Leaving for Nicaragua Outreach!

Today we leave to drive down to LAX (thank you fellow staffer, Lauren!!!) to sleep overnight at the airport YAY!  We fly out tomorrow morning... Nicaragua here we come!

We are very excited about this 2 week outreach... our hearts miss going away for months at a time to reach the poor and needy in other nations, but with the wedding planning, 2 weeks is all that God allowed us.  The trip will serve to not only minister to the people living on the dump in La Chureca, but we will be relieving Tyler (who is leading DTS outreach currently in Nicaragua), and giving him a day or two off.  Brandon has been to Nicaragua once before, but for Kirsten, this is the first time.  And actually will be the first time ever working on top of a trash dump.  Our hearts are already breaking for the people living there, especially all the young children.  We can't wait to partner with  Rise Up International and minister to the youth there.  They run schools and feeding programs... and the people there are hungry for more than just food.  We can't wait to share God's love with Nicaragua, and share just how powerful His name is!

We look forward to posting pictures and sharing about all that God does... when we get back!

(oh, and Kirsten has a praise... our flights to Nicaragua gave us a 3 hour layover in Miami... so she'll get a chance to see some good friends in between flights :) !!! )

-Brandon & Kirsten

So is everything ready?

With the wedding approaching, Brandon & I are always being asked "So is everything ready?"

Well... Is everything ready???  AHHHH, not exactly!  But we have gotten a lot of things taken care of... Brandon has been amazing at helping me out.  But I am realizing just how difficult it is to plan a wedding by myself, without help from family (due to the fact that we live so far away from ours)... its a lot on our plates!  But God has been providing so much!

First, we have seen the Lord provide so much of our finances needed for the wedding... we are working off a very small budget, and we almost have all that we need.  So thank you to all of you who supported us!

Well, lets see, what IS ready....  we've locked in the locations for the ceremony and reception, with a backup plan or two in case of weather or other unforeseen circumstances.  I have my beautiful dress, but am still in crisis about how and where to get my alterations done without going over budget.  I found my shoes, FINALLY!  We had a stellar wine tasting party to pick our reception wines, yum!  And I am almost done making all of my jewelry, YAY!  By the way, for all you ladies... if you have the ability, d.i.y. stuff really makes the wedding preparations FUN!  I made/am making all the invites by hand, the seating cards, the programs, the center pieces, the bouquets, decorations, my jewelry, favors, and all the food too!  Well, that last part will most definitely be a combined effort of friends mostly, not myself, but you get the point.... by doing all these things by hand, I feel like we are making our wedding more personal (as it should be), and saving A LOT of money. :) 

There is still so much to be done... so after returning home from our April 28- May 12 outreach to Nicaragua... my main focus will be to complete everything!   I know that the last month will just fly by... so be praying that we can finish everything in time!  We both would like to relax as much as possible the week of our wedding...

But you can be praying for...

-I still haven't found flowers or figured out how to get them wholesale for a great deal....

-Alterations for my dress... it only needs a couple inches hemmed up, and a small tuck in the back, but I know that prices can run high for these type of things...

-Logistics of the day.... we are still trying to figure out how to get the ceremony set up, then torn down, and transport things to the reception...

-Music!!!... we are taking any suggestions... we'll be doing an ipod dj, so if you have any favorites, let us know :)

-Our ceremony location may be changing...

-Some very important people can't come (my niece and nephew, who are suppose to be IN the wedding) due to finances... so pray that God buys them tickets out here!

-We need to raise our monthly support so that we can cover the rent increase of living together...

-Lastly, but most difficult to ask for ya'll to pray for... I am at a loss of my hair, makeup, and other beauty prep... we didn't budget for these personal care things... I can do without, but there are a few things I'd like to do the week before our big day.

And lastly... I'll leave you with some pictures... ENJOY!

The ceremony and reception locations...

Making the invites...

The wine tasting party...

Groomsmen's ties...

My lovely shoes...

-Kirsten

Evangelism...

Yesterday was our weekly all base evangelism day. It was a very good time for us as I think we made a major step up in our evangelism. We met in our office at about 3 o'clock and talked a little about what we wanted to see happen over the next season of our base. It was really good as we all did heart checks and we prayed for about 30 minutes just seeking God and trying to get his heart for the lost. 

We went out very boldly! Fellow staffer Morgan and myself went out together, and we walked around asking people if we could just steal some of their time to talk to them about God. Immediately the first person told Morgan plainly "nope". Then we continued to walk, and I asked a man the same question and even before I could finish he said "I don't want to hear it" very sternly. But after that, we were finally able to get into a few good conversations with people. Morgan had a pretty good talk and was able to share his testimony with some visitors from Switzerland. It was a good day!

I think it was an especially good day because we were all very excited to go out. We all had a lot of joy in our hearts and that gave us boldness to be out there. We all came to the conclusion that we really didn't care what people thought or if they rejected us, we just wanted share the gospel with whoever we could get to listen. :)  

I have learned a lot about evangelism over the past few years. I am no master, but I have come to a few conclusions. 

1. You will always be rejected by people. It happened 2,000 years ago, and it happens today. 

2. You have to be more concerned about what God thinks, and cannot care what man thinks.

3. You can never listen to the voice that says: "maybe next time".

4. You actually have to believe that THIS IS GOOD NEWS!!!

We do evangelism every Thursday as a base. If you are in the area, please join us! We meet up in our office at 3 o'clock. 

- Brandon

Want to see what we do when we aren't working??

Because c'mon... everyone wants to know what missionaries do when they are not actually "working"....

Well, we stay busy by...

...making funny faces...

...repairing boards...

...holding bunnies...

...getting blown away at Oso Flaco...

...and playing with other people's babies.

Ahhhh, see we do have lives!

-Brandon and Kirsten

Looking Back Over the Past 3 Months...

Our DTS students and outreach leaders left this morning.... Brandon drove down the 2 teams (Nicaragua and India), while I stayed behind to finish cleaning up the house.  Its such an exciting transition as the teams leave to begin their outreach phase, and its very enlightening to look back and think about the past 3 months of their lecture phase.  We had so many good times, and it was an honor for Brandon and I to watch them grow, challenge themselves,  and learn so much about God!

Want a dose?

A dose of what our goal is?  The verse from Isaiah that has been a banner for our lives led to this video montage's creation.  Its nothing much, hardly a full representation of our ministry, but it does serve as a peek into the calling God has put on us as a couple.  If you watch it, who knows, maybe you'll catch the calling too?!!?

God bless!!!

Brandon & Kirsten