteheart.

I'll Meet You There
by Mark Gersmehl & Tommy Sims

I feel the chill of Autumn's wind
seasons changing once again
And every moment's best,
still one moment less we spend
Together my friend
I can't hold back these tears in my eyes
this time I won't even try
For time has come and gone, now we must move on
I'll admit I don't know why

Chorus:
Now we must say good-bye
to find our road ahead
Destiny leads us on to another place
but I'll meet you there someday

By no means will we be strangers to Morris, both now and in the future.
This place is like no other. It is wonderful in a very mysterious way.
We are so glad we stayed here 10 years to meet some of the most wonderful
people in the world. We love you all so much.
So we will be back... Minneapolis isn't that far away.
Come over and visit us down there when you are in town.
We live just north of Southdale mall about 6 blocks.
In the southwest corner of Minneapolis.

Our address is:
5926 Washburn Ave South
Minneapolis, MN 55410

So again, we love you all, and may we truly say that
this is just goodbye... (for now).
Mark, Anna, Ellie, & Tabitha