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

OH OH!!! Pick ME!!

Man! This weekend was just fabulous!  Saturday, we were actually all home and were able to do nothing...I mean nothing. I did nothing...like nap, watch tv, play.  Nothing productive at all and it felt awesome!  On Sunday, we went to church, then was treated to a  nice lunch at La Parilla by Andys Family.  Andy is going with us to South Dakota until the Lord leads otherwise.  We had our mission night last night and we were honored to have Pastor Mike Brennan from Pine Ridge come and speak to our church and family members.  This is only the second time we have met him and we have definatly connected in an amazing way.  He is a Native himself and has incredible insight on how to reach his people. 

The phrase of the night "it will be hard..." Comforting right? haha! In reality, the Lakota People are one of the hardest people group in the United States to reach.  And Satan has a huge foothold their and he will attack when people come in bringing the gospel.  Pine Ridge is the most poverty stricked region in the United States.  It is filled with people who are hurting, and crying out for truth.  If we can help, if only for a few months, what a huge calling.  We were so encouraged in having him here, and also having Mitch from TeamEffort come down as well.  We will be working with their ministry for 7 weeks as Camp Directors for their youth camps. And the other 3-4 months we will be working along side the local ministry and supporting the Kids Summer day camp.

Some people have asked if Domestic Missions is different than Foreign Missions in the aspect of raising support.  And in some ways it is, some people think we are just moving and getting jobs in South Dakota.  Basically just relocating.  But in reality, we are leaving our home, our jobs, and our ministry and working full time serving the Lakota People.  We are going fully dependant and trusting in the Lord. That's a very humble place to be.  This part is not the most fun, but it's the business side of the ministry.  If you will, pray and trust the Lord to move in your heart to see in what way you can partner up with us.  We are trusting God for our full financial support but we are also trusting that He is raising up Prayer Warriors on our behalf.  All support is through our church and is tax deductible to you. 

I will include the news email that we sent out yesterday, please continue to pray for our ministry as well as our preperation.  You are all so special to us and we wouldnt be in the position we are today without all of you!! Love you!!!

Hello everyone,
We wanted to give you all an update on what the Lord is doing with us.
First thing - if you are free tonight at 7, pastor Two Shadows (Mike Brennan) of the pine ridge Indian reservation will be with us at our church tonight. Pastor Mike is a missionary on the reservation and who we will be working with in SD. I know you will be blessed to hear him tonight if anyone would like to come.
We are still trusting the Lord and ask you to pray with us about our living arrangements there. We are still praying about an RV, either purchasing one if the funds are there or borrow one if someone would allow us to use theirs for the summer.
We are still short of the funds needed to live there for the time we have made a goal of, but are still very much trusting that God has it taken care of.
As of right now Matt is leaving may 3rd to start the 24 hr drive, and Amanda, jacob and Leah will be flying up the end of may to meet up. That is only a few weeks away and it seems like time is going by very fast.

Matt is flying up April 3rd and coming back the 7th, mainly to canvas the area and get some last things settled before making the drive, and to meet with some of the people we will be working with in the coming months.
We are having a carwash on April 21st to help raise some funds.
If you are interested in partnering with us on this or if you would like to pledge some towards this, please contact us and we will let you know how you can help with that.

Some things to be in prayer about on our behalf.
That our trust in the Lord will not waiver.
Our living arrangements would be settled.
The funds would be there for us to stay the full time.
Gas prices. - yes they are going up if you didn't notice, and this is a big expense for us.
Andy Rapson - a friend that is going up with us and staying for a while.
Pastor Mike and his family.
Thank you so much for all of your support, God has been so gracious to us and has ministered to us through so many of you and we are truly grateful. We look forward to seeing what God is going to do in SD this summer and the years to come.

