Waiting but never idle!

 As we wait, as we pray that the Lord unites us with our family members soon, we continue to praise Him for the blessings we have.  We praise Him for worship artists like Chris Tomlin who writes and sings of God's goodness!

 We praise Him for the sunshine, for the awesome outdoors, for smiles, and for family!

We praise Him for the opportunity to take part in mission projects across Huntsville.  We praise Him for such an amazing group of youth that want to be His hands and feet.  We praise Him for laughter and friendship!

We praise Him for creeks, for picnics, for "big muscles" and for bare feet!

We praise Him because He is good all the time, regardless of where we are or the circumstances that surround us, He is faithful.  We praise Him for loving us, for calling us by name and for never giving up on us.  We praise Him for never leaving us nor forsaking us, for remaining true to us no matter what.  We praise Him for paying the price for us so that we would have freedom!  We praise Him because He deserves it and is worthy of it!  We have so much to be praise Him for!

As much as we are anticipating the beginning of the next chapter, we don't want to miss a second of this one.  So we are enjoying Him as we wait!

Hope you are enjoying Him wherever you may find yourself today!

Still waiting?!

Well i'd hoped to have something new to update you with, but i don't.  We are continuing to wait.  There has been contact with the government and conversations have been had, but that is really all we know.  Everything is shut down for the weekend, so we are just back in the wait.  So... hopefully if it is God's will we will find out something new on Monday.  Thanks for standing with us in the wait!  Blessings, LeAnn

Holding me accountable!

I sure hope this doesn't offend anyone because that would not be my intention at all.  Instead i hope it spurs us on.  My birthday was this past week and some friends of mine surprised me with a get together in honor of the boys arrival.  They had compiled some things that would be helpful during and after our trip to Brazil.  But one particular gift i must share with you and that is pictured above.  My dear friend Anissa is holding my feet to the fire.  On March 25th i wrote that this is where i've found myself these days; at a place of putting my big girl, wierd, radical panties on, and her family decided they would help me stay true to that statement.  This gift has brought such a chuckle to our family, but it has also brought a warm fuzzy in my heart. 

As believers we are called to "spur one another on" to good deeds.  There have been good days and bad through this whole process.  And as you read yesterday, it was a tough one.  How cool is is it that God in His infinite wisdom, knowing how bad i would need to be reminded of my conviction on Monday, gave me a friend on Sunday that put a visual reminder in my hand.  I continue to laugh as i prepare for what lies ahead today.

There is no going back...  i choose God's path..  1000 times and more!

Oh but i can...

I woke up this morning with fresh new fears and an overwhelming sense of inadequacy.  "I can't do this, my mind screams", as i crawl to my knees to meet Him.  And He is there, 'Not you my daughter but I', i hear Him whisper to my soul.  "Thank you my Lord" my heart cries out and my soul begins to settle.  My heart slows down a beat as the memories of His faithfulness rush in and my thoughts begin to make sense again.  My mind is flooded with tender thoughts of His hand holding me up time and time again.  The enemy has now lost his grip, i relax in the Masters grasp; "Oh but i can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!", i repeat again and again until the belief once again settles over me.  It is a daily battle... but with Christ on my side, it is one i will win again and again. 

Sitting in the wait...

Well we just sent in some more paperwork, so hopefully this completes everything the Brazilian government will need.  Our understanding is that once reviewed and stamped completed, then it will be Fed exed over.  Once we know it has been received i will let you know.  That will begin our countdown to arrival time!!  We are anticipating a quick movement on thier side, however, it can be up to 30 days.

So... the Newsom team is eagerly awaiting the approval to go and pick up thier newest team members. 

However, we are not sitting idle.  Due to the delays we are having to revise our action plan (i'm sure that statement gave God a chuckle, He's known the plan all along).  We have begun to research and prepare for the newest members to be homeschooled this year as we have them tutored in English.  Life as we know it is taking major turns and we are beginning to see a "new normal" slowly surfacing.  How cool is God!!

We are so excited about what lies ahead and we want to thank you for praying us through it all!
 LeAnn