St. Johnsbury

During the weekends for the next few months, we are going to be traveling to different areas of the state seeking a place to begin a new church. There are so many towns in the state where there is no evangelical presence. We are continuing to pray for the Lord's guidance in where we will plant a church.

Yesterday, we travelled to St Johnsbury, a small town about 40 miles NE of Barre in the "Northeast Kingdom" of Vermont. http://www.discoverstjvt.com It's a town of about 7500 people, just off Interstate 91, close the the NH border and about an hour from the Canadian border. As we walked through the town, we noticed that most of the downtown shops are open and people are out and about in the downtown area. There is a high school academy there that has a great reputation, and even offers boarding options for out of town kids. We passed by older churches. There are a variety- Christian Science, Universalist, Catholic and two Congregational Churches. In talking with a few people downtown, the North Congregational Church is really the only church with a community presence.

Please pray that we would know without doubt the place where God would have us serve. We also have a busy week ahead as it is the first week of Backyard Bible Clubs (our babysitter is hosting the first one), we are traveling to CT for a church planting retreat, stopping in Brattleboro, VT and Putney, VT on the way back, meeting a friend from Duke who will be visiting her daughter in VT this week and hosting my sister, Holly beginning on Saturday... (we may even find time to do some packing, too)!

Here are a few pictures from our trip to St. Johnsbury and Nathanael and Daddy on Father's Day!

A park on Main Street in St. Johnsbury

Main Street

The North Congregational Church

We had to stop at the Fire Station!

Happy Father's Day!

another week

So it seems to rain here alot! Yesterday we pulled the bikes out for a ride (Mamma even felt like going) and it rained... just for a short period of time, but enough to keep us from riding. Daddy did go later, but Mommy stayed home and helped Nathanael with dinner and making a train. It rained again today, but Nathanael and Daddy went out for a ride while Mommy was at work. They have so much fun on the bikes!!

CC did not get to come this week. Unfortunately she broke out with shingles last Friday. Thankfully she did get a voucher from Delta for her ticket. Nathanael was sad, but he did get alot of surprises from CC when Daddy came home from VA. He got a new engine for his train set, Henry; a new Thomas book, and some clothes. He's talking quite a bit, even making sentences! Brian's trip was nice... he got to hang out with his friends, go out on the boat for 3 days in a row (resulting in a bit of sunburn), and set up a camera on CC's computer so that she can talk to us with video. Daddy also ate Chick-Fil-A. Mommy was really jealous until her friend Sara went to MA for a family member's graduation and picked up sandwiches and sauce for us on the way back! We heated them up in the oven the next day... YUM YUM!!

Our Fabulous Chick-Fil-A

Nathanael also went on an exciting adventure last Sunday to the police and fire stations. One of our friends from church grew up with a policeman and he took us around the station. Nathanael liked the police cars and bikes, but his most favorite was the fire truck! He got to sit in the driver's seat and turn on the lights! Needless to say, he was very sad to leave.

Little officer

He could hardly stand the excitement!

The littlest driver...

Nathanael also has news to share with those of you who don't already know. He is going to be a big brother soon! His little brother or sister is due to arrive December 29th, so we'll be spending Christmas in Vermont this year (95% guaranteed to be white!) We are hoping our families will be able to come and celebrate Christmas with us! We are excited about this new baby!! :)

Brian preached again this past Sunday. In addition to preparing for that, he's also working on Backyard Bible Clubs and getting volunteers for VBS, nursery and children's ministries. Please pray that we would be able to find volunteers to serve in these areas. We are looking forward to a church planting retreat next week in Connecticut, too! Please continue to pray for us as we seek the town in which to plant a church.

How to pronounce "Pineapple"

Praises

1.  The Green Mountain Baptist Association recently purchased a "compound" consisting of 3 buildings in Barre, 2 of which are homes ready to be occupied.  A donor gave the full amount of purchase price for the homes.  Although we do not know all the details, we have been told that we will be able to move into one in the future!!  They are also next door to a couple from the church, the Cambios, whom we have mentioned before.  They are our friends who are traveling with us to NH next month to see Thomas!  What a blessing this is to our family and all the future interns at Faith Community Church.  The church is going to start looking for a new intern, now that there is secured housing for two families.  (any of you SEBTS fellas looking to church plant!!)  Praise the Lord for this!!!  This also means that the OMVers who are coming this summer have a home to stay in while they are here, right next to us!! 

The Hoover Compound

2.  Nathanael has poopied in the potty!  We realize this is not a praise for everyone, but it is a step in the right direction for our little man!  Although he hasn't been able to tell us, daddy has noticed when he tries to poop and has gotten him to the bathroom in time.  He also peed in the potty yesterday morning when he got up.  Maybe he'll get some Thomas underwear for his second birthday!  We welcome any suggestions!!

Nathanael having fun on the hills of Hill Street

3.  We are looking forward to our friends from NC visiting us and helping us to survey area towns for church planting.  Just today an article was shared with us about a church in a town called Putney that is closing its doors and is looking to sell their property to a non-profit organization interested in serving the community.  We have added that to our list of towns to pray for.  

4.  CC is coming up next week.  Daddy is flying home for a few days and when he returns, he will bring CC (his mom) on an airplane!  Nathanael is really excited about this (and so is CC).  Mommy is excited because CC always wants to cook when she comes!! Please pray for safety in travels as Daddy flies home on Monday and back up on Wednesday.

  Nathanael and CC