What are we portraying?

This was a message from Pastor Mike a few weeks ago and I've soaked it in for a while.  I wanted to share this with you.  So often, and I've experienced this more than ever in the recent weeks, as Christians we take what we want of God and paint a picture of Him that is inaccurate.  For unbelievers or those that set out to make Christians look foolish, it "proves" their point in their eyes.  If we believe in THE God, then why on earth wouldn't we take Him in all that He is. Caricatures are those pictures painted that take qualities or characteristics of a person and exaggerate it to the fullest. I have an example for you....

Now that is FUNNY!!!!! Haha!! Now the bottom picture exaggerates the most dominate features.  Let's get real and honest. How often do we take the most dominate features like Gods love and mercy, and forget God's sovereignty and Justice. We paint a picture of God that is inaccurate and makes Him look foolish.  We make Him look like a clown, and discredit His most powerful characteristics.  If we want an accurate picture painted of God through our lives, we must take Him in all that He is. 

I hope that as Christians we paint an accurate picture of our Holy Saviour. In all His greatness, in all His mercy, in all His love, and in all His justice.  I want to show the world the FULLNESS of God. 

Email update...living life on a mission!

Hello Everyone,

I have been asked by several people about what life is like here on the reservation, it is hard to answer until we were living here for a little while, I feel I can answer that a little better after being here almost 4 months. This email is to share with you some of our experiences here over the summer. Some of it is not very pretty but that is why God has us here I believe.

When we first set out to come here we didn't know where we were going to live. Our original place to stay was going to be in a barn loft that I was going to add some water to make a little apartment out of. That fell through in the last few weeks before we came and God opened another place for us to stay, which was the parsonage beside the church. I am so grateful for this, we could not have asked for a more practical place to stay. It is spacious and in really great shape. it needed a lot of cleaning up and some minor work with holes in the walls and such, but I just so happen to be gifted in that area as well as there was a wonderful church around 2 hrs north of here that wanted to be a blessing to us and came one Saturday and helped me paint and all before Amanda got here back in may, and such a great blessing they were.

It is directly across the street from the busiest gas station on the entire Reservation at an intersection called Sharps Corner. Sharps Corner is considered the most central place here not so much because of where it sits geographically but because of the convenience to get to pretty much anywhere here.

The back door had a sticker on it that says "We do not give out gas money" That should have bee a hint as to how many people we would encounter on a daily basis that come by our house asking for anything you could possibly imagine. Because we are at the parsonage we have people stop that need to get in the pantry for food and baby supplies. Baby supplies, such as diapers, wipes and formula go faster than anything else. We have a lot of teenage moms that come by needing help. We are blessed by people that put boxes and such together to help keep this pantry stocked. We have been working on a clothes closet that has plenty of room to be able to stock clothes and coats for winter and such, it has already been put to use but is still a working progress.

The weather has been a crazy thing to experience here. It can be totally sunny and over 100 degrees outside and within a few hrs be seriously cold and hailing. The wind is always blowing, 60 mph winds are nothing here. we have experienced several days of winds around 80 100mph. I told them, where I'm from we call that a hurricane! It is a constant job cleaning trash and such that the winds blow all over the place. We keep a ratchet strap on the trash can to keep it at a minimum.

Rapid City is the closest city to us. It has around 80,000 people and has everything you could need. It is home to the busiest wal-mart in the world is what  am told at least, and I totally believe it, there has never been a slow time to go to that store. it is because it is the only one for so many miles that people use that one from so far out. Rapid City for us is about 80 miles away,so we are learning to make good use of our trips to town. I am becoming a much better list maker!

The people here are very passive and easy to get along with. Most of them have light hearts and cut up all the time. When you are talking to them about something might not agree with at all, they will just shake their head and smile and probably agree with you just to not have any argument at all. It gets aggravating sometimes when you are trying to teach them because you don't know if they are getting it or just shaking their head for fun, so I am learning to ask them a lot of questions.

I believe we have been well received here by most. There are some that just look away from you and you can tell some bitterness and hate with "white people", but even then they just wont talk to you or even look at you I have noticed, never any words or other actions to show that.

Gang activity is pretty much in every community here, there is graffiti on pretty much every house and playground in every one of the government housing communities. 

