Okay...we can start blogging again!

Hey everyone, sorry it has been a while since we last wrote a blog. We have been so busy getting married and honeymooning and stuff, the usual. So anyway, first things first...

We finished our Discipleship Training School in June and had 6 of our students graduate. It was a fun graduation that included presentations, speeches, and of course, the certificates. It was sad to see all of our students leave to go home. When you live in community, hang out, minister, pray, and basically just live with a handful of students for months, you end up fast becoming friends. Andrew, Philip, Lisa, Eric, Alex, Logan, Brian, and Justin - we miss you guys! We hope and pray you guys are doing well!

A week after the graduation was our wedding! That kept us so busy having so many things at once, but the wedding turned out so beautifully. Kirsten will post a blog about that with pictures later...

Our honeymoon was beautiful as well, our parents blessed us with a beautiful hotel in San Jose Del Cabo in Mexico. We were down there for ten days soaking up the dry sun...I think Kirsten will write about that later, too.

Well, now we are back home with YWAM getting started for the next season. Planning, planning, and more planning! I just recently became the assistant Base Representative, which basically means I represent the base as a whole whenever needed. At YWAM Pismo we have a flat line leadership (kinda like the knights at the round table), but when we need a leader to represent the whole group, we have two Base Representatives to fill the role of leadership.

Also, Kirsten has just become the facilitator of our Fundraising/Advertising department, as well as our Hospitality department. So she is keeping busy with those things, but she is such a natural with both so I am sure it will be a breeze with her.

Kirsten and I have both just started a new ministry for Pismo Beach. It is called Surfers For Missions International (SFMI) and I will talk about that later in another blog, since that will probably take up too much space... :) Just look for it in a few weeks, I'll write about it later.

Plus, we have our next DTS (Discipleship Training School) to think about. We have a lot of planning ahead of us for the DTS. We are so excited to be leading that side by side with each other! We are so blessed to be able to work together.

So we've got quite a bit on our plates for the next few months. We are very excited for the challenges that lie ahead, all for the glory of God! Thank you everyone for your prayers and support, we love you all! We will write more soon...

Brandon (and 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

Jehova Jirah

It means 'God the Provider'.  And now more than ever before Brandon & I are learning what it means to trust that God will provide.  We both have trips to Nicaragua, the wedding, the honeymoon, our new apartment, and a new vehicle that we are trusting God to provide the necessary money for.  In total we need $10,900 by April.  Whew!  That number alone sends me into a near fainting spell, waving goodbye to my wedding, and leaving me sucking my thumb... I am such a worry-wart!  But then Brandon reminds me that God ALWAYS provides what we need.  So, we've asked, we've prayed, we've sent out support letters, we've prayed some more, we've rebuked our doubts, and we are trusting in Jehova Jirah.  And you know what?!? Already we have been blessed with some support!  So thank you!  Praise our Lord, we are so thankful!

Living this kind of lifestyle is not so romantic as it may appear.  Trust me, its not an easy thing to live by faith, especially when it comes to finances.  But I see this as one more opportunity to see God move, to be blessed by others giving, and to testify that I have a good, loving, and providing Lord!

December Newsletter

~For those of you who didn't get my first newsletter... I typed up the main story here...

Car woes, 4 Weeks of orientation, & a new life.

5 days of driving, 1 packed car, & 2 tired people later, I arrived to my new home in California.  We had driven clear across the country, & my car felt it.  My gear shifter for my transmission had come detached under the hood, leaving me void of the ability to shift.  Popping it back into place about a dozen of times, Brandon & I finally had to take it to a mechanic.  Dave was his name, & Dave just happened to be a friend of a friend of YWAM, so he, with several pieces of scrap metal, bolts, and such, created a temporary 'band-aid' for my car, & didn't charge me a penny!  So, as I continually am learning, God does provide!  Even for my little ol' car!

YWAM life for me began with 2 weeks of staff orientation, consisting of prayer tours (4 of them), long lessons about values, guidelines, and all that sort, as well as delegations of jobs.  For our base to run effectively we have committees that take care of various jobs from accounting to special events.  I am initially a part of hospitality & applicant relations.  Should be fun!

Then after, I had 2 more weeks of DTS staff orientation, where only the new staff that are working as DTS leaders trained how to run the schools, lead students, facilitate lecture phase & outreach phase, & simply prepare for the upcoming school.  Our base will simultaneously be running 2 different schools, an arts & justice school, & a surf school.  I, along with 5 others, am staffing the surf school.  We are super excited to begin in January!  I can't wait to meet the students!

Getting into a weekly routine.

I have learned that in missions, routines rarely exist, & God loves to keep us on our toes.  Weekly office hours, worship, intercessory prayer, evangelism, in-reach dinner, & base family dinner are about the only routine activities we have here.  But even those can change in unusual ways, or bring me out of my comfort zone.  Our office alone can provide a random encounter with a visitor.  Last week we had a man come by, having met & talked to a staff months ago, he was driving by, & figured he'd stop to see what we're all about.  The little moments like that are great because we get to really show someone what YWAM Pismo is all about.

In our recent intercessory prayer times, we've prayed on the behalf of our upcoming students, persecuted Christians, complacency in the church, & our focus countries of Nicaragua, Rwanda, & China.  The recent elections caused an uproar in California over the issue of same sex marriages, & we saw many Christians being persecuted as they tried to defend the biblical view of marriage.  Many YWAMers & Christians in India are also suffering mass-persecution, & we have been focused heavily on praying for them.

Our Thursday evangelism is always filled with unique encounters with people, & when we went door to door one day, God used our hands to touch lives.  We offered to wash windows & clean yards.  This opened up 4 or 5 opportunities for us to share the gospel & pray with families.  One woman invited me into her home, & we held hands with her and her family as we prayed over them.  We were even able to give a bible to a man who was deeply grieving the loss of his mother, encouraging him to read & seek comfort in God. 

He Proposed!

Brandon flew out to Florida to help me drive out to California to move on staff with YWAM, but he had planned more for the trip... in the old fashioned way, he asked my momma's permission to marry me, without me even knowing, the two of them conspired in secret!  Sneaky!  My momma lovingly & openly approved of him, but I was unaware that they had talked about more serious matters (she even gave him her old ring from my dad!).

In following his plan, Brandon drove me up to the Grand Canyon while we stopped in Arizona for several days.  He & I walked around for a while, taking in the amazing & never-ending vistas.  Then we climbed down into the canyon & sat on a rock overlooking the ledge.  We talked, took pictures, & watched the sun set over the canyon.  When we stood up to leave, he dropped onto one knee, surprising me by pulling out a ring & asking me to marry him!  In the whirlwind of the moment, I answered with 'uh huh'!!!  It was a beautiful moment, especially when I realized what ring he was putting on my finger... yes, there were soooo many tears!

We will be getting married June 20, 2009 in California, & could not be more excited!  Brandon & I hope that the next 7 months fly by!