Big news!

We have some big news to share! We want to share what God has been doing in our lives and our hearts this year.  Over the course of this time, we've been talking through prayer and ideas about what to do with the next season.  We have felt that God has been speaking to us and calling us to step out of ministry for now, but we haven't fully understood the whys, hows, or whats of it.  Ultimately, we came to the conclusion that He wants to move us on to another form of ministry that we are unclear about yet.  We are going to take the next two years to seek him and look into opportunities that come up, with the potential of entering back into full-time ministry, as that is where our heart lies.  I think at the same time, we are going to be open to anything he speaks.  During our time here at YWAM Lakeside, we've built community with our local church and gotten to know quite a few people that we feel deeply connected with, so we will be staying in Montana for now. We trust and love these people and we're not ready to pack up and move away from everything at once (YWAM and our church community).   We hope this will make our transition smoother, and we look forward to having some time freed up to be more involved with our church.  I have a job for now with a local restaurant that I have built relationship with over the years and I think it's going to be a good fit.  Erika is going to teach voice lessons and she will be looking for a part time job.  Honestly, with the changes we're about to make, we need your prayer and love in our lives as it will be difficult to step out of full-time ministry for now.  Even as I write this I am tearful thinking about all that Jesus has accomplished in my life and the life of my family during our time here.  My life will never be the same because of his work and the people he has placed me around for these 7 years.  On a last note, YWAM will continue to process donations for us for 3 months after we leave, so if you feel led and would like to be a part of helping make our transition a little smoother, you have the option to continue to give through the end of 2015.  If not, we understand. We THANK YOU for all your prayer, financial sacrifice and love in our lives.  You have been God's hand of provision and physical backing of what he has wanted to do in and through us during this time.  We love you, and if you have any questions, feel free to call us or email us and we would be happy to talk with you more. 

Blessings, 

Jason, Erika and Beckett Goodfellow

A Mexico Trip to Remember

  When you go on a trip to another country, it is always exciting.  Erika and I love getting out to meet new people, and seeing God open up opportunities to speak into people's lives and to mentor others on how to be a vessel for the love of Jesus.  We definitely saw that happen, and we felt very encouraged by what the YWAMers were doing in Ensenada, Mexico.  I was specifically leading a sports team, but we were joined with a dance and music team, which was great.  We saw limbs and backs healed, people who were touched and moved by the Holy Spirit, and lives impacted by the gospel.  What's not to love about that! It was a short and eventful trip. 

    One quick story: 

   We were able to partner with a church in Ensenada and a woman named Mireya (what a joyful lady!).  She wanted us to host a camp and teach soccer, dance and music in their little village in the hills outside Ensenada.  But what was really cool was an idea that Jesus gave me to give back to them.  I got this idea to rent out a soccer field for them and invite the whole town out to hang out, play soccer, eat some good food and enjoy our time together.  So, after much planning and work, we made it happen.  Man, you should have seen the looks on their faces when we were playing on this beautiful turf field (they normally play on this awesome dirt field that is going uphill..now that was challenging to play on!).   After we had a few games with kids, adults, girls, guys, I gathered them together and shared my testimony with them and shared about the love of God.  The pastor quickly took the opportunity to thank our team for putting on this event for them and she said that no team had ever taken them on a "field trip" before and what a huge blessing and testament of God's care, love and provision for them.  She was very encouraged and was personally blessed that we cared enough to do that for her church and community. Huge God moment on outreach that I know he will use in the future for his glory. 

Anyways.. without further ado.. some pictures to give you a taste of our time in Mexico! 

                                        The dancers performing at a drug rehab center

                                                The Beach across from the ministry

                                               

                                           YWAM Ensenada that is about to get a HUGE makeover
                                           

                                            Our musicians playing at a local restaurant

                                                         Getting crushed at soccer! :) 

    Sharing my testimony with some boys that a ministry in Tijuana reaches out to.   

                                               Turf field at the Tijuana YWAM ministry.

                                    

Graduation!

Summer is here!

Yet again, we are a bit remiss in updating. But, we have an exciting summer ahead of us! We are staffing the Summer of Service here at YWAM Lakeside as a family (Beckett too! :). Our students arrive in about 3 weeks, and take part in learning and growing here in Montana, and then sharing with others. It is really similar to the Discipleship Training School that we've been leading before, just shorter, and also open to high school students. We will be part of a 3 week outreach to Mexico! I (Erika) am particularly excited about this, as it has been over 2 years since I went on outreach because of sweet Mr. B joining our lives. We welcome your prayers as we try this out as a family for the first time!

