Road trip to Cali!

We are almost there!!
We started our road trip a couple days earlier than originally planned and ended up leaving London on Dec 19th after the kids were done school. 
Our first stop was the border!  We were in the immigration office for about an hr or so and it was a tad stressful not knowing what was going to happen.  The lady only wanted to talk to Mike at first and then she had to talk to her boss, then he wanted to talk to Mike and then Mike was sent back to sit....all the while, Mike was trying his best with all our supported documents that we were there just to volunteer.  They seemed worried that I was a nurse and would take a job somewhere.  They were definatly not keen on letting us in, but in the end - Finally they did! Not happily though...but we were happy!! That was a relief!  All the while, I was praying hard for God's grace to allow us in!  Thanks Lord!
We cut that day short and made a long treck the next 2 days. Stopped 2 more times for sleeping and got to Texas Dec 22. It was a wonderful break to be with Mike's family in Texas. We stayed with one of his sisters that lives there while his parents and another brother and sister with her family came up as well. It was a great Christmas. I had a really great, relaxing time. The kids had so much fun with all their cousins. Too bad they live so far away!

 

                                              And there was snow in Texas for Christmas!!

We left Texas Dec 27th and met up with 2 other families doing the same thing as us (from Texas). And -BTW - we LOVE these people already and are so happy we have instantly connected with them.  We know they'll be life long friends for sure.
We headed on the road to Albuquerque. A long day but exciting at the same time as we were starting the 2nd part of our road trip. The next day we drove to the Grand Canyon and took the time to take a quick look. A quick look it was as it was pretty cold for the kids. Snowing and all there! But well worth it for us all.

                                                  All the daddies with their baby boys

                                               All the kids on the road trip! All troopers!

 

And on from there we headed to Bakersfield with beautiful scenery all along the way.

 

Bakersfield to Oakland was the next trip. Along the way we saw lots of produce farms - pretty amazing.  Following us was one of the families going to Kona with us and he's a farmer so we got well educated on what everything was which made it much more fun.  Then came upon beautiful rolling hills.  Sooo pretty!

So, now Oakland it is for 2 days until we fly out the morning of Jan 1. 
Right now Madison has a fever for 2 days.  Judah was sick over Christmas with a fever as well so I'm hoping it's just what he had.  Fevers always worry me though.  Please keep this family of ours in your prayers for health to be whole. 

Kona bound we are!!  We are excited to reach our long awaited destination!  Thanks to you all of you for praying for us through our journey. They have made a difference for sure.  Knowing all that we have gone through over the last few months, we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that THIS is what God has for us as the next step.  There's just no way that without God in it, we would have been able to get to this point.  There has been so much GRACE over us.  God has been so good.  And there's no doubt that your prayers have made a difference.  Thank you! Thank you!

Not my most Favourte blogpost to write...

Alright, here goes... This is a hard one for me to write as I suppose it's pretty humbling and really puts it out there as to where we are as a family.

And besides what I'm about to share with you being hard, this is probably also the one thing I hate most about being a missionary! We have learned to be quite self-sufficient over the years and have been rather comfortable and blessed beyond our needs. God has been amazing to us and we are so grateful for that.

So...as you may have noticed on most of my blog postings, one of the prayer requests we ask for repeatedly is that God would provide us financially. We are believing that He will be wholly in this one with us as He has led us this far. We also KNOW this is how he is leading our family and that gives us comfort beyond anything else.

It kinda feels like selling the latest yummy treats like those mint chocolate smoothies from Rheo Thompson that are absolutely AMAZING and addictive. But not...Because instead of being able to give you these golden wrapped, delicious, melt in your mouth treats for a couple bucks, we give you something intangible and maybe a few nice feelings. It hardly seems like a good deal, right?

But I do believe it's a good deal...I believe those that give should hold on to those "nice feelings" a bit longer, a bit tighter.
 With EVERY penny that we get, there will be rejoicing and thanksgiving in this household. With EVERY penny received, we will pray a double portion be given back to you (PLUS - that's what Jesus said, look it up!!). We have already heard of a story of someone giving to us and being blessed HUGELY financially the next day!

