Legoland!

Legoland is great for a 7 and 4 year old. We all had a great time, even went back for a second day.   

Happy 7th Birthday CHARLIE!!!

Wedding

We got to be a part of Jonny and Lacey's wedding.  It was an honor and a joy.  Check out Beautiful Gracie, Handsome Charlie and Super Handsome Mike!

It's Been Too Long!

Sorry for the lack of posts! So many things have happened in the last 5 months.   Let's see if we can catch up, at least a little bit!  And we moved twice!  Email us if you didn't get our new contact info.




We had puppies!

Mike started welding again!



Charlie graduated from kindergarten!

We celebrated 15 years of marriage!










Fun family adventure to Balboa Island

Sandy days at the beach!





Crazy Hair day!

Charlie learned to ride a two wheeler!










Charlie learned Karate.  Watch out!

Gracie took ballet.  Adorable!



Grace being too cute in our new place!

Charlie started first grade!





Mike started Bible College!

 



One Last Camp

We prayed for this last camp to be Christ centered, that the campers would hear about Jesus and feel his love.  God answered our prayers! 

This was the last fourth through sixth grade camp for the season.  We had seven boys and four girls. It was a great combination for having fun, learning more about Jesus and enjoying God’s creation.  The boys had this sweetness about them, they were gentle and loving.  They knew how to play hard, yet when it was time, they settled down, listened and participated. The girls bonded with each other.  They were a bit more quite, but they still were taking it all in. 

It rained for most of the day on Saturday.  We moved forward with sharing the message of Triumph though a deep study of David & Goliath.  The campers engaged and enjoyed seeing the story come to life through wild and crazy Camp Alandale skits!  Cabin fever was starting to set in by the afternoon.  But as the campers prayed, the rain turned to snow just before dinner.  They had just enough time to get wet and cold before the sun went to bed.

By morning almost 18 inches of snow covered the ground.  Most of the campers were up and ready to play early, yet the freezing temperature of 24 degrees brought them back inside quickly to warm up by the fire.  Similar to being warmed by the fire, are the cold realities of this world turned into the warm promises of Jesus’ presence, power and provision.

One camper continued to remember the lessons from the session about getting past our past.  We talked about how big Goliath was, and how he taunted the Israelites for 40 days, night and day, just bugging them and putting more and more fear and doubt into them.  She recounted this time as if she knew this as her own personal struggle.  For so many of the campers, what has happened to them, be it abuse, neglect, the moving from place to place and not feeling loved or connected to a family, becomes their identity and hinders their view of who they really are.  This struggle seemed to reign true here.  But God was getting the glory in the release of these lies to grasping the truth of our identity in Christ.  In Him, we are unconditionally loved, completely forgiven and chosen and valuable.

We were able to enjoy the snow more with sledding, snowman making, snow angles and snowball fights, and a whole bunch of digging out before the weekend came to a close.  The good-byes were sweet yet sad, only a few tears were shed.  We have confidence in our Lord and Savior that He goes home with each one of these precious campers and that His word and love will reign true in their hearts. 

With sad yet joy filled hearts, we turn to the next adventure in our lives.  Our place to live is just about ready to move into. Mike is settling in with his new welding job.  Charlie’s new school is anticipating his arrival.  Lisa can’t wait to get out of the snow and Mike wants his manly truck back.  We are counting down the days until we are together as a family again.  God has a great plan for us and we are excited to see it unfold. For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.  Jeremiah 29:11 

Thank you for your prayers and your love for our family.  See you all soon! 

Important News!

Can you believe we have been serving at Camp Alandale for almost 10 years!  We are overjoyed and blessed by this season the Lord has given us.  We feel privileged to have been in such a loving and warm place of ministering to abused children for so long.  Our time serving at camp is coming to an end.  We will surely miss the campers and the work the Lord is doing in this special place.  The Lord is moving us on. 

We have been feeling a tug towards something different for a while, and are excited for a new adventure.  We will be finishing out this winter camp season and then returning to Orange County.  Mike has taken a job as a welder back at National Oilwell Varco in the city of Orange.  God has provided us with a place to live near his work and close to our home church, Calvary Chapel East Anaheim.  We hope to reconnect with city life, with family and friends, and begin to serve again in local church ministry.  Our plan also includes Mike heading back to school, with the hope of returning to full time ministry work someday in the future. 

We are excited about this new direction and would ask for your continued prayers for God’s provision, and blessing as we make this transition.  We would also ask you to pray for Camp Alandale as they continue to bring the message of Jesus to hurting children in Foster Care.  For those of you that have been financial supporters, we would encourage you to keep giving to camp if the Lord leads you to.  We will no longer need financial support.  We will as we mentioned need your prayers.  Again we praise God for the time we’ve had to work in such an amazing place and pray that God blesses and prospers the ministry of Camp Alandale.

We want to send a special thank you for all the prayers, financial support, encouragement, love, and hands on assistance and guidance for us during our time at Camp Alandale.  God has done some amazing things in the last ten years and you were all a part of it with us.  We have been blessed so much and are grateful to you and to the Lord!!!

We would love to hear from you, answer any questions and keep in touch.  The best way to reach us for now is through email.     Ml5533221@msn.com     LisaT553@msn.com    Other contact info  P.O. Box 2102   Idyllwild, CA 92549   951-659-6161 home   951-831-9806 Mike’s cell   714-394-7512 Lisa’s cell.    We will send out our new contact info once we are settled in our new place. 

                   With much Love and blessings, Mike, Lisa, Charlie & Gracie Towler

Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.  Glory to Him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen. Eph 3:20-21

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PRAYER REQUESTS for CAMP ALANDALE and THE TOWLER’S

-Pray for the campers that they would continue to feel the love of God that is poured out on them at camp
-Pray for camp as they transition
-Pray that God would continue to provide abundantly for His ministry of Camp Alandale
-Pray for us as we transition to a new season
-Pray for wisdom for us regarding our finances
-Pray for Charlie & Gracie as they transition to city life, new school and new friends
-Pray that we can find loving owners for two of our dogs
-Pray for strength, endurance, and safety for Mike as he heads back to a more physically demanding job
-Pray for us as husband and wife to make time for each other especially during the crazy times
-Pray for direction regarding schooling for Mike, the right place, the finances and the timing.

Happy Birthday to Gracie!

Can you believe Gracie is 4 years old!  We just celebrated her birthday.  She picked smoothies for breakfast, wanted to stay in her pajamas all day, watched movies and had cake pops after dinner.  It was a very special day!

Christmas Up North 2012

Some Great Family Time Together at Christmas !