I know I say it every time , but it is still hard to believe how fast time goes by. I cant hardly believe it is nearing the end of September. We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our son Noah, it is so hard to believe that 9 months have passed. A lot has gone on in those months that has kept us very busy.
Amanda's due date is Sept 29th, pray that everything goes well and that God would give her and I a peace through the delivery and early stages.
God has been so good to us.
We were able to finish up camp last month, that relieves a lot of time because of everything it takes with groups coming to help and have the kids everyday. It is still a joy and honor to be able to see the children everyday and be able to pour into them.
Amanda and I were able to take Jacob and Leah to meet her family in Missouri for a week of rest and fun to get away for a bit before the start of a new season. It was much needed and we are grateful to have had the chance to do that.
My parents and some of my siblings were able to come up, along with some longtime friends from GA, to help us close up the back porch of our house to make a little extra room for the kids before baby Noah comes. It was like extreme home makeover and we were able to get it all done in a week. Mostly because my dad is a work train and doesn't know how to slow down, of which I am very grateful for. We couldn't have gotten it done without the help we had. My mom and the ladies spent most of the time cooking and cleaning, they cooked enough food to last us more than a month and freeze it so all we would have to do is heat it up to take that load off of Amanda.
With the new season starts a new era of ministry. When we first wanted to come up here Pastor Mike Brennan had said "Winter will be your hardest time here, there is more ministry to be done in the winter than any other time of the year." I can very much see that in the off and on time we have been here in the winter months. It is different up here in the winter. All the "white vans" are gone, all the "Wacitus" (white people) are gone and there is such an opportunity to serve. The food pantry we worked on during the summer to be able to have a place to store food, personal hygiene products, baby supplies and clothing is in the process of being stocked to be able to last us through the winter. This is something we are really praying about as a team and ask you to pray with us to be able to discern the best way to show compassion through our pantry ministry. True love and compassion is usually more inconvenient show than what we are willing to do. The Lord has really put this as a burden on my heart the last several months. It is so much easier to give one of the hundred people that come up to you and ask you for money because their mom or dad is in the hospital and they just need a few dollars to get the gas to be able to go see them in Rapid (This is an everyday conversation being here) There are a few things to think about here - one is, I don't have enough money to hand out to everyone even though they think I do. Two - I see what they do with the money and it is more than likely not for gas to see a relative in the hospital but rather to get a fix for whatever their vice is. So do you push them away and tell them no as nice as you can? Or do you take the opportunity to say I am willing to show you that I love and care about you and I don't have the money to give to you but rather begin to ask for discernment from the Holy Spirit to truly show that person the love of God. This is a whole sermon, so there is a lot I could go into here but I hope this presents you with some of the challenges we face here in this area of ministry. By the way the answer the Lord gave me one day is - I don't have any money but I have got some time, "let me drive you to rapid to see that relative." You are meeting their need and showing you care while not feeding their habit causing them to stumble. Most of the time they say "no can you just give me the money" and you can Identify them as "takers" - The inconvenient part is when they say "OK that would be great," I'm like "man, i really don't want to take an hour drive there and an hour drive back, that is really inconvenient for me but it is an act of true compassion.
The same is with the pantry in different ways that I wont go into this time.
In October we begin Wednesday night dinners and the bike ministry that we have been working on. Next month I will give you more of an update on that.
The building is getting to the place that we can begin music classes and counseling like we had planned originally just have not really had the space to do it. We are still a ways off from having the building finished but it is closer each month with little things (and big things) that are donated. In Oct we have a group coming up to help put in the septic system as well as hang the doors and help with the trim. At the end of Oct we have a group coming up to help with grading some of the driveways for the elderly in the community before winter so that it will be easier to get to their houses and for them to get out easier when it snows. Many of our elderly people are dependent on dialysis every week so this is crucial.
God is doing much in our hearts and we are excited for the new season of life ahead of us. We could never express our gratitude enough for all of the kind notes, gifts, material and financial donations. Many of you are the reason we are able to stay here. i have been blessed with an opportunity of a job to help fill in where we do not have support. It is so hard to get a job here and the Lord just gave me one. I never would have dreamed in a thousand years I would be a librarian but that is what the Lord has opened up for me, so I have been gladly working at it and learning all I can as I go along. I get the privilege to work with a good portion of the children we have seen at camp and it is such a blessing. It also keeps me out of my comfort zone and out of my normal element.
You are all a blessing and I thank the Lord for each of you.
Learning to serve the Lord in all we do,
Matt, Amanda, Jacob, Leah and Noah Hadden
Things to pray for:
1. Amanda and baby Noah
2. Matt learning how to be a librarian
3. God would bring the right people our way for us to pour into and disciple
4. That the idea of community would grow in our church
