Wrapping Up 2016... And Welcoming 2017!

Happy New Year... And is it really March already?! Looks like we have a lot to catch up on! Someday, I'll get a handle on blogging consistently... Is it too late for New Year's Resolutions?? ;)

I've actually been working on this blog post since December and keep getting busy with other things, so rather than continuing to add to it (but taking the risk of getting interrupted and putting off finishing once again), I'm just going to need to publish this one and start on another more recent update!

Anyway, here are the highlights from Valley Community Church  and from our family that I remember (and have pictures from) from the rest of 2016...

August

Baptisms

In August, our church had 6 baptisms at a member's house/pool. After the baptisms, a time of worship, and a short devotional, we celebrated with a corn roast and pool time for the kids/teens!

Josiah LOVED the pool time!

Charis trying to stay out of the rain...Just being her usual cute self ;)

September
CryOut!
On September 23, our church agreed to be a host for CryOut!, a prayer event for women that was part of Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth's TrueWoman 2016 conference. We showed the live-streamed event in our sanctuary and invited the women of our church to invite friends as they desired, so several churches were represented. It was a wonderfully encouraging time of prayer and instruction! You can view the full event here.

We had a lovely dinner and fellowship before the event began

During the event, the women were asked to form small groups
to pray together over specific prescribed topics 

Dave Cleland Memorial
The next day, September 24, was Chris' dad's memorial service in Hicksville, Ohio (right across the state line from Fort Wayne). Since I had been in charge of organizing the CryOut! event the night before, we needed to leave early Saturday morning to get there since it was about a 3-hour drive away. We encountered an unexpected delay when our van broke down on the turnpike about halfway there, and ended up needing to be towed to the nearest exit (where my stepdad would be able to retrieve it) to wait for my mom to pick us up and take us to the memorial.
It was a little bit scary waiting for the tow truck's arrival in our broken-down van, sandwiched between the edge of the highway and the guardrail - our van shaking with every car the sped past us - and also scary when the tow truck driver suggested we all stay in the van while he towed it to the next exit (rather than try to get us and our kids safely out of the van and into his truck between the rushing traffic).

Riding in our van on the back of the tow truck 😨

Thankfully, the Lord kept us safe and provided for every need along the way! He allowed my mom to be free to pick us up so we could still make it to the memorial; my stepdad to have a friend who would be bringing his tow truck by that exit the very next day and who was willing to pick up our van and bring it most of the way to where my stepdad would be working on it; and my stepdad to be able to fix the problem in time for us to get back to our field without spending any extra time away. Overall, we were very thankful to be able to still make it to the memorial for Chris' dad, even if we ended up being a little later than initially intended. His obituary can be found here. He is dearly missed. 💔

Chris' dad, Dave, coached the Hicksville ACES Track and XC teams for 15 years

October
Evangelism & Outreach
In October, Chris and Mark went to an evangelistic outreach at the University of Akron. There were men who were taking turns open-air preaching while interactively dispelling arguments against Christianity or answering questions that students were bringing up about the Gospel. At one point a few students were becoming very upset with one of the evangelists and were accusing him of hate speech. They yelled at him and insulted him for what felt like an hour, because these students believed that God is a God of love and peace and that He would never send anyone to hell. The evangelists weren’t bombastic and yelling at students telling them that God hates them and that they were going to hell, but they did preach a bold but thoughtful message that we all need to turn from our sin and turn toward Christ as our Savior. These evangelists explained that God demonstrated His love for these students by dying on the cross for their sins (John 3:16-21). What the world fails to understand in its problem with God is not that He hates us, but that we hate Him. Jesus did not come into the world to accuse us of our guiltiness – we already stood as sinners! - but instead God came to demonstrate to us His love, so that any who believe in Christ would not perish.

