We are here...now what?!?!

So let me start off by saying sorry it has taken us so long to write this post...We have been extremely busy over the last couple weeks and haven't had time really to sit down and blog. The free time that we have had has been consumed with the kids and sleep (whatever that is lol). So I'm going to just recap on everything that has happened since we left Kentucky and where we are currently.

Josh and Zach (his brother) left Kentucky early on Monday Morning June 24th. It was really weird watching them pull out of the driveway knowing that our entire house (except for a few things in the shed) was headed to Phoenix, Arizona. They had a 24 hr drive in front of them, and with 2 dogs, let me be the first to say, I was not upset that I was going to be flying instead.

They arrived to our new house around 8:00 and luckily we had already made some friends that were willing to help unload the truck.

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In a matter of 30 minutes, everything was out of the truck and into the house....too bad it took WAY longer than that to put everything up. Unfortunately we are still working on things here and there. That night I was laying at Granny's thinking about this big move, what all it entailed, what we were going to be facing and where our lives were headed. With all the emotions I've felt up to this point, I was quite surprised that all I was feeling at that moment was peace and excitement. I of course was sad to be leaving my family and friends but this opportunity is amazing and I couldn't say "no" to God anymore.  

The time had come for me and the babies to make our way to Phoenix. With a few tearful goodbyes and a drive to Nashville, we hopped on a plane for a short 3 1/2 hr flight and before we knew it, we were in the state of Arizona.

 

As soon as we landed we headed to our new home, where we had a warm welcome from everyone at First Indian Baptist Church. They had prepared a fellowship meal for us and we got to meet some of the member of the church. As soon as we got home from church (a short walk as you can see in the pics above) we headed to bed (still on KY time). Mom and Zach stayed with us until Sunday and we soaked up all the time with them we could. We were on the Rez one day and up at the Grand Canyon the next. The Sunday morning when they left, reality set in. We were here, now what?!?!

We have spent a few days with our good friends Eric & Brittany Gibbs and their kids. These have been very important to us because it furthermore shows us that we are here for a reason. That God has lead us here and that there is alot of work to be done here. We have gone down to the TO with them a couple times, one day while they had a mission team in and they were doing a VBS, another day we went for their weekly Tuesday night Church. We fell in love all over again. We will be back there in a couple weeks to help out while the Gibbs are out of town and probably when they get back, what can we say...we love it there! We are truly blessed to have this family living here.

We spent one day driving around on the Gila River Reservation (District 7-Maricopa Village) praying for guidance. This is the district with the church that we told you about from our previous trip in February, that is empty. There hasn't been church in this building in quite some time. After talking with a couple from FIBC that are doing work on District 6, this church has great potential. We think there is a great possibility to plant a church here but it will take time, prayer, the right people, and did I mention lots of prayer.

We are working on the Gila River Reservation next week at Casa Blanca Baptist Church doing a VBS. We will be handing out flyers this weekend. Please pray for a great turnout and great things to be done this week. 

Other than that, we aren't sure where we will be next. We are trying to keep our slate clean so to say so that we can be available every chance we get. We know that the Lord has called us here. Each and every day he reassures us of this and shows us another possibility of places to go and share the Good News. We haven't mentioned this before but after arriving we have found another group of people that we feel drawn to, and we are praying that God will open the right doors for us to get in and share life with them as well. We will let you know more about that when the time comes, but for now please pray for this as well.

I know this is a long post and I'm sorry, but I just get so excited talking about our journey that I can't help but ramble on and on. We want to thank everyone that has supported us along the way. Without you we would not be where we are today and we are truly appreciative of each and every one of you. If you have any questions at all please call, text, facebook, email, etc. We love getting your responses! 

The Countdown is On!

First off I want to apologize because this blog post is a little lengthy--Deidra


We can officially say we are counting down until our move!!! If all continues to go well, Josh is planning on leaving June 24 and driving out to our new home in Phoneix, Arizona. The Kids and I will fly out on the 26th. This is such an amazing opportunity and we can't wait to see what the future holds. We have had the pleasure to speak at some local churches and have had several people ask how they can partner with us. I know that we have posted a few times different ways on here, but since we have new people that are readiing this for the first time I felt the need to add it in here again. If you have already read this you can skip on down the the Next area if you wish.