Learning to serve the Lord in all we do,
Matt, Amanda, Jacob and Leah
Mhadden@gmail.com
678-471-9945

If you would like to support us you can send any support to (please add "South Dakota" in the memo line.)
Harvest Park Baptist Church
37 Frank Cook Road
Newnan, GA 30263

Oh the joy!

So for one...I have GOT to get my camera fixed! I am missing all these amazing moments and my blog is looking a bit drab.  My phone SM card isn't working either so I can't take pics on my phone.  So in the next week (hopefully) be looking for some posts with some pictures :)

So today has just been fabulous!! Other than the allergies that I'm fighting, it has been beautiful.  My sweet niece, Ashlyn, is here visiting from Texas so my grandparents picked him up from school to visit with her. So I've been here all morning with my sweet Leah.  I get asked alot if we are going to have more kids or not.  When I think about this I have this wonderful feeling of JOY. Yes, when I think about managing it all, I get a little overwhelmed at the "todos", but what greater blessing or joy?!  No jumping to conclusions, haha!  JOY has been resounding in my heart for weeks now and I have prayed for more times to feel joy and recognize joy in my life in the little everyday moments. I have been wanting to get fit, lose a few or more pounds, and feel good about my body again. Doing something for me, with MY hard work, and MY determination. No one can do it for me. So I was outside doing jumping jacks, and stretching, and here is this beautiful angel beside me doing everything I am doing.  Counting up to as high as she can then starting over. We stretched and did the "jumpy things", then started on our walk to soak up this day.  I prayed in my heart that I would find joy in every moment, and that's what I found.  We were walking and she had a hold of my finger and she was just jabbering away!  I can pick up her words but this was a special conversation. Something was so exciting that she was talking a hundred miles a minute.  I had to stop her and say "leah, baby, slow down!"  She looked up and said "I love you more mommy"....brought tears to my eyes!  This is something we hear all day long.  She loves so much!  And she tells us often.  She wakes us up in the morning to "i love you daddy, or I love you mommy".  But this was just so precious, and unexpected.

So we walked and we sat down for a while and laughed at everything! She was so giddy!  I sat there wishing that I took more moments like this everyday.  Throw out my schedule or to do list, stopped working, and took a second to love and spend time with my kids. The work of a mom is exhausting.  And No, men will NEVER get it!! Matt can clean the house top to bottom in a few hours and wonder why it takes me so long. Don't worry Ladies...he has NEVER said anything like that, because he knows that wouldn't end well, but sometimes I feel like he's thinking it. Then I think, why is it so hard for me to get things accomplished around the house.  My job description is not to just cook, clean, and look fantastic at the end of the day (bahahahaha!!).  It includes incredible amounts of teaching, disciplining, inspiring, and loving.  I would love to have more kids, and we do hope to adopt one day as well, but If God blesses us with more children, I can't wait to pour out our love on them! It is a powerful thing!!

One thing my kids will always be able to say is that they felt loved by Matt and I.  They hear it often, we hug them often, and make sure they know that.  I hope when they have their own families that they love even more than we did! Jacob and Leah both are quick to tell others that they love them, and I hope their love for others grows more and more everyday.  Love it the most powerful thing in the world!! And I hope they feel it always.

Take time out of your day and love on your kids! You'll miss these moments when they grow up!! :)

From this....

To this.....

 

and this....

To this....

I pray that I find JOY in every single moment.

Your way.