Drugs and alcohol are a huge detriment to this society. There have been several cases I have gone out in the morning and heard from some of our neighbors about all the things that have transpired the night before and I didn't hear or see anything. That confirms for me once again that God has a hedge of protection over our house and family. some of the things I have heard that have happened even in the last few months that we have been here are too grotesque to share in this email and are very upsetting, but just know that it is not pretty things.

Last Saturday morning I had gone to a friends house in a community down the road that they have nicknamed "mini Baghdad" (I think that is a little stretched but it still gives you the idea) as I was coming in, there were people out standing in the streets and something seemed a little out of the norm. I had asked my friend what was going on and he had told me that a 24yr old a few houses down had hung himself that morning. I don't know if any of you have looked at or remember us sharing some of the statistics here before we came, but the suicide rate is insane here. This was the most recent but I have heard of so many more in the last weeks and all are of young people. In Rapid City at the Lakota housing there a few weeks ago they found a 12 yr old that had killed himself and while the coroner was still there they had gone back in the house and the boys 8yr old brother had done the same. Even as I write this it grieves my heart sharing this with you, but I do feel the need to let you know of the condition that is here. People ask more than anything else "what do you think is the main #1 problem here, is it the drugs, gangs, alcohol?" I have heard Pastor Mike say - You cant one dimensionalize a problem this big, there isn't just one thing, all of these problems are symptoms of a much deeper problem I believe.

We have had a little boy about Jacob's age named Daryl come and hang out at our house for a little while and he would eat lunch with us after church, I have never met his parents or anything and he had kind of disappeared, when I had asked around about him I was told the other day that his mom had abandoned him and his 2 other siblings and they had put them in separate foster homes because nobody wanted them all together. I hear of this quite often, even with the teens they are always being moved around to different relatives to stay with.

All of this to say, we know without a doubt of why God has us here. These are a people that God loves and He likes them. He chose a very similar culture to call His own, so much of the culture here is so close to Hebrew culture, and I don't believe they are far off from the truth from what they believe, but you can have almost the whole Gospel without Christ and you would have nothing. Pray for the ministry here. I am sad to be leaving next month but it is something that we have to do. I feel that we are going to have to almost start over building relationships here when we get back in March.

Pray for our family, for continued protection. I have had to explain so many things to Jacob that he has heard and seen and doesn't fully understand, I pray that God guards his little heart from things that he shouldn't be exposed to, as well as Leah. We are getting ready to make our journey home leaving here September 14th heading to Chicago for that Sunday the 16th. from there hopefully going to Columbus Ohio, Louisville KY, Radcliff KY, Nashville TN, Huntsville AL and then home. if you are in any of these areas please give us a shout we would love to come see you. God's people have been so gracious in opening their homes to us and we are excited about making new friends along the way.

Thank you all for your prayers and support for us to be able to minister to the Lakota people.

Learning to serve the Lord in all we do,

Matt, Amanda, Jacob and Leah Hadden

Resting in Him.

Hey everyone!

Wow, the last week of camp was last week and it was definatly bitter/sweet!  We have really started solid relationships with the kids that attend, and we are going to miss them. Some of them we will see at church but most we won't.  So the end of summer camp is a bit sad for everyone. On tuesday we got to pick up Rebecca and Daniel, two of Matt's siblings, from the airport. They will be staying with us for a few weeks right up to the time that we head home.  For them it is probably going slow, we aren't used to having much free time, so we have enjoyed the last few days of rest and a little boredom!! haha! But all is needed. 

Tomorrow we get to enjoy a full day with some of the youth. We are taking them to a local lake and spending the day there, then coming back for a girls lockin. MAN!! Am I going to be worn out! haha!!  We are excited to get to spend this time with them. As I've shared with some of you, we are just now taking our friendships with the youth to new levels.  We hope when we return in March that we wont have to start from scratch.  We pray that we can still keep up with everyone and still be positive relationships for them. We will have pictures to post of all our fun this weekend!!

Soon, we will be packing up and preparing the house for the winter and the time that we are gone.  We are thrilled to be able to visit with alot of the wonderful people that we have come in contact over the last summer. We will be in Chicago, IL, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, then GEORGIA!  In the fall we are planning trips to North/South Carolina, Virginia, Florida, Mississippi, Lousiana, Texas, and that's not including our trip back to South Dakota and the northern states we will hit.  This is going to be crazy!!!  All of this to share the amazing ministry happening here in Pine Ridge. God has truly blessed us with like-minded ministries and we are truly pumped about getting to spend more time with them.

