For someone who loves to write so much, you'd think I would be better at remembering to update our blog. My apologies. But here I am, ready to give you the last six months in a nutshell, because as the title says, everything truly has changed.
We spent September through January working with the Compassion DTS. This was an incredible experience. We had an incredible staff team that we were privileged to work with and we had incredible students who were on fire for the Lord and ready to take his love to the nations.
December into January we spent leading an outreach team, along with our co-leader, Josh, to London England. (Check out my writing blog for some of my personal insights into this sad and lovely city as well as a detailed account of our Christmas outreach www.thegingerminstrel.wordpress.com) This was a very different type of outreach than our teams that went directly to an African nation or South American nation where the gospel is much more warmly received. London is a very closed and difficult city to reach with the gospel, but our team was courageous and bold and we prayed over that city and were determined to make a difference. The main ministry we worked with was called Earl's Court Community Project. This is a ministry for homeless and needy in London that not only provides for their felt needs but also provides counseling services. The long term staff at this YWAM ministry have spent YEARS developing friendships with some of these people. Over the Christmas holiday they do a week long outreach that offers a Christmas party of sorts each day with a meal and entertainment and a real family feel, in hopes that these people will feel the love of Jesus and the joy of the season. We had a wonderful time encouraging and supporting Earl's Court's long term staff as well as building relationships with the guests who came each day. We saw a few people even commit their lives to the Lord for the first time which was an amazing answer to prayer in this city!
After our time in London ended, Ezra and I headed back to New York to spend some time with friends while Johnny continued on with the team to South Africa. We felt that Ezra was not quite old enough to take into the type of outreach that the team would be doing in South Africa. They would be working in the slums and orphanages, etc, and we felt that the best thing was for Johnny to continue on without us.
However, as many of you know, all of our plans changed three days after I arrived in New York and Johnny arrived in South Africa. I still haven't found the words to write or blog about this properly, but my best friend, Heather, was killed in a car accident on January 12. As my world spiraled out of control after receiving the news, I tried in vain for hours to get in touch with our team in South Africa. Finally, several hours later, I got in touch with Johnny and had to share the horrifying news with him. Our school leaders, who were currently in Kona, immediately agreed that Johnny needed to come home as soon as possible and within 12 hours they had him on a flight to New York.
January and February are still mostly a blur of shock and denial and also feeling an overwhelming outpouring of love from our family and friends during that time. I will sit down and write further about how losing Heather has changed me forever, but I'm still not completely ready to do that. So I will just say that in the time since Heather's accident I have realized again and again how fragile life is, what a gift that it is, and what a shame it would be to waste even once second on this earth. Heather definitely didn't waste a second of her time. And I am still learning every single day from her example. I was so lucky to have her in my life and to know her so intimately and now my desire is to honor her life with the way that I love my Jesus and the people around me.
We are forever grateful that Johnny was able to make it home for Heather's funeral services. Yes, services. She was loved by a lot of people in a lot of places. Her funeral was in Illinois where she grew up and we also had a memorial service for her in Smithtown, NY, her home for the past seven years. We are so thankful to the people who helped us financially cover the cost of Johnny's extra travel as well as mine and Ezra's. As well as those of you who covered us in prayers and reached out to us through emails and phone calls and driving long distances to be a part of the celebrations of Heather's life. You were such a blessing to us in a time when we didn't even know what we needed or how to ask for it. We could not ask for more amazing people in our lives!
We returned to Kona the first week of March, still reeling from everything that had happened, but confident that it was time to return. We arrived here in time for our Compassion DTS students to be returning from outreach and we spent their debriefing week with them hearing stories of outreach and catching up.
Just days before we returned to Kona we also discovered that we were once again expecting a child! This was exciting and overwhelming news and when we arrived back in Kona we weren't exactly sure what the next season would hold for us. However, God moved quickly and clearly and within days of arriving back we had been informed that the Performing Arts DTS here in Kona needed staff. We of course love PADTS's and we arranged to meet with the director and find out what her needs were. There was an instant connection between our family and Maria Jackson and within a half hour she was telling us to pray about our decision but she wanted us to be on her staff as soon as possible! We were also confident that this was the right thing, and the rest is history.
Our PADTS students arrived April 7. Johnny is very involved in the school, overseeing pastoral care/ counseling aspects of the school, which are his strongest areas of leadership! I am taking more of a back seat with this school, but am staying busy spending my time taking care of Ezra as well as the baby in my belly! We both feel strongly that this season continues to be one in which Johnny is being challenged to step up in leadership and that God has asked me to make my children my priority. I miss being with the students every day and leading them, but I am so thankful for the opportunity to be involved when I can be but to have the freedom to focus on my family!
We know that we will continue to work with discipleship training schools here through the end of the year, continuing with the PADTS and then working again with the Compassion DTS in the fall. After the fall quarter, and the baby comes, we are not positive what God is calling us to. We have many offers of long term ministry opportunities available to us here in Kona, but we also want to keep open hearts and minds to what God would have for us as the end of this year. We know we will continue on in ministry, we are just praying about God's perfect location and timing.
So that's the last six months. In a nut shell. We are so thankful for all of the amazing people in our lives and we appreciate your prayers more than we can say. We would ask for prayer as we seek the Lord about his long term plan for our family in minsitry. We also ask you to please join with us in prayer that this pregnancy would continue to be a stronger and healthier pregnancy than our last and that I would be completely free from anxiety and panic attacks! We are asking God for this pregnancy to bring nothing but joy, and for the baby to be strong and healthy. Your prayers carried me through my last pregnancy and we need a strong team around us again! Please also continue to pray for our hearts as we struggle to grieve and process the loss of Heather. It's a daily struggle and we miss her more than we have words to say. We know that she is dancing with Jesus, and we find peace in that. But it doesn't mean we don't miss her.
Love and blessings to all of you! My Ezra is up from his nap so I think that means blogging time is over!
Kelsey
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