Just Over 5 Months, and . . .

It's Friday afternoon down here in the deep south, and what a great day to hang out with some old friends- The Gators! Actually, D, Nat, and I get to spend the day together and we thought we would start it off by having an incredibly relaxing morning. Much like our mornings in Italy, we were able to spend some time just relaxing at a cafe' - i.e., Panera! And now that we are home I thought it best to update our faithful readers on a few VERY important happenings in our lives. And then later we will go take a walk with our friendly neighborhood Gators.

In order to make it easy, I will be using some visual aids . . . Of course some of these visual aids are purely for creating a joyous moment in your lives. Because honestly how could you sit there and look at these pictures of Natalie and it not bring a smile to your face!? She's absolutely the cutest, is she not (ok, we're a little biased)?!

Well, here goes:

1. Danielle and I have been traveling a bit lately. We spent some time in Nashville as sponsors for a regional youth event at Trevecca Nazarene University. Tim was originally going to be the soccer coach, but when the soccer team did not materialize someone thought it best that he coach the basketball team? Simply, it was a lot of fun and we had a great time with the young people as well as connecting with a number of our friends in the Nashville area.

2. We also took a little trip to Kansas City, MO to be a part of World Mission's "Missionary Assessment". Basically, this is one of the major steps to be commissioned missionaries through the Church of the Nazarene. It was both an honor and huge encouragement to us to be invited.

We had a wonderful, albeit intense, time both in the training and especially in fellowship. It was also a great pleasure to see some unexpected friends while there.

It was also a great time spent with Tim's folks in KC. We needed a babysitter, and Tim's Mom and Dad accepted the calling without even an ounce of hesitation- imagine that?! A grandpa and grandma wanting to hang out with one of their little cute granddaughters!?

With all the travels we have been doing over the past couple weeks, Natalie has done tremendously well. Who knows, maybe she is cut out to be an MK (Missionary Kid)? It was actually fun to travel with Natalie on the plane, because she smiled at nearly every person! Talk about an instant joy dropper!

We just received word that we have been recommended for Missionary Deployment. This basically means that we will begin an interview process with some of our Regional Directors throughout the globe. Yet again, God has overwhelmed us with His grace. We have no clue what will happen in the near future, but we are awaiting the Lord's leading and guidance. We actually like where we are living and serving. It is a pleasure to serve at Lighthouse Church of the Nazarene and Starbucks while being so incredibly close to the beach! But we continually place ourselves in the invisible hands of our gracious Lord, Jesus Christ. Therefore, we ask for your prayers as we continue to live one day at a time and serve wherever we are in His gracious love.

3. We returned from Kansas City and headed to District Assembly for the Alabama South Church of the Nazarene District. It was a great time spent with friends from the district as well as some unexpected visitors! As we gave our thanks for the many years of service that our incredibly gracious leaders Dr. Roy and Nina Fuller dedicated, Tim also reported for the last time as part of the district staff. It was a pleasure to serve as the Disaster Response Coordinator for the past two years but even while at Assembly we both new that God has something different in store for us. So, we said goodbye to the Bayou and hello to our new District leaders - Rev. Mark and Debbie Berry.

It has been a long and hard journey working in the area of disaster response, yet extremely rewarding. We are looking forward in anticipation to what the Lord has in store for us and our district next. If it be that we stay and continue working at Lighthouse Church of the Nazarene, we do know that our new leaders will be tremendous!

4. We need help! We are hoping and planning to go on a missions trip this coming summer. We have been asked to help lead a team to Italy. We will be working with two of the Nazarene Churches, one in Catania (where Danielle and I lived for over 2 years) and then in Florence (where we helped out as often as possible). If you are interested in helping support us through prayer or financially we would greatly appreciate it. Tim just received his last pay check from the district so financially, we will need a great deal of support. We believe that this would be a tremendous opportunity not only to help mentor young people through a missions experience and at the same time to re-connect with those that we served and lived with while in Italy. If your interested in helping, just send us an email!

4. Natalie is growing, and getting bigger and bigger everyday! WE LOVE IT! She is absolutely amazing. She loves to squeal (and loudly at times!), roll over and over and over throughout the house, eat lots of really good sweet potatoes, grab things, and of course smile a great deal! I will leave the rest of the story telling for another time, but for now, let's juts take a quick look at how beautiful and fun she really is . . .


Take care everyone and have a wonderful Mother's Day Weekend!