2016 Greetings!

The year has just begun and already things are changing around here quickly.

The above photo probably represents the biggest change going on around our home. This past week, Matt Hadden and Jeremy Mouw began digging the trench and laying the pipes that will bring clean, drinkable water to our home and the church. These two guys work quickly! They began work on Tuesday and by the weekend, much of the pipe was laid in the field and back underground. We do not have the entire cost for this project raised, so tying the pipe into our home will have to wait until we have the funds to replace the pipes inside our house along with the water heater, so as not to contaminate the clean water coming in. Progress is being made and we are grateful!

As if this news wasn’t exciting enough, an offer came in on our house in Virginia, and after a brief couple days of negotiation, I’m excited to report that it is under contract with an anticipated closing date of April 26th. God is awesome, and when He moves, He clears the path in such a way that we can only give Him credit! And His timing? Just wow! I am so thankful to our dear friends in VA who have kept an eye on the house and are now organizing an effort to clean the house one more time before the sale. Please continue to pray with us as we move toward the closing date.

All these exciting changes have come on the heels of a rough to the New Year. While we were delighted to spend the week after Christmas with Josh’s dad and his brother’s family in Utah, we came home feeling under the weather. Elizabeth developed pneumonia and I was off my feet for over a week, struggling with something similar. It took until the end of January before we all began feeling normal again.

Despite that, Josh had a good start back to school, both in teaching and in the two classes on Lakota history that he is taking, as required by SD teaching standards. He has been steadily ploughing through, and still balancing the time to work with the guys teen night and Wednesday night Bible study.

During these chilly winter months, we have been endeavoring to do more school activities with the Hadden and Mouw families. To celebrate accomplishing 100 days of school this year, we got together and had a fun craft day, thanks to Sarah Mouw and her awesome ideas for our kids. This is our little group, minus Elizabeth and the Hadden’s youngest boy, Noah. We have a nice little herd of munchkins, no?

This past week we took our little homeschool group on a field trip to the SD Game, Fish, and Parks Outdoor Center. The kids were able to study the different local animal habitats and take a nature walk on the property, and the best part for this mama is that it was free! I am so blessed that God has paved the way for us to continue on our homeschool journey while we are here. It is a joy to spend this time with my kids and not miss a thing as they grow up!

This month, please join us in prayer for the following:

Funds for water coming into the house and church
A smooth closing on our house in Virginia
Continued health for all of us
Josh’s classes

We love hearing from you all, and you have been so faithful to say hi via texts, Facebook, and snail mail. It brings so much encouragement, and I am constantly overwhelmed by the family that we have in the body of Christ. Thank you, ever so much, for remembering our family in prayer. Love you all!

Josh, Jess, Shannan, Amberlyn, and Elizabeth