Life Unexpected

As promised, here is the message that Dad and I had the opportunity to team preach together, as well as a highlight video of all the trips we have been a part of. I would suggest for you to listen to the message first (about 30-40 minutes) and then watch the video...you may want to bring tissues! God is good:)

This weekend I had an amazing opportunity. My Dad and I were asked to team preach at our Nazarene District Convention. We were asked specifically to speak about the impact of missions on a person's life and how it plays into discipleship. We were also asked to talk about the importance of partnerships when it comes to missions. Let me tell you, this week of preparation has completely touched my heart. In 2003, my Dad invited me to go on a missions trip to the Dominican Republic that would change the course of my life (the picture above is of that first trip!). It was on that trip with my Dad that I began to develope a love for people, specifically in third world countries, and passion for missions. I have watched my Dad over the years as his heart has grown in incredible ways when it comes to missions, and his passion has been contagious. As My Dad and I began talking the past couple of weeks about how we would handle "team preaching," it was decided that my primary...

"Who would have thought starting a family would be this difficult?" Those were the words that came from Nate's mouth as he kissed my forehead and headed back into school. We had just finished a conference call with our agency that only confirmed what we had been reading...our wait was going to be significantly longer. We actually had been told that the wait time was increasing, but were hoping that if we called we would get a better understanding as to why, and if that extended wait time really included us, a family who had already been waiting for over a year for a referral. I am not totally sure what God is doing on this one. For starters, we were told that we would have to basically re-do our Dossier packet. The packet took us forever to do, and requires getting a lot of paper work notarized, gathering references, having physicals, getting financial information, etc. It isn't just like you sign one paper. Because the wait time is extended, and we have a few...