We are staying busy and trying to stay cool over here in the Billings, MT area, but let me tell you - it's not easy! With temps close to (and maybe above) 100 this week, we are melting!
We had a great day of ministry yesterday, serving at two churches that we've been to in the past. It's always a blessing to reconnect with churches and see how God has been working in and through these ministries over the past year or two.
Today, thanks to a Groupon I found a couple months ago, we were able to enjoy a fun day at a local waterpark with some friends. It was wonderful to visit with these sweet friends and enjoy some water fun to help us cool off!
We have plans for family time with Josh's parents later this week and then a very full ministry weekend beginning Friday evening.
I mentioned in my last post that we are in the process of trying to buy a home in eastern Washington. We'd appreciate your continued prayers for God's direction, wisdom and provision in this area! We know He has a perfect plan for our family and we are trusting Him to accomplish His will in our lives!
The view from the church where we ministered this past Sunday morning.
Summer continues to fly by for this busy family! :) As I've mentioned before, we homeschool year round so that takes up a portion of most weekdays. I've also been working hard to prepare for "next" school year as we are making a few curriculum changes & additions. I'm super excited about those changes/additions and I'll share more about them as September approaches.
Of course, we're also enjoying the beautiful weather here in Montana. Most days are sunny and in the 80's but then occasionally we get a few days of a break (like the past two days) with rain and cooler temperatures!
Thing 1 learning how to drive the mule!
Josh and I have also spent a lot of time over the past few months in thought and prayer regarding the direction and future of our ministry. Touring for long periods at a time has become increasingly hard on our family. The first couple of years of touring were challenging, but wonderful! We knew absolutely that life on the road was what God had called us to and He blessed it immensely! We grew closer as a family and as a couple and watched our boys flourish as they grew in their faith and enjoyed the adventure.
However, as the boys get older, homeschooling requires more time, space, and focus (none of which are particularly easy in a trailer). It has also become very wearying to me as I so desire to feel settled in our own home and have a place of rest for our family. In addition, all four of us feel a growing need for community.
Josh and I always seek to be sensitive to the Spirit and follow His lead and we believe He is now leading us to seek a stationary home of our own. Although we have been so very blessed to have a “home” to stay in while we are in Montana, it has never been a long term solution and so after much prayer Josh and I feel confident that it is time to seek a home in Washington State.
As a result of these needs, we have begun pursuing a home loan in order to buy a small home outside of Spokane, WA. We are at the very beginning stages of this process and would very much appreciate your prayers. The details involved with qualifying for a home loan (considering our very low ministry income), finding the perfect home for us, and timing all of this around our very full ministry schedule present great challenges and we are expectantly praying for a miracle (or two or three)! We trust God to accomplish His perfect will in our lives!
So what does this mean for One Hope, One Truth Ministries?
Well, we feel confident God still has work for us to do in churches and other ministry venues throughout the western United States. Our schedule is nearly full through the rest of this year, including many more church services in central Montana this summer, a 6 week tour to California in the fall and Christmas services throughout Montana and Eastern Washington. We are prayerfully considering what next year’s ministry schedule will look like.
Our intention is to begin growing Josh’s solo guitar ministry, so that he might be able to alternate ministry weekends with the family (when we would travel together, usually within a weekend's driving distance, but still occasionally doing longer tours) and weekends where Josh would travel to minister in churches alone while the boys and I remained at home. We believe that this is how God is leading us to find a balance between continuing this ministry that God has called us to and providing more stability for our family.
So there you have it - the exciting changes on our horizon! Please, please keep praying for us to have wisdom, strength and unity. I'll keep you updated as things move along!