Life Lately

Where in the WORLD did September go?

It seems like everyone was just welcoming in a new school year and here we are at the end of September.  Time doesn't slow down for anyone or anything ... that's for sure!

So ... how has life been lately?

One word ... busy!  We have been non-stop since this support raising process began in June.  Since July, we have only been at our home church for 4 services.  That has been really tough.  We miss our BHF family.  It's been hard to be away so much but we know that it is part of the process of preparing us for the long haul.  When we do get the chance to be home at BHF, we don't take it for granted!

Life with our sweet girl is anything but boring! Josie is growing, learning & changing every day.  It is amazing to see how The Lord is shaping her heart for the journey that is ahead of us.

She had an awesome time this summer traveling around with us & meeting new people.  She really has done well adjusting to each church that we have visited, been a trooper having to travel almost every weekend, & has learned quickly to be flexible.

Excited at Disney

Wearing Grammy's costume

Jeepin' it!

Bright smiles in the morning!

Baltimore aquarium with Papa & Grammy

Tried to paint her own nails ... yikes!

She gets SO tickled whenever she hears someone speaking "Panish" ... it's the cutest thing EVER!

We were in the store a few weeks ago & she overheard two women speaking Spanish.  She ran across the aisle towards them yelling "Hurry mommy!  Come on!  They're speaking 'panish! Do you HEAR that Mommy!?" It was all I could do not to crack up laughing!

Any time she hears Daniel speak Spanish or practice his vocabulary, she yells "Awww way to go Daddy!  I am SO proud of you for speaking 'panish!" :)

She has been working on writing her name by herself ... so that's also been a BIG deal in our world!

Where have our travels taken us lately? 

On August 21st, we were asked to share at two services at Ridgeville Baptist Church in Ridgeville, SC. It was great to see some familiar faces & share our hearts for Honduras with them!

On August 28th, we traveled to Darlington, SC & shared at Mechanicsville Baptist Church.  That was a really special day for us because our lifelong friends showed up to support & surprise us. We were so thankful to have the Taylors there with us ... they mean the world to us!

On top of speaking at two churches, Daniel started classes in August at Trident Tech.  He is taking advantage of our time left here in the States & getting a head start on learning Spanish.  Class has been going great for him! If you know anything about Daniel, you know that he's definitely not the school type so for him to be excited about class is for SURE an answered prayer!

Although August was busy, it was a tough month for us.  We seemed to have hit a wall with progress & discouragement began to settle in a few different times.  Thankfully with encouragement from some great Godly people that The Lord has sent into our lives, we were able to press on & push through!
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And then ... September was our most encouraging month YET!

- We were given an opportunity to speak at New Journey Church in our hometown on September 11th.  We were so blessed to meet so many encouraging people there & really look forward to making that one of our home churches when we return home from the field to visit.  They are super excited about sending a team to serve with us at the camp!

- We traveled to Pyerian Baptist Church on September 18th to share at their evening services.  We had never shared about Honduras to a group of kids but we were given the chance to share with their AWANA program & really enjoyed it!  The kids were excited to learn a song from Honduras & seemed to enjoy learning a few Spanish words, hearing about what life is like in Honduras, & seeing what God is calling our family to do there.  The evening service at Pyerian was really encouraging as well!  The pastor there has done mission work in Honduras so it is always really encouraging for us to find people that have experience there to share our hearts with!

- Our closest friends came down to visit us while home from the mission field in Kenya.  Jeremiah & Angie have loved us longer & harder than we can put into words ... they are truly family to us!  They came down for a few days of fun & laughs with the kiddos.  It did our hearts so much good to get to see them, encourage them, & laugh together again!  Saying "see you later" never gets easier for us but we are SO thankful that the Lord has connected our families in the ways that He has!  Walking this journey of faith together is something that we will always treasure.

- This past week, my (Laura) parents took us all to Disney for family vacation before we begin this new adventure as a family.  It was incredible! We had four kiddos with us & they could not have been better troopers with the heat, super long days, and crowds.  It was so nice to be able to spend time together as a family & make memories.  We are so thankful to have had that time as a family to refuel & gear up for this last stretch!

We have seen that whenever frustration or discouragement begins to set in, a HUGE blessing of provision is shortly to follow.  The enemy is constantly trying to distract & discourage us.  We have to be diligent & stand firm!  God has been so faithful to give us exactly what we need when we need it.  We KNOW that He has GOT this!