A few weeks ago, we were pleased to find a great deal on a family vehicle.  We dont have a vehicle back home, only Matt's truck.  With our sweet growing children, it was going to be a tight 3 week long trip home on a bench seat, and we had a peace about moving forward with the purchase.  With that, we have 2 vehicles to get home, and two gas tanks to fill.  We aren't pulling the trailer home, because we are leaving alot of our stuff here, but we are planning on about $600-$700 for fuel, per vehicle. Please rejoice with us that our financial needs will continue to be met.  I say rejoice because this need is already before the Lord! And we trust that He is faithful.  We have learned not to worry or fret. If we are faithful, God is ALWAYS faithful!

More updates on the youth event to come!!

Love,

Amanda

Aug Update!!!

Hello Everyone,I hope this letter finds you all well.

I want to thank everyone of you for supporting us through prayer or finances or just words or letters of encouragement. We could not be here in Pineridge if it were not for all of you guys.
This summer has flown by, it is hard to believe that we have been here for 3 months already. We have been so blessed with many opportunities to stay busy. If you would like to see pictures, you can check out either mine or Amanda's facebook page or you can 'like" the Chanku Waste kids camp page for pictures from camp each week. if you dont have facebook, let me know and I can send you some!
We have been working with a ministry called Team Effort, they do mainly construction ministry in different locations all over the country. We primarily worked on the new chapel and dining facility for the Chanku Waste Kids Ranch but were also able to do some things in the community. We helped an elderly lady get running water for the first time in a long time and then through the graciousness of some of the group we were able to bless her with a water heater so that she could have hot water for the first time in many years as well. We were able to bulid a wheel chair ramp for someone who has just been put in a wheelchair. Things like this are not uncommon at all. I have received a list of several people in this area that do not have running water much less hot water, my hope is to be able to steadily work on that so that each one of these elders can have running water in their home over the next few months.
Friday nights is our teen night at the church. It has been so amazing to see how they have began trusting us and confiding in us. We started our studies out two months ago with "How much are you worth" I feel that many of the young people here, as well as the adults, have placed a very low value on themselves, when we know that God paid an amazing lop sided amount for us so that we can be with Him. we are worth whatever someone is willing to pay. I think that it really stirred some interest among them and each week we have grown with newcomers.  I am looking forward to seeing what God is going to do in their lives as they continue to give their lives over to Him and as He frees them from so many lies that have been told in this place.
We have been helping with the Kids camp as well. Jacob is loving it because he is at camp everyday and partaking in all of the activities, people are always coming up to us telling of how wonderful he is and has a sweet spirit and is always the first to volunteer to pray, I am so thankful for this and am very proud of him as he learns so many new skills and is challenged in new ways.
It is such a blessing to see how things work out. I honestly don't know how things are going to happen sometimes but they do. My dad has always said that "whatever God orders, He pays for" that is so very true, we have seen God answer so many prayers and even some that we didn't know was a need yet. the camp is able to run the bus in every direction everyday (And nothing is close here) as well as feed every child that comes through a breakfast bar as well as lunch everyday, I look at this and say I don't know how you do it, and then I am told by Mike and Monica "we don't". They have so many testimonies of how God has provided for them over the last 20 years and it is amazing. God is so good.

After being here for 3 months Amanda and I have been praying about what the Lord wants us to do for the next season of our lives. We have been answered and wanted to tell you that we know that God wants us to come here full time. We plan to leave here in the middle of September to head back south and hopefully be able to stop in with some of you along the way and visit with your church if you would like us to. we will spend the months over the holiday doing whatever the Lord leads in raising support. Possibly going down through Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas sometime in October and November. I have been blessed with an opportunity to go to the Northwest territory, Yukon area in February with a dear friend of mine that has planted a few churches up there. This will be a difficult trip to make. it has to be made in the winter months so that you can drive on the ice roads to get there. Please pray for us concerning this, I am very much looking forward to this as well as a little unsure, when you start talking about -50 f I am at a loss and really cant comprehend that. but there are about 47,000 native Americans that live in that region and are mostly forgotten about a lot of the time.  
Once I get home from that trip our plan will be to head back here to Pineridge sometime the first of March hopefully visiting in some of your churches again.
I know this might be a lot for some of you, but know that this is where the Lord is leading us and we value you and your support in any way. You having a bible study in your home has no affect on these people here, but you praying in your home for these people has more of an impact than you could probably imagine. There is power in prayer and we covet you praying for us as God leads us into a new place.

