Newsletter

We have had some issues with our printer and haven't been able to get a copy of the newsletter out to everyone on our list. So temporarily I am posting it here - sans pictures however as I can't figure out how to post it "proper like" the way we designed it! :)

2 Corinthians 12:9

“But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

This verse was recently highlighted in a sermon at our church and in sharing our life with you it is fitting that I pass it on. Being self-sufficient is something that comes quite natural. Hold on, let me put that another way – the personal expectation that I am to be self-sufficient comes quite natural! What an amazing and encouraging aspect of our gospel that Christ does not ‘save us’ and point us in the right direction with some helpful instruction. But that He is continually saving us – indeed completing us! Are we aware that we are made to live with nothing less than the power of Christ resting on us? Am I aware that I am made to live with nothing less than the power of Christ resting on me? How often does the power of Christ live through me? Is He the one who is my strength – or am I ‘doing the best I can?’ As Jen and I share our life with you, our hope is that you see more than us; hopefully you will see Christ at work and be drawn to worship Him. What these letters often do not contain is daily blunders! We can assure you, if good comes from our lives – it comes from Christ and Christ alone. Please join us in giving Him praise!

Ministry Update – From Reid

Hello from Snowy Colorado!! We saw something recently we’ve never seen before: snow on trees that still had their leaves! 108 days after our last snow fall, large flakes descended and coated the ground on October 6^th!

But snow is not all that has descended on our campus! During these 108 days, God richly blessed our Summer Guest Ministry as several youth groups, some as far away as Minnesota and Illinois, joined us for weeks of Bible Study, personal devotional times, on campus games (including basketball, volleyball, disc golf, climbing wall), off campus camping, hiking, and mountain biking, and area ministry projects!

Also descending upon our campus – this year’s Bible School students! September 7^th, 34 students joined our community.

This fall, after having the spring to adjust to new surroundings, relationships, and responsibilities, Jen and I are blessed to have more active roles in the Bible School! We both lead covenant groups – small discipleship groups that meet once a week; we also host a ‘family group’ consisting of our two covenant groups that meets for breakfast a couple of times each month; and I teach a class series entitled “Preparing your Heart for God” - which focuses on our relationship with God and keeping the channels of communication with Him strong and clear. In addition, I lead a group of students to Denver a couple of times each month to volunteer in the ministries of the Denver Rescue Mission.

What an incredible blessing it has been to be involved with the students in these ways! Our Lord has sent an incredible bunch of young people our way who have strong hearts to know, love, and follow Him. We could not be more thankful over the opportunity to join them in their journeys!

We are also excited to update you on some of the business developments. My predecessor, Christine Miller had done a fantastic job of setting up a strong accounting system that I continued to follow and for the first time in the ministry’s history we finished our fiscal year without relying on outside financing! We also have been addressing some long standing building needs and it has been awesome to watch our Lord faithfully meet the needs for these projects!

Home Life – From Jen

One of our favorite discoveries has been all the wildflowers that pop up everywhere in the summer time! From the columbines (the state flower) to daisies, wild roses, lupines, paint brushes, etc. - I think God makes up for the harsh winters here by surrounding us with His glory and creativity! Fall also has been incredible with aspen trees ablaze in bright yellows and oranges! It seems the scenery here changes with every week.

We want to extend a huge Thank You! to several loved ones who are helping us with Ian’s education!! Ian started his 6^th grade year at Winter Park Christian School which is a classical K-12 school located in our church. He is enjoying it tremendously! So much so, that he was disappointed when school was cancelled because of a holiday!

Julie-Joy and Jenna are attending Classical Conversations again. Working with several ladies in the county, we were able to start up a new chapter this semester! This consists of leading morning and afternoon tutoring sessions once a week.

One of the joys this summer was the many friends and family members who came to visit!

It was awesome having Reid’s grandmother, the Brunck Family from Rehoboth Baptist Church, our home church in NC, Reid’s sister and family, Reid’s Mom, Reid’s Dad and step Mom, as well as my sister Julie (recently returned from Africa) and my parents! While we had a lot of activity in our home, we enjoyed every minute of it and were reminded again of how blessed we are by our loved ones and their constant prayers and support for the things God has called us to do.

Prayer Requests

We cannot tell you what your prayers mean to us! The other day, I received an email from a precious friend who said that the Lord had been laying our family on her heart all weekend and she had been regularly lifting us up in prayer. I had been particularly discouraged and yet really sensed the Lord’s presence and comfort. Thank you so very much for your prayers as God lays us on your hearts. Here are some specific requests:

- Christ empowered creativity and energy for Reid and Jen’s ministry opportunities.

- Wisdom in raising our children to be all Christ desires for them to be.

- The sale of our home in South Carolina and continued housing provisions here.

- Our need for monthly financial support will increase this January. Last January, we were blessed by families who gave to help us get started. Many of those gifts we spread out over this year to supplement monthly support.

Please let us hear from you. We are in a stage where we are missing our family and friends from home and enjoy hearing from you all as it helps us to feel connected.

With Love,

I am not a photographer....I wish I were! :) But I shall have to leave that to people more creative than myself...and with better equipment...in the mean time, here are a few snapshots of our life recently. Our Charlie Brown Christmas Tree! :) More about that later... The girls have been learning about the human body at Classical Conversations and as a part of our morning program we made these replicas of where the different organs go and what they look like! :) It really was a lot of fun! :)

Some pictures from the amazing sunrise we saw the other morning - and yes, that bird feeder is frozen! :) Should have taken it down! :)

And last but not least, here are some pictures (in backwards order) of our Thanksgiving Day afternoon outing up the road to get a Christmas Tree in the woods. If you get one that way, you should be aware that you won't find a perfect tree! :) Those only grow on Christmas tree farms. But ours ended up looking half way cute once decorated....

The quote here should be "we were restless so Mom sent us outside to play" :) Leaving you with these and our "snowman" - Bob..... ;)