Some Videos of Isaiah

Being a Relief

So I am at the office today. The boys are in school and Isaiah is at a friend's house for the day. I'm so excited to have some time to work on the newsletters which I have been stressing about. But I'm going to procrastinate a little longer and write about today's happenings instead.

The Metro Relief team just left in our newly painted bus to head to Dallas to do some Relief work. They are going to serve lunch today to those working on clean-up after the tornadoes on Tuesday. What are they serving you may ask since we don't have a kitchen yet? Spaghetti and sides from Army portions that were donated months ago. We've been waiting, knowing God had a purpose for them. And the best part is we are preparing them at a bar in Dallas that has donated the use of their facilities.

Before I begin writing the phone rings....do I answer it? or continue in getting my work done? I better answer it- it will save Austin from having to answer to a voice mail later. It turns out to be someone Austin has been working with that is about to lose their room at a local motel. Robert and Amanda need a ride to a shelter in Dallas and they need somewhere to store their clothing until they get full time jobs and a place of their own. So now I am waiting to hear back from them to know when and where to pick them up. The newsletters will have to be finished another day. And God reminds me this is why we are here. To provide relief to the hurting and needy. These things will all happen in his timing. Our ways are not His ways. --Darcy

Settling In

We are settling into our new house, even though I think the boxes will never disappear. (We are in Little Elm, TX in case you are wanting to mentally place us.) The boys are having a blast with all the space and their new rooms. They've made fast friends with the boys next door (ages 4 and 9- how convenient!) They also have a new friend named Rocky who we picked out at the animal shelter. He is a lab/terrier mix, very playful and great with the kids. School starts Monday the 22nd and we think they'll both be very happy. Eli will be in 3rd grade and Quintin (or dirty-rotten-scoundrel as he likes to be called) will be in Kindergarten. We met their teachers tonight and both were very nice.

As for the ministry, Austin has been working very hard learning all about the food pantry and starting up Metro Relief. He submitted his first grant (please pray), took the bus on its first outreach to Fort Worth, and is meeting lots of people to help with this process. It has been amazing to see how God provides just the right people to do things that we so need help with, such as web page design, book keeping, data entry, logo design, marketing, prayer and financial partners, lots of wonderful volunteers, encouragement, and the list goes on. Thank you all for you prayers! I'll try to post more pics soon!

7 Parties in Heaven!

In case you follow the kids ministry on the Relief Bus, here is a quick update:

After a successful Christmas outreach to the Seth Boyden projects in Newark and a couple weeks break, we are back in full swing. Our usual kids come every week (about 8) and some new kids join us each week (about 5-10). Last week and this week we had 7 kids ask Jesus into their hearts! Whenever a child accepts Christ as their Savior, we tell them that the bible says the angels are praising God and having a party in heaven. We are teaching the kids about becoming a new creation in Jesus and being washed clean. Some of the kids have shown an interest in growing closer in their walk with Jesus. And we gave away 6 bibles to kids who didn't have one. What a blessing to be a part of these young children's journeys of faith. Please pray they grow roots deep in Him and that God would continue to provide bibles.

Fall photos

Eli playing goalie.

a walk on the beach- Montauk, Long Island

Halloween

Isaiah trying on some grapes.

Quintin blowing out candles on Daddy's cake.

Quintin playing soccer this fall.

A First Step

Tonight at the bus in Newark, I was able to visit with kids and adults. This is actually a rare case lately as we've had so many kids that we are doing bible studies with one group after another. Don't get me wrong- this is a good problem to have- but it just makes for a busy night! Well, tonight after I taught the kids about our forgiving Father in heaven with the prodigal son story, I was chatting with the volunteers on the street. A man on his bike approached and wondered if we had bread and I got him some. I could immediately feel the heaviness on his heart and knew that I had to pray with him. He was somewhat timid but he was able to open up a little to another volunteer and I. He told us he needed a job, and then life was really hard and he was always stressed out, and then he finally was able to share that he needed help with his alcohol problem. We were able to give him some information of places to go that could help him with all of these things. I'm not real confident that he'll do anything on his own this week, but that's o.k. I really feel that this was a first step for him and that he needed to connect with some people that would encourage him and give him some hope. Please pray for our new friend Jose as he desires a change for the better in his life.

Good Friday was Good!

On Good Friday evening I went to the bus as usual to do bible study with the kids. This week we colored eggs and told the Easter story. It was a blessing to spend time with the kids telling them about Jesus who loved them so much.

But the story I want to tell is about a friend of mine named Cece (pictured above). I met her about a year and a half ago when she had just gotten out of the nursing home after recovering from getting run over by a semi-truck. Her leg was pretty messed up. When she found out that I had treats for the kids each week she would yell in a groggily (if that's a word) voice, "Hey, honey, you got any chocolate?" And since I couldn't lie or tell her no I would bring her some reluctantly. Didn't she realize this candy was for the kids? What nerve! But week after week of hearing that "hey honey" I began to expect it and was ready to give her some chocolate. At some point God began to show me an alcoholic woman whom he loved and who was very lonely. She comes each week to the bus and sits on one of the chairs, next to her man- Marvin (that's another post another time). They stay the whole evening and all the volunteers know them and look forward to them each week. On good Friday evening for the first time that I know of, she expressed a desire to get clean from drugs and went to a rehab. She didn't stay long and she is still drinking (not sure if she really does use drugs) but it is exciting to see in her a desire to change. She continues to talk about doing something and she welcomes our prayers each week. I can see God loving her and beginning a good work in her. Pray that she continues to seek Him and begins to understand what He has done for her on the cross. Also, pray that we can find the right connection (more than just Friday night) for her to develop a new relationship with Christ.