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So many of you have asked ... where do we stand now?

Since our last blog post in August, we have almost doubled our monthly support.  We have reached 44% of our monthly need!  In just a little over 4 months of support raising, we are now partnered on a monthly basis with 3 churches & 25 families.  God is amazing!

In the last four months, we have had so many moments where we have been left speechless with the ways that God has come through for us.

Our favorite part of this whole process is watching God connect us to hearts that He has already prepared in advance to help carry out the vision He has given us.

It has been so humbling to see HIS plan unfold with those that HE has chosen to partner with us.  Our faith continues to be strengthened with each day!

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So ... what's next?

Well ... we are rested up, geared up & ready for a final PUSH in support raising to finish out 2016!

We have three months to go before language school begins in January.   We are hopeful to reach 100% of our monthly need in the next three months.  Will you pray with us for that to happen?

So ... what will it take?

First & foremost ... PRAYER!  We are desperate for faithful prayer partners that will lift our family up now & in the months to come as we continue to build our ministry team.  Please pray now for the three of us individually, our marriage, & our ministry even now as we build relationships!

Secondly ... PARTNERS!  To meet the rest of our monthly need, we need families, individuals & churches to join our ministry team by committing to a monthly gift.  We are looking for 100 partners to commit to a monthly gift of $30 ($1 each day) to help us reach 100% of our goal.

If you have not yet partnered with us, we ask that you would pray & consider joining our ministry team.

Our current partners give anywhere from $20-$250 a month.  Any gift helps get us one step closer to being able to dive into this journey of faith full time.  There is NO gift that is too small when it is given for God's work ... He can make it stretch & multiply it!

By joining our ministry team, you are able to help advance the Kingdom & bring hope to the hopeless.  We are so excited to be able to have people on this journey with us.  We look forward to being able to share ALL that God does as we take daily steps of obedience with Him!

If you feel led to give in any way, please visit our secure giving site at:

http://yfc.givingfuel.com/32216

For those of you that have already made investments into our family either with prayers or partnering with us financially ...

THANK. YOU!

Those two words will never be enough to show our gratitude for all you've done.  We truly want to thank each of you that have gotten on board & are standing in our corner!

We are excited to watch God lead us to finish 2016 STRONG!

God's blessing, in His timing, according to His plan!

We have hit 25%!

We are so thankful for all of the support that has come in over the last two months.

After only fundraising full-time for a little more than two months, we have hit 25% of our monthly need.  That is HUGE!  We are excited to watch the rest of the support line up for us & believe that God's timing is going to be perfectly amazing!

We have been blown away with the way that God is lining things up for us.  We have had several churches contact us that we haven't even pursued ourselves.  It has really been amazing to see God use various people to help make this possible for us!  We have seen people respond in obedience to God in different ways ... regardless of the amount they are all HUGE ways in our eyes.  It is humbling & exciting to see people invest in God's ministry in Honduras.

August has been another busy month for us!  We traveled to VA to see family and to share about our ministry there, attended the regional Youth For Christ conference in Florida, & we are speaking at Ridgeville Baptist Church on August 21st & Mechanicsville Baptist Church on August 28th.  Time is flying by!  It is hard to believe that summer is almost over.

While at the conference, we heard something that has stuck with us and helped us to shift our perspective during this waiting season.

"God's blessing, in HIS timing, according to His plan"

We are so excited to start to see part of the plan for our family unfold!  We are doing all that we can to make it possible for us to be 100% funded by January so that we can begin language school.  We are trusting God to connect us with individuals and churches to make this possible!

So ... How can you help?

• PRAY!  Prayer is the only reason that we have made it to this part of our journey.  The Lord was faithful to answer our prayers for healing and has given us the most amazing opportunity to share about the HOPE that only He can give to the world!  Please pray for our family as we face a lot of changes as well as the unknown!

• If you have any connections for us to individuals or churches that may be interested in hearing more about God's ministry in Honduras, please email us at lpeal@myyfc.org or dpeal@myyfc.org.  We are willing to speak to small groups, community groups, churches, individuals or at any other event.  We are ready & willing to travel anywhere to share our hearts, build up prayer partners, financial partners, & make ministry connections for future mission trips.

