Mini Ministries

It's amazing... How God can take right where you are, no matter where, when or why...  YOU can have a ministry. When we were on deputation, Phil always said we were going to take at least the first 6mo-year to just adjust. Figure out how to live in bush Alaska. It is such a different way of life here... Phil has been able to get a job at the local hospital... He was so leery about it at first... Thinking he would have more influence at the school. But we prayed hard, and God gave peace and opened all the doors for him to work at the hospital. So we were sitting at the dining room table the other day, thinking about what we could do. We want to be involved and do ministry things, but The Lord just hasn't let a lot of those things happen yet. So we determined to allow The Lord to use us in little ways. Ways that He is allowing for now... So I (Emily) was doing dishes, and I knew that Phil had gone outside with the kids... But when I looked out the window, this is what I saw... It brought tears to my eyes. This is my amazing husband... Ministering. These are the kids that ask us almost every time they see us... "Are you going to church again?!?" :) (and who says people don't notice?!) one of these days, I hope they come with us! So anyway... Phil was really wanting to be a blessing, to be ministering where God had him... That day, he had a nurse come up and ask him to pray for her. (ding! ding! Open door!!) God is giving us these little areas to serve... I get to play the piano at our little church every service and bake for people and I'm now babysitting a little boy... God is using us. It might not be in BIG ways like we want it to be. But we are doing what God has called us to do! 

Plans are already starting for the summer ahead, of village Bible clubs, and taking Bibles to villages to get them in each home... How exciting! 

Winter is coming... Very soon. It's about 25 degrees every morning now. Which we are so thankful, it brought the first frost which means all the "no seeums" are gone! PTL! They are like little gnats that bite, and swarm by the hundreds! 

Thank you for your prayers for our family. For Phil this move has been easy... For the kids and I it has been harder. We miss family... And civilization.... Lol but God is helping us (me!) to find my own place here... Serving my hubby and babies, and making our home. And... My bread baking is getting pretty awesome! :) 

We love you all. Write more soon! (Maybe I can get Phil to write a post!) 

Please comment! It let's us know that people read this :)

💙 Emily 💙

PRAY!!!

Just a quick note to share about answered prayer... We accepted an offer on our house that we have for sale in Pekin, IL!! We've been waiting and praying for Gods provision for this to happen, and we are incredibly excited! Closing is set for October 24th. Please continue to pray that the inspections and financing for everything goes through okay! 

We are praising The Lord for answered prayer!

Here are a couple pics to enjoy :)

Lunch at Community Baptist Church last Sunday. 

We hope you all have a blessed Sunday as you serve The Lord in your spot on this earth! 

Funny Faces - Part 5

So, after all the serious posts... I had to do the Funny Faces of the weekend. If you are around me for long, you know I love taking silly pictures. I love to laugh! :) here are some that hopefully put a smile on your face! I know they do me!

 

 

And that's all folks! Thanks for your patience with all the pictures... hope you enjoyed!

Saying Goodbye - Part 4

So the whole weekend it's self, was emotional. It was so many things... we went from being scared to death, to excited, to nervous, to sad, to ecstatic, to here we go! :) Monday, was by far the hardest day for me (Emily). Saying that farewell to my family... to my mama... to my sister... to my nieces and nephews. Knowing just how fast time flies, and how much people change. Especially kids... they grow so fast. So Monday was hard. Even now as I write this, I can't keep from crying. Seeing these pictures. Remembering the weekend... the hugs, the tears, the joy. The only reason this was actually happening was because we knew it was God's will. The Lord wants us here, He wants us serving Him and reaching souls in Alaska. That's why we are here. We want other people, who have never heard of Jesus to hear. We want to give them an opportunity to hear that someone died for them... that HE gave His life for them. That's what makes all this worth it. Please don't think we regret this, or we are having a pity party. It's just hard. Especially when you have a close family like mine. But God knows. I keep reminding myself ever since we've been here, that just because I'm in the middle of nowhere, in bush Alaska that God. Still. Knows. And no matter where you are, God knows. He knows our heart, He knows our thoughts. God knows that I love my family dearly and that this was a big deal. But God was with me (and us) the whole day.

Here are some pics... :)

Family Pictures

All the Grandkids... so far!

Family... it's an amazing thing that God gave us.

 

 

So we started with prayer... lots of prayer.

Then lots of hugs, and tears and goodbyes.

The last pic I took of my family! It will grow even more soon!

 

My mama is the most tenderhearted person I know. She loves her Lord, she loves her family, and she loves to love. This image will forever be in my mind.

 

I love my mama. She wouldn't want us to be anywhere else but in Gods will. But that doesn't mean she doesn't miss us... I'm so thankful for technology! We've gotten to speak, to text, to Skype... and she's already sent me boxes! She's an amazing woman!

So... off we go! This is Tuesday morning, waiting for the hotel shuttle to take us to O'Hare! This was at about 5 am :)

 Eeeeek! Getting on the plane!

 

And... we're in Anchorage! (Katie's backpack was "sooo heavy", so Super Daddy hooked it onto his)

 

And we're here! Praising the Lord for safety... and that we didn't lose a child in the 3 airports :)

 

Thank you to everyone who had such a part in us getting to Alaska. We pray God blesses you abundantly for the sacrifices you've made.

 

Now... let's serve the Lord!

Part 3 - Farewell Sunday & Commissioning Service

Sunday made for a busy day! The whole day was so special... there were lots of tears shed, tons of singing, hugs all around... God's grace and blessings were so evident the whole day. We are so blessed. Our church family, and our families made us feel so special. Thank you to everyone who had such a big part making this weekend special for us. We miss you all greatly!

 

Here are some pictures to enjoy :)

 

 

Starting with singing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The older Grandsons did offering.

 

 

Phil speaking to our home church... thanking them for their support!

 

 

Lets Sing! I LOVE my family! We've been singing together since we were kids... it's just part of who we are. It's one of the many ways we could serve the Lord as kids. Now, we have the added bonus of our families. God is so good.

 

 

Lots of tears...

 

 

 

And... FOOD! We had a fellowship after church Sunday Morning... lots of people made our favorites! Like, Cream Cheese Corn (by Deann), Cheesy Potatoes (by Kathy), Chinese Salad (by Renee), Yummy Beef (by Andy and Marleen) Chicken & Rice Casserole (by Debbie) and lots more!

 

 

 

And desserts! Life just wouldn't be the same without Granny's Banana Pudding!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Us kids... These people mean the world to me!

 

 

Praying over Phil

 

 

Praying over Emily

 

 

Brothers

 

 

The two most important men in my life.

 

 

Lets sing again!

 

You know, the whole day was amazing. It was hard. It was exhausting. It was... exceptional. But have you ever done something and thought "Its completely possible I won't do this again for a few years, or ever"? That was the hardest thing. Singing with my family... hugging everyone... hearing my daddy pray... laughing with so many people you love. It was such a precious time.

 

This has been a huge step for us. But it is so incredibly encouraging knowing that we have a church family at home that is praying for us. That loves us. That supports us in what God has called us to do!