Our spring has flown by: Jason coaching soccer for a 16 and under boys team, as well as leading sports activities here on campus as part of the Sports Ministry.  He has traveled quite a bit for that, but has really enjoyed the relationships built with the boys and their families.  I have been working in our Registrar's Office for 3 mornings a week this Spring Quarter. I really liked the change of pace and a new way to help and encourage.

Beckett always keeps us on our toes! He is an energetic, happy little guy who still is working on the whole sleeping thing. We've dealt with some difficult health issues with him during this first year, but are thankful that they have really seemed to improve in the last couple months. We celebrated Beckett's 1st birthday in May, and also enjoyed a wonderful vacation with my whole family in Colorado.

We are grateful for the ways that you all care for us and remember us. The cards, letters, emails, prayers, and gifts mean the world to us.  Thank you all for being such a great support system, even from far away!

Phitsanulok, another great adventure.

Phitsanulok, Thailand

Visiting this place and spending time with a small and significant group of people was undoubtedly one of the best experiences I have had.  They said how much we(my friend Chris McCalmon and I) blessed them, but I felt far more blessed being there. I don't think I understood what my father usually meant when he would describe speaking in a DTS until now. He would say," son, that week, The Lord ministered to them, but he also ministered deeply to me."  It's encouraging to step out and try something you've never tried before and do something you've never done..ie..traveling far and long to speak to people you've never met to a culture not your own(well I have just not in this way). You just don't know how it's all going to turn out, but Jesus did what he does best and ministered as we spent 5 days with a group of 4 students and 5 staff.  We prayed for revelation for them, taught 3 hours daily, one of the students legs' was instantly healed (it was shorter than the other) and I saw God give them new truth about him and themselves. 

Of course the food was amazing 

Chicken fried rice with an egg and spice on top. 

Some Korean missionaries cooked up plenty of meat for us to eat one night just for fun.  

Anyways, we had a great time! We met tons of people on the way there and back and shared his love. One girl was caught off guard as we described how God has literally changed us inside and out forever.  She decided she needed something more in her life and right then and there put her hope in Jesus.  He's always good.  I will never forget this trip and the people I met along the way and spent time with.  Thanks for your support and prayers.  

Jason

Headed to Thailand

Good morning! 

I am excited to announce that I will be traveling to Thailand (Friday- February 10) to teach in a new DTS school plant.  I have been anticipating this from May of last year and am very excited to invest in something so new.  A good friend of mine will be accompanying me and I will be there for 12 days.  We will be teaching on Clear conscience Christianity(grace,identity in Jesus, etc..).  I am betting that Holy Spirit has set up ample time to pray for these students and to be a part of their foundation that God is building in their lives.  Erika's mom will be with her the entire time I'm gone which is a huge blessing and great timing.  Anyways,  I just wanted to let you know!

With love,

Jason 

Prayer points: 

-God would speak through us in a unique and powerful way.  

-Travel would go smoothly.

- I still need about $800 in finances.  

-Erika won't miss me too much :).  

Seasons....

Hello!

Hope you all had a wonderful summer.  We always enjoy the sunny, gorgeous Montana summers.  This one was a bit of a blur with a new baby!  We had a great time visiting in Houston and introducing Beckett to our family and friends there.  Jason spent part of his summer staffing our Summer of Service school....this is like a DTS, but only one month here and one month of overseas outreach.  It is also open to high school and college age students.  It was wonderful to see the students learn how to use interests in music, dance, and sports in missions.  Jason also did quite a bit of soccer coaching with students in the local community this summer.  

For me, it was honestly a pretty sleepless and difficult summer.  While I was so enjoying my sweet boy,  I never imagined all the emotions that would accompany the transition to parenthood.  Jason and I both felt the ups and downs of all this transition - and I think it is all intensified when one is so sleep deprived.  I often have felt like my days and weeks go by and I don't know what happened or what I got done.  I'm sure many feel this way when going from a packed schedule full of more tangible accomplishments to caring for a sweet infant that is full of demands.  This was one of those things that was really hard for me, and as I shared my heart with the Lord one day, he encouraged me so much with something I want to share with you.  He reminded me of Psalm 1, particularly the part that talks about the righteous being "like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season."  I felt that he was reminding me that fruit comes in seasons - sometimes, we are in a season where the fruit we are bearing is very visible, and other times, it is winter and it looks like nothing is happening.  We can't measure what we are "producing" and we may not see results, even though we may feel like we couldn't possibly give any more.   This can feel so frustrating, and can feel like we are not good enough.  But I was comforted in that moment to trust him in the process, and to trust that the investment I am making is so worth it, and will "produce fruit in season."  He even reminded me that trying times produce valuable fruit in my own heart, and that I am never alone as I walk through those times.  