If you feel that God is leading you to partner with us, there are 3 main ways to do so. First and foremost, we need Prayer Partners. We ask that you would pray for our family and for the advancement of God's Kingdom in an area with very little to no gospel presence. Second we will have opportunities for Mission Teams to come out and help us do work on the Reservations & in Phoenix. We are hoping to start a planning process shortly after arriving of things we would like to see accomplished and with your help, even for 1 short week, it will be possible! Plus the blessings you will get out of donating your time here will be more than you can imagine. Lastly if you would like to partner with us but not sure you will be able to come out on a mission trip, you can give monitary donations as a one time gift or recurring monthly. Simply go to http://msc.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=1023666&lis=1&kntae1023666=B7BA250F62EB41D5A629F365F0E91075&supId=376708634  click GIVE NOW, and follow the directions. As MSC missionaries we are 100% self funded and without the help of our partners, both individuals and local churches, we would not be able to do what we are doing. As of right now, we have committed to staying 2 years. At the end of those 2 years we will see where we are and where God wants us to be on whether or not we will remain in Phoenix or somewhere else. We are truly thankful for everything that we have received thus far. We are extremely blessed to have the friends and family that we do. We love each and every one of you and honestly, we can not thank you enough.

                 
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How are you feeling about all of this?

This is one of our top questions asked by almost every person that we encounter. I tried to answer this question in our last post, Top 10, but I don't know if I didn't fully answer it, if the people that are asking this question hasn't had the chance to read read our blog, or possibly they are just wondering if my feelings have changed. So I thought that I would answer the question again. Plus I am human and feelings change about situations different all the time :)
     EXCITED--This is an amazing opportunity and not everyone gets an opportunity like this.  We can't wait to get to Phoenix, get settled in and start working. We know that God does great things and we are excited to be the hands and feet to do his work here on earth. I like to think of verse that a dear friend shared with us on our 2nd Mission Trip to Arizona when I think about our upcoming journey, Romans 8:28 "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose"
     SAD--We are packing up everything we own and everything we know to move 1600 miles away. Honestly, we don't like the thought of leaving our family & friends behind. We love our family & friends so very much and this alone is the main reason that it has taken me so long to listen to God, to listen to Josh and to follow God's plan. Without our family & friends we would not be who we are today. They have helped us grow closer as a family and closer in our relationship with God, and we are truly appreciative for everything you have given us. Though it is very sad and I get very emotional there are many scriptures that help me through this, one of those being Matthew 19:29 "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life."
      SCARED/ANXIOUS--This is a big decision for our family. One of the biggest decisions we have made. As you know, we do have a couple that we are friends already living in Arizona and they tell us a little about what to expect, we have had Dr Cecil tell us a little about what to expect, but ultimately we do not know what to expect. Most of you know me well enough to know that I am a schedule person. Yes I do run late and I am a bit of a procrastinator, but I am a schedule person. I like to know what is going to happen, when it is going to happen, how it is going to happen and why it is going to happen. This is where I start to get anxiety, because I don't know the answers. However with lots of prayer, and knowing that God will take care of us I feel peace with the situation. Plus once again I have scripture to help me out, 2 Corinthians 5:7 "For we live by faith and not by Sight."
      BLESSED--We feel this most of all! God has called each and every one of us to be diciples. Matthew 28:19-20 "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." God has called our family to Southern Arizona to the Native Americans on the Gila River and the Tohono O'odham Reservations, and whoever else we encounter while we are living in Phoenix. How awesome is it that God has called this little family of 4 from Benton, KY to move all the way to Phoenix, AZ. To go from a town of about 5000 people to a major US City of about 1.5 million people. HUGE DIFFERENCE!!!

We ask that you please continue to keep our family in your prayers. Please also pray for the reservations, that God will prepare the hearts of the people before we arrive. Lastly, please pray for First Indian Baptist Church as they are parterning with us and already doing work on the Reservation. 

Attached is a video that a friend of ours put together for us if you are interested in seeing it :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkwYHorcGhI

Top 10

As many of you know, we are getting closer and closer to our move to Arizona. The closer that we get, the more questions are asked. So I am going to take the time to try to answer the top 10 questions that we are asked (not in any particular order).

