Update: May 10, 2015

It has been a busy few months for us as we prepare for our transition to another country. We officially started the fundraising process in February after completing our 2 week training. Since then, we have been meeting with groups and individuals to share about what we will be doing in Ecuador. We also took a vision trip to Ecuador in late February to get an idea of our daily living and ministry. 

I am currently getting up every morning between 1 am and 3 am to work on blogs, appeal letters, and other ministry things. At 4 am, I spend time preparing my work day and also work on estimates and invoices. At around 4:30 or 5 am, I have my Bible time, then go for a light run and meditate on God’s word while looking at all of His glorious creations. I end my run with a surrender prayer to God. Sophie gets up around 5:45 and we normally do her math work and eat breakfast. I am working from 7 am till 5:30.

Lacey gets up at 5:30 or 6 to have her quiet time. She becomes mom at 7am or when Sophie sneaks in the room to see her. Their days are packed with home school curriculums, science projects, group Bible studies, gymnastics, dance class, play dates, and all while handling all of the logistics of running a family and preparing for our future in ministry. After putting Sophie to bed at 8, Lacey spends the next few hours working on ministry stuff and Bible study.

Our schedule is definitely challenging right now as we try to juggle two types of living: our old lifestyle and occupation and our new lifestyle as missionaries. We are committed to not getting overwhelmed or over worked and that we do not loose focus of our priorities as a family. Even though it is real busy, we do find time to shut down and have fun as a family.       

We are currently trying to get all of the logistics and my construction business wrapped up by the end of this May so that we can spend our last month (June) getting spiritually prepared. I have had to work weekends and late nights to accomplish this. We have a lot to do before we leave. It has been really busy, but also exciting knowing that this could be our last time doing certain things for a while. Here is some of the things that we are currently working on:

Family update:

-We started home school with Sophie and are on our eighth week. So far, a success!

-Sophie has also been taking swim lessons and we had her 4th birthday party in early April.

-She had her gymnastics show on Monday, May 4 and her dance recital will be toward the end of May.

-She also graduated from mothers day out on Thursday, May 7.

-Lacey also finished up her small groups and Bible study.

-She also had an opportunity to share with the team she went to China with a few weeks ago and they were very encouraging and supportive.

-She has been working on all of our homework for our cross-culture training that begins in July.

Ministry update:

-We are currently at approximately $15,000 raised and need about $10,000 more to fulfill our first year goal.

-We recently sent out over 100 appeal letters and prayer cards.

-We are now praying for God to open doors to build relationships with potential investors.

-We are also praying about how to appropriately reach out to other churches.

• We will leave for Indiana to the OMS headquarters on July 7 for cross -cultural training.  We will then leave directly from Indiana to Loja, Ecuador on August 1 so our last day in Alabama will be July 7.

• We will spend the first 2 months in Loja doing an extensive language and cultural training where we will spend half of our day in class and the other half in the community and visiting the towns that we are going to be living in. 

Logistics:

• We are trying to figure out our packing situation; What do we need to take and what would we like to take? What is the best type of luggage to bring? 
• We are also trying to figure out what we want to keep and put in storage while we are away and what we can get rid of. Every day we go through our house and choose things to give away and things to store up.
• We got lucky and sold our motorcycle and wave runner early this year. 
• We have to fix all of the repairs around our house and get it ready to be rented out and make sure there is a plan for our tenants if something happens or breaks.
• We are still working on the details of our taxes, Bank accounts, credit cards, magazine subscriptions, mail, car insurance, cell phones, personal savings, etc. 

Our prayer needs:

-God to give us peace and to constantly remind us of His grace and why we want to move to another country.

• It is easy to get distracted by all of the logistics and business side of missions and loose focus of our passion to share the Good News with others.

• It is also exhausting trying to always look at every conversation and every person as a potential donor. This is my biggest challenge because I can share with the lost all day, but Lacey and I like to enjoy each other and grow spiritually as a family.