Snap...Literally!

Nearly 40 first year ladies Cadre came to the ATL to enjoy some spoiling and get some coaching. Ladies Cadres are composed of male Cadre members' wives and female Cadre members. Right out of the gate, I knew it was going to be a fun time...and that it was, all but about two hours of it.

Envision this, we walk right next to Jeanne's house to take a picture by this grassy open area near the lake like we always do. There is a fence there and, as they were lining up for the photo, a couple of them jump on top of it to create a taller row. When I see them do it, it was no surprise, they always do. Then, I say out loud to a couple of people near me, "some day that fence is going to break." I didn't think break, break...just crack. Not two minutes later, it didn't crack, but it broke, broke. What I didn't realize was the drop behind it is at least nine foot straight down. Four girls fall forward and two back. One of the two goes all the way down...doing a few flips along the way. Honestly, had she not landed right, she could have died. At the bottom is a cement slap. Well, thank you Jesus she didn't die, but ended up with a beat up elbow and whole lot of bruises, including a major one on her heel requiring an ankle brace. I honestly think God healed it in route to the ER, I would have laid money her heel was broken, if not shattered. I had a deja vu moment when we were trying to assess her injuries. It wasn't quite like the guy who broke his leg at camp that I talked down from going into shock on the way to the hospital, but it felt like it. I was nice and calm on the outside, but totally freaking out for about 15 minutes on the inside. When she began to shiver and her eyes started to roll a little, I just kept talking and asking her questions about life and ministry. She is an incredible young lady, she was back from the hospitial within a couple of hours and ready to roll for the evening session.

To top off the day, Old Red (our 15 passenger van) needed a jump start before the girls left to go home for the evening. I tell Robby, "if she dies in route, don't jump it...it's probably the alternator and you'll kill the battery." Robbie takes off and 3 minutes later I get a phone call. It's living up to it's FORD reputation once again - Found On Road Dead. Three of us jump in our cars to the rescue. Two hours later I'm back at Jeanne's house making "new" pick-up plans for morning at midnight.

I always say the impact of Cadres are in direct proportion to the difficulty it takes to pull them off. This was no exception. Apart from those few moments, it was an AMAZING couple of days. I had the greatest journey group ever, in fact we are working on our own little reunion in Dallas next month.

Here is a snapshot from a few of the lines one friend wrote today, "Words cannot express what the Cadre, Masters, you and Jeanne mean to me... Our youth service last night was so awesome. I can feel a boldness in me like never before and it comes from Jesus and what you guys are imparting into my life."

I am grateful for all the post Cadre notes of encouragement that come in. It's a big deal and reminds me every push to get itineraries in, every transportation run, every housing reshuffle and every kink in the schedule is sooooo more than worth it.

Oh, by the way, it was the alternator.