I just want to thank you for following this blog the past year or so. This should be my last posting at this blog site. However, if you'd like to continue follow our lives, we encourage you to check out our new blog at: www.themustains.wordpress.com.
If you like receiving email updates when we make a new post, you can sign up for email updates on our new blog as well. Just go to www.themustains.wordpress.com and on the right side of the page click the link under "Follow our journey." Follow the simple instructions and you'll be good to go!!
Our personal email addresses are still the same and our cell phone numbers are the same as well. Our new mailing address is:
One Bear Place #85464
Waco, TX 76798
If you have any questions about ending your support at the end of August, please contact me as soon possible by commenting to this post or contacting me directly. I think that is all the info I can think of so this is Chad, signing out. Check out the new blog!! www.themustains.wordpress.com
Well, Heather and I are transitioning to our new season of life here in Waco, TX. We got all moved in this past Friday and on Monday we hit the ground running with training, meeting a seemingly endless number of new people, and putting the final touches on our new apartment. Yesterday Heather began training in Spiritual Life at Baylor as a ministry associate. My training as a resident chaplain is keeping me very busy but is going very well.
Speaking of transitions, we'll soon be transitioning to a new blog. Our new blog is:
Our cell phone numbers will remain the same, as will our email addresses.
We'd love to hear from you so please feel free to email us, call us, leave us a comment on this blog, or go ahead and leave us a comment on our new blog http://www.themustains.wordpress.com.
Well, we are all packed and loaded and about to hit the road. We have our apartment check out in about 30 minutes and we'll on the road shortly there after. As our season with AIM comes to a close, we are grateful for all that God has done in us and through us. As we embark on this new adventure, we remain confident in God's faithfulness and goodness, in all things and in all circumstances.
This past week the Lord has been bringing me back to the same passage (and giving me opportunities to put it into practice!!) and I wanted to share it with you. 2 John verses 5 and 6 says:
5 I a writing to remind you, dear friends, that we should love one another. This is not a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning. 6 Love means doing what God has commanded us, and he has commanded us to love one another, just as you have heard from the beginning.
I love the start of verse 6, "Love means doing. . . " That just reminds me that love is an action (Love is a Verb, as DC Talk once sang). Wherever we find ourselves, whatever situation we might be in, we can all practice love, because we know that to love is God's greatest commandments to us; to love him and to love others.
That is our desire as we leave Gainesville and move on to Waco. Our life mission remains the same, "To help build a different kind of tomorrow." And I believe that to help build that different tomorrow, love has to be at the center and it has to point others to God.
We ask for your prayers as we travel these next two days. We have quick stop off for the night in Jackson, Mississippi tonight with some friends and then will drive the rest of the way to Waco on Friday.
Today Heather and I are celebrating our one year wedding anniversary. We've had a wonderful first year together and we feel so blessed. We have had fun in Savannah and Hilton Head the past few days. We met up with Heather's dad, step-mom, and sisters in Savannah and had a great time with them. Last night we all had dinner with my uncle, aunt, and cousin here in Hilton Head. My aunt can cook a mean lasagna!! A little bit later today Heather and I are headed to a resort celebrate, enjoy the beach, and rest.
Earlier this week we had a great debrief with our two month month teams. The stories that we heard from students and leaders were absolutely amazing. There were stories of entire households accepting Christ, physical healings, hundreds and hundreds of people receiving food, communities encouraged and transformed, and countless smiles due to the love of Christ. This was our last thing with AIM and we feel honored to be leaving on a such a high note celebrating all the good things that God did in and through our teams this summer.
Thursday is moving day and we are really excited for our new season of life. We are making the 900+ mile drive in two days and will be arriving into Waco, TX on Friday.
This past week has been filled with de-junking, packing, finalizing moving preparations, and spending time with friends. The reality of moving on from Gainesville, GA and our time with AIM has really set in. While we are greatly looking forward to what is next, good-byes or until next-times are never easy.
Last night our good friends the Thompson's and William's hosted a good-bye party for us at church. It was neat to have friends from AIM, our small group, and students and leaders from the student ministry bless us and let us know how much we mean to them. Heather and I felt so honored, loved, and cared for as they wrote us notes, got us gifts, and prayed over us as we prepare to move. Here are a couple of pictures from last night.
Tag, Holly, and Jack Thompson praying with us.
Most of our small group praying with us (joking around in this moment).
The new youth pastor at Lanier Hills Gabe and his fiancee' Bri.
We have seriously been so blessed by the community we have had here in Gainesville. Heather and I are praying for an awesome community and great friends at Baylor and invite you to join with us in that prayer.
Our 2 month teams begin travel today back to the States and get in tomorrow for debrief. Please join us in prayer for safety of travel, that they will make all their connecting flights, and that all their luggage will make it as well. We are looking forward to spending the next 2 days with the teams and hear more stories of all that God has done in them and through them this summer.