Here are some things you can pray for specifically -
1. Sharps Corner Church
2. Us as a family
3. The Brennan family
4. That we would be able to raise support by March
5. We are in need of a van of some sort to travel to these places as God opens doors
6. Wisdom

 
If You are interested in supporting us at all, feel free to email or call us and let us know.
if You would like to make a donation towards any specific thing, such as toward helping us get a van, lunches for the kids, the materials for one house to have running water or even fuel for the bus (which costs around $500 a week) Let us know and we will see that it goes to that.
If you would like for us to come visit your church and share what God is doing here in Pineridge, let us know so that we can try and make good use of the trips we are taking in the months to come.
God is so good and I know that He has already provided everything we need. We are grateful for your friendships and your support.

Learning to serve the Lord in all we do,
Matt, Amanda, Jacob and Leah Hadden

He who Sustains.

Thank you Jesus for another productive, patience - producing, God sustaining week!  It has been a while since we've updated you, and I'm so grateful you are still following our blog. We have had such a great time! For Matt and Jacob it has almost be 3 months in this beautiful place, and almost 2 months already for us girls.  For us, it has flown by!  We are growing everyday more and more in love with the Natives. Has it been challenging? Absolutely.  We have had our eyes opened to so many things here, things at home that we wouldn't experience.  Our eyes of ministry have been expanded. We strive everyday to see through the eyes of Christ, not through ours which at times turn judgemental or frustrated. Great things are happening, and God is truly blessing this ministry.  We have fallen in love with the natives and so appreciate their open arms to let us in to be part of their lives.

For Chanku Waste' Ranch, the kids camp put on by Pastor Mike and Monica's ministry is doing amazing things! Every week we get a few new faces in, and Jacob is learning so much too! He enjoys going every day, playing with his friends, doing crafts, and running til he's completely worn out, which seems to make bedtime around here a little bit easier. 

We are in our 4th week of TEAMeffort Mission teams, and boy have we been crazy busy.  Matt's brother and sister, Nathan and Laura, have been here for 5 weeks, and sadly we are taking them to the airport to head home tomorrow. I asked Laura to head back a share that we truly have had an unforgiving schedule, so everyone knows we aren't just ignoring everyone back home. This is also a reason this is the most recent post in a few weeks.  We have had fantastic groups and some challenging ones. Matt is running the work sites like a boss and we are making so much progress on the facility for the Ranch. I am making sure the budget and administration side is in tip top shape, as well as keeping up my work on my own company, JNL Bookkeeping Services.  I try to help on the job site a few days but that isn't always the way it happens. Leah enjoys going to the camp and the work sites but by 12 she is asking for a nap, and with our schedule we defiantly try to accommodate.

A glimpse into our schedule, We are up at the sites by 9, and we break for the day by 3pm Monday - wed.  On Thursday we have a half day, and Friday is a free day for the campers. Sunday - Thursday night we have dinner and Chapel starting at 6 and hopefully get home by 9:30.  On Friday, we try to catch up on our tornado of a house and if we are lucky we get a few clean clothes put in the closet.  Saturday, our groups check out and we head to Rapid City for supplies, groceries, and meal out with our staff.  Sunday morning we have Church, have lunch, and prepare for the next group coming in at 5.  Phew....what a week!  We are finishing out this week, then next week will be our last week and we will continue our ministry with Chanku Waste' and the local Church. Working with TEAMeffort has been such a blessing!  The Lord is using the teams that come in to really take charge of the facility progress. Over the past few weeks we have completed 2 bathroom facilities, both Mens' and women' complete with showers as well for the groups that come into work at the camp; finished out a FEMA trailer that we have filled with bunks and closet space; built 2 decks for the bunk trailer;completely framed up the large facility: got the trusses up, and this week we are working on the decking to prepare for the roof. We are making so much progress for their ministry and really looking forward to this part of Pastor Mikes vision for the reservation coming into fruition.  To God be the Glory!

We repainted the Camp bus to make it the most amazing Camp bus on the Rez!!

We named the Bus "debbie" in honor of Jake's mom, one of our amazing TE Chaperone's that came from Wisconsin.  He lost his mom the week he was serving with us.  We are honored to forever have her name on our Camp bus!