• If you are able to partner with our ministry in any way, please visit our secure giving site: https://yfc.givingfuel.com/32216 

• Buy a raffle ticket! We are doing a raffle for a Browning Maxus 12 Gauge Semi-Automatic Black Shotgun ... perfect timing for hunting season here in SC!  Send us an e-mail if you're interested in purchasing a ticket.  The drawing will be on August 31st!

Thank you for your prayers, encouragement, and support.  We are so thankful to be on this journey with those of you that are in our corner and cheering us on!

If we're honest ...

To say that this part of our journey is easy would be lying.

If we're honest, it's harder than anything that we have ever been through.

Don't get me wrong.  We have found deep joy & peace in this season.  We have seen God provide through willing hearts in ways that we would never have planned.  We have grown in our faith & we are truly more excited than ever!

But we have also had some hard days.  Really hard.

We have given up our lives  -  all we own, all we know, and all that we love  - to answer the calling that He has placed on our family.  It's more than a calling really.  It's a command.  We have abandoned comfort & everything that "makes sense".

Selling all that we had & walking away from all of the "things" that gave us a "full" life here.

Living with Daniel's parents ... all 3 together in one bedroom.  They have been more than amazing ... but there are times that it is just plain hard not having our own place to call home.

Not working jobs but constantly working.  Making phone calls, setting up appointments, traveling to speak, and doing all we can to contact others to share our vision.

Waiting day to day for the Lord to provide funds through those phone calls, visits, e-mails & even through people we haven't yet met.

We have faced criticism for the decisions we have made for our family in the most unusual & hurtful ways.

Those that are closest to us that we have known the longest have not been the most supportive or present in this process.  We are already beginning to feel the disconnect from life here ... and it's hard.

We have both been in this spot before in our lives individually.  The place of true surrender.  Often times, that is after The Lord has stripped you down to nothing but Him.  So this place is familiar to us but it's not easy.

We are having to continuously turn our eyes upon the One that is truly in control & remind ourselves that this is not about us.

Abandoning all has truly left us abiding solely in Him.  We have had to stop seeking our emotional support from others around us more than we are seeking power & strength from Him.

We have had to fully force ourselves to believe in Him as the provider & not the names on a list.

We have realized quickly that God's plans require God's power.

We know that God has fully fulfilled His promises & our assignment.

But, at the same time, we recognize that He is at work in the hearts of other people as He prepares us to GO.  He is leading them to give towards this ministry and partner with us while He is working in their lives.

I say all that in love but from a very transparent place.  We are so thankful to be loved and have the support that we have already been shown.  We just really want everyone to know that while we are excited, full of joy and ready for this adventure ... there is still an ache & really hard side of it, too.

So here we are ... one month into full time fundraising.  By the looks of it, we will not be making the cutoff to be in Costa Rica for language school in August.

We are sitting at 15% funded.  We have to reach 100% before leaving for language school.  We are trusting & believing God that we will be able to start the next trimester in January.

Our account may not be full.  But our hearts & lives are more full than they have ever been before.

Having less than we have ever had.  Experiencing joy as we are choosing to be content.

And in that, we are realizing more each day that we are able to do all things through Him because HE strengthens us.

Philippians 4:11-13

I don't say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am in.  I know both how to have a little and I know how to have a lot.  In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content - whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need.  I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me.

Where did June go?!

We knew that the first two months of this new journey were going to be a whirlwind ... but WOW!

After Candidate Orientation Week in May in Denver, Daniel took off to Kenya for two weeks to visit our friends that are full time missionaries there.  It was a surprise visit for Jeremiah ... and he was overjoyed to see Daniel & our friend Mitch.  They had a great two weeks of laughs and encouragement & it was good for all of their hearts!

Daniel returned from Kenya & just 5 days later we boarded another plane to lead a team from our church to Honduras!  We were so excited to get back to Honduras this go round ... we knew it would have a completely different feel this time around since we have stepped out to start the process to live there full time. We had a wonderful two weeks there full of ministry & reconnecting with friends.  We were able to sit down to talk through our vision for our ministry ... and get even MORE excited about becoming a part of YFC Honduras & the community of La Entrada de Copan.

On our two week trip, we hosted VBS with over 200 kids, hosted a teen purity camp, visited several schools, served one morning at a boys' orphanage, & got to attend a praise concert in San Pedro Sula!  It was such a joy to be able to pack our two weeks full of different ministries & kids.  We are thankful to have served alongside such a great group of people from South Dakota & Brookhaven Fellowship!

