The Adventure is Moving South

We are moving!!!!  It's official.  In March we will be moving out little family across the country to Mount Pleasant, SC.  Some very good friends of ours came to us a few months ago and asked if we would pray about moving with them to start a church.  I admit that at first I just said no thank you and didn't even give it much thought but after a long month of prayer I knew God was calling our family to move.  It's always amazing to me how God moves.  Once I finally told God I was willing to go he really began to make things happen.  Our lease on our town home wasn't up until February but literally 3 days after telling God I would go, an old family friend said he was interested in it.  They are now moving into our town home today allowing Brandon, Jude and me to move in with his family for a few months to save money and pay off some debt before we move.  Along with all the moving we have been doing over the past month, Brandon resigned from his position at the High School Youth Pastor at  The Rock.  He preached his last message on Wednesday and then next week will be our very last Wednesday.  It's hard to say goodbye to the students that we love so very much.  They mean so much to us.  We have been apart of this youth ministry since we were students ourselves.  It's a bittersweet feeling.  I am sad to go and leave everything behind but I am also very excited for all that God is going to do in our family and in the people of Mount Pleasant.  In Isaiah 43:18 & 19 it says, "But forget all that - it is nothing compared to what I am going do.  For I am about to do something new.  See, I have already begun!  Do you not see it?  I will make a pathway through the wilderness.  I will create rivers in the dry wasteland."  I know that God is starting to do something amazing.  I have already seen God move in our lives in so many ways.  The hard part is learning to trust him when it starts to get hard.  To continue to pursue Him and His plan for us when all I can see is what we are leaving behind.  I know he has great plans for our family.  This transition has really challenged me to spend more time with God and to really seek His face.  I am so excited to see God move and to see his plan unfold as we take each step.

Our little guy is already 2 months old and is getting bigger everyday!  In the last month he has had a lot of first time adventures.  He went to Estes Park with us for youth camp, has been to the Melting Pot and has been to his first Rockies game with his friend Madison.  There have been some not so fun firsts too like getting pink eye for the first time.  He is starting to talk a lot more and for being a little guy he sure does have a lot to say.  He definitely keeps me busy throughout the day.  At his 2 month check-up he weighed 12 pounds and was 24 inches long.

As for me, I am enjoying my last week and a half before I go back to work.  It has been great having the whole summer off and I have enjoyed every minute I got to spend with Jude.  The good thing is that I am nannying for some really good friends of our and Jude gets to go with me so I won't have to leave him with anyone.  Looking back to where we were just a year ago I can't help but feel so blessed by everything that God has done for our family.  We have gone through tremendous change in a year.  Sometimes it was scary and sometime it was fun but God took care of us each step of the way.  It makes me so excited for all the changes that God will have for us in the future!

Life has been really good at the Yates household.  Our little guy is now 1 month old.  We are starting to get into a new "normal".  He has truly blessed our lives so much.  There are still times when I look at him and can't believe that he is really here.  He is getting bigger every day.  We took his 1 month picture on Friday and he was able to hold his head up on his own. He has even found a way to roll over on to his side.  It freaked me out the first time but now I am just impressed at how much he is learning and how strong he gets every single day.  Everytime I hold him it feels just like the first time.  This month we are also celebrating our 3 year wedding anniversary, Brandon's first Father's Day, my 25th birthday and Brandon's 27th birthday.  I still have a month and a half of maternity leave before I go back to work and I am enjoying every single day of it.  It amazes me that before Jude was here I couldn't imagine what our life would be like with him and now I couldn't picture our life any other way.  We are so in love with him.  

The New Adventures of Peanut Butter & Jelly

On Tuesday, May 8th at 2:08PM our lives were forever changed by the arrival of our beautiful son, Jude Michael Yates.  I never imagined that I could have so much love for anyone until the moment I met my son for the very first time.  He is so much more than I could ever have imagined and I am just overwhelmed with love for him.  Jude has only been here for 1 week and already I see him changing and growing.  I take in every little breath, every smile and every little whimper.  We have been so blessed by our little man look forward to every moment we get to spend with him.  We couldn't be happier!!!!!

To My Son

To My Precious Little One, 

As I patiently wait your grand arrival into our lives I can't help but to think over the past year and 9 months.  I am reminded of the countless prayers.  The conversations I would had with God asking him to give me a child.  The nights that I would cry thinking it would never happen and then a promise that I help on to for so long.  I remember the night I dreamt of you and knew that it was from the Lord.  That is was a promise to me that one day I would see your face and hold you in my arms.  I knew that one day I would be blessed with one of life's greatest gifts.  I remember praying over you even before you were conceived knowing that even then God had a great plan for your life.  And now, after months of preparation and lots of prayer, I sit, patiently awaiting your arrival.  Awaiting the moment when my life will forever be changed.  When I can hold you close and tell you how I have waited for you.  How I love you so much.  How you are an answer to my prayers.  My little Jude, I already love you more than words can express.  I am excited for the new adventure that you will bring to our lives.  Always remember that we love you so much but more importantly, that God loves you so much more than we ever could and he has set you apart for greater things.  You have been called and chosen for something great.  Never turn away from God and he will continue to make your path straight.  I love you and I can't wait to meet you.  

"I prayed for this child and the Lord granted me what I asked of Him" 1 Samuel 1:27

What's In Your Bag?

