From Sweet Tea to Tamales

Well by far we have been dreading this part of our journey more than any part. It has been the most humbling thing ever! There are times when people say oh that will be so hard to sell everything and move to another country, or this will be hard or that will be hard - but really this is the hardest. Support Raising!!! There is NOTHING fun about raising support and asking people to support you monthly so that you can share the gospel with people who would never otherwise hear it. Worth it?  YES Fun? NO  But that is where we are now and God is teaching us through it all.

We are trying to find 200 people, families, Sunday School classes, offices or Bible study classes that will commit to support us with $25 a month. We have to have 90% of our support raised before we can depart for the field. We are suppose to leave after the first of the year, probably between March and May. We are praying for opportunities to share our vision and be able to connect with those God has called to join with us in sharing the gospel. If you know of an opportunity or place that we could share, please let us know.

We have already begun selling things and to be honest it wasn't as hard as I thought it might be, see every dollar raised is a step closer to leaving my sweet tea (the South) behind and one step closer to my tamales (Mexico). Letting go of stuff has actually been freeing. I think we are to wrapped up in our stuff and our culture is great at getting us wrapped up so tightly that some are never able to let go. I praise God that He is showing us the beauty of simplicity in our lives, homes and hearts. Those things that are most important and that have eternal value are not found in cars, houses, furniture and so on... they are ONLY found in the gospel of Jesus Christ!

God has been great at showing us His provision for His work in our lives and the most humbling of them all came from children! The children at VCBC during VBS each year collect a mission offering each night. It's always a healthy little competition between the boys and girls and they love it. This year,late one night, we got a phone call from our children's minister letting us know that they had been praying about where the offering would be used this year and through much prayer and confirmation - the money collected would be given to us! What? Wow!! A humbling call that left us speechless and in tears! I had been heart broken that I couldn't help this year with VBS due to my daughters wedding on that Saturday and had been praying for a great VBS and for God to help me since we would be doing the same VBS in Mexico the next month. I felt torn that I needed to be there so I would be better prepared when we got to Mexico and He showed me that He was more concerned for our lifetime work in Mexico and not just a week in July! Those children - you know the ones that Jesus adores and tells us to be more like- well they raised $792 - that is amazing! Those little ones have raised the most money and support for us since we just began our fundraising efforts!

I am so humbled that God used little children to show us that we have to totally depend on Him for all our support through others. Just for one minute stop and think if you had to, starting next week,  depend on others donations and support to live and work!!!! Ya that is a huge piece of humble pie to swallow. Especially when you are the ones that are used to helping others and not the other way around. But through it all, God is showing himself to be trusted and true to His word.

We have no idea who will join with us to support us monthly and invest in the lives of the lost in Mexico, but we know that God does and so that means we don't worry or fret over it because He is in control of it and we trust Him! So since our last news letter went out we had a goal to raise $2000 by August 15th in order for us to buy plane tickets for our first vision trip. I am happy to update that you that we now have $1207 of that!!!

Please pray if the Lord is leading you to join us in monthly efforts to further His Kingdom. I will place the link below where you can make monthly or one time gifts that are all tax deductible. We are praying for you and thanking God for your generosity for God's glory!!!

Thanks for keeping up with us, praying for us and supporting us, we love you!!!

Please list our last name and account number when you donate so it will be posted properly. 


Acct # 111728
Donate Here

20 miles

I have recently had so many say to me, "I wish I could be like you" or "I wish my faith was as strong as yours" to which I reply, "there is NOTHING good about me except Jesus"! I guess I know what they are trying to say, because I too am inspired by others faith and it usually encourages me in a time when I need it most. So I started praying and asking God to help me know how to handle these situations, because I in no way want to bring glory to myself or my life!!!! He took me back to times in my life where I didn't feel His power, His presences or hear His voice. Back to those mediocre times when my Christian life was missing something. But as I would search scripture and exercise my communication with God - the Holy Spirit would search me! And would always reveal to me that I was not exercising an ACTIVE faith that really believed God would do for me those things He did for people in the Bible.

Faith is the highway of moving trust that allows us to experience God in our everyday lives!  If faith is our highway - how many of us would jump on 59/20 or 459- stop and park in one of the lanes and say, "well I am on the highway this is good - just knowing that this road leads to my destination is good enough for me"! None of us would ever do that and we think that it is silly to think that we would - but we do that with our faith all the time!!! None of us actually live like that in our everyday life so why do we expect that to work in our faith life? God is looking for some people who believe He is who He says He is and He can do what He says He can do!!! Is that you? Don't be afraid to take your car out of park on the highway and move forward in obedience. When you obey you move from your agenda to His, and His plan is always GREATER!!!  Notice I didn't say easier only greater.


Let's look at a great example of active moving faith. John 4:46-54.  Here we have a royal official who's son is sick and dying. The dad (the royal official) walked 20 miles to see Jesus. I thought wow - we have people who aren't willing to even drive a few miles in the rain to come to church and all the other pitiful excuses we give today. But he walked 20 miles - would your faith carry you 20 miles? How about even 5? So he walks 20 miles to ask Jesus to come and heal his son and at his second request to come and heal his son - Jesus says 4 words to him, "Go your son lives" Now remember Jesus didn't leave and go with him like we see in other miraculous resurrections and times he healed - they are still 20 miles away and Jesus simply says 4 words to him. Now don't miss that it says - "and the man believed what Jesus said and started home." So he believed and started home!!! wow, he took Jesus at His word. He didn't weigh his options and talk about what if this and what if that, and ask a million questions and ask for signs that what He said was true - he believed and started home. I think we don't do that enough - just believe Jesus for what HE says and move in our faith.

Now just think what the journey would have been like if he hadn't  had an active faith - he believed the words of Jesus to confidentially walk home!!! If we really believe what Jesus says we should have confidence to walk home. See God's word is enough. Having faith like that will enable us to walk in confidence even when all we have to hold on to is His word. If God has spoken clearly to you about something - take your car out of park on the highway and start moving toward it in obedience so you don't miss the glorious moment when your faith becomes sight. See the fathers faith became sight when he got home and saw his son alive.

I am looking forward to seeing my faith become glorious sight when I arrive in Mexico to live among the people and see my Father do His work!!! I long for that day more and more each passing mile as I walk to where He told me to go and see that He can be trusted and He is who He says He is and He does what He says He will do.  I feel like my walk had been way more than 20 miles with lots of obstacles and wild animals along the way - BUT He has never left me or forsaken me - just like He said!!

Music is a key in our family and I am pretty sure I will always be able to find a song to go along with every post I ever make