Discover Video

Here's a video we put together to sum up our time with the Discover program. We're still processing all that we experienced. It was just 4 1/2 months but we've found since being back that our beliefs and way of life were stretched and challenged. Out of that a strong foundation was laid and lifelong friendships were made. Thank you for walking through life with us and for showing us Christ's love in so many ways. We are truly blessed.

"Leaving on a jet plane..."

All my bags are packed

Im ready to go

Im standin here outside your door

I hate to wake you up to say goodbye...

But, Im leavin on a jet plane
Don't know when I'll be back again...

(Well actually, it's May 18th for those interested, haha)

Wow, it seemed that this time would never come, but it has flown by! We've said goodbye to our coworkers and friends in Lafayette, moved out of our apartment, celebrated the holidays with family and are now just less than 2 days away from boarding a plane for Puerto Rico.

So are we ready? For the most part. We have everything we need and are excited about starting this new part of our journey. Of course it's sad to leave those we love and the things we know. But we're more confident than ever that this is exactly where we're supposed to be. We have 111% of our support committed. That's over $18,000 raised in 4 months!! It's neat that through giving people are able to affect another part of the world by helping us to go. And there's no doubt this will greatly impact our lives in a enormous way!

This is where we again say THANK YOU!! Everyone has been extremely supportive and helpful and we appreciate this far more than words can say! Please pray as we begin the first part of this trip. There will be a lot of transitions as we adjust to the culture, travelling and getting to know the others on our team.

Wrapping up

It's hard to believe that in just 3 1/2 weeks we'll be boarding a plane to spend 4 months away from everything we know here. It feels like we're in over-drive getting everything squared away to leave. When we list out all the packing, support raising, finishing up things at work, Christmas shopping, holiday parties, and all the other unexpected things that have come up it can become overwhelming.
But you know, despite the full schedule and fast-paced life we're living we'd have to say things have been good. Not just bearable, grit-your-teeth and get through it, but actually enjoyable!

We've resolved that the Lord, back in June, knew what we'd be up against when He told us to pursue this trip to Puerto Rico and that He's able and willing to make sure that we have everything we need to get ready and take off. We've been and are planning to spend lots of time with friends and family as well as doing the things we love to do.
We're seeing that we can't let fear creep in, but instead we've got to make the most of what circumstances come our way and choose to enjoy them. Honestly, it will be sad for us to leave and there's things that will be hard to let go of, but there's joy in knowing that we can make the same decision to enjoy our circumstances there as we have here. And to think of all that God must have planned just makes my heart jump.


We had SNOW a week ago in Lafayette!! And we were able to spend a day with some great kids at a fundraiser for an inner-city ministry called The BRIDGE in Lafayette this past weekend.

5 weeks left...

I'm sure you've heard about the recent incidents in Mumbai, India and the sit-in's in Bangkok, Thailand's airports. We want to assure all of you that we have been in touch with the staff in Puerto Rico regarding our exposure trip to these countries in January. They are following the news and keeping in close contact with friends that live in those countries. As of now, plans remain the same. If something should change they will adjust plans accordingly. Please pray for these countries and for our travels.


As far as support goes...we have 81% committed! That means that we only have $3,365 to go. That sounds like a lot and at times it has been overwhelming for us as well. However, when compared to the $17,800 that we started out needing just 4 months ago it's a huge blessing. Actually, last weekend we needed a little over $5,000 which means that in about a week God unexpectedly brought in about $2000!!!

Thank you for your giving and for your prayers!

Sneak Peek

These pictures are from a friend of ours who visited the program in Puerto Rico a week ago. Truly an island paradise!

FYI

So it was brought up that this info was no where to be found in other posts and since it's so important I thought I'd go ahead and add it... :)

Any support checks can be made out to
Multiplying Teams International.

You can also give them to either of us or mail them to us at
100 Belle Fontaine Dr Apt 101 Lafayette, LA 70506.

(We track all support and mail it in with a form to the main office. If you have any questions or concerns let us know!)

What do you think?

First to update you on support: We currently have 63% of our total goal ($17,800) committed! That's over $11,000 already! And we've loved being able to spend time with so many of you, although it's kind of bittersweet because it just makes us realize what great friends and family we have and how much we'll miss them when we leave in 2 months.

We're hoping this blog becomes an opportunity for dialog between us. So we want to try something that involves you.
We're beginning to pay more attention to how God speaks uniquely to us. Lacey's noticed He likes to bring up questions in her mind that cause her to seek out truth. Going straight to Him in scripture and prayer is obviously key. But she's also someone that thinks through things by talking them out-probably why these always end up longer than planned!
There's a few questions that we'd like to hear your response on. And also, we'd love for you to include the why, for example what you base it on. We're looking for scripture, experience, anything.