So I'm guessing an update is in order! Thank you for being patient with me.  We are at a place where we are starting to plan the BIG fundraisers and really getting our sponsorship in order. We are looking into a wonderful RV that would fit our needs and trusting the Lord to work in this situation.  Defiantly praying ALOT.  The Lord had brought to my attention the things that I haven't brought before Him. And to be honest I was surprised myself at how much "planning" I have done on my own. Now WHY on earth would I go and do that??!!! Well because sometimes I think without thinking if that makes sense.  I should allow the God of the Universe to gracefully and perfectly appoint everything about our time there, but I let myself get in the way.  I say it's "OK" to worry...I'm a mom and its my job to plan and do, but I have been given a more important role in this adventure. That is to TRUST and pray, and be obedient!  To let go of every expectation and expect God to work things out for His glory, in whatever way He seems fit.  Some say that's hard, and if you asked me a few days ago I would have agreed. But in this whole experience, God has allowed my little self shrink a little more everyday.  Did you know that when you totally release yourself, your plans, your family, your hopes, your visions, and completely trust in HIS plans, hopes, and visions, He will give you this overwhelming peace?  I'm not there yet,  but each day (and it may take years...ha!) I am getting a bit closer, and God is giving me a little more peace.  The peace of God is SO freeing!! If you haven't experienced it, I dare you to try it.  Ask for Peace in your finances! Yes...your bank account may be $0 but stand on the promise that HE provides all your needs according to HIS riches in Glory.  Ask for peace in your family! Peace in your marriage, your relationships, your work, your ministry.  Release your worry and your fear and take hold of the promises of God. Trust that He will do what He says He will do, and do not be moved by circumstance. 

I went to visit my parents church this past Sunday, and my sweet cousin, Caitlin, sang a song that has defiantly rang true in my heart the last few days.

It will be my JOY to say...Your will, Your way, ALWAYS!

Some of my PAST worries, (Thank you Jesus!!) have been...."OK...so, we will be living, cooking, homeschooling, working, and playing in a RV with 2 kids, a dog, and probably a few extra visitors throughout our time there!!" Wait for it....wait for it....one....two.....three.....FREAK OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Humph........Yes...even you might stress if you thought about that for a few hours.  So I started to pray that my Father would help me to find JOY in every moment.  While we are crammed and stuffed in the camper, let me find joy in the chaos and take a deep breathe in and enjoy this time with my children.  While I clean up every little thing, 35 times a day, just so it looks like we have a floor in such a small place, help me to find joy in letting the mess be a mess for a while.  Let me find JOY in letting my precious Savior direct our every moment.  And right now, I can't tell you how excited I am to be living in an RV for 6 months!! God has shown me the excitment and fun in doing something out of the norm, and how He is going to bless our time there!  It's not for everyone, but we are being faithful. It will be hard and right now there are a lot of unknowns but I commit in my heart to trust and to be obedient to His calling for our precious little family!

I challenge you to let go of the things you feel you can control. Let go and let God do His work in your life and in your situation.  And just when you think you have let go enough...let go a little more.  And a little more.

Gods peace is real and I know that I will experience that a little more every day that I choose to let Him work.

~amanda

Newsletter

Hello Everyone,

I hope this letter finds you all well.
I wanted to update everyone as to what God is doing with us as a family in our journey toward Pine Ridge.
All of mine and Amanda's life we have seen God do things directly in our lives as well as the people around us. So it would seem that we wouldnt have any problems just leaning back and trusting completely that God will provide just as He has promised, but for whatever reason, it is easy to forget how magnificently big our God is.
Many of the people we have talked to have expressed how hard it is to do short term mission trips to Pine Ridge, much less live there. For me that somewhat excites me even more to know that it will definately have to be a God thing for us to be there. I would also be lying to say that the thought of that didnt scare me a little. it is not always easy to be out of our comfort zones, so one thing we are going through right now is the process of learning how to lean on God for stability and provision.
I had said before that a vision needs cultivating. God does not always share with us an entire vision of what He is wanting to do in our lives, for us it was "I want you to go!" the rest will come as you begin to take steps of obedience. We are excited to find out new things about what we will be doing there as it comes to us. One thing is for sure, there is plenty of things that God is opening up for us while we are there. Our months there have already been filled up. Primarily God has led us to come alongside the body of believers that are already there and support them in their growth and serve the pastor there with helping him carry out the vision God has given him for his people. Part of that vision is to have a kids day camp through the summer where children from all points of the reservation can come and learn the Gospel of Jesus Christ within their own culture and learn that the love of God is not limited to any certain color of skin or race. It sounds far reached that there are people groups within our own country that have not had a clear presentation of the Gospel. Maybe in a few years or so I can send you a newsletter that speaks of something different, saying that there are no more people in the US that have not heard a clear gospel of Jesus.
If that is your desire, I want to encourage you to rise up and be obedient to what God has commanded each one of us to do, and you will see that the fields are plentiful and ready for the harvest.

