November & December - Work, Relationships, Finances

Good Morning Friends, Family, and Internet Wanderers!

I hope this Christmas season is treating you well and that you have been able to take time to recharge your batteries as well as to give to others. Over the last two months so much has changed and happened that it is hard to believe that it was only two months ago that I was in such a different place than I am now.

Thankfulness

About five years ago I was in a place of deep frustration. I wanted to follow the Lord's leaning on my life and move towards ministry, yet I could not find an opportunity to do so. Shortly after that I took a chance and joined the Trek program and with your help I was able to raise funds for that year. After that and despite my desire to go straight into full time ministry the church and the conference convinced me that I should slow down, further my education and continue to develop my skills at the same church. While I was initially hesitant, it has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. And now as I am about to enter my final semester of my final year I am excited to say that my prayers have been answered. In my last blog post I wrote about the process of interviewing and the stress of spending a weekend speaking to the various shareholders at a new church. Now I am excited to say that the church heard my heart and vision for the future and for their young people and offered me a job in August to which I accepted. So when my term comes to an end at my current church at the end of May (middle of June more likely)  I will have a new role to begin in August. The group I will be heading up is currently about 50 youth, with many younger kids about to graduate into the program. I am so excited and will definitely have my work cut out for me.

Yet as big as this new job is for me, the second thing I am thankful for this season is so much bigger. As many of you know, since January I have been dating a beautiful young woman. For the past 11 months we have been growing together, spending lots of time with each other, and praying for our respective futures. So to that end, in late November I ordered a ring, and on December 20th I asked her to marry me, and she said yes! For nearly 15 years I have been praying for a wife, asking God to show me who she is and to take away the desire for a spouse if he did not plan that for me. Now after years of praying and longing, I am so amazed at the person I have found in my fiancee. She is kind, generous, beautiful, funny, and most importantly she has a strong faith and character. I am so excited for what our future has in store and to begin planning a life together.

Finally, as if the two above were not enough, I am thankful for the generous support I have received from friends and family, from you who are reading this. As of yesterday I only have $350 left to raise until the end of my time at Crossroads. That is right, I did not forget a decimal or a zero I only need another three hundred and fifty dollars.* This has been a long road, and at times it has been a source of much stress and anxiety because 10,000 a year is a lot to ask for from people, yet I am regularly and continually blown away by your generosity. As the final funds come in, if in the next few months I receive more than the 350 that extra money will go to support the other existing and important ministries of the church. Thank you so much for your generosity and for your prayers.

Prayers

As you may have noticed I left a star beside my final numbers and need. This is because there is a small chance that this number may change. As you may well remember a part of my wage comes from the conference of which I am a part. Usually they send money twice a year, once in January and once in June. Prior to this the church treasurer reaches out to the conference to  verify when this can be expected. This year she has not received any confirmation back about these funds. Likely this is an oversight as people are away this time of year, and there has been some staffing transitions, but please pray that this matter is sorted quickly and that there are not any larger issues or concerns to work through.

Now that I am properly engaged the work of wedding planning has begun. We both have a lot of ideas of how and what to do with this, but as with any wedding there are going to be a few struggles or disagreements, specifically regarding costs. It is no surprise that weddings are expensive, and while we want to be frugal we also want to celebrate the commitment we are making to each other.  Please pray that we would find a good balance between saving money and celebrating well. Pray that we would find favour with venues, vendors, and that the process of planning a wedding would be more joyful than stressful as we look ahead to our future together.

Finally please pray for me and for my current church for these final months of service. At the same time that I am finishing my term, the long standing pastor is retiring and that means there will be a lot of change in this little church over the next 6 months to a year. Pray that God would guide the process of finding the new pastor(s?) for this church. Pray that as I wind down my ministry here that I would serve well, and that God would guide me and the church to someone to take leadership of the youth and young adults groups for the next season. Pray that this church would continue to flourish under the new leadership that will come.

Thank you for your prayers, for your love and support, and I am so excited for this new season of life that I am entering into. May the Lord bless you as you have blessed me!