We've Been Here Two Weeks Now!

Hello everyone! Mason is doing much better. He is still struggling with a sore throat but is on his way up. Mason and Landon both started basketball this week in Ignacio. I told you earlier a little about Landon's practice but Mason's was last night. He has 9 on his team.....4 boys and 5 girls! He is not too sure about playing with girls! Landon and Haven got to swim at the indoor pool while he was practicing.....

It is really pretty here today....around 45 degrees but the sun is out which always makes a difference. All the snow is gone except on the mountain peaks (this makes me happy!). For all you that don't know, I HATE SNOW! It's cold, wet, and messy! I spent some time this morning at the church, helping some of the ladies wrap and pack boxes for Samaritan's Purse, Christmas Shoebox ministry and that was nice. Haven even got to help pack some boxes for little girls her age.

This is Alaina...she is 4 and her grandmother is Janie, our music director.....

This is Cathy and Joy, two of the sweetest people I have ever met. They really are the heart of Vallecito church.

This is Janie, the music director who came over today with huge bag of homemade hot chocolate. She said that tradition is that when they have their first snow, they share hot chocolate with everyone...Yum! (She's sweet too!)

Tonight we have an outreach committee meeting at the church complete with dinner so we are excited to share some of our ideas for reaching the younger generation with them. Tomorrow we plan to drive up Middle Mountain (across the lake from us) to check it out and then we have been invited over to Pat and Burt Armstrong's for supper. They own Bear Paw Lodge, the cutest little cabins available for rental.

I want to say a special hello to Mama Kaye, Mike's mom who is having to "borrow" internet access to keep up with the blog. Also, thank you Ms. Peggy for letting her and my mom come over to view our updates!

If you are viewing our blog, we would love to hear from you. Send us an email at the address above or leave us a comment. If you are new to the blog, please go back to the October section on the left and start at the very first entry to find out why it is called "Journey to Samaria." And by the way.....when are you coming to visit us?? We love company!!

Look to the Mountains!

Psalm 121:1-2 says "I look up to the mountains-does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth!"

The mountains are really beautiful right now after our first snow of the season. It is cold here today. 12' when we woke up this morning. We are having to learn how to bundle up and handle the cold weather. It doesn't seem to bother the kids but Lori and I are cold when we go out. Of course we haven't broken out the winter clothes yet, but will have to this week. We have been riding 4 wheelers this week and yesterday a couple brought by a couple of snow sleds for the kids to use as it snows. They also have 6 snowmobiles that they offered us this winter. We know that it is going to be really fun at times. The boys can't wait.

We are still getting adjusted to the area. I drove the kids to school yesterday in the snow. I took the jeep thinking it would be better, but I slid several times coming back home. It looks like the Jeep won't be much help this winter. I haven't been able to hunt any yet because I have to take a hunter safety course first and then live here for 6 months before I am considered a resident so it looks like it will be next season before I kill my first elk. We still haven't caught any fish up here either. We have a huge lake behind our house and we can't catch any fish. Someone here felt sorry for us and invited us to catch some trout behind their house that were trapped in a little hole of water that was drying up. It was probably no bigger than 8' in diameter. We couldn't catch a fish that was trapped in a mud puddle! I have decided I don't like fish anyway. Chinese food is easier to catch!

We had several families visiting the church Sunday to "check us out". I'm sure they decided I didn't live up to the hype, but we are excited that people are coming in. We are going to begin focusing on the children's ministry soon. We really hope to reach some of the younger families in the area by offering a good children's ministry. Thanks for checking up on us. Keep in touch with us when you can.

Love,

Mike

READY OR NOT!!

The snow is here, ready or not!! The boys woke up to a fine layer of snow on the ground and Landon was so excited. Mason missed his third day of school yesterday because he was sick and today he feels better but still not up to par (as you can tell in the picture below). Are we ready for the snow? Of course not.....we've got to buy snow tires or chains (which one is better?), hats, and boots. We do have the coats, long johns, and hot chocolate!

Landon went to his first basketball practice last night in Ignacio and yep, he was the only "pale face" on his team! He ruled the court though and did an awesome job with his shots!! Haven is not up yet and has not seen the snow. It is coming down pretty hard now. Mike said that the temperature is 26 degrees but said it doesn't feel it like it would in Alabama...?? (I'll probably NOT find out for myself!).

(OK, I added this later after Haven woke up and I did go outside with her! not for long though!) Can you see the lake and the mountains behind her? Neither can we!! Lori

Here are some new pics taken a few moments ago. It is still snowing and still about 26 degrees outside. I wish someone had told me it got cold in Colorado before we came. Mike

Our First Snow is Almost Here!