I, like most women, carry my purse with me everywhere I go. It holds everything I need to get through each day. My wallet, cell phone, car keys, lotion, hand sanitizer, pens, check book and other miscellaneous items. I probably do carry around a lot of unnecessary items but they are all things that I feel I cannot live without. I would be so lost without any of the items I put in there, but in reality my well being is not dependent on the items I carry in my purse.

I just recently learned about a group of women in Uganda that also carry a bag around with them. They too carry around a lot of items in their bags. The difference between my bag and theirs is that within their bags, they really do carry items that can mean life or death for a person. Many families in their surrounding are so desperate for what these women carry around but they cannot afford to obtain these items for themselves. So, who are these women and what is it they carry with them?

Uganda's poor recount how Living Goods has changed their lives and improved their health. from Living Goods on Vimeo.

These women belong to an organization called Living Goods. They are the 639 female leaders that make up the Community Health Care Promoters team. And what is it they carry around. Some of the items are: 1) Household water filtration kit 2) Malaria nets 3) Solar lanterns 4) Medicines: cough syrup, amoxicillan, malaria treatments, deworming pills, vitamin A 5)Mama Kits: bedsheets, rubber gloves, antiseptic and a razor blade to cut the umbilical cord.

Living Goods is an organization that is recruiting and training female leaders to become Community Health Care Promoters (CHPs) in their local communities. These women earn an income selling affordable health care products. Every minute, 3 children die because they lack access to simple medicines that cost less than a cup of coffee. Living Goods is working to put a stop to this. They currently have 639 CHPs in Uganda caring for approximately 700 people. They also make house calls to pregnant mothers and small children. Their goal is to have 5,000 women across multiple countries in the next 5 years. This would allow them to care for approximately 3 million people. The CHPs not only care for the families and sell them affordable medical supplies, they also educate them on health care basics like washing your hands. They are making an impact in their surrounding areas and, with your help, can one day make an impact on the world. How can you help?

The Adventure Project is teaming up with Living Goods and helping them raise money to train new CHPs and provide them with their own supply bags. They are selling these very cute bags to help Living Goods accomplish their goal. I just ordered mine today and I can't wait for it to arrive! It's my way of giving back. So what are you waiting for? Check out The Adventure Projects website ( http://theadventureproject.org/ ) and get informed. Also, don't forget to spread the word!

Moving On......

I feel as if now is a good time to update everyone on all of the changes going on in our lives. It really has been an adventure but through it all God has once again reminded us of how great He is and how much He truly loves us.

To start out, there have been a lot of changes in the youth ministry. We have hired a new middle school director, Andrew. He is totally awesome and loves youth. He is a friend of Nathan and Brooke's from Texas. He is just graduated from Christ for the Nations and we are really excited to welcome him to our team. With Andrew joining us, Brandon and I are moving from middle school to high school. This is an exciting and challenging change for Brandon and me. I know for me personally this transition has been challenging me more to seek out my role in the ministry and to really develop myself more as a leader. During my quiet times with God, He has really begun to speak to me and give both Brandon and me direction in our next step.

With the changes in the youth ministry, we have been going through a transition in our home. Last Monday morning I met with my boss and resigned from job at Shur Sales & Marketing. After much prayer and thought, Brandon and I both decided that it was time for me to move on. I really wanted to have more time to spend in the youth ministry and I really felt God tugging on my heart to take this step. Coming to this decision was a huge test of trust for me. I knew it was something that I needed to do but from a financial aspect it really didn't make much sense. I really fought God but in the end it really came down to how much I truly trust Him to provide. And he really did!

Which leads me to the other change. As I am writing this I have goosebumps. God totally provided for our family. Within a week of giving my 2 weeks notice, I found and awesome job with perfect hours. I will be a nanny for a family I just met. They have 2 very sweet children ( a girl and a boy). Along with that, a good friend of ours offered me a job helping with his web design company. I can't even expressed how overwhelmed by God's goodness I am right now. I don't thing I have fully taken it all in yet. It still feels like a dream.

Our final transition (for now) is that Brandon is going back to school. I am very excited about this as I know he is too. He will be attending the The Rock School of Ministry starting in September. I am so proud of him! I know he is so excited to go back to school. It has been something that he has talked about and dreamed about for a while and now he actually gets to do it.

All of changes and decisions did not come easy. Looking back to the beginning of all of this, there have been so many prayers and tears over the past few months. Our lives have truly been an adventure. Change is both sad, scary and exciting all at the same time but I am so glad that God knows more than I do. My old youth pastor said something once that has really engraved itself in my heart. The Bible tells us that God is the lamp at our feet. David (my old youth pastor) explained it this way. If you think about a lamp, it only lights up a few steps. It doesn't necessarily light up the whole road. You may not be able to see the end of the road but sometimes those first few steps are all you need to see. As you take each step, another one is revealed. I know the desires and passions that God has placed in my heart. I know what He has called me to but at times its scary to take just that one step that He has revealed because I can't see the end. Each step has its own trials, challenges and scary moments but I have found that after taking each step, my reasons that were holding me back seem so small and unimportant. I end up with a stronger faith and things become more clear. As long as I continue to trust Him to be my lamp, and I keep moving forward, He will always show Himself to be faithful. He is always watching out for me and He always makes things work together for my good. He loves me. Even if I take a step in the wrong direction, He is there to guide me back to the right path.

"This I declare about the Lord; He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him" - Psalm 91:2