To say that the months of May & June were hectic would be an understatement!  We are thankful that we were given the opportunity to do so much with different ministries ... but we were thankful to slow down a little & get our minds wrapped around our "new normal".

Now that we are back from Honduras, we have started our full time fundraising process!  We have been working hard to partner with individuals, partners, and churches that support our vision & believe that the Lord has called us to this.  We spend our days on the computer, making phone calls, and setting up appointments to share more about YFC & our vision.  We have been able to reconnect with so many people through this process.  It has been so fun to make connections and have so many others share in our excitement!

We have 6 church services in the month of July that we will be sharing in about our ministry!  God has really been showing us that He is going to provide in HIS way with specific people that He is already preparing & we could not be more excited to continue to watch this unfold.

• On July 3rd, we were able to share at Redemption Church in Hollywood, SC.  Everyone was very receptive & welcoming.  They are interested in partnering with us in the future & bringing their praise band down to serve at the camp!  We could not be more excited for that opportunity to share our love for Honduras with them & serve at the camp alongside of their praise band!

• On July 10th, we shared at two services at Latta Baptist Church in Latta, SC.  Brad & Anna Wise hosted us & could not have made us feel more at home!  We are so thankful that the Lord reconnected us with Brad & really enjoyed our time with them.  Our time in Latta was very encouraging.  Latta Baptist Church had several church members that have been involved with mission work in Honduras so speaking to them was exciting!  There is a group of people from their church that have already said they want to come next summer to the camp when we are planning to go.  We are praying that The Lord continues to prepare their hearts & that the trip will come together!

• This Sunday, July 17th, we will be speaking at our home church! Brookhaven has been more than supportive over the last several years as we have served & we are excited to share our vision with them this Sunday.  We know that this will be our core group of prayer support & the familiar faces that we have come to see us when we are on the ground there full time!

• The evening of July 17th, we will be sharing with First Emmanuel Baptist Church in Summerville!  We were married in that church so it will feel like "coming home" when we get the opportunity to go back to visit!  We are thankful for the opportunity to see old friends, meet new church members & share all that God has stirred in our hearts.  

• Finally, on the evening of July 24th, we will be speaking at First Baptist Church of Jedburg.  We would love to see familiar faces at these services so if you are in town and available, please come join us & hear about our ministry with Youth For Christ!

We are striving to do everything we can on our end to reach our budget so that we are fully funded  & able to leave for language school!  If we are not fully funded by August 1st, we will wait and leave in early January 2017.  We are excited to watch the month of July unfold as we share at churches, meet with families, and watch God provide!

If you or your church would be interested in hearing about our ministry, please contact us!  We would love the opportunity to share all that God has already done in Honduras & the vision He has given us for the future there.

Thank you for all of your prayers & support as we continue to take daily steps in response to God's calling on our lives.

Candidate Orientation in Denver

So much has been happening the last few weeks!

 

We moved out of our house mid-April & are living with Daniel’s parents until we are ready to leave for Language School.  This has been an awesome adjustment for our family … it could not be going any better!  Josie girl absolutely loves being at Nana & Papaw’s house & we are really enjoying our extra time with them, too!  We are getting more & more settled with each day that passes!

 

Daniel had his final day at work on April 29th.  We are so thankful for the time that he had at Stevens and the relationships that he formed while working there.  It was definitely a part of the preparation for what the Lord has next for him!

 

We flew out to Denver the morning after his final day at work for our week of Candidate Orientation with Youth for Christ.  We had to laugh because we definitely hit the ground running as soon as the Lord closed the door for Daniel’s job!  We were so excited to learn more about Youth for Christ!

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were able to see some beautiful & breathtaking sights while we were in Colorado.  It was snowing when we first arrived & by the end of our week, it was 80 degrees!  What a drastic difference!

 

 

 

 

We had an amazing time at our Orientation.  We really got to take an in depth look at Youth for Christ as an organization and realized that we definitely felt like it was a good fit for us as a sending organization!  The staff in the National Service Center could not have been more accomodating, intentional and genuine!  We really felt like they were truly invested in us & willing to do whatever we needed to clarify information or make us feel comfortable.  It was truly an awesome experience & we walked away with some great new relationships!

 

At the end of our week, we were both asked to pick an object to symbolize what God is revealing to us in this journey.  

