Hey guys! How are you? Life has been very here...for both of us now! This is a long blog. So, get ready! As I said, there's lots going on!
As of July 28th, I officially began my job as a Presbyterian Hospital nurse. I had to take classes for about a week and a half before I was actually able to take care of patients on the floor. Since the second week of August, I've begun my 3 day work week on the unit and have really enjoyed it. Remember us mentioning the fact that I was going a tad bit crazy not working??? Well, I now realize that the longer I was away from patient care, the more I developed that passion to give patient care again! In Kentucky, I was beginning to notice myself having a lack of compassion with my patients, and experiencing a feeling of drudgery in going to work week after week. Now, thankfully, that feeling is gone! I'm so thankful for the Lord's goodness in bringing that desire back! Now, I can again do what I was created to do!
Matt has continued to keep his calendar full in planning and participating in mission trips week to week and month to month. He's doing such a great job! On August 9th, 250 church members went out and served the community via a couple different avenues. And yes, I did say 250! What a turnout! Thank you, Sagebrushers!
One outreach event was directed toward the homeless population in downtown Albuquerque at Coronado Park. So many church members came prepared with enchiladas, beans, and drinks ready to serve to the people. From what we hear, good conversations were had and good entertainment occurred while a talented band of church members played in the background. We finished the day off by preparing sack lunches for the people to take with them!
The second outreach project was with Gerald Martinez, a New Mexico pastor who sees his mission as one of hope to a troubled community as he has attempted to clean the crime-ridden area that housed the church he served in Albuquerque, NM. You may recognize his name when I tell you that his family was blessed by Extreme Makeover: Home Edition in April of this year. Although Extreme Makeover helped the family do so much more than they could, they still desire to do more for the community. So, our projects were to 1)prepare his backyard for a place where he can marry the couples he serves and also to 2)clean out another house just a block away, with the goal of creating a medical clinic there. There was a lot of hard work to be done, but with all the generous volunteers, we got a lot accomplished! All for God's glory!
This last weekend, a group of 20 people from the church went to Juarez, Mexico. We are working with missionaries there, who are training pastors and preparing facilities for church services to take place. Although we did get so spend some quality time with the pastors and their families, most of our time was spent getting the building in shape by tearing down walls, removing some damaged sheet rock, replacing a roof, and cleaning up the property . You should see the joy and excitement in the eyes of the pastors and their families. They're thrilled! We would find them singing worship songs aloud on the property, smiling from cheek to cheek, and just expressing their appreciation to us because our coming to Juarez encouraged them to keep going! They shared what the Lord had done in their lives, and blew us away. We have so much and they have so little. Yet, they are the joyful ones! It's so interesting when you think you're going to bless someone else by doing something for them, and you realize afterwards that you are the one being blessed by the people you serve. We had a good time and are looking forward to our next opportunity to serve them!
One last praise!!! We recently had our 5 year anniversary! From never planning on getting married to thoroughly enjoying the journey of marriage, we are so thankful for the Lord's protection of and blessings on our marriage!
So sorry for the length of this post! Hope all is well in your world!
Love you,
Char
P.S. Pictures will be up soon. Haven't had a chance to download them yet!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Our Soon-To-Be Home!
Hey everyone! Just wanted to involve you all in the excitement happening here, specifically in the housing arena of life! Basically, as I've told you before, we are living in an apartment right now. Although we're not exactly sure when, sometime in September, our house will be ready to be moved into! We've been visiting the lot every week or two and each time we go, so much progress has been made! It's really exciting! I'm already looking forward to the good times we'll have there with you fine folks. Enjoy the pics!
Char
Sunday, July 20, 2008
How are you gonna spend your new life?
After countless pleadings, and begging me repeatedly, I have decided to please my wife by giving everyone an update from my perspective. SO, here you go...
Life for me has been VERY hectic lately. I usually work Monday through Thursday and take Thursday afternoons, all of Friday and Saturday mornings off. We have 5 weekend service at Sagebrush; so, from Saturday around 3 until Sunday at 1, I am swamped. It is so exciting to see the Lord moving among the people in the church but the sheer number of people is a bit overwhelming. I work on a great team who is supportive, active, decisive, and truly love what they do. As a result we ALL tend to be work-a-holics. There are even rumors in my office of beginning an accountability group, so that we can tell each other when to go home and be with our wives. The flip side is that there are some really amazing things happening because of hard-work and God's blessing.
One of the things I have been working on lately is developing a second international site where our church can reach Muslim-Arabs. Right now, I am focused on France and have been working on building a relationship with a missionary in Marseilles. I have spent a lot of time calling, e-mailing, and skype-ing this worker and he has been very generous with his time. Last week was our first 2nd Saturday even
t, in which we took about 80 people downtown and did some community service, a.k.a. mercy ministry. It turned out very well and was the culmination of many hours of hard work. Here is a picture...
My home life has been a bit crazy as well. Friday. I finally completed all my school work for my summer classes. My wife has been a saint as she has put up with me reading and doing reports every evening for the past two weeks. It has been quite funny to see her change since we have been here. She has never been inclined toward domestic duties but has found herself at home for countless hours over the past couple of weeks. She NEEDS to be working is what she tells me but I kinda like having her at home every night. I do not miss the days or nights of her coming home at 9:00 from the hospital. However, she is going a little bit batty. SO, if you ever think about it, give her a call and relieve her from her apartment-like prison cell.