1. What are you going to be doing when you get out there?
     *** We are going to serve and minister to the Pima, Maricopa, and Tohono O'odham tribes as well as working with First Indian Baptist Church in Phoenix to minister to urban youth. What exactly does serve and minister mean? Well our goal is to look for needs in these communities and villages and to try and meet those needs. What exactly that will look like we won't know until we get there, but we envision things such as providing clothes, food, and shelter. Spiritually what it will look like is bible study, prayer, and relationships. Our goal is simply to share life, good and bad, with the individuals in these communities to gain the opportunity to lead them to Christ. We hope as well that as pockets of believers develop that we can plant new churches in the areas that are currently unreached or in some cases unengaged.

2. Where are you going to be living?
     *** We have a house in Phoenix that we will be living in. We are SO thankful for Dr. Cecil, Shaun Whitey, and First Indian Baptist Church. Dr. Cecil has known for a few years now that we would be in Arizona...and has been building our ministry before we ourselves knew. A couple days before Dr. Cecil passed we were visiting and he made a phone call to Shaun Whitey, pastor of First Indian Baptist Church, and he and Josh spoke on the phone. A couple weeks later, they voted to be our requesting church and voted to let us live in a house that is on their property. This was before even meeting us officially. It is amazing to look back and see how God has orchastrated this with us being 1600 miles away.

3. How are you going to make money?
     *** In a general term our only job will be to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ (full time, all day everyday) All our funding will come directly from family, friends, churches, and maybe even some strangers that God has called to help support this ministry. This funding will supply the financial support we need to meet our everyday basic living needs as well as financial needs of our ministry. It is through ministry partners, possibly you, that will supply all of the financial support to make this ministry possible. We know that God didn't call us to this mission without calling others to support this mission.

4. What about your house in Benton?
*** We currently have it listed through Crystal Jeter with Remax. We would like to sell it before we move however if it comes time for us to leave and we still have our house, we will go from there with a couple other options that we have available.

5. Why are you doing this?
*** Because you don't say "No" to God's calling forever. If you have been keeping up with our blog from the beginning you know that we ran from this calling for quite some time and finally realized it was time to accept His Calling and follow Him.

6. How can we support you?
*** There are many ways that you can support us. Most importantly is through prayer. We would be lying to ourselves if we said this is going to be easy. We know that this is a difficult task that we are taking on, however we are not doing it alone. With the guidance of Christ and the support from our friends and family we know that this is possible. You can also support us financially if you feel this is something God is calling you to do. MSC Missionaries are not supported financially through NAMB as we have mentioned before, we have to raise all of our financial support ourselves.

7. Can we set up our support to come out automatically?
*** YES! This is probably the easiest way if it is something you choose to do. By clicking on this link http://msc.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=1023666&lis=1&kntae1023666=BD12AB3EF8444B08944A0980C495883A&supId=376708634 or copy and paste in the browser, it should take you directly to our Fundraising Page. There is a "Give Now" button on the top right side of the page. By clicking on this and following a few simple instructions you can have the support coming out of your account. You can choose to give a one time gift or a recurring gift. If you have any problems or have additional questions about this page, feel free to private message us.

8. Are you scared/nervous/excited/etc about moving to Arizona?
   *** YES to all of the above! I have moved 10 times and believe it or not, EVERY SINGLE TIME has been in Marshall Co. So to say I am scared/nervous is a bit of an understatement, lol. However, I know that I will be okay. Will there be culture shock? Yes! Will it be an adjustment? Yes! Can I do it? YES!!!! I am very excited to take on this task with my family and follow through with God's plans and see where they take us.

9. What about your dogs? <---this question usually makes me laugh
    *** They are both coming with us :) We have thought about leaving Brewski here with my dad but I began having emotional breakdowns every night at the thought of breaking our "family" apart. So the decision has been made to bring them both with us.

10. Can we come visit you? Will we see you again?
     *** ABSOLUTELY!!! We would love for all of our friends and family to come and visit. We know that it will be difficult to get out to Arizona though for some people but don't worry...we aren't moving away and never coming back "home" to MC. We will be back to visit throughout the year and to give our supporters updates on what they are do by helping us. Aside from just coming to visit, we will be having mission teams come in the summer to do work on the Reservations. We would LOVE for you to be a part of this. You can see why we have followed God's calling for us and feel blessed yourselves I am sure.

If you have any questions about the process feel free to contact us at any time and we will be more than happy to help. Thank you for staying connected with us through our blog and thank you ahead of time for your support, We know that God will surely bless you and your family for giving so freely.

