Reflecting with a Thankful Heart

The gift of writing these blog posts is that it makes me intentionally slow down and reflect. I can’t even begin to tell you the number of people that have warned us about how time flys exponentially once you have kids, and the thing is, they were all right. Even without kids, life can seem to go by in the blink of an eye. I think this is why the Lord invites us into rhythms of rest and reflection. Our small group has been doing a deep dive into fasting, Sabbath, and other spiritual disciplines. The thing I have noticed the most is that when we take the time to slow down, pray, reflect, or rest (especially when we don’t feel like we have the time) our days seem to open up in mysterious and wonderful ways, and the things that I didn’t think I had time for, fall into place, my peace isn’t stolen, and I am better able to enjoy the gift of being present.

Shep helps out with all things: breadmaking, veggie picking, art projects, & sanding his toy box

If you had asked last week in the midst of hustling around, how our last quarter had been, I would of said, “Oh man, its been good but busy, and I can’t really remember what all we did.” But today, as Shepherd and I take our shoes off and sit in the sunshine I am overwhelmed with how rich our last quarter was.

Last time we wrote I had wrapped up by saying we had just arrived in Ohio and Ronnie’s mom was recovering from open heart surgery. We got to stay in Ohio for about 3 weeks. Ronnie did all kinds of projects around the farm, including building a beautiful retaining wall and steps, while Shepherd seemed to be the best medicine that Shelly could ask for. She has recovered beautifully over the last couple months. We are so grateful for all the prayers, and meals everyone blessed her and Ron with.  We popped over to Tennessee to see friends and family for a few days, which is always a blast. This time we had the privalege of sharing in my parent's Sunday school class. Many of the couples have been walking with us since we joined YWAM, or when we got married, or me when I was a young punk, haha. It was great to spend some time in person with each one of them. Then we started our long drive back west. Our days of driving across the country in just 3 days are long gone, but with Sheppie in tow we have the gift of taking this journey a bit slower (sometimes we had to remind ourselves that the slower pace was truly a gift, ha)

Shortly after coming home we drove down to Mexico to speak at YWAM Rancho Abierto for a week. This base has a special place in our hearts, and we absolutely love any time we get to spend there. They are currently running a family DTS with 13 families, from 8 nations, and a total of 50 kids! The base is a bit off grid, everyone stays in cabins, they have gardens and farm animals, and the most gorgeous old oak trees. We taught in the mornings with the adults, and then 2 afternoons we got to share in the kid’s schools, and Ronnie led the campfire devo as well. It was peaceful and quiet at times, it was really chaotic at times, and it was all very beautiful. Shepherd was living the dream with 50 other kids to run around with, dirt everywhere that needed to be played in, plenty of rocks to pick up, and new doggies to pet. These 13 families are on outreach now in the Philippines, Burundi, Mexico, and the U.S. Please keep them in your prayers. Thank you Sue and Brian for letting us be a part of the family. We love you guys!

From Mexico we drove up to Montana for a YWAM conference. We love getting to connect with other YWAMers to dream and pray about the future. Ronnie and I both felt so refreshed and encouraged by our time there. We camped a bit on the drive back home in beautiful Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. Ronnie also got to help his brother move his family from Alaska back to Ohio. It was an epic road trip, 19 bears and all! And I got to have our dear friend Michelle come out and spend time with Shep and I, which is always a dream. We have absolutly loved all the extra time with family and friends this quarter.

A coulple weeks ago Ronnie got to lead another house build in Ensenada. It was so great building again alongside of friends. The Pascual family was sweet and jumped right in to work alongside of everyone. They now live in a beautiful and safe house that they can make into a home. Homes of Hope continues to show the deep love of the Father in such a practical and life-changing way. After the build we had the privilege of hosting another debrief. Once again the gift of slowing down and reflecting was deeply felt. I love this unique way of ministering. And during our debrief week Ronnie's home church came down to participate in Mission Adventures. Getting to show them around the city we lived in for so long and deeply love was fantastic.

Today we drove back down to Enseanda to spend the week speaking with one of our favorite Mission Adventures teams, M10. They have traveled all the way from England! Please keep this group in your prayers this week as they build 2 homes, serve the community living at the dump, work at orphanages, and walk out what love looks like. We are excited to share their stories in the future.

Last but not least we are excited for Ronnie to participate in the 2nd Annual Golf-A-Thon. Last year Ronnie, alonside of some other YWAMers shot 54 holes of golf in one day! This fundraiser greatly impacted our family as we navigated several unexpected expenses last year. The event will take place on August 14th. We will have more info on this fun way to partner with us coming out in the next week!

We continue to serve in the office, Ronnie is working with the fleets for all 3 campuses, and Shep helps me clean hospitality, in-between his power naps.

It truly has been a beautiful and full quarter. And I didn’t even share all the stories about Shepherd’s new skills that seem to come daily. He is talkative, curious, and wants to be a part of everything. We could write a whole book about that kid. Thank you for being a part of our family and this life the Lord has called us to, we truly could not do this without your prayers and partnership. We love you dearly.

Prayer Requests

• We are still working on raising our monthly support. Expenses are quite different in San Diego for our family, and we believe the Lord wants to build up our faith in our finances. If you feel led to partner with us in this way please reach out.

• Another area of faith building has been in expanding our family. We are praying and trusting the Lord for a couple more kiddos.

• Misson Adventures. 100's of students have gone through the program this summer and there are still some cycles left. Pray for the kids as they carry the transformation they experienced back home with them.

• We always ask for prayer over our marriage and future. We truly just want to walk in the Father's will. Prayer for a sensitiviy to the Holy Spirit and unity between our family.

May the Lord bless you and keep you