Our Second Month

It's hard to believe that we've been serving with The Voice Of The Martyrs in Bartlesville, Oklahoma for two months.

On one hand, time has flown by. It doesn't seem like it was two months ago that we were packing up our vehicles and heading west.

On the other hand, it seems like we've been here for a long time. I feel this way for a couple different reasons. First of all, some of the friendships that we've made feel a lot stronger than just two month relationships. It has been great to meet people that we really "click" with. Also, when I compare how little Christy and I knew about this ministry two months ago to what we know now, it seems like it would be impossible to learn it all in two short months. And, obviously, there is still so much to learn!

But, I think the main reason that I feel like we've been here longer than 2 months is because it is so clear to us that this is exactly where God wants us to be right now. When that happens in your life, when you know that where you are is where God wants you, you can't help but feel a peace and assurance that is really unexplainable.

We have only committed to being here for one year. After that, we have no idea what God will lead us to do. But, for right now, we can clearly see that this step was the step that God wanted us to take! Thanks to all of you who prayed for us and supported us as we decided to go this direction.

As far as what's been going on the past month, we do have some cool news.

Christy got the job as Apartment Manager for the guest/volunteer housing here on the VOM property. We moved in to our new apartment (The Pearl), and she began her new job on May 1st. It has been very eventful so far. Along with being the apartment manager, she is also the assistant to the facilities director. Obviously, she has been learning alot over the past couple weeks!

The main thing that I want to say about this job is what a huge answer to prayer it is. As most of you know, we committed to being volunteers here for one year, which means we were not getting paid a dime. Therefore, we raised support from friends and family. Thanks to the generosity of so many people and churches, we were able to make this move! One of the key factors in making this all possible was the sale of our home in Ohio. This key factor still hasn't happened (please continue to pray!). Due to the fact that we still own our home, we still have costs associated with that. These costs were above and beyond the amount we had budgeted and raised for our year of volunteer work.

Well, God took care of it. He provided this position to open up for Christy. The salary that is provided to her is actually just over the exact amount we need to cover our home expenses in Ohio!

The position of apartment manager is Christy's for 6 months. Will God sell our home in 6 months? Will he provide another source of income to cover our home costs once these 6 months are through if our home has not yet sold? Like I said, please continue to pray for this situation. And please thank God for providing in such an awesome way!

Another cool opportunity that we've had recently is to help lead worship in the chapel service that The Voice Of The Martyrs has for their volunteers and employees every Tuesday morning. We helped to lead worship a couple of weeks ago, and we will help again next week. As most of you know, Christy and I both love being a part of leading worship. Without having a church home here in Oklahoma, we were wondering if we would have the opportunity to serve in this way. But, once again, God provide for us by opening up these opportunities at VOM.

Speaking of not having a church home, I wanted to let you all know about what we've been doing every Sunday. Christy and I have rarely had the opportunity to visit a variety of churches on Sunday mornings. So, over the past couple months, we have done just that. It has been a very cool experience for us to be a part of different worship services in churches of all different shapes and sizes.

All of this, combined with a great visit from my mom last week, has made for an exciting month. We thank all of you for your support and prayers. We would love to hear from you if you get a chance.

Above all, please continue to pray for your brothers and sisters in chains all over this world.

Hebrews 13:3