After an amazing summer, autumn is upon us! Kids are heading back to school, football is starting up, and we're preparing for a great season of fall marathons and triathlons. As we shift gears, looking to finish our season well, there is much to celebrate and much to prepare for. The first celebration is the launch of our new logo!

                On September 1st we announced FCA Endurance's new logo through the Hy-Vee Triathlon/5150 US Championships in Des Moines, IA. The new logo comes after an almost three-year prayerful process that involved many from within FCA Endurance, FCA, and the endurance community in general. The change was made in an effort to better communicate who we are through our logo, prayerfully increasing our ministry effectiveness while building on current momentum. As we make this announcement, we continue to thank those who patiently served through this process. We also invite our ministry team's enthusiastic support as we move forward together under this new badge. For additional details regarding the goals of the change, as well as some answers to potential questions, please visit our related article via our blog.

                  Another celebration comes through our ministry team's response to our recent AMP Drive  and fiscal year-end needs. As we approached the end of our fiscal year (Aug 31) and a projected budget deficit, we were praying for $9,000 in new giving in August and $6,000 in the last two days of August. I'm happy to report that the Lord has provided for our needs through a number of generous Teammates investing in our mission through gifts of various sizes. Praise the Lord for His provision! To those who responded to this invitation, we simply say, "Thank You!" We also thank our National Corporate Ministry Partners who gave some wonderful gifts to those who partner with them in supporting our work through AMP giving! We are living out Teamwork!

                  While we celebrate the Lord's provision through this past year, we also continue to invite all of you to prayerfully consider investing in what the Lord has in store for us in the coming year. As our ministry team and opportunities grow, we also need to grow our infrastructure to better support such growth and pursue new opportunities. This requires additional resources, and we invite you to be a part of funding our future impact. Will you commit to partner in funding our ministry in the coming year?

California FCA Staff Member Luke Llamas partners with our team at the 2013 Wildflower Triathlon.

                Another recent celebration was our EMI Retreat in Savannah, GA, held August 23-25. This was an amazing time of uniting and equipping Teammates from three states (GA, TN, & FL), including a number of Huddle Leaders, to more effectively live out our charge in 1 Peter 3:15.   "Always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you."  With each retreat I'm encouraged and reminded of the powerful blessing of these events in preparing our team for the Lord's work.  Our next EMI Retreat opportunity is coming this October in central Illinois, and I can't recommend that you join us enough! The investment is well worth it, and you will not be disappointed!

                The same weekend as the above mentioned EMI, another group of Teammates was in full force ministering at Ironman Louisville. Led by Huddle Leader Larry Gough and Teammate Ryan Althaus, they partnered with Team Sweaty Sheep to host a Wednesday night triathlon clinic and dinner, an Iron Prayer on Saturday morning, and they served through leading the bike special needs station on the course. Larry was also invited to say the invocation before the athletes' dinner on Saturday night! Combine this with a number of racers on the course, and it was a blessed weekend of impact!

                As mentioned in last month's Aid Station, we also have a new Chattanooga, TN Huddle, led by Teammate Chris Netherland. Chris joined us at the Savannah EMI retreat, and he is ready to do some amazing things in the Chattanooga endurance community! In celebration of that, I wanted to forward on a recent photo of them from their facebook page. Included in this photo are Dalton, GA, Huddle Leader Merrily Suits and Cyndi Cooper.

Our last celebration is our new HUDDLES and Huddle Leaders:

• Littleton, CO - led by Brad Cooper (we are SO excited to see a new Huddle in Colorado!)
• Jacksonville, FL - new co-Huddle Leader Teri Thrower (thank you for your service Teri!)

As we close this newsletter, I wanted to pass on a few quick ministry updates:

• EMI Illinois: This event is scheduled for October 25-27, and registration is open! Planning continues for this retreat, and it is going to be great! In addition to being a powerful time of uniting and equipping, the event leaders are also making childcare available, making this a family-friendly event. You do not want to miss this opportunity to get equipped for growth as a disciple/disciple-maker in the endurance community!

• Highlighted Event Opportunities:
  • Chicago Marathon: Thanks to the faithful diligence of Chicago Huddle Leader Carissa Dahik, as well as a number of Huddle members, we will have a significant presence at this year's event, October 11-13. We'll be present at the expo, we're hosting a runner's chapel service, and of course we'll have athletes racing. This will be our largest venue yet (at least in an official capacity), and we're excited about it! If you'll be attending, or would like to partner in this ministry with us, please contact Carissa.
  • Ironman Lake Tahoe: Phoenix Huddle Leaders John and Debbie Foster are partnering with Reno Huddle Leader Marci Zavala to host a number of fantastic service opportunities at this year's race (Sept 22). This is in addition to the Iron Prayer scheduled and led by Troy and Robin Soares. If you are available this weekend, we could use your help taking advantage of these ministry opportunities! Let us know if we can plug you in!
  • Ironman World Championships in Kona, HI: Have you qualified for the big dance? If so, we want to hear from you. We're preparing for our ministry out there and want to be sure we're tying everyone in.
  • Ironman Wisconsin: An Iron Prayer is scheduled for this Friday night (9/6/13) at the Hilton Madison Monona Terrace from 4:00-5:00 PM. If you will be in town, you will be blessed by this time of worship! Also, please share this with others.

• Gear News:  
  • New FCA Endurance Gear: Valley Bike and Ski is in the process of loading our new gear on their site. Some of it is ready to ship Tri Jerseys (men's and women's), Tri Shorts (men's and women's), Marathon T's, and Running Singlets (men's and women's), and some will be ready in the coming weeks (by October 1st). You can pre-order anything on the site now, helping ensure you get it as soon as it's ready. We love the look of this new gear and hope you do as well! We also pray that the Lord uses it in a powerful way to expand His Kingdom within the endurance community!
  • We'll also be doing a special order in early October (details will be coming soon), allowing Teammates to order other gear that we will not be stocking (examples: Pro cycling jerseys/shorts, cycling jackets, leg warmers, shimmels, etc.). It's our desire to get you fully equipped, and this will fill some of the gaps in what we can reasonably stock.
  • Lastly, if you like the look of our original (classic) logo, now is the time to order that gear as well. Once it's gone, it's gone.

For God's Glory!