 

Daniel has been wanting to start making survival bracelets in blue & white (Honduran) colors to have for our mission team & at the camp.  As the week went on, the Lord showed Daniel an illustration in the bracelet to go along with our journey with YFC.  The bracelet is made of the two colors but each of the colors is made of single individual strands to make the united chord strong.  He felt like it was a great illustration … we make up one color & YFC is the other color.  Separately, each color is strong in and of itself but when braided together … they’re nearly indestructable.  Daniel shared with the group that the bracelet served as a reminder that if Christ is at the center of our efforts and we partner with YFC, there is nothing that we can’t accomplish through Him!

 

Over the last several months, the Lord has really used arrows as a repeated symbol in my life.  Just through a variety of conversations, devotions, and things that I have come across, I have continued to see arrows as something that I kept making connections with & didn’t know the exact reason!  Throughout the week in Denver, the Lord really laid on my heart that I had been chosen & set apart very early on in my ife for “such a time as this”.  Like an arrow in the Archer’s hands, I have been chosen to be sent out.  The last several years with everything that we have faced, it has been like the bow has been pulled back and the tension has built up before God’s perfect timing for my purpose.  The pain has been part of the preparation!  The arrow serves as a reminder that I am being sent out, chosen, and directed by the One that has had me in His hands all along.

 

We were so humbled to be a part of the commissioning service with YFC.  It was such a blessing to be encouraged and prayed over by such a strong group of people with the same heartbeat for missions that drives our lives!

 

 

So what now?

 

Well … now the fun begins!  Since Daniel will no longer be working, we are both able to commit our time to full time fundraising for our monthly needs.  We will be coordinating with individuals, families & churches to partner together not only just financially or through prayer but also for potentional future short term mission trips to Honduras!  We are excited to watch the Lord connect us to several partners that share the same vision for the gospel to reach the nations.

 

This next month is full of plans (more to come on that soon!) and then we finish up the month of May with our short term trip!  We will be leading a group of 10 from our church back to Honduras for two weeks.  We are so excited to return HOME!

 

Thank you all for your love, encouragement & support as we have taken daily steps of obedience to get to this point in our journey.  We truly are so thankful for the messages, phone calls, and hugs that we have received from so many of you.  It really means the world to us to know that we have such an abundance of support!

 

More information on our budget & timeline to come soon …  We have a lot to share!

 

For now, please pray with us that the Lord will impress on specific hearts for them to partner with us & help our ministry vision happen in Honduras!  We are expectant for miracles and know that God is going to blow us away with the way that He provides!

 

 

 

 

Weekend of ABUNDANCE

On March 19th, we had our huge moving sale!  We spent two weeks getting things together & priced.  It was a very long two weeks to have piles and boxes all throughout our house.  Josie kept saying, "Mommy, this is a BIG mess!"  But, we pushed through and finally made it to Saturday!

We spent the evening before prepping & setting up with some friends.  We planned to hold the sale inside of the house because of the threat of 90% chance of rain.  We had things set up in the living room, dining room and guest room. At 3 am Saturday morning, I was wide awake & decided that I was believing The Lord for good weather.  So, I started setting up tables in the front yard at 3:30 am. I'm sure it was quite the scene!

Our friend Susana arrived around 4:30 am to help us finish setting up & also to help us pray the weather away!  At about 6:15 am, it started to drizzle on everything we had already set up outside.  We both started praying & within minutes the drizzle was gone!

We started the sale at 7:30 that morning ... little did we know we would end up having an almost 12 hour yard sale. The last couple left at 5:45 pm!

The day was full of emotions.  Not only was it hard to watch everything that we own get carried off ... but we had several unexpected friends show up that we had not seen in so long.  Friends from high school, Daniel's youth pastor, friends from our old church, and other amazing people that we have met along the way.  It was just incredible to see the Lord bring people back into our lives through this ... it definitely encouraged our hearts & showed us that the Lord has provided an amazing support system for our family!

Here are a few of the moments that stuck out to us from Saturday:

-Around 9 am, we had a lady show up to the sale and tell us that she saw the post on Facebook and had to come to support us because they have family friends that live in SC that are leaving in 6 months as missionaries to Honduras!  She gave us their information for us to be able to make contact with them in hopes that we can all serve together there someday!

