A Brand New Chapter

Have I mentioned lately how much I love my job with Parental Care Ministries? (If you don't know that I work for them, you can start by reading that post here.)


Have I also mentioned that Justin is leaving the student ministry job he's had for 10 years to come work for PCM too?!

As we come to the end of one chapter and begin the next one, we are finding that the summary of our whole experience can be found in Psalm 126:3:

The LORD has done great things for us,
       and we are filled with joy.

In the last ten years while we have been ministering to students, many things have happened:

• We got engaged and married
• A student swallowed a live goldfish at the student center (I promise this will not happen to your children if you send them there...)

• In addition to camps, retreats, and local and national mission trips, we went to Nicaragua and Guatemala together; Justin went to Thailand, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Belize; I went to Argentina and Mexico

 

 

• We bought and sold our first house and bought the one we live in now (I purchased this one while Justin was in New Orleans on a mission trip just weeks before Hurricane Katrina, faxing the 18 page contract back and forth several times!)
• Those houses have been wrapped many times
• We got our dog, Bear
• We had Carter, London, and Marley

• Justin dyed his hair pink and then quickly dyed it back in time for London's birth
• Justin gave our children "the talk" for all the students to see
  

• We made lifelong friends through the student staff and volunteers, and formed wonderful relationships with many, many students
• We have trusted God to show us when it was time to move on, and that time has come.

Several months ago, even though we were still enjoying our time at Green Acres and with the students, we started feeling God calling us away from student ministry.  It wasn't all at once, we just slowly felt our hearts changing.  We still loved students (and always will), we just felt the Spirit stirring things up.  I can't explain what an exciting time it has been for us to know He was moving and leading and guiding and that we were just along for the ride!

We continued to seek God as we were feeling this way, and we allowed Him to guide us through each step.  Since January, through none of our own strength, He has opened doors--and opened them WIDE--for us to take this step to work together for PCM.

 
He has also solidified our family's friendship with the Barret family, making this ministry partnership feel like it is exactly what He had planned all along.  Although the PCM Board of Directors just met at the beginning of this year and put a Director of Operations in their 5 year plan, since then God has made it clear to them and to us that this position was in His 3 month plan instead.  :-)  Justin will finish his student ministry job in early April and will leave for Uganda soon after that for a two week trip.  PCM is a ministry to Ugandan orphans and pastors, so Justin and I will both be traveling there as often as we can.  We can't wait to bring our family with us one day too!

Many of you know how much Justin and I both love international missions.  I asked him when we were dating how he felt about missions...because if he wasn't willing to do missions, I wasn't going to marry him.  God had made it very clear to me that this kind of ministry would be a part of my life, and I knew he wouldn't have me marry someone who didn't feel the same way!  Over the years, we have been involved in missions in different ways.  Now God is calling us to this full time missions ministry, and we are THRILLED!  It is a bittersweet time as we leave the student ministry, which feels like home, but we are so glad to be staying at Green Acres and to have their support in our new ministry as well.  (And can you believe that we are going to be "normal" members of GABC?  That after 8 years of going to Sunday School by myself, Justin is going to go with me?  I'll believe it when I see it!)  The Parental Care office will be located at the GABC Outreach Center, where Good Sam is located.  Justin will work there most of the time, and I will too when I need to get work done without three little munchkins at my heels. 

We would love for you to check out what our new ministry is all about.  The website is www.pcmonline.org.  We would also love to talk to you about it anytime!  (We're excited about it, can you tell?)

We do want to apologize for making our announcement this way...we just told the students this morning, and although we wish we could have told each of you in person, the most important thing was for the students to hear this news from Justin.  

We would love for you to join us in praising God for this amazing thing He has done in our lives!  We pray that each of you would also seek His direction in your life and allow Him to bless you in ways you couldn't even imagine, too!  Even though I've had many sleepless nights lately--some because of a precious baby girl, some from worrying a little, but mainly from pure excitement!-- I wouldn't trade a single minute of this abundant life He has given us.