Heather and I are also looking forward to spending time with her dad, step mom, and sisters later this week. We'll get to show them around Gainesville and the AIM base and then spend a few days with them in Savannah, GA and Hilton Head, SC. It'll also be fun to spend some time with my mom's brother and his family who live on Hilton Head Island. In the midst of all of that, Heather and I are looking forward to celebrating our one year anniversay on August 2nd.
We'll be pulling out of Gainesville on August 6th with a stop off in Mississippi (roughly the half way point) before arriving into Waco, TX on August 7th. We'll sort of have the weekend to get somewhat settled before starting training for our new jobs on August 10th.
God's provision for us in our transition into this new season of life has been so evident. However, one sad thing is that we are not allowed to have our dog Maeby with us in our dorm/apartment. My parents have graciously "adopted" her for us during this next season of life. My mom is really excited to have a 2nd Boston Terrier and a friend for their dog Bosco.
Update
Heather and I would like say a huge THANK YOU for your love, prayers, and financial support over the past year. It is hard to believe that our time with Adventures in Missions is coming to a close at the end of July.
This past year in Gainesville, GA has been invaluable for us on a personal level, as we believe that we've built a strong foundation for our marriage. We celebrate one year together on August 2nd. Just a few of God's many blessings this past year have been a wonderful community of friends, a great church, an incredible small group, awesome serving opportunities with the student ministry, and mentors who have invested in us.
We have also had an incredible year with Adventures in Missions. Heather and I were the Coordinators for the Real Life College program, which sends college aged students on 1 to 3 month trips. This summer we sent out about 125 students and leaders to the Amazon Jungle/Peru, Guatemala, Kenya, India, Nicaragua, the Philippines, and Swaziland.
Before sending out these students we saw God do an incredible work in their lives as many found healing and freedom from the hurts of life and mistakes made. These students have been Jesus with skin on in the field and we have seen individuals and families restored, healings, communities encouraged, structures built, and hundreds of people come to know the Lord. Some of the stories and ways our teams have seen God move have been straight out of the book of Acts. Your prayers and financial investment in us have had a direct part in the lives that have been changed for God's kingdom glory.
What's next
As our full-time involvement with Adventures in Missions comes to a close, we are leaving Gainesville, GA with a great relationship. AIM has talked to us about leading worship and helping teach at future training camps. They have also talked to us about leading regional trainings in the Dallas area as well as helping start a new weekend missions experience called "Excursions," which are poverty and homeless simulations that are currently in the developmental stage.
So, as we move to Waco, TX to attend graduate school at Truett Seminary and Baylor University, we are grateful for God's provision and look forward to what is in store in this new season of life. We've both been blessed with jobs at Baylor, a free-living situation, and scholarships that cover much of our tuition and expenses. We are also greatly looking forward to being closer to our family in the Dallas area.
Important financial information
We want to again thank you for your prayers and financial support this past year. For those of you that give to us on a monthly basis, I have some very important information for you, especially for those who have automatic monthly giving set up.
• If you could give your final monthly gift to Adventures in Missions in August 2009, that would be a huge blessing to us as we move and transition to new jobs.
• If you mail in your monthly gift, after the month of August you can stop giving to AIM and you will be all set.
• If you have automatic giving set up on your debit/credit card, I can notify accounting to end your giving after the month of August.
• If you have automatic giving set up to be withdrawn from your checking account, you will need to contact your bank and have this service stopped after the month of August.
If you have any questions about your final financial gift to us or ending your automatic monthly giving, please feel free to leave a comment on the blog with your contact info and I will get back with you asap.
Heather and I would not have been able to do what we have done in our time with Adventures in Missions without your love, prayers, and financial support. So, while our location and jobs are changing, our life mission remains the same: to help build a different kind of tomorrow.
The Apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 2:14 "Now wherever we go he uses us to tell others about the Lord and to spread the Good News like a sweet perfume."
Well, Heather and I are entering into the home stretch of our time here in Gainesville. This week and this past week we've done a lot of packing in preparation for our move to Waco, TX. Additionally, we have been busy trying to spend time with friends and see the Atlanta sites that we've put off until now. Saturday night we went to Stone Mountain with our good friends Tag, Holly, and their baby Jack to see Stone Mountain and the laser show.
Last night Heather and I went to the Braves game and took one of our students Aaron. I have invested a lot into Aaron and he is one of the best young drummers I have played with.
Me and Aaron outside of Turner Field.
This was Heather's first Braves game. She's now been to 3 stadiums since we've been married. I've been to 7 stadiums (Astros, Braves, Cubs, D-Backs, Rangers, Rockies, and Royals) all together.
Our 2 month teams return from the field in a week. The stories from the field continue to be amazing as God is doing phenomenal things in and through our teams. Please pray that the teams will finish strong and for their travel back to the States.
Adventures in Mission's focus and theme for our work in New Orleans is "Rebuilding people, not structures." I was absolutely blown away by the physical devistation of New Orleans. There are block after block of abandon homes. There are abandon community centers, schools, and even churches. So, the question has to be asked, if facilities that are used to invest into people are abandon, who is investing in people? Yes, structures need to rebuilt and there are some amazing groups like Beacon of Hope that are doing just that. Just as structures need time, attention, love, care, investment, and rebuilding so do the people of New Orleans who will soon make those structures come to life.