Not only do these money gifts bless us; They make it possible for us to fulfill God's calling on our lives and to be able to make a change in others lives because of Him using us.

So, all that to say, we need your help.

And, in case you were wondering about these things:

Yes, we sold our house along with most things we own.
Yes, Mike has sold his business successfully.
But, surprisingly maybe, we have been able to pay our debts and pay for SOME of the DTS that we are doing in Kona but that is it. Thank God that we have been able to get to a place of being debt free! We are so thankful for this.

But this does leave us in a place of reliance on family and friends to help us financially. We are looking for one time gifts and for monthly donaters. No amount is too little - I mean that.

YWAM happens to be a non for profit organization and anyone and all that are involved in YWAM are "support-based missionaries". It's just kinda part of the deal.

So, we're asking that you'd consider supporting us in anyway that you're able to.

To all of you who read this - Thanks! AND a HUGE Thanks to those that have already began supporting us! It means alot to us. More than words can express. Thank you, thank you!

The best way to donate would be through paypal(that yellow button at the top right of the page that says 'donate' hooks you up with giving through paypal) or if you're Canadian, e-transfers (via email and online banking) are super easy too. Either one works great.

Thanks again - I promise not to write lots of blogs about needing money but felt the need to put it out there so that those who are wondering where we're really at right now know. That we aren't hoarding a bunch of money from the sale of a house or business but that it's rather the opposite of that! We are walking in financial faith! Of course we were hoping to have more so we could be comfortable but I think God had other plans and lessons to teach us.

Just about there...

What a crazy, insane, stressful, emotional month this has been!  But as I say that, the first thing on my mind is that God has definitely been in it all.  I know there is NO way any of this could have happened if it wasn't for His strength and humongous portion of grace He's covered us with. 
So, let me fill you in.

October 25 we moved out into a tiny space for 5 people to live in.  It was short lasting as the people we were renting from needed us out sooner than initially agreed to.  So, off we went to my parent's place in London.  We've been commuting the girls to their school every day - making it a lot of driving but well worth keeping them there until our departure. 

Mike's business was another hurtle.  Initially, someone had joined in partnership with him but a few weeks into that, he backed out of it and left us back to square one with figuring out what was going to happen with the business with just a month left before we would be gone.  There was a lot of emotions that came along with this as we honestly couldn't see a way to go.  So, this was up to God to do something. 

We have continually believed that this is what God wants of us.  It's been so strongly on both our hearts and the hunger to go has only grown.  It's been a journey to trust God, that's for sure!
My emotions have been pulled in all sorts of directions. To living in a basement, one bedroom home, to thinking we might not be able to go - after having SOLD just about everything we own, to not knowing where we'd be able to store our remainder belongings (Thanks Tarah and Mary!), to money concerns, to screaming needy children (yes, I'm talking about mine and also having to shower a 1 1/2 yr old is NOT fun - the basement home only had a shower to use), to having to move a 2nd time after moving out of our beloved home, to sicknesses.  Yes, it's been fun!  But, seriously - underlying all of this, there has been a gentle peace - faint at times but gave us enough sanity to get through this time
Right in the midst of this going on, I heard this song that brought a lot of comfort to me...here are the words of that:

"I lean not on my own understanding. My life is in the hands of the maker of heaven.
I give it all to you God, trusting that you will make something beautiful out of me.
I will climb this mountain with my hands wide open.
There's nothing I hold on to"

Mike met with someone interested in the business a few times and again this past weekend, Dec 1 who finally then agreed to purchase it!  Thank you Lord for making a way!  So, as I type this now, Mike is running around to organize all the final details for this. 
I'm so proud of Mike.  This has been an extremely difficult process for him.  This business has been his baby.  He has worked so hard to bring it to where it is now.  What a huge accomplishment he's made.  I'm sure he's sad to let it all go but I know his reward will be great.