Pregnancy Solutions & Services
In October, I began shadowing and training to become a volunteer Client Advocate at Pregnancy Solutions & Services. (You may remember this organization as the one that Chris and Mark rode in a 50km bike ride fundraiser for this past summer.) At PSS, a Client Advocate is someone who meets with women that come into the center to help them understand their options, find out what the women's greatest needs are and how the center can help, and share the Gospel with them. I have met with all kinds of clients in all different ages and stages of life and pregnancy. It can be wonderful work, but sometimes can also be incredibly emotionally draining; the volunteers at this center truly are on the front lines in the fight for the right to life. Pray for the men and women who volunteer there, for the women who walk through the doors, and for the precious lives many of them are carrying!

One of the rooms where Client Advocates meet with women who come in

Emma's Closet, where clients who earn credits can "shop" for baby supplies

I also taught a 4-week Breastfeeding Class at PSS through November and December, and am currently teaching a Pregnancy Care Class there. I really enjoy volunteering at PSS and helping with the work they do! They are an essential help and support to so many women in our community who find themselves unexpectedly pregnant and aren't sure where to turn for information, help, and support.

Chili Dump
Every Fall VCC has a Chili Dump at a member's house, where everyone brings a small container of chili and a side dish and it's all put into a huge pot and warmed over the fire. There is a short devotional and time for fellowship...and food, of course!

Warming the chili over the fire

Josiah helping warm the hot dogs

Chris giving the devotional

Halloween
Our Halloween outreach went well! People from the church brought in candy and on Friday night we got together with Mark and Donna to put together bags for each child with candy, a tract, and information on our church. We then met at their house on Saturday night to pass out the bags and a choice of coffee/hot chocolate to the 250 trick-or-treaters (plus their parents!) who came by. Mark and Donna and the people of Valley Community Church have done this for years, and the people of the community remember their house for their special generosity. What a wonderful representation of the Lord's unexpected generosity to us!

Mini Chewbacca

Dejected Indians Fan: Foretelling the Cubs' victory

Cutest Storm Trooper

November
World Series Troublemaker
Chris made a nuisance of himself rooting for the Cubs over the Cleveland Indians...and here we are an hour South of Cleveland! I think the church has forgiven him by now, but he sure did have a good time razzing the competition...

Grace College Missions Week Representative
Chris went for the third year to represent Village Missions at our Alma mater, Grace College (Winona Lake, IN) during their Mission Conference with fellow Village Missionary Wayne Taylor (Cable, OH). They had several opportunities to talk about the spiritual needs and realities of small rural communities and the impact Village Missions has had in churches and individuals' lives. They stayed up late talking to students most nights and were also able to share their testimonies of God's grace in their lives with students on more than one occasion.

I decided to stay back this time, and was thrilled and thankful to have my dear friend Abigail visit and help me with the kids while Chris was gone! ...And apparently I don't have any pictures from her visit. So sad! We'll do better next time! ;)


District Representative Visit
As always, we enjoyed having our DR and his wife come to visit as they made their Fall rounds to check up on churches and missionaries.

Discussing Vital Signs of healthy churches

First Snow
We haven't had much snow this winter, but the first one was a good one!

SO EXCITED

December
Christmas Preparations

Having a little too much fun ;)

White Elephant Party

The gift Chris ended up with

Teen Christmas Event
It has been fun seeing the church grow and seeing more teens come in and form friendships. We had lots of fun at the teen Christmas celebration!

Chris led a short Christmas devotional

Girls exchanged socks...Guys exchanged candy

Christmas Eve Service
For our Christmas Eve service, there was special music led by a couple different people, a short sermon by Chris, and a time of sharing by candlelight. It was a lovely service! We have truly been so grateful for the love and encouragement we have received here at Valley Community Church. We praise the Lord for so many unforgettable friends here! 💗

Christmas at VCC

Our family was able to go home to Fort Wayne for a couple of days after Christmas to see family before we needed to be back on the field here. We appreciated the short break and the chance to see family!

We decided to try our hands at a real tree this year for the first time... Fun!

Josiah's first preschool Christmas program!

Getting so big, so fast!

Preschooler selfies...Haha

Cutie!

Goodbye 2016, Hello 2017! I'm sorry this was so long in coming! Hope you're all having a lovely 2017 so far. We'll post again soon with some more pictures and maybe even some exciting updates... ;)