Our group was able to do just that; to give time, attention, love, care, and investment to help rebuild the people of New Orleans. Our focus was very holistic in nature, helping meet both the spiritual and physical needs of the people we encountered.
A core value of AIM is Listening Prayer and our group learned to practice that together. So often as Christians we do a lot of talking to God and talking at God but rarely take time to LISTEN to God. So, we helped teach our students to begin each day of our trip seeking the Lord, asking for the Lord to reveal where he was working and how we could join in.
It is amazing the things to Lord will reveal and the things he will speak to us if we will just take time to listen. On our first day, we went to our VBS site to pray over it and ask the Lord to prepare the hearts of the people we would encounter that afternoon. We split into three groups and sought the Lord and his leading. I believe the Lord speaks in many ways and often in the American church we are not acustomed to the Lord speaking through words, pictures, names, colors etc. As my group was praying Sara (see below) said the Lord gave her a picture of a man in all black clothing riding a bike.
As we began walking through the community we hadn't even gone a block and a man in all black clothing on a black bike slowly rode by us. My group was dumbfounded because the Lord brought to pass what he had spoken to Sara. We began praying for the man and as we prayed he gave us one of the biggest smiles I have ever seen.
It was incredibly hot and humid during our time in New Orleans. At other times our group prayer walked through the community handing out watermelon and water to anyone who wanted some. It was a very easy way to meet a felt need as we walked and prayed. It also opened up the opportunity to hear the stories of people, to pray with them, and give them bibles.
In many ways the people of New Orleans are sort of forgotten. Many of our students echoed statements like "I knew Katrina was bad but I had no idea . . ." We never saw most of the parents of the kids and youth we worked with. The wandered the streets, played in and around abandoned structures, and hung out at our VBS site which was an abandoned school and play ground.
As our students literally rolled around in the grass with these kids, I can't help but imagine this is what Jesus would have done. Luke 18:16 says, But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
Our students were Jesus with skin on to these kids. We laughed with them, sangs songs with them, taught them that our God is "a great big God," and shared God's promises in his word with them. The kids just soaked in the time, attention, love, care, and investment we made in their lives.
On our last evening we had a giant cookout and gave away 160 hamburgers and hotdogs, watermelon, and ice cold water to anyone we wanted to stop by. Through this simple act of again meeting a felt need we were able to hear the stories of many adults, to cry with them as the described how hard things have been since Katrina, to pray with them, and leave them with a bible of God's promises and hope for all mankind.
The challenge we left our students with is that everything we did in New Orleans, we can do right here in Gainesville. We can prayer walk, we can hand out watermelon, we can talk and pray with the people on the public transportation, we can put on a VBS etc. Our students returned fired up and have made plans to do many of the things we did in New Orleans right here in Gainesville. We ask for your prayers for these students that this fire and passion would be sustained and that they will follow God's leading.
Blessings,
Chad and Heather
P.S. Props to one of our students Jennie Dunnett for taking these pictures.
Heather and I are back from New Orleans. We had a great week there with the Lanier Hills youth group. I just wanted to quickly share some pictures from our week and I will hopefully be posting more soon. I've got to give props to Gavin Sexton (an up and coming photographer) for these pictures as well as a picture from the cell phone of Josh Gross.
Blessings,
Chad and Heather
Here are the girls from the youth group before church on Sunday.
And here are the guys featuring the new youth pastor Gabe (in the gray shirt slouching) and our AIM project leader Esteban.
Here we are reviewing our songs and actions before VBS.
Me and Heather doing some clean up in a church that is still trying to recover almost 4 years after Katrina.
We did some sweet ministry on the street cars of New Orleans talking to people, praying with them, and giving them bibles.
Each afternoon we did a VBS with the kids in the community outside of an abandoned school. We would do songs, games, a bible story, craft etc.
In the center of the above picture (standing next to me with the orange Nike's) is a boy named Dante. A couple of our students helped Dante ask Jesus to be the leader of his life and I had the pleasure of following up with him. That is just one of the many great things that God did this week.
Heather and I arrived into New Orleans yesterday with our team. We have a group of 18 total which includes the new youth pastor at Lanier Hills and 15 students. Thus far everything is going well and the drive down went fine. Today we are going to a local church, driving around to a few different ministry sites to pray over them, handing out flyers about VBS and a cook-out, and practicing a little bit of relational evangelism. Please be in prayer for our team as this is most of the teams first mission trip and much of what we are doing is going to be a HUGE stretch for them. Please pray for courage, boldness, the desire to step outside of their comfot zone, the right words, and that we would be vessels to be used by God. Please also pray for the health of our team as we have one student who is battling a bit of something. Please pray for her healing so that she can fully engage in all that God desires to do in her and through her this week.
And that is our prayer today, that God would do whatever he needs to do in us so that he can do whatever he wants to do through us.
