Back to Work

Both of us are now back at work.  Brian at Faith Community Church and Allison at Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice.  Nathanael went to our new friend Dawn's house this week, too!  He had a great time today!  He even came home saying Ms Dawn over and over (we were working on her last name, but it's French and Nathanael has a really hard time saying it!) His newest form of entertainment is making car shows for daddy.  He loves showing them off!  He is talking quite a bit more, too.  Yesterday, he called Grams and was able to tell her Happy Birthday, although we practiced quite a bit the day before b/c it was Daddy's birthday.  

Brian is preaching Sunday and has been busy praying and preparing for this week.  The church is going through a financial series this month.  Brian's text is 1 Timothy 6:6-11 and he will focus on contentment, as a desire for riches leads to destruction.  Tonight, he is meeting with our landlord who is also the director of Upward Basketball in the area about getting children together for that program.  Upwards has a very strong evangelistic approach and since basketball is so big in the area, this group of churches hopes to use this as a way to get the gospel out to more kids and their parents.  Pray that he will be able to get out into the community and meet more people, too.  

At work this week, I have been in orientation with another nurse who attends the Universalist Unitarian Church in Montpelier.  She has been very open to discussing what goes on there. Today we talked about what the minister uses to base her sermons.  She does use the Bible sometimes, but also uses the Koran, Buddhist teachings, Reiki, and nature to teach basic moral goodness.  I did tell her that I wondered how the minister would reconcile using the variety of teachings when they conflicted with each other.  After listening her say that man is basically good, I just explained that the Bible teaches that there is nothing good within us, that we are sinful people apart from God.  She is very open to discussing spiritual things! Please pray that I will have more opportunities to share with her and the many other people I will meet through this job.  

We did find out this week that a new person at NAMB will be handling the church planter interview and will review Brian's application to be sponsored as a NAMB church planter.  He is out of the office this week, but hopefully we will get to speak with him soon.  In the coming weeks we will also be traveling about 45 min south of Barre to talk with two people who would like to be a part of a church plant in their town.  Currently there are no SBC churches in Windsor (the town) and only one evangelical church in the area.  Thank you all for praying!

Nathanael's 'Car Show'

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Daddy got a book he has always wanted

A Theology for the Church by Dr. Akin

Nathanael trying on Daddy's shoes

Birthday wishes

Adventures

We have been here in Barre now for almost two weeks.  Our apartment is starting to look more normal... most all the boxes are unpacked and pictures are on the walls.  Brian went into the office this week and starting preparing his sermon for next Sunday, contacted some new believers for discipleship and met a group of leaders from the Baptist Convention of New England.  We are still waiting to hear from one gentleman from the BCNE about a church planter evaluation and funding from NAMB.  

In the community this week,  Allison took Nathanael to story-time at the library with another lady from the church and met a friend of hers who is now going to be Nathanael's babysitter.  We met the librarian and other families that we will hopefully see there again (or daddy will since mommy is going to work on Monday).  Dawn, our new babysitter, is a Christian who has a sister in Raleigh, another sister who just adopted two children from Ethiopia, and loves little boys!  Nathanael will stay with her three days a week.  Praise the Lord for this!!  

We also went to the high school on Wed night for a presentation on Evolution v. Creation.  The speaker is an evangelist and paleontologist (dinopastor.com) who presented an excellent scientific case that we were indeed created by God and not evolved from as he called it, "pond scum."  There was a really large turnout and he even gave away books to the high school students! We drove around the state yesterday and went into New Hampshire, too.  We went to the Quechee gorge and did a quick hike and drove through the town of Windsor, a hot spot for church planting.  Last night we attended the monthly youth rally at the church.  

Brian has talked this week to a couple of places that may potentially house some friends from OMV (Grace) this summer and is starting to develop areas in which they can minister when they are here.  He'll be organizing sites for local Backyard Bible Clubs and preparing for a mission team to help with VBS at Faith.   We checked out the Grace (OMV) website and were excited to see the big turnout for the Easter Egg Hunt!  We're continuing to pray for ya'll too!  

We're also expecting a large packet of papers this week to sign for the closing on our house.  The official date is the 28th.  Please pray that all that goes well.  We appreciate those who have helped to maintain the yard (Alex and Bobby) and fix up those things on our inspection list.  

Thank you all for your prayers!

Quechee Gorge

Nathanael riding on Thomas at a bookstore in New Hampshire

Daddy took a turn with him also!

Goodnight post

It’s now Monday night and we finally have internet access in our 750 square foot humble appearing apartment (promise I’ll take pictures later).  We had a wonderful Easter weekend here in Barre: A service Friday night at the church (we even sang hymns!) with communion; breakfast and four baptisms on Sunday morning, followed by lunch with some friends here!  I learned a bit about the boldness of “Vermonters” and am sure I will be much better at responding to them after I am around it a bit longer.  It did show us however the children’s ministry needs, and it begins with the nursery.  Brian will go to his new office tomorrow to begin work and will be preaching his first sermon here in two weeks.  We got our Vermont driver’s licenses today as well as our car plates and gave up quite a bit of money to the state government to do so!  We did notice, though, some tulips coming up at the Capitol Building in Montpelier, had our first maple creemee and bought some real Vermont maple syrup at Bragg’s Farm.  Tomorrow, I’m going to the Barre library with Nathanael and a friend from church for story-time and meeting a potential babysitter, too! 

