Tis the Season

Ah, December!  We welcome you with open arms...well, not your cold, blistering weather though.  But I suppose we can deal with it.

It has been quite the month for Jared and myself!  Where do I even start??  I know what I'll do...I'll start with the most recent things and go backwards.  Goin' against the grain!

As most of you know, Jared and I have been praying about our next move come the end of January.  We have had our eye on one particular house that is right across the park from our team leaders' place, Eric and Lisa.  We've prayed very specifically about this place and asked God that if He wanted us to be in this house that He would have it remain empty until our time to move.  We prayed that two months ago when we first looked...and here it is!  Still up for rent!  The renters made it sound as if we were really the only people looking at it.  We went and looked at it again today and told the renters we were very interested.  So we're hoping and praying hard that this is the one for us.  Your prayers on this subject have been much appreciated and we'd like to ask that you guys keep praying with us!

We are happy to announce that we have a happy, healthy new baby nephew!  Declan Thomas Struthers decided to make his grand appearance on November 15th and weighing in at 9 pounds 9oz!  We are so, SO excited for Michael and Leah and the new addition.  They are doing so well with adjusting to parenthood as well, we're so proud of them.  It is also quite nice to have them just a few blocks away from us so we can pop in and see that cute little mister!

Backstory before I jump into the next subject: The school I attend, Nebraska Christian College, has a requirement of its students to be involved in something called Week of Ministry that occurs at the end of every school year.  Usually right before finals...how convenient.  :)  This year, being my last year, I had prayed about going out of the states for my last year of Week of Ministry.  And did God answer that prayer with a resounding, "YES!  I'm sending you out of the country!"  So, for the last month I have been raising money to go to Beijing, China!  That's right!!  Beijing, China!  I've never been there and I'm so excited to experience this trip!  As soon as God had called me to this particular trip, I barely had a month to raise $1,500 for the first portion of the trip.  I'll be honest with you...I was a bit intimidated by the timeline and was a bit doubtful.  But I figured, if God wanted me on this trip then He'd provide those finances!
So I sent out support letters just a couple days later and here I am BEFORE the due date sitting just slightly over $1,500!  God is SO cool!  The last portion of our trip, $500, isn't due until April 19th.  So I still have a bit of time yet before I need to hit that goal.  In Beijing we will be working with an orphanage, homeless family, and meeting with a friend of our leader who leading an underground church.  We will be teaching a little bit of English, loving on kids, helping to restore a home for the homeless family and also learning more about Beijing as a whole.  I am SO excited!  Please pray with me as I prepare for this trip and raise the last portion for this trip as well!

In our last blog we had talked about the trip we would be taking (then) to Topeka, Kansas for a support trip and also a time to branch out and meet another church outside of our area.  It was an amazing time to connect with another church family and receive the encouragement we did from them.  Visiting Countryside Christian Church in Topeka was a huge blessing to Jared and myself as we had the chance to see how they function as a body of believers and hear their testimony of where they have come from.  It gave us hope and joy for how God is working in churches everywhere and see how His word has spread through places like Topeka, Kansas.

Lately, it has been a bit hard to meet with Eric and Lisa with it being prime season for the holidays and seeing family.  But we've recently picked back up and it has been quite encouraging to say the least!  Our last meeting we decided to go on a bake frenzy and make cookies for all our neighbors and getting to know the community around us more!  It was so much fun and great to be able to meet new friends as well.  Earlier in the month, we had a chance to host a party at our place and invite a bunch of friends for food and games.  Well, I should say, "game" because we really only played Apples to Apples the entire night...but that game never gets old.  Needless to say, it was a fantastic night!

School is almost done!  ...for the semester.  :)  It has been quite a difficult semester trying to keep up with these darn online classes, but having Jared, as my personal "No more procrastination!" trainer has helped to boost my motivation.  Overall, it has been a very good semester and great to learn so many of the things that I have.  I have come to appreciate the diversity throughout the Kingdom of God and the many different types of servants and gifts He utilizes.  It has been exciting to meet many different pastors and other individuals of churches throughout the Omaha area and see/hear of how God is working in their lives.

I want to encourage all of you who are reading this to take time to reflect on the many blessings God has showered upon you this year.  Jared and I were just talking today about the year we've had...and to be completely honest with you, we both said it had been a very difficult year.  But at the very same time we have a God who has never left us, forsaken us, or even for a split second abandon us.  I would be so lost if it wasn't for having the God we have in our life.  He's taught us some hard lessons, broken us down and molded us back together again.  And on top of everything He has brought us through we are still reminded of the sacrifice His son made to set us free.  Now that, friends, is amazing!  May every day be a "Tis the Season" kind of day to celebrate the God we serve and share the testimony of what He has done in our lives!  Merry Christmas, friends!  We hope the end of this year and the beginning of a new one is a blessed one for you!