So, onwards to go to serve our King!
PLEASE get in touch with us to see us before we leave! I'm working a lot but would love to see any of you before we head out!
We leave December 21, 2012 to head to Dallas, Texas where we will spend Christmas with Mike's family.  From there, we will be leaving with 3 other families that are doing the same school as us in Kona!  They all live in the Dallas area and we'll literally be 'caravanning' with them as we drive to Oakland, California.  Making stops in Albuquerque, the Grand canyon and Bakersfield, Ca. along the way. Flying out Jan 1/13.  Spending 2 days to recoup before our session begins Jan 3/13.

Hopefully we'll look happier than this car :)

Areas of Prayer:

1.  We are still in a huge financial need.  Here are more details:  SUPPORT link.  Most importantly, we are looking for monthly supporters - but again, Anything would help.

2.  Safe travels as we drive to California and that there would be NO problems at the boarder/immigration (we have lots of paperwork to backup our endeavors).

3.  That our family would adjust smoothly to our new environments

Until my next post - MERRY CHRISTMAS to you all!  Enjoy this time with your families and let us never forget the gift He has given us!

2nd Big step - Done!

We have moved out of our home.  Our closing date was yesterday, Oct 25th.  Mike has been a hard working man this last week!  He literally did most of this move single handedly.  Thank you God for such an organized, strong and efficient husband! 
Everytime I looked at the mounds of things needing sorted or packed, I'd stare at it, wishing it'd just do something on its own.  Really - I was just overwhelmed with how much stuff we have and what to do with what.  Several truck loads went to goodwill and a few van fulls went to people we know could use the things we were getting rid of.  A bunch of stuff went on kijiji to try and raise funds for our missions.  Then there are bins beyond bins we filled to keep for when we return.  I'm sure that as we unpack things when we come back next summer, we'll be having a very large garage sale. 
So, thanks to Mike we have successfully vacaned our home and moved into a basement that consists of a very large bedroom, kitchenette and bathroom.  All 5 of us are sharing a room.  We figure this will prepare us for rougher times to come.  It's been 2 nights and so far things are just fine!  The girls feel like they're camping out and seem to enjoy it.  Out of all of this, the biggest battle is trying to give Judah a shower.  He's not liking that so much. So, if that's the hardest thing I have to face here, so be it!

Good bye house!

So, we have 2 out of our 3 prayer requests fulfilled!  Well, and a bit of the 3rd too.
1. We found Lacey a home!  She is with a lady that has 2 dashounds and was really excited about taking Lacey in.  I'm sure she'll adapt well.  We plan to visit her a few times before our departure. It's not easy to say bye! We miss her already.

2. We have a nanny!!  I'm SO excited about this one!  I was contacted by Pastor Norm from Harvest where we used to attend who mentioned that one of his daughters would be interested in finding out some more info. about what it all entailed for her if she were to be our nanny.  After some email talks and then finally meeting with Sarah, she agreed to take on this ministry opportunity.  We are so happy and excited that she agreed to this.  And feel so at peace with hers/our decision.
Yay! Thank you God for bringing the right person to us!

She gets to watch these monkeys! (Well, really mainly Judah)

 

And the 3rd is finances.  We have received a HUGE blessing of having our tickets paid for!  All 5 of us!! Praise God!  Now it's everything in between that we are praying and trusting God for.  He is faithful and we know His timing is perfect.

 

 We continue to ask for your prayers for our family

 We are so excited for the plans ahead and what God is going to do.  We believe we are entering a season that will be life changing for us, our kids and especially for the world around us.  I cannot WAIT to share the the things that we will be experiencing and seeing.  God's hand is at work in the world today and I think it's just gonna get more intense!

 

Matthew 19:26

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

 