All in all, we are doing well. I recently told a co-worker that I was just trying to keep my head above water, and she suggested scuba gear as a solution. I just might take her advice. Anyways, that's how we are doing, how about you?
Life for me has been VERY hectic lately. I usually work Monday through Thursday and take Thursday afternoons, all of Friday and Saturday mornings off. We have 5 weekend service at Sagebrush; so, from Saturday around 3 until Sunday at 1, I am swamped. It is so exciting to see the Lord moving among the people in the church but the sheer number of people is a bit overwhelming. I work on a great team who is supportive, active, decisive, and truly love what they do. As a result we ALL tend to be work-a-holics. There are even rumors in my office of beginning an accountability group, so that we can tell each other when to go home and be with our wives. The flip side is that there are some really amazing things happening because of hard-work and God's blessing.
One of the things I have been working on lately is developing a second international site where our church can reach Muslim-Arabs. Right now, I am focused on France and have been working on building a relationship with a missionary in Marseilles. I have spent a lot of time calling, e-mailing, and skype-ing this worker and he has been very generous with his time. Last week was our first 2nd Saturday even
t, in which we took about 80 people downtown and did some community service, a.k.a. mercy ministry. It turned out very well and was the culmination of many hours of hard work. Here is a picture...My home life has been a bit crazy as well. Friday. I finally completed all my school work for my summer classes. My wife has been a saint as she has put up with me reading and doing reports every evening for the past two weeks. It has been quite funny to see her change since we have been here. She has never been inclined toward domestic duties but has found herself at home for countless hours over the past couple of weeks. She NEEDS to be working is what she tells me but I kinda like having her at home every night. I do not miss the days or nights of her coming home at 9:00 from the hospital. However, she is going a little bit batty. SO, if you ever think about it, give her a call and relieve her from her apartment-like prison cell.
All in all, we are doing well. I recently told a co-worker that I was just trying to keep my head above water, and she suggested scuba gear as a solution. I just might take her advice. Anyways, that's how we are doing, how about you?
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Our New Life in New Mexico
Well, thankfully, we're starting to get into somewhat of a groove here. With the help of our good friends, Moses and Debra, we moved into our apartment on the morning of July 4th. We didn't realize it when we got the apartment, but on the night of the 4th, we found that our apartment was a prime location to see the Rio Rancho firework display. We just sat on our patio, sipped on some sodas, and enjoyed the beauty of the night! It was wonderful...a very nice ending to a hard day of moving.
The day after we moved in, Matt's mom, Charlotte, came to visit. Her primary focus was to do an Extreme Makeover: Refrigerator Edition. So, that's exactly what we did. The three of us jumped into the car and headed to Wal-Mart and wow, did we shop!? We got some real goodies. What a treat that was! Thank you, Charlotte!
Our first house guests, my parents, came the next day! We were so excited to have them visit and stay with us! It's good to be close enough to family to be able to do that! To those of you reading this, know that visitors are always welcome! So, if any of you need a place to hang out or crash for the evening, please come over! We'd love to have you! We thrive on that kind of thing!
So, Matt has really been enjoying his new job at Sagebrush. In the short time he's been there, he's developed some great relationships and has learned so much from the people around him. Each day, he comes home with something new and exciting to tell me about. We're so thankful to be a part of this church again!
As for me, I've still been job hunting. The most action has come this week! I will have a total of 3 interviews this week. The different areas include Labor and Delivery, Post-Operative (after surgery) Care, and an Access Unit (basically obtaining information from patients prior to their admission into the hospital). We'll see what happens! Although I have been enjoying my time off visiting friends and family, I am eager to get started!
Well, I guess that's all for now. Please write or call when you get some free time. It's always good to hear from you.
Love ya,
Char
P.S. Just to let you know, I inserted some pictures onto the last 2 blog posts (June 16th and June 25th). So, have a look if you'd like!
The day after we moved in, Matt's mom, Charlotte, came to visit. Her primary focus was to do an Extreme Makeover: Refrigerator Edition. So, that's exactly what we did. The three of us jumped into the car and headed to Wal-Mart and wow, did we shop!? We got some real goodies. What a treat that was! Thank you, Charlotte!
Our first house guests, my parents, came the next day! We were so excited to have them visit and stay with us! It's good to be close enough to family to be able to do that! To those of you reading this, know that visitors are always welcome! So, if any of you need a place to hang out or crash for the evening, please come over! We'd love to have you! We thrive on that kind of thing!
So, Matt has really been enjoying his new job at Sagebrush. In the short time he's been there, he's developed some great relationships and has learned so much from the people around him. Each day, he comes home with something new and exciting to tell me about. We're so thankful to be a part of this church again!
As for me, I've still been job hunting. The most action has come this week! I will have a total of 3 interviews this week. The different areas include Labor and Delivery, Post-Operative (after surgery) Care, and an Access Unit (basically obtaining information from patients prior to their admission into the hospital). We'll see what happens! Although I have been enjoying my time off visiting friends and family, I am eager to get started!
Well, I guess that's all for now. Please write or call when you get some free time. It's always good to hear from you.
Love ya,
Char
P.S. Just to let you know, I inserted some pictures onto the last 2 blog posts (June 16th and June 25th). So, have a look if you'd like!
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