Beckett just turned 6 months old....I can't believe how he has grown and how fast that went!  He is full of energy and such an inquisitive, aware little guy.  We are having a lot of fun with him these days as he gets more and more interactive and seems to do something new each week.  I hope some of you can meet him!  We love visitors and welcome you to come anytime if you can make the long trek out here!

Thanks again for all the love and gifts you all have poured out on us as our family has expanded this year.  We are so grateful for you all and feel blessed to be supported and cared for even though we are far away.

Beckett is growing up so fast!

Summer went by way too fast.....does this tempt you to come visit?  :)

Our family at a wedding this summer.  

Thank you thank you!

Hi everyone! 

It has been a crazy few months and I'm sure most of you have been keeping up with us on Facebook, but here is a little update about the Goodfellow family! 

First of all.. We wanted to just say thank you for the overwhelming amount of gifts, cards, and kind words that people have given to us and our newborn son Beckett.  It is such a privilege to have community and friends who care so much.  We love you.  

And that's not even all of them! 

We are doing well as a little family unit.  Beckett is sleeping well at night and is as cute as ever.  

"Hello!" He says.  

Jason is actually switching departments and will be over our sports ministry here in base doing both local( coaching, working with high schoolers, and college students and involved in whatever else he can get his hands in on).and overseas( hoping to lead both staff and student teams overseas to use sports as a vessel for Jesus to work).  So that's a big change as well as having a baby.  Erika will be a beloved full time mom and continue to pour into lives of young girls here.  So before we go on for too much longer.. That's what is happening in our lives lately.  We love you and are blessed to have so many in our lives that love us.  

If you have any questions on how to support us or pray for us, please email at jl06goodfellow@gmail.com, or Erika.goodfellow@ywammontana.org

Jason, Erika and Beckett.  

WDTS '14 on outreach!

I'm a little behind on writing...I guess that happens when one is pregnant, tired, and busy.  :)  For us, the most exciting recent thing happening is that we have sent our students off to bless the nations!  We have three teams that are currently in Thailand, Czech Republic, and Costa Rica.  Obviously these are three very different cultures, but God has been faithful and they have had some incredible opportunities so far to serve and to lead people to Jesus!

The Thailand team has mostly been building relationships with University students so far through a cafe ministry and English camps.  Relationships and time spent together are very important to Thai people, so they have had a great time reaching out this way.  They are now working at a home for children and single moms affected by AIDS.

The Czech team has also been building relationships in a country that has been broken by war and Communism.  They have been involved in some sports camps and city evangelism and are excited to love on hurting people.

The Costa Rica team has been doing a variety of things....helping out some local farmers, and going door to door to give out Bibles and to share God's love with people.  They have seen 7 people give their lives to Jesus so far!  Jason will go to do a pastoral visit to that team next week....please pray for safe travels and that he is able to bless and encourage the team and leaders in their ministry!

I would love to join him, but I get to stay here because I can't fly internationally this late in pregnancy.  :)  I am getting a bit tired and uncomfortable, but I am still grateful for such a healthy pregnancy, and we are so excited to meet our little boy soon!  Thanks for praying for us, and please keep our 3 outreach teams in your prayers over the next month or so.  We are proud of them and know that their lives are still being transformed as they learn how to give away what they have received.

Mini outreach Spokane

Rapping her testimony

The girls dance at the cafe night. 

Parents in need distributor. 

Jake(one of the students) sharing his testimony at a youth group. 

Hey everyone! Just wanted to give an update on our time in Spokane, Washington for our "mini-outreach."  It went really well! We helped in all kinds of ministries there, including speaking to a youth group about missions, sorting and packing baby clothes for a parents and children in need distributor, and packing and sorting food at a food bank. We held an open mic night/cafe night and invited people from the community, and talked to people about God in malls and on the streets/stores, as well as pray for those we met. The whole school enjoyed getting to use what they have been learning and experiencing in class.  God was amazing to provide so many opportunities to share himself with people through us! It was so good to go  (personally one of my favorite weeks in DTS) and good to come back (home sweet home after the craziness).  Thank you again Mountain View Church for hosting us! We are grateful that we could partner with you in the awesome work you are doing. 

Love to you all! 

Jason and Erika

Happy New Year!

We are a bit behind on blogging....but I guess I can chalk that up to pregnancy and preparing to lead a DTS at the same time!  I am feeling so much better now that I am in my second trimester, for which I am very thankful!  We hope you all had a very merry Christmas and that your new year is off to a good start.  Jason and I spent a wonderful and relaxing time in Houston with my family and friends over the holidays. We felt SO blessed by all the love and generosity we were shown there....including 2 beautiful baby showers!

