New Things For Our Family
Hello friends and family!
Fall is in the air (hopefully more so where you’re at, I’m currently sweating writing this) and we are excited to share what our family has been up to. As we look back at the last couple of months and prepare for the fall, there has been a theme of relying on the Lord for our stability and guidance. When I think about other times in our lives when these themes have been prevalent, I know that it also meant we were experiencing disappointment, surprise transitions, and lots of question marks. So while these things are not what we would pick first for our family to walk through, we find comfort in the familiar feeling of the Lord truly being our rock, our shelter, our comfort, and our guide.
So let’s start with the best news…. Clover Petra Byrley joined our family August 26th, and we couldn’t be more in love with this little lady. The labor and delivery was long and intense, but the Lord was so present. My midwives spent hours patiently waiting for the process to unfold in Clover’s timing, and praying alongside Ronnie and me. Shepherd was with us the whole time. It was a deep desire of mine for him to be a part of us welcoming Clover and it was so sweet to have him there. Shepherd even got to cut the umbilical cord! He truly is the best big brother. We ended up staying stateside a bit longer than expected, while waiting on passports and birth certificates and for Clover to have a tongue tie revision. Everything finally came in, and Clover’s nursing has greatly improved. She is gaining weight like a champ! We were thrilled to have both sets of parents come out during this time. Clpover did decide to enter the world on the day that my parents flew home. So they have not met her in person yet, but it was so wonderful to have them around leading up to the big day. We are truly blessed by our parents love and desire to come spend time with us.
Shep has told us that he loves his baby sister "too much" : )
Along with transitioning into a family of 4, we are transitioning out of the Ranch. This is something we realized had to happen about a month before Clover was born. So in-between appointments stateside we have been packing up our house at the Ranch, and preparing to move out of Mexico. We loved so much about our time at the Ranch (the land, the homesteading school, the families) and are sad to have to move, but we continue to trust the Lord and feel at peace about this transition.
One of these things we will not be missing as much, ha
This December we plan to land in Knoxville, TN and will be partnering with YWAM Knoxville while we are there! We are so excited for this partnership and to serve alongside of the beautiful ministry happening out of this base right in Knoxville and all over the world! We don’t envision being in Knoxville to long, more of a stopover but we will see! We will share more about this ministry as we get settled in.
October and November will be full with finishing up on the west coast and in Mexico. We ended up buying a camper to provide our family with a bit of stability. We were airbnb hopping quit a bit, so being able to keep our things in one spot is a blessing. We took a loan out to purchase it ,but it has provided a sense of peace that we need during this transition. Ronnie and I will be participating in a 2 week seminar at the Tijuana base. This seminar is the starting point for a new secondary school being pioneered in YWAM. The school will focus on spiritual formation and is called Jesus Journey. We are honored to be a part of this, and very expectant for what the Lord will do during this seminar and the future school. At the end of October we will head down to Ensenada to host the Mission Adventures Theme Team. This is our yearly gathering with other MA leaders to pray and collaborate for the creation of next year’s MA theme throughout North America. This week is always a highlight for us. We will then participate in a Homes of Hope build that will be done by friends and family from Knoxville and Ohio. This is something Ronnie and I have wanted to happen for years, so we are thrilled about this weekend. Mid November we will head up to YWAM Cascade, Idaho to debrief their Discipleship Training School, who will just have come back from their outreach in SE Asia.
Shep got his first haircut (just a trim) and as you can see, camper life can be exhausting at times.
In December our family will start the final move back East. We have been on the west coast and down in Mexico since 2014. We never would have guessed that we would spend over 12 years out here, and we wouldn’t change it for the world. As we continue to process and reflect on the last 12 years there are a lot of emotions. We are quite sad to say "see you later" to our family out here, but looking forward to what is next. I am sure we will share more as we continue to process. We know that God is faithful, and full of surprises. He doesn’t want us to shy away from challenges, but instead to lean into Him so that fruit will continue, no matter the circumstances. We also trust that He continues to steward the desires of our heart.
Thank you for choosing to be a part of our families life. We cherish each friendship deeply. The prayers and support help make all of this possible. The Lord continues to use all of us (this includes you) for his plans and purposes, which is such a gift. We love you all dearly.
Below are a few specific prayer requests.
PRAYER REQUESTS
Prayer for Ronnie on October 15 he will have a minor Thumb surgery and hopefully it will correct his “trigger thumb tendinitis”
Prayer for Ronnie as he drives across country. Right now he has started the first trip back east with a load of things and our pups. Prayers for safety and smooth travels.
Prayer for the seminar. That each one of us would receive what the Lord has for us, and for this future school.
Prayer for Theme Team. That we would hear from the Lord clearly, grow deeper in our understanding of His heart for the younger generations, and that we would grow closer as MA leadership
Prayer for the Homes of Hope build. That the family receiving their home would experience God in a very real way. For safety and deepening of relationships with those of us building.
Prayer for our family as we continue to settle in with Clover, and navigate all the transitions in the next few months. For our marriage to be protected, the kids to feel grounded, and peace to cover us all.
Prayer for our finances. We have stretched ourselves quite far this season. Let us know if you’d like to support us and we can let you know how!
If you are interested in partnering with us financially you can do this a couple ways.
Click this link for a tax deductible donation. Search Jamie Byrley
You can donate via Paypal: byrley32@yahoo.com
You can donate via Venmo: 360-207-7502 @Jamie-Byrley-1
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