VM Conference & Other Recent Updates

Disclaimer: I'm writing this post from my phone in the car, so we'll see how this goes :)

It has been a couple of weeks since we last posted on here, so I think we're past due for an update!


The past weeks have been very busy. We are mostly done setting up our house and unpacking, although we still have a few more boxes to go through. It is such a relief, though, to have the vast majority of everything organized!

Our responsibilities as interns officially began on July 1. Since then, we have kept pretty busy getting to know the church members and community, attending different Liberty Chapel Bible studies, and going to other meetings and ministry-related meetings. Every week, Chris or both of us must meet with one of the board members, who take a lot of responsibility alongside Allen in training and evaluating us.
Diane (Allen's wife) left on July 2nd for what was supposed to be a short trip to attend a wedding in Iowa (she was to return July 6). She hit a deer on her way, though, and her car has been in the shop in Iowa ever since then. She has been thankful to have spent the time staying with hers and Allen's oldest daughter, son-in-law, and 5-year old twin grandchildren during this extended time, but has missed  being with her husband and church family in Crawfordsville. (I will write a little more about their daughter & son-in-law at a later date, as they are also VM missionaries.) We are hoping and praying that Diane will be back with us either Monday or Tuesday.

Chris preached for the first time at LC this past Sunday (July 20). Allen wanted him to be comfortable with the sermon and told him to pick a sermon he had already preached rather than working on a new one, so Chris preached on Evangelism, looking at 1 Corinthians 3:5-15.

Chris preaching 7/20/14 @ Liberty Chapel

We spent the next day, Monday, packing for our first annual regional Village Missions conference. We left at 6am on Tuesday to arrive in Kansas City, MO at 4:00pm. The conference was Tuesday evening - this morning (Friday). It was admittedly exhausting, but so, so good. Even amidst the physical exhaustion of having a toddler and a newborn in an unfamiliar place with an adult-oriented schedule, the conference was refreshing and encouraging to our spirits. It was wonderful to be able to meet other VM missionaries - some our age and some with many more years of wisdom and experience. We enjoyed the time becoming familiar with our new District Representative and his wife as well as the director of VM and his wife. It was good to hear some real-life stories and experiences from those currently on the field. (It was also wonderful to catch up with Diane after so long of her being gone, and to meet their daughter and son-in-law and their kids who were also attending the conference. Chris joked that we would need Allen to re-introduce us to his wife, since we had only seen her twice or so since the beginning of our internship before she got stranded in Iowa!)

On the way to our dorms at the conference (Calvary Bible College)

Our theme for the conference: Keep low, look up, press forward

Our new DR David Hernandez

Charis was a real trooper through all the conferences!

The director of Village Missions: Brian Wechsler

Please pray for Josiah and Charis if you think about it. This past week with its crazy schedule has been difficult on them - and as anyone who has ever had a baby or toddler knows, if the children aren't happy nobody's happy! Haha. As I type this, Josiah is crying in the backseat - which has been happening off and on for about 45 minutes and we haven't been able to figure our what he wants. I think he's just so tired...poor kid! I think Josiah passed his congestion and yucky nose to Chris and Charis, so we're all pretty lacking on sleep. Hopefully we recover quickly once we are finally home!

Tired at breakfast this morning

Now, we're in the car heading to Fort Madison, IA, where we will meet  with some members of First Baptist Church there which supports us. We are incredibly excited to have this opportunity! It only adds about an hour to our trip. We will stay in a hotel tonight, then tomorrow will have dinner with the elders and pastor. Sunday we will attend their Sunday school and service where Chris will give a short presentation. We will return home Sunday after lunch.

On the road again.....

Thanks for your prayers! <3