- My best friend from high school's mom & brothers showed up later that morning.  It was very emotional to see them pull up and filled our hearts with so much joy to see them all again!  As we talked about how long it had been and how much we had all been through together, her mom shared that she was amazed even at the connection that her daughter had adopted her son two years ago who is Honduran!  We had no idea & had never heard his story.  Tears continued to flow and it was just so amazing to see God add another confirmation and connection to our day!  Just a short while later, my sweet friend & her beautiful family showed up so we got to meet her precious son.

- Later that afternoon, a soon-to-be teacher came with her mom to purchase an easel and some of Laura's teaching supplies.  As we talked, her mom asked about what our next steps would be in the process with Youth for Christ.  I told her that we would first be attending language school & she immediately lit up and shared with us that she has a best friend that lives in the same city that we will be living in!  She got our information and said that she is going to pass it along to her friend so that she can help us find an area in the city to live & a church to attend!

-  Out of all of the awesome ways that the Lord showed us His hand that day, the MOST incredible thing was the weather.  Not only did it NOT rain on a day that was predicted as 90% chance of rain ... but it was HOT.  The sun was BEAMING down on us & it was just the greatest feeling.  We know that He heard and answered our prayers for the weather that day!

It is so comforting to know that the Lord has shown us in so many ways that we are in His will. Those moments were ways that He showed us that He was in each and every detail!

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So ... why call it a weekend of abundance?  Sounds silly, right?  To sell everything you own  ... yet walk away feel more fulfilled and satisfied?

The world would measure abundance with a number  - how much of something that you have.

If we looked at our weekend through the eyes of someone on the outside, abundance would be the last word that we would use to describe what happened.  We sold 2/3 of everything that we own.

But with everything thing that sold & with every step we take away from the world's concept of abundance, we are taking a step towards what the Lord considers to be abundance.  He has really shown us over the last month that He is the ONLY One that can truly fulfill.  THAT is where abundance can be found.

It doesn't matter how many people we had help us set up, how many showed up, how many helped clean up or how many have genuinely walked this journey with us step by step.  In the ones that have come alongside of us, an abundance of love, help, and encouragement has been given & we have been so thankful.

We are learning daily that abundance is not a number.  It is more about depth.

After everything was finished, we enjoyed a yummy dinner with friends & reflected back on all that God did throughout the day.  Josie girl fell asleep early but woke up around 9pm upset, so I went in to lay down with her.  While I was putting my sweet girl back to sleep, our sweet friends Sarah & Christine cleaned up our kitchen and did the dishes.  Such a simple task that truly meant the world to me ... to have friends that love us enough to take even a few small things off of our plate!

As the day came to an end & everyone left, Daniel & I stood in the middle of the dining room and looked around at what was left in the house.  We had prepared ourselves to feel torn & unsettled for a few days ... but we were surprised that those feelings were no where to be found.  Turned out that we didn't feel like we were missing anything.  We both agreed that we felt more content and fulfilled than when the day had started.  We found ourselves closer than ever to living an abundant life.

So, as we finish out our last few weeks in our house before moving in with Daniel's parents ... we are praying for the Lord to continue to show us more about finding abundant life in Him.

We are choosing to accept & not expect.

Accept all that He provides and chooses to give us.

Accept what others are willing to do to support us & praise Him for those that are willing to be with us every step of the way!

Accept HIS timing and not ours.

Walking away from the world's view of abundance ... leaving all expectations of others behind.

Embracing & accepting His abundance as we abandon.

That is what He has promised.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.  

I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 

John 10:10

If you would like to support us as we journey towards abundant life in Christ, visit our giving page at: https://yfc.givingfuel.com/32216  

MOVING Sale!

Our MOVING sale is right around the corner!  We look forward to seeing family & friends come out to support our family as we take this giant step of faith.

As we have been going through all of our belongings, it has really been awesome to look back on the last 13 years and see how much we have been through, how much we have overcome because of HIS strength, and how faithful the Lord has been in every season.  We are overwhelmed with emotions but we are at peace knowing that we are abandoning ALL for the glory of His name!

A worship song that has really been speaking to me lately says:

 "I cant believe the price You paid for me.
What You did not owe so that I could know You.
How can it be?  You chose someone like me.
To declare Your praise for the glory of Your name"

That is EXACTLY how this part of our new chapter leaves me feeling.  I am in awe that the Lord has chosen us to declare His praise for the glory of His name in other parts of the world.

We are excited to see what the Lord has next!  Hope to see you at the MOVING sale!