We wanted to make our needs known to each one of you so that you would join us in praying for us, as we know the Lord will meet everyone of our needs to what he has called us to.
1.  We are still a long way short of our support - the cost of living is less on the reservation, however the fuel cost to do ministry there is a lot more. Fuel is a big portion of our support.
2.  A place to stay - yes that is right, we still arent sure where exaclty we are going to be staying! we are praying about an RV possibly if someone has one that is going to be sitting for the summer and would like for it to be used, we can help you with that. we are also open to finding a house, trailer, barn or tent to stay in on the reservation. i know that God already has that place reserved for us He just hasnt shared that with us yet, so pray that we would have patience and faith in trusting that has already been taken care of.
3.  Tires for trailer - we are taking an enclosed trailer that was given to us to carry my tools and such up there as we go to be able to do some construction projects while we are there and it needs tires and electric brakes on it to safely make the 24 hr trip in May.
4.  For Pastor Mike and Monica Brennan - he is the pastor of the church there and the people we will be working alongside
5.  For Amanda, Jacob, Leah and myself - that we would have the fruit of the Spirit, and that our faith would not waiver

Thankyou for praying for us.
The plan is for me to leave May 3rd, driving up and Amanda and the kids will be flying up the end of May.
If you have any questions or would like to know more feel free to give me a call anytime - 678-471-9945
If the Lord leads you to support us either one time or on monthly basis we thankyou for supporting us and being obedient to the Lord.
You can make any support donations to us directly or to
Harvest Park Baptist Church
Mail to;
Hadden Family
8830 Gullatt Rd
Palmetto, Ga 30268

Thankyou so much for being a part of our lives,

learning to serve the Lord in all we do,
Matt, Amanda, jacob, Leah Hadden
--

Mi Amor...

Valentines Day oh Valentines Day....there were years that I hated you...and now years that I love you.  In our busy schedules, we dont go out of our way everyday to show our love in special ways.  We get home from work and just want to get to bed.  We have busy days where we just want to be alone with our bubble baths, music, candle, and our own peace and quiet.  Yes, Valentines Day should be everyday,  but in reality...other things take priority most days. So what is this concept?  That we should take time, 5 min out of our day to show love and affection to the people who love and adore us?  Yes.  I'm guilty of this for sure.  My schedule, my demands, my priorities are sometime out of wack, and sometimes my affection suffers. Good thing my husband has the love tank the size of a peanut or we would be so in trouble.  haha!

Today what makes me thankful, more than anything...is that the creator of the universe loved us so much that he wanted to bless us with the opportunity to feel love.  Did he have to?  Did he have to create Eve for Adam? Did he have to create nature so that we could grasp the very definition of beauty? Did he have to design marriage? or the desire for a relationships and friendships?  No, He didnt. But He LOVED me.   He wanted me to feel love, to know love, to experience love, to show love.  He wanted us to know and understand the love that He has for his children, so he gave us the gift of parenthood.  So we could have a tiny grasp of the love between a mother and a child.  He wanted us to feel the intimacy that comes with a strong marriage so that we could grasp the intimacy and anticipation of Christ and His bride. He loved us so that He blessed us with the opportunity to love and feel love.  There is no greater gift.  Love is the most powerful thing in this world. It's the most powerful emotion.

Thank you God for loving us enough to give us the greatest gift of all... Your Love.

Love today, and everyday.  With every emotion.  With every moment.