Long New Beginning

It's been a looooooooooong new beginning for us.  We've been on this journey since October, and now only have 3 nights left in our adorable, quaint little house.  3 nights!  Chuck and I both feel pretty at ease.  Though we have so much to organize, most of the leg work is behind us.  Come Tuesday and Wednesday we will be going crazy with busyness!

I have to say, we have been filled up and are overflowing with the love we've received from our NOVA friends, and church family.  It has been incredible to experience such an outpouring of grace and support from our people.  I was talking to my Aunt today, and she commented that I seemed joyful and upbeat.  I don't typically think of myself in that fashion, so it really meant a lot to me.  I told her it was absolutely the Lord giving me that extra grace during a great time of need.

Tomorrow Chuck and I will be giving our "farewell" talk to the teens in the morning.  Feels surreal.  I really don't have the capacity to describe how I'm feeling yet.  Here comes chapter two!

These are some pictures from the last couple of weeks.  Just some of the people we hold so dear to our hearts.

Our AMAZING small group- at a farewell cookout they had just for us!

Some of our other staff friends took us out to lunch- so much fun!

Candy and I's precious small group from this year.  Love these girls.  

Chuck's crazy group of guys!

My beloved college girls thew me a surprise shower for baby boy. (Notice his amazing, tiny, first pair of shoes!)

Transition

Just wanted to share with you that we finally have some direction for our next steps in life.

After 7 looooong, and painful months, we still don't have another youth ministry position.  This morning Chuck and I had a lengthy time of talking, praying, and much crying (I won't say who the crier was ;).  God has begun to make some things clear.  

We have decided to move up to PA to live with my parents until God provides us with another youth ministry.  On Tuesday, May 28 at 6 pm, we will load up a truck and put our stuff in storage here in VA.  It looks like we will be leaving our home in Northern VA and heading to PA on May 30, just 3 weeks from today.  

Our hearts are quite heavy, and we are terribly sad.  It goes without saying that we love our home here, and our community of friends.  But, we're following God by faith.  Chuck and I are trying to rest in the truth that God is for us, we have each other, we have our baby boy, and we have Jovie, of course!  =)

We would absolutely love your prayers for us!  

Malta

There is much to share, but most importantly we want to THANK YOU for praying for us!  Wow, do we ever need the constant power of God to keep us steady.

God blessed us in an AMAZING way on our trip to Malta.  We were filled up in a unique way by the European missionaries we met and got to serve.  They were so appreciative of us being there, and must have thanked us a hundred times.  We had parents share with us as tears filled their eyes how grateful they were for Christians besides themselves pouring into their teens.  Most of the missionary kids do not have youth groups, and only hear about God from their parents.  They do not have Christian friends, and are often very alone in their faith.  The only youth group they experience is every two years at the Pioneers conference where we served.      

There is a great need for missionaries to be encouraged and refreshed.  We were thankful we got to play a small part in their lives, even for just one week.  We absolutely loved the kids we worked with (11-13 year olds).  They all spoke at least 2 languages, some even up to 4.  Chuck and I spent a lot of time laughing with them, but also shared about the life of Paul from the book of Acts.  I am so proud of Chuck for teaching and doing such a fabulous job!  

One of the most meaningful times with them included the teens going around the circle sharing about their biggest fears.  They were so transparent about their fears, and some tears were even shed.  Chuck and I were quite touched at their honesty.  Afterwards we had a time to pray over them, and to give those fears to God.  Another meaningful time was hearing the teens share about the miracles they had seen God do in their lives.  It was pretty amazing to hear the stories of the power of God they had witnessed.  

Often times missionary kids have a reputation of being weird and nerdy, but these kids were quite the opposite.  They were cultured, had a great world view, were much more grounded then the "normal" Jr. Highers we meet, and were very cool!  They certainly have needs and struggles just like all teens, but I could see a depth to them that was admirable.  

Thank you for praying for us!  God was faithful in hearing your prayers.  He kept baby boy and I healthy, which was a miracle considering my diet of Teddy Grahams, packs of muffins, and bread!  I believe God also allowed the teens to feel accepted by Him and us in a short amount of time.  Such a special time to see God work!  Thank you so much for your support!