So here we go:
1. What do you believe about foreign missions? Should we go? Who should go? How do you know if you're supposed to go? Why should we/you not go?
2. What do you believe about missionaries/ministry staff/etc. living on full support? (This can include those in foreign missions, churches and other ministries here in the states.)

Please be candid! We want to hear what you really think.

Answered Prayers

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." Have you ever had a hard time sticking to this commandment? Well the past month so have I. Despite all the blessings I could list, our packed schedule really began to wear me out. And being overwhelmed usually ends up producing impatience, worry and frustration. I'll spare you from all the details but let's just say I wasn't the funnest person to be around I'm sure.
Not being able to, or really even wanting to change my attitude God gave me people to help me start. (without them even knowing) Within a week a group of girlfriends and I had commited to pray for one another faithfully, then another friend asked me to pray with her each week, Jason and I once again began praying together every night after having slacked off...are you getting the picture? I was being surrounded in prayer. And let me just say that within a week the joy and gratitude were a product of that prayer. And He's continued to prove to me the necessity of prayer. Not just to pour out our desires and ask for things but to align ourselves with Him and to allow Him to change us.

Very quickly I'd like to share a powerful verse that has driven this home even further. It is found in Acts. Herod has thrown Peter into prison for preaching the Gospel and intends to kill him after the Passover. It ends with him being miraculously freed. Acts 12 - it's awesome take a minute and read it. Now I'm sure Peter was begging God to free him but my favorite part is in verse 5: So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.
It just shows how powerful our prayers really are. Sure, we don't change God's mind but we move His heart and he acts. When we pray with each other and for each other God is listening and he is moving.
You say you need more proof. Well Jason and I have asked you to pray with us that our support would be raised. As of Friday we have 50% of our support committed!! There is no way we could do this within our own strength. But by praying & trusting Him to provide we've seen Him far exceed our expectations already. So thank you and please keep praying. Also, we'd love to know if there is anything we can cover in prayer for you!!

The Basics

We wanted to make sure you all were well informed. Most of you received or will receive this info from us. But to make things easier and if you're like me and forgot the details here they are:

We're attending a 4-mon. training program in San Juan, Puerto Rico from Jan-May called Discover.











"Maps courtesy of www.theodora.com/maps used with permission"

While there we will gain cross-cultural exposure, minister to the local community through a new church plant and on the college campus, as well as take seminary classes through Birmingham Theological Seminary. We'll also take an exposure trip to Thailand and India for 2 weeks.

It's designed to help us evaluate and discover what our next step may be. So we're looking forward to this helping us grow in understanding our calling as individuals and as a couple.

Check out the program's great website www.ileadprogram.org

The cost is approx. $18,000, which will cover all of our expenses from travel, to housing, to food, etc. We're currently raising financial support and are up to around 13-14%. Yay God!


Some current prayer needs are:

• For our walks with God to deepen as we look to him for guidance, renewed strength and provision.
• Personal time management (sticking to priorties with work, support, family, friends, spouse time and ministry)
• Confidence that our support will be raised and that it is through faith in the Lord and not our own abilities
• That we would not be so busy looking into the future that we miss out in what God is doing around us here, now.
  

A little housekeeping...

For all of you who have joined, or are considering joining our support team, THANK YOU!! Really, there's no way we can truly say it enough so please know how grateful we are. Just being able to share this experience with the people we love and admire has been a joy. And I know there's some of you that we haven't met with or maybe even haven't contacted. I just couldn't wait to get you in on what's happening! We covet all of your prayers and want you to be in the loop! Also, if you don't hear from us and would like to know how you can help financially just let us know! Okay, okay enough advertisement. I'll try to make that the last time I do that...

Speaking of prayers, we're thinking that since most people use email so often and check it regularly that we would just put the things we'd like you to pray for on here. Regularly updated and relevant. Of course we'd be happy to make cute little cards with them listed and a carefully chosen picture of us on it. We just know that works for some and for others, well it either stays in that forever growing pile on your desk or falls behind the fridge never to be seen again. So just shoot us a comment or email and we'll get it to you pronto!

All of our updates will be through this. That way we can post pics and videos easily for you to enjoy. We'll just email you the link each time we make an update. You may want to bookmark it, just an idea. So again, thank you and if you have any suggestions on how we can keep you informed let us know!! And don't worry now that we have this out of the way they'll be shorter posts!