An opportunity to Trust....

Wednesday brought unexpected news to our family.  I had taken Jaron and Jacob to the eye doctor.  Jacob had been complaining that his eyes hurt for quite a while and Jaron had failed an eye test at school.  Jacob tested fine and no problem was found, but Jaron was diagnosed with Amblyopia in his left eye.  I guess his brain has stopped using his left eye and without treatment he will lose all vision in that eye.  Its not that the eye is bad, its the problem with the connection between the eye and the brain.  It is not noticeable, his brain has disregarded the left eye and only takes in what the right eye is seeing.  Jaron didn't even know there was a problem.  So now we are going forward aggressively to try and reverse what is happening.  Jaron will have his right eye patched for four hours a day to try and make his brain use the left eye.  He will also be getting glasses to help improve the vision of the left eye.  We will do the patching daily and in three months he will get a check-up to see what progress has been made.  Our prayer is that there is progress and that his brain will reconnect and heal the left eye.  Jaron is our son and it is so hard to not worry, but we have been given an opportunity not only to trust God, but to teach Jaron to trust God no matter the outcome.  Please pray for our hearts, that we are able to put complete trust in our Lord and please pray for Jaron's eye.  To God be the Glory.

Halfway to Goal!!!!!!!

As of January 1st, we are halfway to our goal for Jason's Israel Stewardship trip.  We are humbled by the support of sponsorship and prayers that have come in from our family and friends.  It is amazing how you have unselfishly shared in our joy.  Thank you for being a part of this.  No words can express how you have touched us and encouraged us.  Our prayer is that God will use this experience to bless each of you and many others. 

IT IS OFFICIAL!

January 10th makes it official.  Jason is a pastoral intern for Grace Communion International.  Jason still feels that it is crazy that after all this time he is getting the opportunity to do what he has always been passionate for.  I am so proud of him for never giving up on this dream and trusting God with all the details.  It has been an ever challenging journey getting to this point and we both realize that the internship and training will be a new journey.  We praise God for all the trials that sharpened our faith and truly challenged us to grow.  We praise Him for His grace and mercy along the way when we failed to respond.  We ask that He will take our hands as we embark upon this Journey and that we will stay tuned to His will. 

The Internship

     I am so proud of Julie, she is going to make a wonderful and amazing pastor's wife. : ) She has been so supportive through this entire process and is very excited to see where God is going to take us. She and Jacob went to church yesterday (11/14/2010) (Jaron, Jaxon and I stayed home do to Jaron not feeling well) and she was a part of a special service that was put together by some of the women at church. Julie had the responsibility to give one of the few talks during the service and did a wonderful job and seemed to have had a great response from the congregation. WAY TO LET GOD USE YOU, JULIE!!! Julie and I have really enjoyed being a part of our new congregation and really feel that God is preparing us through the work of this ministry. We look forward to growing deeper with the congregation and learning from what God has to show us through them. Thank you Lord!!!

Internship and Israel/Jordan trip update

     After much prayer and discussion Julie and I have decided that it would be best if she not go on the Israel/Jordan trip and just I go. We fell very strongly that it may be hard on the boys for the both of us to leave for 3 weeks and for them not to have either mommy or daddy around. We feel this decision is a wise decision and will have a more positive impact on our family and the boys.
     So with this change of plans our financial goals have obviously changed, our financial needs for the trip is now $5350.00. We want to thank everyone for all their prayers and support for this educational and spiritual trip, and we want to thank those that have been so generous in helping make this trip a reality. With the help of our friends and families we have been able to raise $875.74 which is just over 16% of our goal. Thanks everyone for your support.
     We were very excited to have sent in the deposit for the trip last week and was able to talk to Dr. Scott Preissler (the professor planning and leading the stewardship tour) and he is very excited about the work that God is going to do in the hearts of those who go (I believe there are around 50 individuals going) and the positive impact it will have on our Christian walks. So please most importantly keep this trip in your prayers.

We love you so very much and thank you again for your love and support during this exciting time in our lives.

Sponsor Letter

Today we are printing out our letters to family and friends to inform them of this new journey that we are embarking on:  Pastoral Internship!  During the next few months, we will begin the process of getting to know our new fellowship and growing in friendship with them.  I will be on the speaking schedule between now and January, a few times.  I am also taking a few online courses between now and then and will continue to work closely with Pastor Rick as we grow in our mentoring relationship.  In December, we plan on meeting with the Internship Director and I will be officially starting the internship in January.  At that time, the internship will become a stipended position and I will be able to focus completely on my responsiblilty.  Julie will continue to work for the Kettering Police Department.  We are both thankful for her position, as it has allowed us to accept this Internship with minimal pay.  The road ahead is not crystal clear, but we are nevertheless excited for the current and future Journey.  God Bless!