~Deidra

WE ARE OFFICIAL!!!!!

     Since the beginning of this journey we have set certain goals for ourselves, some have not necessarily been goals but natural milestones that we must make it too before we can really get to work. Around day two of us making this decision we decided that we needed to go on ahead and get started with the application process with N.A.M.B. and that is exactly what we did. Well we are pleased to say that we are now officially Mission Service Corps Missionaries for the Southern Baptist Convention through the North American Mission Board. Yeah I know that is a mouthful, to be honest I'm not a hundred percent sure I said it right but either way you get my drift, it is official and we have been approved.

     So now we have already started a new task, and to be honest with you the one part I look forward to the least, but I understand that it is necessary to achieve the end result. It is time for raising funds and financial support. We are constantly looking for individuals and churches to partner with us on this mission. Soon we will be sending out some information in the mail, if you are interested in learning more how you can help support us then please let us know your address and we will get you the information. Also I will be speaking at some churches over the next couple of months sharing with congregations about God's calling for our family. If you would like to have us come to your church fee free to message us on here, facebook, twitter, email, call, snail mail, smoke signals, etc. Just get in touch with us, we would love to come share at your church as well.

     One way I know for sure you could help us as we raise funds is to buy a shirt. We will be taking orders until April 10 and hope to have them in by the beginning of May. We will have sizes starting at Youth Small to 3XL. Kids shirts will be $10 and Adult shirts will be $15. We must have payment up front and you can pay us either by cash, check or paypal. If we need to ship please add $2 to total order. You can message us your order or email us at love1stministries@gmail.com This is what the shirts will look like.

Next week we should have all of our information finalized. We will be letting you know other ways you can support us if you feel lead to do so, including a one time donation, monthly dontations, etc.

     We appreciate all the support thus far and thank you for your future support in advance. God has already started working through this mission in a big way and we are just barely getting started. 

Visit to Arizona

Well it's been a little while since we last gave everyone an update, and it goes without saying that a lot has gone on. All of our paperwork is now in and we should be hearing something from the board this week about our official aapoval. So hopefully the next post we can say that we are officilly MSC missionaries. Deidra and I are getting really anxious, but we are trying to be as patient as possible and neither one of us are naturally very patient, so we are learning a little here. With that being said this whole process thus far seems to be moving really fast, which honestly is what we wanted.

Just this past weekend I began figuring out how things were going to work out with my National Guard contract. Let's just say that I couldn't have planned it better than that. God has really answered a prayer with that portion of this puzzle to say the least.

The absolute coolest thing that has changed since we last got on here is, we recently visited Phoenix. The trip was kind of short notice but we felt like we needed to get out there as soon as possible and man was it an awesome trip. We have seen God orchestrate a plan through individuals in opposites sides of the country that could have never possibly come together without the hand of God placing each piece where it needed to be. Seeing God work like he has so up close and personal on something that I feel is huge, is something I have never been a part of before and it has already been an amazing experience for Deidra and I.

So we flew in on a Friday evening and our friends Eric and Brittany came to pick us up at the airport. Oh I forgot to mention that the Sunday before First Indian Baptist Church in Phoenix voted unanimously to provide our family with housing at no cost to us and even more so to partner with us in our mission and asked that we likewise partner with them. So this was huge but we wouldn't find out just how huge until Sunday. So when we got off the plane, the first thing we did was go check out our new house. Now I feel I need to say at this point I think Eric may have been seeing how serious we were about this whole thing, haha. Well a long story short, Eric showed us the wrong house initially and as excited as we were, it was a relief to see the actual house that we will be staying in. With that being said I think we would stay in anything at this point.

The next morning we woke up and drove to the middle of nowhere onto the Tohono O'odham reservation. It was very remote, gorgeous scenery, but remote, until finally we pulled up to the village of Hickiwan. There we met some other MSC missionaries and some of the men of First Indian, and we had a good lunch. Now when I say remote, it's not an exaggeration, many of homes are mud huts, with outshouses nearby, and not all of them even have electricity, that REMOTE, Third world country REMOTE. Needless to say there very little gospel presence on this reservation that encompasses 3 million square miles (that number could be wrong-sorry) but it is huge with villages scattered sporadically throughout the dessert.