Nathan working OH SO HARD!!  We are going to greatly miss Nathan and Laura, we wouldn't have survived the last few weeks without them. Sad to see them go :(

Trusses up and going! Thanks to a few professionals that installed 39 trusses in 7 hours.

"Greater things are still to be done in this City!!"

Some have asked how we are in our Support.  There is always a need, because all that we have coming in is pouring straight into the ministry here.  We are still taking support through our church Harvest Park Baptist Church (memo: South Dakota Mission).  If you need more information on this, you can email us at athadden@gmail.com.  Thank you for your continued support, and your prayers.

A few prayer needs:
- Please Pray that the Lord prepares our hearts for what is to come in October.  We have had a few opportunities but know in someway we will be connected to this reservation. Pray that we are obedient and at peace wherever He entrusts us to.
- Pray for continued protection for our family.  We live across the street from a community that Satan has a enormous pull.  Our home has been surrounded by an Army of Angels, and don't hear or see anything that goes on until after the fact. Nothing that Satan has even comes close to our house and we know that we are so protected by the mighty Hand of God.  Rejoice in this with us.
- Pray that God will continue to give us wisdom on how to love and reach the Natives. It is a battleground and pray that we are sensitive to the Holy Spirit and His leadings.
- Pray for our growth.  As we seek in all areas, as we grow in ministry, as we see through the eyes of Jesus, as we lay our desires down and take up His, as we fall more in love with our family and each other, as we study the word, pray that we are soaking in everything God has for us. 

We want nothing more that the best the God has.  We want to live a life of obedience, and we want to be a shining testimony of Gods faithfulness and Glory!  He has blessed us with more than we can imagine and He continues to give His best. Thank you so much for your prayers, as Christians, we make our prayers weak and think they don't make a difference. But prayers shake the walls of this world, break chains, destroys boundaries, and open the flood gates of Heaven. Prayer is power and we need them! This reservation needs them, Pastor Mike and Monica need them, our nation needs them. 

We love you all so much and So appreciate your support in all areas. The title of this post is "He who Sustains....", because He has never failed to do so over the past few months.  He has been our rock, our energy, and our drive. He is faithful to sustain, and we are so grateful for that.

Learning to serve the Lord in all we do,

Amanda

Lets Ride into the Sunset...

What an eventful week this has been! I know I say this every time I post but thank you for being patient with us. I know you are waiting on updates and we are trying to find the time to get them  to you regularly. Hopefully, after this week we can get on somewhat of a schedule. Last Sunday night, we were packing away and spending time with family and friends. A special thanks to Kathryn, Daniel, and Liam for staying up late with me, and to one of my besties, Nicole, for having one last sleepover with me (for a few months anyway). We were checking flights and they looked anything but promising.  So, after talking about it for weeks, anticipating the chance to see Jacob and Matt, and the emotions of saying goodbyes to everyone had me on the edge of a healthy breakdown. haha!! The thought of not making it out on Monday got to me.  After a sob fest and pity party, I decided to try a little later flight and try my odds. It was all the emotions of the stage of our adventure. We have been apart for 3 and a half weeks, the exhausting task of packing for a 6 month trip, and the emotional toll of bringing a few family and friends to tears with us heading West. It was wearing on me.

 We got to the airport after an emotional goodbye with my Grandparents and Nicole. Ugh.  It's never a good feeling.   We got the the airport with all our 7...yes 7 bags, unloaded and the Lords favor was on us from that point on. Small things, we were able to check the bags at the curb, which they dont do for standby passengers, and we were escorted to a 'behind the scenes' attendant that gave my parents gate passes to help me get through.  Which is almost unheard of.  They helped me through security and we were able to spend that much more time together. I cried at every opportunity that day I think!! And I'm unashamed! lol! I cried when I missed the first flight, I cried when I was told I'd probably get on the next one, I cried at the thought of having to head home. Long story, hopefully shorter, We decided to head to Memphis, then to Minneapolis, THEN to Rapid City, and hope I made all my connecting flights. I didn't think I got on the flight to Memphis, so I went up and said "is there anyway we are getting on? If not, we will head home and try again tomorrow." "You got on!" And then came the tears. Wow...I sound like a crazy person, but this was my flight out of Atlanta, if I got stuck in Memphis, it didn't matter. I was on my way to Matt and Jacob. I walked back to our seats where my parents had Leah and I just sobbed.  My mom put her sunglasses on so she could cry and not worry about it.  That was tough.  It's a short time to be gone, I understand. But we are embarking on new territory, leaving what's comfortable, leaving our support, and Trusting in Jesus like never before. Leaving my parents was the worst. We had the Gate attendants in tears, and the flight attendants once I got on the flight. Leah didn't understand and fought leaving Noni, which was so hard on me. She cried and we just had to pull her away. This has been tough on her, she doesn't understand quite what is going on.

