Dwelling in the Land

This weekend we went to Champaign, and as we sat with our future teammates and some students, I realized that as much as I can't wait to be in that world, doing ministry amongst those people, I really am quite happy in the world we are in! It reminded me of a verse that Alex and I often reflected on during engagement:

  "Trust in the LORD, and do good;
    dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness." - Psalm 37:3

I normally struggle with wanting whatever stage in life is next, thinking it will undoubtedly be better than the stage I am in. The Holy Spirit constantly brings this verse to mind, reminding me to "live in the land I am in and to cultivate faithfulness while I am in it".

However, in this first month of support raising, by God's grace alone, I really feel as if I have been dwelling! God has provided so many blessings that it has been easy to dwell here and befriend his faithfulness.

In no particular order, here are 10 reasons why I love the land we are in:


1. Living minutes from my family- especially my adorable nephews! Out of everything, I miss my family the most when I am living in Champaign.

2. Living with one of my best friends , and getting to hear fun medical stories at 8am when she is getting off from working the night shift as a labor and delivery nurse.

3. Lou's Rootbeer, Mike's Italian Feast, Avanti's bread, Emo's Ice Cream, and Cyd's Sangria- Peoria favorites that you can't find anywhere else!

4. Being the "Fun Aunt" to 2 new dogs. We basically get all the fun of 2 labs without the work!

5. Cooking dinner half the time, but double the food!  Its such a treat when Morgan cooks, and feeding 4 people is way more fun than just cooking for 2.  I look forward to our dinner convos every night.

6. My workout class at Kaufman's gym. M,W, F we do cardio/sculpting to upbeat worship music!  The women have welcomed me in and I have so much fun with them!

7. Spending an incredible amount of time with my husband!!! I love our relaxed mornings, productive afternoons, and evenings spent with supporters hearing him talk about his passions!

8. Having unlimited amount of time to spend reading my Bible and spending time with God. I cozy up with a blanket, the dogs, and don't have to rush to get anywhere!

9. Spending time with our ministry partners and experiencing Gods grace and faithfulness through them!  I love getting to know people so this part of the job is so refreshing!

10. Living 15 minutes from another best friend who also worked with U of I Cru the last 2 years and is now also transitioning to the Peoria area.

  Of course, we are still praying that God would raise our support quickly and we could get back to the students and ministry we love as soon as possible, but it is so sweet of Him to provide an abundant amount of blessings in this season.   

Grace-
Jess

"Well, We're on the Support Trail"

This is a quote Alex says after every single support appointment. His repetition and statement of the obvious cracks me up every time, but its true! We really are making headway on the trail!! Many people are wondering how we are doing and I would love to fill you in:

-Family Reunion: The last 3 weeks have been so encouraging! We are amazed at how God is providing and how generous people are!  We have been mostly meeting with current supporters and its been so fun for Alex to meet supporters from my area and I have loved getting to know his supporters from Aledo.  It feels like we are reconnecting with family every night.

-Group Project: I did not expect how fun and growing support raising would be for our marriage. I love listening to Alex share his passion and watching his eyes light up as he talks about equipping men to walk with Christ for a lifetime. We spend so many hours together working on this one goal that I feel like we are working on a college group project. We are learning how to critique each other in loving ways, affirm each other in areas where we are doing well, and delegate tasks depending on our specific strengths. I have been so thankful for Alex's unique giftings everyday because he is just good at things I am not good at!  He is the better writer, organizer, administrator, and finance manager!  The best part of this "group project" is that I got to pick my partner...

-Driving our Stake into the Ground:  Last night we sat on the quad at U of I and were amazed at how surreal it felt to be there. We have been talking about this place, these students, for close to 50 hours with people over the last 3 weeks!  Support raising is tough and definitely a sacrifice, but the Lord is really using it to deepen our passion to do campus ministry. Sitting there last night, praying for the U of I students, I realized I have never wanted anything more in my life.

 As you can see, a lot has been happening! We know things will get harder as the weeks and months go on, but for now I couldn't help but share how much we are loving this "Support Trail" so far.