Taking it Easy

A new update on our family...Hillary is doing great and we are only three weeks away from Baby Time. Last week I went to the dentist and got a Root Canal. Jaxon and Riley went to Vacation Bible School, Sunday through Thursday. The job is going very well as I continue to become closer to my students. We are currently renovating the youth room putting in a Fellowship Cafe and a Game Room. In May we will be unveiling the new Youth Name and Website we have been working on since I got here. So, things have been going very well and a lot great things are happening at our church.

I have always been a fantasy football junkee and being here is no different. In fact I am facilitating two leagues at our church for our Men's Ministry. Also, we are planning on having Men's Monday Night Bible Study at the church and then showing Monday Night Football on the big screen so we are excited about how many men we will be able to attract for that. I'm excited to be involved with some things other than just Youth Ministry.

We'll keep you updated as we get near Hillary's due date. God Bless Ya'll.

There and Back Again

I have just returned home from an amazing two weeks of life changing experiences. First I led the 15 High School youth and leaders from our church to Nashville, TN to serve with GROUP Work Camps. While there we worked with a Food Bank Ministry, Catholic Charities and also a ministry named Provision which serves the homeless and inner-city Nashville population. We grew closer to God and each other while being stretched in new ways in our faith.

Then I returned for a short two days before taking 40 students to a camp called Caswell which is located on the beach here in North Carolina. Caswell is facilitated by the Baptist Association and so there were over 950 other youth from other churches besides ours. It was a very powerful week as we learned how to trust God and raise the standards in our lives. Three youth rededicated their lives and one youth who recently graduated accepted Christ for the first time. The next day I had the honor of baptizing him in the ocean.

Now I am back in the saddle planning for the rest of the summer and fall. Hillary and the boys are doing well. Today we saw the baby doctor and everything looks great for our due date August 13th. Please continue to pray for us and also for the youth we minister to.

Together Again

Hillary and the boys are here and we are all finally settling into our new home that we moved into a couple of days ago. Everyone is doing well and Hillary is very happy with the way things are turning out. Last night around 100 church members showered us with gift cards and household items to welcome us into the community. It was overwhelming but awesome at the same time. God has been so good to us and continues to build our faith daily.

Saturday, I leave for the High School Mission trip with about fifteen students and leaders to Nashville, TN. We will be working with an organization called GROUP. Every summer they facilitate work camps, serving the Nashville community. Please pray for our time and that God works in each of us.

An Awesome Beginning

I definitely feel blessed to be in my new position as Student Pastor. My first two weeks here have been amazing. I continue to experience the honeymoon stage daily as people continue to reach out to me and make me feel welcome. I have already built some great relationships. One family gave me a key to their house case I need anything. We have had a lot of needs for our house that we are moving into Saturday. The church is planning a "Pounding" for us next Wednesday night to give us housewarming gifts for our new life here. Already, we have been given a big screen t.v. couches, recliners, dressers, beds, kitchen supplies etc. God has been blessing our socks off!!! Saturday I get to see Hillary and the kids for the first time in two weeks and so I am very excited for that. Please pray for them as they drive down here with my in-laws.

That's it for now. Please know that we love you all and appreciate your prayers. Here is my new address, 10220 Eastfield Rd. Huntersville, NC 28078

The Beginning of a NEW Season!

I arrived in North Carolina safe and sound Friday Night. I am settled into my host home and today had my first day as Student Pastor at Independence Hill Baptist Church. Hillary and the boys are doing well back in Ohio. They will be meeting me down here June 14th and we'll be moving into our new house which will be ready by then. I feel like I am living a dream honestly because I am around such caring and thoughtful individuals and they have made me feel right at home. When I arrived I found a large poster on my office door that said "Welcome Justin" which all the youth signed encouragements like "can't wait to see you" and "we're so glad you are here". I am so excited to see what God does in the lives of the Youth here.

God has been so faithful through this whole process. Thank You everyone for your prayers and love for our family.

God's Provision is SWEET!

God has provided a couple of key things for us as we move closer to our move date. First, my sister called me and said that she wanted to give us her 1995 Honda Accord. It's a huge answer to prayer because it gives us two vehicles and Hillary won't be stuck at home when I go to work. Also, we may have found a place to live. A family in the church has a 3 BR 2 Bath house for rent which is being remodeled and sits on 2 acres of land. It's only a 1 1/2 miles from the church. It's very affordable for us to rent and will save us gas money since it's so close. So as always God has better plans than we can imagine.

We are doing well and are very excited about moving to North Carolina. I will move down first on May 30th and then Hillary and the boys will be down around June 15th. Please continue to pray for our transition.

There and Back again!

I returned from a great time with my future church family in North Carolina. While I was there I spoke and met with everyone you could imagine, and it was quite exhausting. A great family housed me and I was able to build relationship with their son Ryan (13) who has been disconnected to the Church for a while so it was definitely a divine appointment. The conference in Atlanta was amazing and we walked away with a lot to pray about as God was speaking about the future and church direction. I also got to spend some quality time with the Pastor. You would think at the end of the day two spiritual giants like ourselves would have a bible study and pray but instead we watched the NBA Playoffs!!! Go Cavs!

We are still looking for housing and our moving date will either be the 19th or 28th of May. Please continue to pray for us!