Ministry
Hi again! It feels like it’s been forever since I’ve written a letter! I guess it has been a whole two months….I’ll do better at keeping up with that sort of stuff:)
Let’s go back to the beginning of November. We had our Thanksgiving staff dinner which was great! We had lots of fun and good fellowship together. Throughout the month we had meetings in preparation for the Georgia mission trip. The anticipation of the trip would build after each meeting!
There was one day I was cooking with Donny (an EQUIP student)…and somehow a pie ended up in his face! I don’t remember what he said but whatever it was it burned my biscuits! Also, this freezer-burnt pie no one was eating was just asking to be thrown into someone’s face that day and the face was Donny’s…shocker!
They did get me back while we were making gingerbread houses! Towards the end of Nov., a few of us got to help One Luv move tons of donated toys from a garage to the church building they are renting! One Luv is an outreach ministry in Reading. They aren’t only outreach though, they also have church every Sunday and then send people that go, home with food they need! We love this ministry, and are so excited to continue serving alongside them! This is the same couple that came to CMTS during evangelism week to teach us more about what evangelism is (Tony & Emily).
The week after Thanksgiving the EQUIP students started working on their gingerbread houses! This is a fun competition where the students compete against each other to see who can make/build the best gingerbread house. They have one week to complete their houses and then at the end of the week, the staff get to taste and judge based on presentation, taste, and the surprise element. Danielle, Hannah, and I got the privilege of helping the students build their houses! They all finished on time and did a great job, but there was one who got the trophy with a whopping two-point lead and it was Aidan!
Now we are going into December! Since the other three students Donny, Logan, and Caleb lost they had one week to put together a skit about Aidan with some help from Hilda. Hilda is one of our staff members and a sweet friend of mine! She works part-time for CMTS doing landscaping and hospitality! Hilda has a wonderful sense of humor which makes her perfect for helping the students do a skit!
Dec. 2nd a workgroup came for a couple nights! It was a small group of middle and high school boys. They arrived late Friday night and left Sunday morning. Saturday we took them into Reading to help Tony and Emily!! They had found a church building they could rent but it needed to be cleaned! So we took the work group, some staff, and students and cleaned as much as we could with the time we had. It went really well, and the building is now being used for their outreaches and services on Sundays!
The Friday before Georgia we had our Christmas staff dinner. The best part was watching the skit the students and Hilda put together. It was the EQUIP group 30 years from now having a little reunion, it was amazing!!
Georgia
Sunday, December 10th at 5 am we were off to Glenville Georgia! It was a long 15-hour drive, but filled with good fellowship, and great memories! We got there safe with only needing to replace a windshield wiper. All week we worked at Annett’s house. We painted all the siding, put plastic down in the crawl space, cleaned up outside, hung 6-8 doors, and put almost all of the 2nd subfloor down. My favorite part was the sweet sweet time we got to spend with the people in different churches and the nursing home! Our theme was learning to worship God no matter where we are (work, home, school, etc.). It was a really good and tiring week of work, fun, worship, and great fellowship! I’m so thankful for the chance we got to go serve with people in Georgia, and for the team that went. Everyone did a great job working together even though some of us had never even met!
Personal
Wyatt and I haven’t started renovating our apartment, but it is completely cleaned out! We are hoping to start renovating in January! Plans for the wedding are coming along, we got our save-the-dates out! Thanksgiving & Christmas with family was a lot of fun and is always a blessing no matter how silly or crazy it might get! I am incredibly thankful for the family I am marrying into! They all mean a lot to me and I am super happy to soon be apart of their family!
Youth Group
Havilah and I love our girls in Cora!! They are all super unique with their personalities and where they come from that shapes the way they think and act. I am SO thankful to be a part of youth ministry, and Wyatt and I get to do it together! In November we had our Thanksgiving house which is where the students bring different foods and drinks, and then we all eat together as a house. On these nights we have extra time to continue building friendships, and getting to know our students better! In December we had our Christmas party which is one of the highlights of the whole year! At the Christmas party, we play lots of games, do a gift exchange, and again eat fun snacks together. Hav and I had a full house! We had been averaging 4-6 and then we had 10 show up for the Christmas party! It was so awesome to see some of the girls who hadn’t come for a while!!
Thank you all so much for your prayers!
Answered Prayers!
- My family as a whole is doing much better with me not living there anymore. My brothers Demitri and Dominic still tell me they miss me, but they’ve adjusting well to the change and I still see them at least once a week!
- I have also adjusted much better than I thought I was going to! At first, I was definitly scared to live by myself but the Lord has taught me to enjoy time alone because time alone is just more intimate time with our Savior:)
- Students at the Circle are growing! We don’t always see huge steps or big life changes, we see the little ones though, and that is such a blessing! We continue to remind ourselves that we are in it for the long game and that means steady love for them, and consistent prayer for every one of them!
- The Georgia trip was a huge success! We didn’t just get to help build a house, but we got to shine a light in the town of Glenville where there is still a lot of segregation! We got to spiritually encourage other believers to go get involved in mission work and let God use them! We made connections, and got to know brothers and sisters that we will spend eternity with! None of this was by our own power or wisdom because the truth is we don’t have anything to bring to the table except the willingness to just say “Yes Lord I will go where to lead me” and He is good and faithful to use us!
Prayer Requests
- That the Lord would continue to prepare me and Wyatt’s hearts for marriage in the last few months of being engaged!
- For all the staff at CMTS that we would keep growing closer to Jesus and that we would understand His love more and more.
Thank you so much for all your prayers and support!
Would you join Sandra as a monthly supporter so she can continue the work God has started? She would be honored to be able to share the experience with you and make you part of the team. As she shares how God is working and the impact she is having on His Kingdom, please pray and ask God if you should partner with her a monthly donor/supporter.
