Changes, Adjustments, and Update...

There really SO much whirling around in my mind right now, it's kind of hard to know where to start or which direction to take...thus the name of this post.

On the home front - Hannah and Malachi had a GREAT mission trip. They did wonderful the whole time and yes Mom made it too! Ha ha! Here are a few highlights - as is usually the case with teens, we have gotten bits and pieces as they are just randomly talking, so I am sure we will have more later. However as a team, they knocked on over 2,000 doors sharing the Gospel multiple times with over 40 coming to know Christ throughout the week. Hannah was able to lead 2 to the Lord - her first time to do this! Malachi says that his favorite part was just getting to know the people there, those from other churches and even those from our church better...he's Mr Talkative so I am sure it wasn't a problem! Ha ha.

School - Hannah is still homeschooling although we are looking at options for the Fall with either an official "on-line" school or a neighboring school district. Tyler is also struggling in some areas at school and we are very concerned about what direction to take for him this next year. Right now, the most probable choice will be to transfer him to Stinett which is about 10 miles away. I will be honest and say that as a Mom - this has been the biggest and hardest challenge of our move to Borger - the school system. Thankfully Kestra and Malachi are doing very well and so we don't have to worry too much about them - leaving just Hannah and Tyler to decide which direction to take. However, we know that God called us here, He knew the school was the way it is and He has a plan - we are trusting God to lead us in the right path!

Joel - has transferred from Liberty University to Wayland Baptist University and continues to take classes on-line. He is very excited about the thought of graduating from the school where he started. At this point, we are looking at a May 2013 graduation but aren't positive about that yet.
Another big change for Joel has been the resignation of his "boss" here at First Borger. Dennis and Toni Garcia left today to move to Moriarty NM and take a position as Pastor there. This is a good thing for their family and really for our church here as well - however, it is hard for us as Dennis was primarily responsible for getting Joel on staff here. With Dennis gone, Joel will now assume the education, small group duties on an interim basis. Although not a significant increase in duties, it is more on an already full plate. Please be in prayer for Joel as he tries to manage time between ministries, school, and home.

Ronnie - As has been the case for me since moving to Borger, I am having to continue to be flexible as to where God would have me. At the end of December, our youth pastor's wife who is a pre-K teacher talked to me about the possibility of subbing for her aide who would be out on maternity leave. The original time frame was to be 6to 8 weeks - then due to pregnancy complications it was going to be 10 weeks. However, now she has had further health complications and will most likely not be back for the rest of the school year. I am not 100% sure but it is looking like I will be subbing for the remainder of the year - another 10 weeks. Although I am thankful for the income, at this point I feel that I need to stay for consistency for the kids and as a support for the teacher - it is also a stretch for me. When I chose to sub and not take a full time position as an aide at the beginning of school it was because I wanted to only work 3 or 4 days a week and to be open to help Joel with ministry as well as pursue the possibility of a job within the realm of my degree. Subbing full time has limited time with ministry, left a lot of Hannah's homeschooling up to Joel and has stretched me in many ways. My choice would be that if I am working 40 hours a week it would be something in the business field and would be helping contribute significantly to our finances - however, this is not the direction God has led me...so I am learning to be flexible! On a positive note - I do love the kids and have really gotten to know all 44 of them! YES - 22 in the morning and 22 in the afternoon.

As overwhelming as all this is, God is constant. He is faithful. He is true. He is God. I am currently doing a study on the names of God and although I just started - Yaweh has stuck out to me - I AM - In the midst of my chaos He says, "I AM". In the midst of my frustration He says "I AM". In the middle of my confusion He whispers, "I AM".

I am not sure what lies ahead - lately things have literally been changing day by day but I know THE ONE who holds my hand and I can trust Him!