We finished up the afternoon driving through different parts of the Gila River Reservation and seeing the areas that will be closest to where we will be living. Eric and Brittany and their wonderful children drove us all over on Saturday and we got to see a lot. It also gave us the opportunity to speak with them about needs and where we might begin when we get out there. Throughout the course of the weekend we really began to develop a vision and plan for we will do when we finally get boots on the ground (sorry that was too much army).

This is an abandoned church on the Gila River Reservation. We would like this to be one of our first projects. You can see to the right classrooms attached, and to the far right (not pictured) is an old gymnasium.

Sunday morning we got to speak at First Indian for a few minutes and we received a great welcome. The congregation was so nice and made us feel like we were already a part of the family. Afterwards we had lunch and toured our new home. It was crazy to think as we walked around that we would be living there pretty soon. We were so excited, we just couldn't stop smiling. Sunday afternoon was a little more relaxed, we just hang out with Eric and Brittany and took a short drive around some other districts of the Gila River.

Shawn, Josh, Deidra, Emmalynn, Brayden, Brittney, Santos, Eric, Ella

Since we have been home we have finished some work on our house, showed it a time or two, and started scheduling speaking engagements at different churches. Once we are approved we will have more information to let everyone know about so we are praying to hear something this week. If you or your church would be interested in having us come share with you what we are doing, then feel free to contact us so we can set something up.

Please continue to keep our family and this whole journey in your prayers. And thank you for the prayers already, we can definitely feel them and God's presence in all of this. Also, please pray for 1st Indian Baptist Church, they have been so generous to us already and they are ready to partner with us and work on the reservation as well. They actually went to the TO this past weekend and started building relationships. I know they would truly appreciate the prayers.

Deidra, Shawn, Josh

UPDATE!!

It has been almost 3 weeks since we made the decision to follow what we feel God is leading us to do and move our family to Arizona. So much has gone on in these past 3 weeks, good and bad.

We knew that when we decided to do this that Satan was going to attack, and boy has he so far. We know he is not done, and he will never be finished as long as we are living for Christ. Little things have happened such as, the washer going out (which is not good when you cloth diaper), the vacuum quit working, tough financial decisions, kids being sick, etc. But like I previously mentioned this is not getting us down, just another bump in the road of life and we are in for the ride.

One of the first people that we told about our decision was Dr. Cecil. If you read our first blog you know how much this man means to us. We love him like family and know that he feels the same about us. If it wasn't his love for the Lord, the Native Americans, and for every person that he has ever met and his mission to witness to every person he has ever met, we would not be taking a leap of faith and heading to AZ. From the moment that he found out, he was telling the world that he has another family moving to the reservation and doing as much as he could to get the work done. He worked up until his last days. We went to see Dr Cecil last Saturday, little did we know this would be the last time that we would see him alive here on earth. He made phone calls that day to get the ball rolling. We are so thankful for this man and for everything that he has done in our lives and our families lives. Dr. Cecil went to be with the Lord Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013. He lived a wonderful 82 years here, 56 years being in ministry. He is a true man of God and we truly admire him. If we can touch a fraction of the lives that he touched we will feel extremely blessed (not that we don't already). Please continue to pray for Dr Cecil's family, he left behind Mary (wife), children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and many friends. Though we selfishly wish he were here with us, we know that he is pain free and in a much better place. We KNOW that we will see him again one day and the reunion will be amazing!!!

On to how the process is going. We are waiting on one form to be turned in and our packet is complete. Once that form is turned in, it will be a 2-4 week process before we know if we are approved or not. Please pray that everything goes smoothe and will be approved. Once approved we can start raising financial support and working on making our way out to the desert. :) We listed our house Thursday and we have already had a showing. Now we know with todays market this can take a while, so please pray for our patience...we both struggle with this. Also we are planning on going to Arizona within the next month. We are going to meet with Eric & Brittany, some of the local churches, and see where work is needed and where they are currently working. We will try to post some pictures so that you will see how life is on the reservation.