Coming up Jan 2013

We have sold the house, Mike has found a solution for his business to continue to run while we are away.  Lots of dentist/doctors appointments for last minute check-ups and problems.  This is a crazy busy time for us!  Our house closing date is October 25th! 
We have been selling lots of things on kijij, good willing lots, garbaging lots!  As a mom and woman, this has been a hard time for me.  Getting rid of things that  make our home along with memories.  But I remind myself that these are just things.  Material posessions that will eventually be forgotten.  God is eternal and has bigger plans for us than to have 'things'.
Speaking of material possessions, that is how part of this journey has started for us.  Besides the fact that this has been impressed on both our hearts for quite some time (just unsure when it was going to happen), we were discussing moving.  To buy a bigger home so all our kids could have their own bedroom.  So we could have our own bathroom. Maybe have a pool or atleast a hot tub. These are all great but that's when it hit us. "What are we doing?".  I remember clearly Mike saying that as we were driving by looking at my dream house.  Right - what are we doing?? That's where we started to re-evaluate life and what we want from it.  What the path would look like for us in 5 - 10 yrs if we continue on this road or what it would look like if we allow God to turn our lives inside out.  And quite honestly, we have NO idea what that will look like but we have decided that it is worth checking it out and so we said, "Yes, Lord! Send us.  Do what you will with our lives.  Take our children and use them!  Take us and let us be a part of history making for your Kingdom!"  This is our hearts cry!  We want to be used and be mouthpieces for Him.  My heart burns with passion just to think of what is going to take place.  I have a huge peace and lots of excitement to step out in this great adventure He has allowed us to jump into. 
So, off to Kona, Hawaii we go! Jan 3, 2013 our Fire and Fragrance DTS begins.  End of March we will be going on our missions/outreach.  We are not sure yet where that will be but will be updating as we know. Then, returning from there June 7, 2013. 

We have some needs ahead of us:
1.We desperately need to find a home for our sweet little Lacey.  Our basset hound.  7 yrs old.  We found out lastnight that she is quite the impressive guard dog too- after someone decided to come for an item off kijiji at midnight.  We were sleeping but Lacey woke up the whole house with her big scary bark as she heard a knock at the door!

2.We need a nanny! Someone that is willing to be in Kona from Jan-Mar. They will not need to go on outreach with us

3.And of course money.  This is ywam.  A non-profit organization.  All involvement in ywam is volunteer.  And all funds are raised by the individuals going/participating. 

 

Here is our paypal account that you can

safely donate to us if you're led to do so.

 

4.Last but definatly not least.  We need your prayer support!  Please keep us in your prayers!  We will need lots of it!  We will continue to update you on what's happening in our lives and where specific prayer is needed.  Right now, it's that all our needs mentioned above will be met!  So, please take a few minutes of your time to pray for and with us and our needs.  We greatly appreciate it!

House is SOLD!

It's done.  It's official.  I just signed the papers with the realtor. 
An offer came in lastnight and we counter offered back and were waiting all night to hear back....although they had till tonight to sign back, all sorts of things were going through our minds as to what they could be thinking....but this morning as Mike and I were calling eachother to see if we'd heard anything - nothing - then Mike called again and said they had accepted our offer! I was in disbelief and really thought he was joking - no joke! The agent came over with the papers and confirmed everything!  Now it's just a 10 day waiting period for her to get all things in order on her end as far as financials/home inspection...etc. 
We are really doing it! 
So, Hawaii and World - here we come!!

House for Sale!

What's funny, is I'm pretty sure no one is really reading my blog...probably due to my lack of 'advestising' it to friends/family/facebook.  I kinda want to keep it that way at the moment as there aren't very namy people that know about our plans ahead.  Including my work!  I plan to talk to them once things are a bit more official - like when the house sells.

Yes! Our house is for sale!  We signed the papers to sell it July 31st.  It just popped up on mls.com this morning.  Now it's waiting.........waiting.....Good thing I'm working this weekend because waiting for a call from our realtor for a showing is already taking too long in my opinion.  And it's only been about an hour since I discovered it online!  Patience!  I need a lot of that.

Our plans, in case you forgot...we are going to Hawaii!  We have fully  decided and dedicated ourselves to go and do a Discipleship Training School in Kona. Specifically doing their Fire and Fragrance DTS.  We are really excited about this and feel passionate about the vision of this school. 