Prayer Requests:

Making wise decisions regarding ministry

Sermon preparation for Brian

Babysitter for Nathanael

Looking into our living/kitchen/instrument/entertainment area

Nathanael with his knocked over Easter basket

Montpelier State Capitol Building

This is Nathanael's version of Jesus Loves Me.  

Mommy and Daddy singing while he fills in the blanks!

The Bible tells me so!!

We're finally in Vermont

We are finally in Vermont and hooked back up to the internet.  The last week has been full of surprises, many exciting, others stressful, but yet again, we are amazed at the faithfulness of God and those who seek to serve him. 

Our trip took two days.  The first day beginning with a wonderful time of worship and fellowship at OMV.  I had to play the piano because our music minister was out of town (stressful), but after that was all over, our family at OMV gathered around to pray for us.  It was a great time of joy and tears as prayers of protection, encouragement and promises of the gospel were lifted (exciting).  Many tears were shed as we said, “See you in Vermont” to our sweet friends at OMV.  God has really used those friends to bless our lives tremendously!  We then went to lunch with the Smith, Swain and Lewis families and then headed off (exciting). We drove through Richmond, WVa, MD and as far as Harrisburg, PA on Sunday before stopping for the night.  Nathanael loved sleeping in the bed with us so much that he kicked Daddy out before the night was over!

Monday, we started driving about 8am (3 hours after my parents had already left VA with our pick-up truck)… and it rained…and rained…and rained some more!  Thankfully we remembered the covenant reviewed on Sunday at church that God would never destroy the earth again with a flood… although it our trip was a wash out (stressful).  We made it through every town without hitting rush hour traffic.  Drove by wind turbines, many mountains, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, and passed a whole lot of 18 wheelers. Thanks to the Sheftes who made Nathanael’s trip better by lending us their DVD player.  I think I listened to Cars about 5 times in two days… but Nathanael never cried!!!   Thankfully, we made it into Barre just 30 minutes past our goal of 5pm, greeted by about ten (which eventually grew to about thirty) people from Faith Community Church to help us unload our truck (exciting) into a 750 square foot apartment (stressful).  Before it was all over, the panty and refrigerator were full of food, given by people in the church, our beds were together, the washer and dryer hooked up (thanks ladies and Dupreys) and things were looking better (thanks Sara!)… until we got a call from my mom.  Our pickup broke down in the “snow” (what Vermonters would call ‘spitting’) about six miles from our apartment (stressful). However, we were so thankful it was six miles and not six hundred (the total trip was close to 900 miles).  It was great, though, to see the church quickly at work for us!  The pastor and a deacon went to pick up my parents while Bill Duprey (a save the day kinda guy) waited with Brian while AAA came to tow the truck to a service station Bill trusted.  He even called the following morning to let the mechanic know that we were new in town (the NC plates were pretty obvious) and what had happened to the truck.  The radiator cracked just shy of Barre.  We will pick it up on Monday.  My parents were very encouraged to see that we already had folks helping us out (exciting)!  They are now back at home after helping us unpack for a few days and going through post 9-11 screening at the airport (they hadn’t flown since 1989).  Mom wanted to know why she had to take her shoes off!  Now, they’re trying to talk my grandma into flying up with them!  We really appreciated their help and all they endured to get the truck up here and help Nathanael adjust a bit better to not having familiar faces around. 

It was a bit overwhelming at first walking into an apartment we had never seen, surrounded by people we didn’t really know, but as I type this up on Saturday night, we have felt so welcome here and are getting to know those people who will become our closest friends and supporters here in Vermont.  We are looking forward to sharing the gospel here!

Great is Thy faithfulness, morning by morning, new mercies I see.  All I have needed Thy hand hath provided,  great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me (really exciting)!!!

Just before leaving our house on Palm Sunday

Pulling out of our subdivision for the last time...

Olde Mount Vernon Baptist Church

A few of the kids I taught in Sunday School

Our NC parents/grandparents Gary and Debbie

Stopping for the night... Nathanael loved the towel

Seeing Daddy in the truck!

The Pellegrini's from Faith Community Church... 

they had fun listening to Nathanael say their name!

My mom helping clean up 

Burlington, VT airport (my parent's first flight since 1989)

saying "see you soon" to Grams

Packing Days

This past week has been full of visiting friends, packing boxes and today, a large Penske truck!  We had over 40 people from Olde Mount Vernon and seminary friends at our house today and packed up in less than 2 hours!  I don't think I've ever meet such giving and loving people!  We have been so blessed by our church family and love and appreciate them so much!  Here are a few photos from this past week in NC.  Tomorrow we go to church and pull out from there to head to Barre, Vermont.  Keep praying!

My last day at Duke with Gus, the therapy dog

Brian's last night at AWANAs

My parents came to help us pack and brought Brian's grandma, too!

After dinner with the Cardon's

Nathanael loves Gary and Debbie, his third set of grandparents!

Thank you OMV and SEBTS friends!!

Oh the boxes that were packed!

The trucks in the yard, ready to go!

Brian's first seminary bud, Stephen and two of his kids

Nathanael's Castlerock Dr playmates

We have been overwhelmed this week by the generosity of our friends!  We love you all and will continue to pray that you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.