I know this is long and you are probably bored...and if you are still reading at this point, you are thinking...I wish she would shut up already. I am almost done, PROMISE. However, I do have one more thing to add.
        Our friends Eric & Brittany and their 3 children are already in AZ, which I'm sure you have already gathered from my blog. They are starting their third year there. Currently they are reaching out to FIVE different areas on the reservation and they too are fully supported through family and friends. They are currently needing a little more help so that they can keep reaching these areas. Please read their blog
    www.liveloveaz.blogspot.com
and it will give you a little more about what they are doing and what we hope to do when we get out there. They are trying to raise an extra $1000 a month. The way they are doing this is to try to get 200 people to commit to giving $5 a month for 1 year. If you think that you could do that or even give more, I know they would greatly appreciate it. You can go to the link below and give that way. https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=1023666&supId=356649513

Thanks again for all of your support and prayers.

~Deidra

Our Journey Begins...

The term "missionary" has always been in our minds but we never knew if it would be anything more than just a one week thing. From the moment that we went on our first mission trip, both being KY Changers (at different times), we felt that the Lord was calling us to do something more than just live the "American Dream", but didn't know for sure what that was. We continued going to KY Changers for many years and enjoyed our time there, the work that we done there, and the lives that we helped changed...but still felt that there was something more, there was a void in our hearts we just could not fill.

We both signed up for classes at Mid-Continent University to get our Bachelor Degrees in Missions & Evangelism. This is where we first met one of the most influential men in our lives, Dr. Cecil. From our first experience with Dr. Cecil, we figured out that if he wanted something done and felt like the Lord wanted it done, he was going to do whatever it took to make it happen. The very first thing he said to us when we walked into his office to talk about our degrees was, "I have a group going to Arizona to do mission work and would like for you to join them." We talked to him a little about it but basically told him we did not think it would be possible, we had just bought a new house and just did not think that we would be able to afford it. Remember when I said if he wanted something to happen he would do what it took to make it happen? Well, he made a phone call while we were in his office and before we knew it we were signing up for the Mission Encounter class and our Student Loans were going to pay for the trip.

We went to Arizona and absolutely LOVED our time there. However, Deidra was not ready to move away from home so when Josh mentioned moving there, she shot that idea down QUICK. Not even sure if "quick" explains how fast she said NO! However she would be willing to continue to go back and do mission work there. At that point Josh was going to take whatever he could get because he felt that is where God was calling them to serve. So they started working with their church to plan a mission trip out there for the adults in the congregation. The next summer, we led a team out to the Gila River Reservation to do a week of Bible School for kids and Bible Studies for adults. At this time we already knew that our good friends Eric and Brittany Gibbs and their two children were in the process of becoming MSC Missionaries at First Pima Baptist Church, so the thought of being a missionary there was completely out of Deidra's head, but not Josh's. When it came time to go home, Josh again talked to Deidra about what he felt the Lord was laying on his heart and she again said NO. She was fixing to have a baby and she just did not want to take our daughter away from our family.

Fast Forward 2 years, (Having a Baby, Graduating School, Joining a New Church, Another Deployment, Having Another Baby, and helping Plant a Church), we have finally realized that God has bigger plans for us and we need to quit telling him we will do things on our time. We always knew that we would be missionaries for longer than one week but we didn't think it would be while our children were so young. We wanted to follow God and be missionaries, but when our children were grown and out of college and felt like our family did not have to miss out on anything. However, like I mentioned...God has his own timing and we are committed to following Him. Although this is exeremely scary for us, we are willing to take that GIANT leap of faith and do what we feel he has called us to do. With this being said, we feel that God has called us to be missionaries in Southern Arizona. We have applied with NAMB and are in the process of becoming Mission Service Corps. We do not know when we will be leaving but we know that one day our little family of 4 will pack up everything that we own and move out to Arizona.

Before we can do this we need a little help from our friends and family.
                **First and foremost we need prayer. This is a big step for us and it is going to be very tough to leave everything that we know. This is also extremely hard for our families. They are going to have to get used to us not being 15 minutes away and not seeing their grandchildren in person anytime they want. So please before anything else, we want prayer!
                **Second we are going to need financial support. We are available to speak in churches, men's groups, women's groups, etc. Like I mentioned above we are in the process of getting approved by NAMB and once approved we will have an easy way for you to make a tax deductible donation. You can choose to donate monthly or a one time amount. We also have a few other things in mind we are planning on doing and will let you know when we get closer to that time.

If you would like some more information on the Journey that we are headed on, if you would like us to speak at your organization or just want to contact us you can email us at love1stministries@gmail.com
Thanks for your support,
The Hodges' Family