Mike and I visited Kona July 5 for a week and it was really great.  It was a great time to relax and catch up with each other without the discrations of work/life/kids.  We were able to tour the whole island, checking out all the cool things it has.  We even went out to snorkel in a known snorkel area with paddle boards and on the way, came across a school of dolphins and swam with them.  That was really cool!
We met up with a couple at the ywam base that are staff there that are about our age.  It was pretty refreshing to meet and chat with them. They invited us to Andy Byrd's house, who founded the fire and fragrance school - what a great time.  All in all, it was a refreshing time and brought a new hunger in us.  Shannon and Blake (the couple we met) showed us where we'd be living.  It'll be good!  Small but just enough space.  It's Hawaii and I don't think we'll be spending a ton of time in doors anyways!  We are just looking forward to the life changing transformation that  God will do in us and through us and our children.  A lot of why we picked Hawaii is because of the kids.  They have a great program/school for the kids while we are in class and not very many ywam bases offer this.  We found it to be on the top of our priority list to have the children have an amazing experience side by side with us, not just tagging along.  Judah will need a nanny though as he's too young for the school.  So, we are in search of a nanny - someone that will volunteer their time to be with us in Hawaii - their way paid for and room/board paid for.

So, now we wait.  Once the house sells, on to the next steps!  In the mean time, we will be continuing in the process of getting passports ready and other prerequesites to going.
We can't wait!

Comfort or Calling?

It's been a while! But, non the less - here is a post.
Mike and I have talked about getting involved in missions pretty much since we've been together.  It's always been there as a thought, desire and a "some day".  My heart was captured when I was 9 yrs old while in the heart of Africa. Those days there changed my life in a way I don't quite understand but I do know that since then my heart has been to be involved some way, some how in missions/ ministry.
Mike has had a heart to do the same since I've known him. So, we have talked and played with the idea several times.
We have wanted nothing more than to be in the centre of God's will and timing.  It has been 14 years since I have done any sort of missions.  I can't believe it's already been that long!  My own intentions were to finish nursing school, pay off my debts quickly and get back into missions.  That hasn't happened.  One thing leads to another and the debt is still there! Along with 3 kids whom I absolutely adore. 
So, now we are living in a house we own. I have a wonderful job that I love more now than ever. Mike has built a successful business and seems to be booming this year.  Our 1st child is thriving in school and making lots of great friends.  Our 2nd child is about to start school - she can't wait. Our little man is exciting to watch grow as he's now just started walking everywhere.  And we have our Lacey dog who we all love...even though she drives me up the wall at times.  This is our life.  It has become pretty comfortable to me at last...this year.  I could possibly picture myself living here for a while longer. Raising our kids in this small town which I've also grown to love.  It feels safe for the kids.  We're just getting to know people and finding our place here.  We even started looking at other houses in the area for sale that are a bit bigger - thinking that will bring us more happiness. "One more bedroom would be great...oh, and a hottub/pool would be perfect".
This time it was Mike coming to me - "Let's do it", he came home saying after another great job had booked in for the season.  From that point on it was, "no, we should stay...yes,we should go..." Etc.  Finding reasons it would be better for us to stay for a while longer.  Then one day we decided to go garage saling with a "No, we're staying" mantality and came upon some friends' place that were selling tons of their things along with their house.  So, we got talking about their plans.  They shared that they were moving to Calgary and that it was a rather random decision/place but they felt they needed change.  After that conversation our decision changed from that particular day of being "no, we should stay" to a Solid, "We have to go".  It became a burning "YES" for us.  If they could do it, we HAVE to do it. 
So, since then we have spent a lot of time looking at our options and possibilities of where/what we are going to do. 
We have decided on Kona, Hawaii as our starting point.  This is where YWAM has their main base and University of the Nations.  We are in the process of filling out application forms for ourselves and the kids to do a DTS (Descipleship Training School).  We are SO excited for the adventures and challenges that God has for us. 
We have been getting our house ready to sell. Getting new carpet installed, putting some fresh paint on the walls, touching up this and that.  Meanwhile, we are talking to a realtor whosays she has a buyer for our house. That's crazy!  We've tried to sell our house in the past and it just hasn't worked out and now we might even have a buyer before we put a sign up in the front yard?! This I will keep you posted about!
And Mike has a buyer for his business!  I'm in Awe. 
Once these things fall into place firmly, I will know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is God's hand moving in our lives. Providing. Making a way.  Helping us move forward in His will and timing.