 Don't get me wrong, it was joy and excitement as well, but that's the only thing I had the energy to do. After that, we were well on our way.  We made every flight and made it to South Dakota for our wonderfully perfect reunion.  I am so thankful that we don't have to be apart like this often. My military friends and family, I have so much respect for you and I'm grateful to not be in your position.  You are strong women!! Truthfully, this was a journey Matt and I started months and months ago, there was an urgency in our hearts to be there, as a family.  So I was ready, but it was very bittersweet!  And I'm sure we will have family and friends visit before we come home in Oct but the unknown is always an uneasy place to be. Praise Jesus He is the calm in the storm and our sustainer!

Ok, bear with me...almost time to wrap this up! We got to Rapid, and joined our handsome men, enjoyed a nice dinner, got to see Pastor Mike and Monica, and headed to our new home. Matt had made it sound rough, so I didn't have any expectations.  He didn't share with me that a ministry a few hours away had come and painted our house, helped decorate, and deep cleaned so all would be perfect when I got here.  Which was one of the sweetest things! I told Matt if I had any more tears to cry I would have cried when I walked in! haha!! The house is perfect for us, it's not in excellent condition but it has everything we need. I'm so thankful, God did this. He provided this home for us, which He knew was important to me. He cared and listened for the minor details, and once again poured His blessings out on us. On Tuesday we opened camp for the summer, so it's full swing ahead. We have about 70 kids a day and we are growing. We feed them, sing with them, teach them Gods word, play with them, and for Jacob and Leah it's a playdate everyday with tons of kids. They have made themselves known and Jacob is known as the football player...Leah is known for simply being adorable at anything she says or does. Blessing #5289451645641....Our children are flourishing!!  Another blessing, we get to work with Daddy everyday.  He is never far away and we have the fun of playing with him alot. We are so humbled friends.  We can't express the thankfulness we have in our hearts. God is so faithful and He is doing an amazing work here through this ministry. We miss our family and friends, but God has truly covered us in Peace and we pray that for our family back home as well.  Jesus wants to be evident in our lives.  He wants to be known.  The little things we do everyday make a difference and we want to strive to be Jesus everyday to these children.  Please pray for us, we do need that more than anything. You have all been so wonderful and we look forward to chatting with you more about the work here.

From the first day of Camp Chapel.  We had a wonderful group from Mississippi come to serve.

Our little ones on the front row, taking it all in :)

With love.

On the Road again.

What an amazing journey this has been so far. Not even being in South Dakota yet but just the planning, praying, seeking, packing, and rejoicing has taken us through an amazing adventure.  Matt, Jacob, and our cousin Kam, who happens to be an amazing videographer, left out on Thursday morning about 4 am Georgia time.  With the trailer, a 5 year old, and a dog, they made a few stops!

Made a stop at the Gateway Arch in St Louis.  This is Charlie walking Jacob :)

Our sweet RUNT of a man got to go swimming at the hotel Thursday night. The ultimate mans road trip wouldn't be complete without a few show muscles and the slaying of wildlife....

Matt hit a pheasant on the drive...he was pretty excited!!

and FINALLY crossed the South Dakota State Line after a 2 full days of driving!

The boys went caving today!

Meanwhile, Leah and I are home holding down the fort without our men, just TRYING to make it through each day! haha!!

Some things we have been doing...

Like having lunch with some amazing friends, and taking Leah to experience Japanese Hibachi, and learn a few new trick from Nicole.

and making sweet memories of our own.

We are so richly blessed.  God has provided every single need for us this far and we know he will continue to do so.  The weeks leading up to us leaving were really encouraging.  A lot of time with family and friends and making some God appointed connections.  As of now, they are staying not far from our soon to be home for the next 6 months, and will be moving in soon.  This blog was started with the purpose of keeping you updated on our ministry and everyday lives.  So you can expect the pictures and posts will keep coming! Thank you for supporting us friends, you mean the world to us.

Learning to serve the Lord,

Amanda