Reflecting on 2006--January

We went to Bagdad!

Yes, the beginning of the year took us to new places, one of them being Bagdad, Kentucky! Happy Birthday, Crossroads to the Nations!

Our church turned one year old on January 1st. In celebration of what God was doing in and through the Crossroads to the Nations, our church fasted and prayed the first week of 2006 in preparation for our church retreat. We anticipated that God would be honored somehow through this corporate fast and prayer time; we were excited to see how God would lead us into the new year.

In actuality, Crossroads to the Nations was more than a year old at this point in time, but it was our 1st year anniversary for our weekly corporate worship gatherings. Prior to the weekly gatherings, a smaller group of people met for prayer, teaching, and discussion once a month.

We truly miss our church! At our retreat, we were able to solidify our official mission statement and our doctrinal faith statement, ponder our upcoming mission trips, decide on two elders, commit to a covenant to grow with each other, and discuss some other important details.

Our retreat was short but sweet. It started on Saturday afternoon. We awoke on Sunday morning to break our fast together. We prayed. We shared. We spurred one another on to doing good works for the glory of God. Dave and I miss our church family in Kentucky! Thank you for being saints--set apart to do God's will!

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Adoption: This month was truly difficult. We discovered that we probably were not going to become parents to a boy we were praying for in the Marshall Islands. Dave was delaying paperwork to enter the Air Force so that we would have time to travel together to the RMI to adopt our child. We went from a high of putting together the crib and setting up the nursery to a deep low of staring at an empty room. I wondered if God wanted us to be parents or if it was his will for us to continue working for him as we were. There is so much work to be done for God in this world that perhaps he wanted to free us up to do full time ministry outside of our home. What made us wonder about our direction was that some of our adoption paperwork was already expiring. That meant we needed to renew our paperwork, which would = to more time, energy, and money. If God didn't want us to adopt, were we not being good stewards with what God allotted us?

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Dave was able to be a "fly on the wall" and take pictures of some of his favorite biblical teachers. As a photographer, he somehow got Johnny in the picture as well. :)

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It was also exciting to start a new Bible study with Melodie, Lindsey, and Michelle. We studied the concept of the tabernacle, and I was thankful to grow together with these young ladies. Have I mentioned that I miss you guys? I do!