Our deepest and most sincere thanks goes first to the Lord for His provision and grace and next to YOU! Those of you who have prayed, encouraged, and given financially! Those who have kept our little ones so we could go to support meetings, those who have sponsored and participated in our fundraisers, those who have shared contacts and introduced us to your friends, family, and churches! You have helped us get this far! Thank you for bearing with us and truly partnering with us in this missions journey! We're getting so close to being fully funded and cleared to go to Romania!

What's left to do?

​We need Ministry Partners to join our team by praying and giving on an ongoing basis. We are thankful to have support from 3 amazing churches, but the majority of our team consists of families and individuals who give monthly or yearly. These gifts get us to the field, but also and most importantly, keep us there. 

Whew! This has been a journey! Precious friends and ministry partners, we cannot thank you enough for your love, prayers, support, and encouragement. Thank you for hanging with us, for holding us up with your prayers, and for being there for us every step of the way.  We are just a few weeks away from heading out to our training. Mission Training International in Colorado is our destination. This will be a time of rest (40+ hours in a vehicle excluded) but also a time of intense preparation for us and the children. We are looking forward to learning and growing in the Lord and preparing for cross-cultural life and ministry. 

It is our prayer to be fully funded and ready to move soon after training. A lot of details and logistics lie ahead of us, but most importantly, we have to get to 100% of our monthly budget needs. We are 75% of the way there, and our outgoing budget needs are even closer than that! What we have to do now is finish and finish strong. Many of you know this has been a tough road for our family, but the Lord has been good and ever faithful. He has worked in our hearts and lives and lead us through bouts of doubt, tragedy, sin, struggle, conflict, and despair, but He has brought us trust, triumph, grace, peace, unity, healing, and joy. He is not done with us yet! It is time to finish... and finish strong!

Photo by Handmade~Photography 

 We frequent this establishment at least once weekly. Honestly, we should have  a dedicated line in our family budget for Chick-fil-a expenditures... or investments as I would rather look at them. We admit it is only a matter of time before one or all of us begin clucking due to the shear magnitude of chicken exposure, but nothing can beat the crunchy, buttery, pickle-ly goodness that makes their fare irresistible! 

Apart from our addictions to the food (and we cannot forget the ever-consistent and perfect SWEET TEA) we enjoy supporting this company and firmly stand with their Christian and family values! 

I could go on and on and on about how much we love this place, but I must share this awesome news with you! During a recent, routine visit, we were presented with a special opportunity to share an evening of our favorite food with our friends and family and any one else who would like to join us.... AND RAISE MONEY for Youth Ministry International!!!

We could not have imagined a more personalized blessing and affirmation than to have this opportunity to share the vision and ministry the Lord has laid on our hearts!

We invite everyone we know and ask you to invite everyone you know who would like to enjoy some tasty dinner and support this mission. All you have to do is come to the Chick-fil-a on Rivergate Parkway on THURSDAY night MARCH 24th anytime between 5pm and 8pm. A portion of the sales made during this time will go directly to YMI and help us get to Romania!

All 5 of us will  be there to share this time with you, and we can't wait to see you there!

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 "How many days till we move to Romania?" This is our sweet girl's question to us at least once a day. Our daily answer is, "We're not sure, but as soon as the Lord provides." Her question is like the first question friends, family, coworkers, and strangers ask us when they hear of our plans. We would love to know exactly how many days as well, but we trust the Lord is using every day, every moment to prepare us for the work ahead. 

​As we flipped the calendar to a new year, our family has focused our priorities and goals to begin our big transition. Our home, our ministry, and our family life will forever change this year. We are in the process of building our ministry support team while continuing to serve in full time youth ministry at Bethel. We are in the process of preparing our home to go on the market (purging)  while accommodating new toys from Christmas and birthdays. We are in the process of helping our children build strong relationships here while helping them understand the changes coming for them soon (but not soon in their little minds.) It is an interesting time, for sure. We are looking to the Lord, His wisdom, and His grace as we navigate these new waters. 

Transition is hard, trying, and overwhelming at times, but our Lord is sovereign, powerful, and full of grace and mercy. We will lean on Him. We are trusting He will help us finish strong in this season of life and ministry as He guides us into the next.