Refuge Retreat Fall 2023

 We have been partnering with Refuge for quite some time now and it is by far one of the sweetest times of worship we get to be a part of. I love their vision and their hearts to empower and encourage college aged kids. And I love that Rainy got to be part of the experience as an actual camper this year. This year we slept in an open-air cabin. As in, the windows didn't close but instead were just covered by screens. In the mountains. In freezing, fall, mountain weather. Those nights I think I was quite-possibly the coldest I have ever been. I layered pretty much every article of clothing I packed all at once and bundled up under my blanket just to TRY to keep warm and sleep. BUT it made for sweet memories, ha! I only got a couple of pictures but the guy who did the video and photography for the weekend took beautiful pictures!

September

September was full of settling into new rhythms, watching our kids flourish doing things they love, lots of outside time, lots of friends and the tiniest garden harvest known to man, lol

A Wedding And A Vacation

We had our annual Via Vacation and I literally had my phone in my room the whole time and got 1 picture. ONE. Jay took a couple of our family on picture night but that's all I got, ha!  

When your best friend's daughter and her new fiancé ask if you'll do their premarital counseling, officiate and do the music for their wedding it is an easy yes, Even if it means you have to leave your vacation early. We spent the better part of the year meeting with Brett and Macey doing premarital counseling and getting to know them on a deeper level. We have done plenty of premarital counseling before, but I told Josh that this one seemed different because Macey quite literally feels like an extension of our family since she's grown up with us. It was a sweet day of memories and moments that we are so grateful we got to be a part of.

Ecuador Part 2

 The highlight, getting to visit Palm Beach for 5 missionaries, Nate Saint and Jim Elliot among them, were martyred. We took a long bus trip into the mountains and arrived at the Saint home.

Then we loaded up in small airplanes (Cessna) that flew into the jungle along the Amazon River to get to the Woaodani people at Tonampade.

New we hiked down into the jungle...

to get to these long canoe to take us down the river to Palm Beach. It is their tradition to save their baptisms for when visitors come to show how God is continuing to work because of the sacrifice of these men to share the love of God with them. It was neat to hear the multiple translations it took to get to English so we could understand what was being said.

The whole experience was very surreal. We then turned around and made the trek back to the village and spent the rest of the day with the people as they shared moments of their culture with us. Because of all it takes to get to this particular village we were told to pack our bag with the intention of maybe needing to spend the night if weather didn't permit us to get back out. The weather held out, although there was a plane mix-up and we ended up taking a nap on the floor of the church building, but we made it out that day. Wow, what a day it was!

Ecuador Part 1

 Josh and I had the once-in-a-lifetime invitation to go on a trip to Ecuador on a vision trip with Compassion International. We will NEVER forget this trip. We got the see how this ministry empowers the local churches to serve their communities and how to thrive by teaching them self-sustaining occupations and skills. Their documentation and layers of accountability were amazing and refreshing. The kids we danced with, the mother's we hugged and the homes we visited have left an imprint on our lives for the better.