Hello everyone. As I sit and write this there are clouds everywhere. It looks like the mountains and the sky have come together outside our door.

(There are usually mountains in this picture but the clouds have hidden them)

We are expecting our first snow this week. There is already snow on the ground just a little above us. We can see it but it isn't quite here yet. The boys are really getting excited about snow coming. I hope to post some pictures soon of the Owen family in the snow. Everything is going well. I am meeting people everyday and inviting them to church and really trying to build a good foundation at the church. I believe that if we can develop a good children's program we can reach a lot of people around here. Any volunteers to come out and help us get that done? Anyway keep praying for us and keep praying that our house will sell. We miss you all and hope to see you when we come home for Christmas, whenever that is. God bless and write, email or call when you can. We love you.

Mike

HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY HAVEN!!!

Today is our little princess' 3rd Birthday!! Can you believe it!! She has brought such joy to our lives and much laughter too! On our trip here, in the hotel rooms, the curtains are very thick so in the morning, our room was still very dark. One morning, Haven went over and pulled back the curtain to see the morning sunshine and so excitedly said "Look, it's a new day!!" Everyday since then, when she gets up in the mornings, she says "Sure is a new day.....see!" Just precious!!

A lot has happened in Haven's little life this year so here is my tribute to the past year for Haven........

A trip to Gatlinburg........

Her first plane ride.........to the wonderful world of Disney.....a trip of a lifetime

........with lots of hugs from our Disney friends!

Fun at the baseball games with Allie Scott............

Camping trips at Point Mallard with the Richardsons, complete with her first time to ice skate......whoops!!!!

Fun at Alabama Adventure with Sydney, Parker, Jeff and Denise (Mike's brother's family)...........

Trip to Cuthbert, GA, to Aunt Gail's house for the Hayes Family Reunion..............(these are all Mike's cousins and brother's children)

And of course, having to leave some very special friends behind.....

We celebrated Haven's birthday before we moved in Gordo at Emmanuel Baptist Church. All of our family came to celebrate with Haven. (Hope she's not too disappointed to not have any presents to open today!) Below, she is with her cousin, Princess Chloe who is also 3 (Lori's brother Mike's daughter)

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You are growing up way too fast my daughter!! We love you bunches and hope you will always feel how special you are to all of us! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

I also want to wish a special Happy "Late" Birthday to two special people in our kids lives......Their cousin Hallie Richardson (Lori's brother Kerry's daughter)turned 9 years old on Oct 28th.......

And one of Landon's best friends, Devyn Tankersley, turned 8 on October 17th!

HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY HALLIE AND DEVYN!! WE LOVE YOU!

First Day!

Hey everyone it's Mike. I just finished my first day at church and it was good. It wasn't Grace though. How I missed our worship at Grace this morning. I preached about why I think God has brought us here and what this time is all about. I think they record the sermons and put them on the web site, vallecitochurch.org. The church really responded during the invitation and I believe God has some big things in store for us here. I still miss you all very much and wish that we could have brought all of you Grace folks with us out here. Continue to pray for us as we try to discover ways to reach out to this valley and the area around here with the gospel. The place here is physically beautiful but spiritually empty. I will write more later. I love you all.
Mike

Who do we serve?

Hey everyone thanks for checking in on our happenings here. It really helps to know that we have people back there praying for us and keeping up with us. I really need you to pray for us. I have been thinking for a while now, what am I doing here? I know that the enemy is causing me to doubt a lot lately, planting ideas in my mind like "You have no idea what you are doing" and "You aren't going to be able to make an impact here, these people aren't going to like you." I know it may sound silly but sometimes the thought of moving into a new area trying to make a difference for Jesus seems impossible.

I was reading this morning a passage from Proverbs 22:29 that says, "Do you see any truly competent workers? They will serve kings rather than working for ordinary people." God reminded me that those who really understand, those with spiritual wisdom understand that they are serving the King, not "ordinary" people. That means we need to see each task as something we do to and for God, not people. That gives us relief because when we do what we do for God and His glory, He has promised to bless our efforts with success.

"Those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles..." This really is a picture of an eagle. God has allowed us to see several of them this week, as a reminder that He is in control and will give us strength and bless our efforts with His success. I am glad we get to serve our King even if that means we have to move all the way our here to do it. I love you guys. Keep praying for us. I miss you.

Pastor Mike