June 2015 Update

We are less than one month away from heading to Indiana to begin our journey as full time missionaries. The house is getting empty as we get rid of all of our things and pack our bags. After recently finishing my last big job, I have realized that coffee may be my new best friend. Without the physical work I am used to doing all day, it has been a challenge to stay awake after lunch.  

I am also realizing how much my work effected our daily life. When I am running a construction business, I have schedules and to do list and expect to be constantly doing something productive. Full-time ministry is a little different. I still put in a lot of work, but the results are not always the same or feel as productive. I used to demo a house in a day and now I will meet with someone for 30 minutes and it could turn out to be a whole day event of talking and praying. This is not bad and I enjoy it; however, my mind and body have not understood it yet. I have always associated work with being dirty and exhausted all of the time.

I recently had the opportunity to attend Friday Night Church and am inspired by their set-up. FNC is a house church led by Jeff Hand that meets on Friday nights. They normally go through different curriculums and bible studies while also sharing testimonies and how they have advanced the Gospel each week through intentional evangelism. I can vision our family having a similar atmosphere in Ecuador after we establish healthy relationships with the locals. 

We have also had a chance to work with our church in the Centennial Hill neighborhood a few times in the past month. Lacey encouraged young girls while giving them manicures and Sophie played with the kids on the play ground. I had the pleasure of walking around the neighborhood praying and sharing with people. I love witnessing and praying with strangers. It reminds me that even though most people in our community know about Jesus; they struggle with understanding that we are saved by grace alone. 

In addition, I have joined a mens group from Counterpoint Pike Road on Tuesday mornings to listen and share about what we are learning through our daily reading. On Wednesday mornings, I go to a breakfast fellowship where we are going through the “Model Man” curriculum. Thursday nights is tennis and fellowship.

  I also had a chance to meet with our missions pastor(Scott Montgomery) at Church of Highlands and he was very encouraging and gave some great advice. We look forward to he and his wife keeping up with us through out our journey so that our church can be aware of our prayer needs and progress in reaching others. 

I also got to meet with my India team leader who is in the process of starting a sending organization called Freedom Trade. They are ready to start appealing to potential investors and invited us up to hear their presentation. We have a heart for India and can't wait to learn more about their passion and how they will accomplish it. 

Lacey is continuing to be the logistics leader for our family. She is doing an amazing job at handling all of the preparations for moving out of the country such as: changing our mailing addresses, figuring out what we need to take with us, answering all of the visa and passport questions and preparing us for our cross-cultural classes we will be going through for the next 3 months. She also handles all of our investor information such as sending out thank you letters, appeal letters, and setting up meetings. We also attended the annual Home School Expo in Montgomery. This is a 3 day event that has a lot of seminars and vendors that are geared towards preparing and equipping home school parents so that they can be successful in raising up spiritual leaders. 

As some of you know, homeschooling is a full-time job and it can be challenging trying to raise a 4 year old while preparing our family for a new career in a different country. Lacey is doing a great job at balancing both. We are both learning to work together and share some of the new responsibilities that we face. 

Aside from our relationship with God and each other, Sophie is always our number 1 priority and ministry. 

It is difficult to reach the lost in another country if we cannot properly love and equip our own daughter

We are continuing to home school her through the summer and are starting to consistently introduce her to Spanish. We will both be working from 8 to 5 when we arrive in Indiana next month and are praying for Sophie to have a smooth transition with her teachers. She has also been getting a lot of family time with her grandparents as we try to balance this last month between preparing for full time ministry and spending time with our family and friends for one last time.

Raising a 4 year old is like learning Spanish, We think we have certain rules figured out and then they surprise us with something totally new.