Big news!

So, I'm sure most of you have heard (because pretty sure only my family looks at this thing) but Alex and I have accepted the call of a church up in Kingsford, MI!  The name of the church is Immanuel Baptist, and it is in the U.P., eight hours away from "home."  So, needless to say this is going to be a big adjustment for me and I am going to need all of your prayers as I acclamate myself to being so far away from family for the first time.  We are very excited, though, to see the potential of this church and it's members and how God is going to do great things through us for his glory. 

We heard about this church this past summer when Alex was preaching out at Lake Ellen Bible camp in Crystal Falls, MI.  Someone mentioned that this church was looking to replace a retiring senior pastor and so Alex casually looked into it, not really expecting much of anything to happen.  But, lo and behold, he put in his resume, and talked a little bit with the current senior pastor and after answering the questions of the search committee we were asked to come up and candidate!  A few weeks before all this, though, we were up there hunting at a friend's property and met for a casual dinner with Pastor Ron and his wife, Joan (the current senior pastor).  It was an incredibly encouraging evening, spent just getting to know them, the church history a little, and where they stand on things.  Then, a few weeks later we went up to meet the church and also meet with the elder board and of course Alex preached that Sunday.  We felt pretty good after leaving that weekend, and kept praying for the Lord to give us clarity and discernment for this big decision.  Then, we got the call this past Sunday from Pastor Ron that it was a unanimous decision to have us come up and be a part of their church, if we so felt led.  And we said we'd love to! 

So, now, the craziness starts of trying to tie up ends here, as we will be moving some of our stuff up as early as the weekend of Dec. 17th, and the rest of it sometime between then and Jan. 1st!  It's all very exciting and a little sad at the same time, so please pray for us as we start in a new place, and that we would find a house to rent quickly!

In case you're curious, here is the church's website:  http://www.immanuelbc.org

WAR Jewelry Party

Recently I finally was able to throw a jewelry party for the Women at Risk organization that is based out of Grand Rapids.  I've been wanting to have one since last November, but little things kept getting in the way.  WAR International is a Christian based organization that helps women get out of at-risk situations such as forced prostitution, exploitation, marriage issues, domestic violence and much more.  They do this by teaching them a trade (such as jewelry making) and then helping them sell their product to support them and their families.  Ninety percent of the proceeds go right back to the ladies, and WAR uses the ten percent for business expenses, such as shipping the jewelry to whoever wants to throw the party, and the cost of shipment back.  Anyways, we had a ton of fun, they sent us soooo much beautiful high quality jewelry and I'm happy to say that we sold just under $2,000!  I wish I had taken pictures but I didn't....I encourage you to take a look at their website, though, and see what they're all about!  You can also shop the WAR Chest online, which has much more than just jewelry:  http://www.warinternational.org/