Jason went home to SC for a few days to spend time with his family, particularly because his Granddad was ill in the hospital.  He was so thankful for that special time together, as his Granddad passed away on January 1, just a few days after Jason left.  Granddaddy was so loved by his family and we are all missing him now.

The Winter DTS that we are leading started on January 6, so we had a quick turnaround.  We are grateful that God sent us this group of students and are really looking forward to what he will do in their lives during their time with us.  Please keep them and us in your prayers over the next few months!  We are thankful for you all and your care and involvement in our lives.

Jason and I got to go to the Nutcracker ballet in Houston!

An exciting announcement

So.. We're pregnant.. 

We are very excited to announce that Erika is due at the end of May! We're not sure of the sex yet, but we will let everyone know as soon as we do! Erika had been feeling pretty lame so far, but it seems as though things are getting a bit better.  She is growing a human after all!! 

So happy to announce this and have you share in our excitement.  Love you all 

Jason and Erika

Autumn for the Goodfellows

So far it is a lovely autumn here in Lakeside.  We have crisp, frosty mornings, and then the fog rolls in for most of the morning.  After that, we have clear blue skies and sun for the afternoon.  We are trying to soak it up, because winter could come any day!

We are currently busy getting ready for the Winter DTS students who arrive in January.  Jason and are setting up the school schedule, corresponding with our students, and booking speakers right now.  We meet weekly to pray with our group of 14 staff over new student applications, as well as just praying for God to work in students' lives, both now and when they come for DTS.  We are still helping out in a few logistical positions for part of the day, too.  Jason is working in housekeeping, and I am trying something new by helping in the accounting office.  I am blown away by the amazing generosity of all who support this ministry and the people in it as I work there!  You all probably have no idea of the incredible impact that people like you have all over the world by your generous gifts and prayer for YWAM's ministry and its missionaries.  Know that I thank God for you all and pray his blessings for you as I work there!

We are also helping out with the Alpha course this fall.  Our base is hosting it for the first time, and if you haven't heard of it, it is a weekly meal with a talk about various important topics in Christianity, followed by a discussion.  It is geared toward non-Christians, and a very relaxed and non-confrontational way for them to learn more about Jesus and to be loved by his followers.  We have a small faithful group that has been attending, and we are so excited for what God wants to do in their lives through this, as most of them are not Christians.  It is a time for them to discover the meaning of life, and the giver of life.  We would appreciate your prayers for this new endeavor!

Jason reached an important milestone this year.  He was honored this past week at a staff gathering for 5 years of service at YWAM Montana.  He is actually coming up on 6 years here, but they honor staff for 5, 10, 15, etc. years once during each year.  I am proud of him!  He has served faithfully during his time here, and is so committed to helping people discover God's calling on their lives.  Jason is passionate for people to realize how deeply they are loved by God, and for that revelation to transform the way they live their lives.

We really feel full of thankfulness in this season, and we are especially thankful for you!

Your long-lost friends, Erika and Jason :)

Hello!

It has been awhile since we last updated....we have had a very full summer!  It's only the second week of September here in Montana, and already the air is turning brisk and colors are in the beginning stages of changing.  We hope you all had a great summer, with time to relax and be refreshed.

We have something very cool to share with you all.  Our YWAM campus has just completely reinvented our website, and it is amazing!  It presents what we do here in a much easier-to-understand way than maybe we could even communicate in person.  Photos, videos, and articles are good at that.  :)  Please take a minute to check it out!  It is beautiful and easy to navigate.  The website is:   http://ywammontana.org/
   
Also, this article was written by a great student of ours from this past Winter DTS.  She shares her story of DTS and reaching out in Brazil in a lovely, poetic way.

We are looking forward to a wonderful Fall quarter here.  We are expecting around 120 new students to arrive in less than 2 weeks, hungry to learn more about God and to be equipped and sent!  Jason and I will spend the majority of this fall preparing for the upcoming Winter DTS, which we are leading again.  This involves lots of emailing to put things in place, reviewing/praying over applications, and doing staff training.  We are looking forward to what God has in store for this group!

Jason and I remember you all often and thank the Lord that we have such wonderful people in our lives to pray for and support us.  We love you!

Brasil photos

Happy Summer!  We are so grateful that summer has come a little early in Montana and that we've gotten to enjoy a few warm, sunny days.  This is usually a rare thing in June!  Here are a few photos from our time in Brazil.  We will be sharing them little by little with you all, as well as stories.  I know pictures usually say it best, though.  :)

55 people walking through a favela (slum) in Rio de Janeiro!

Borel....a slum where people have prayed for many years.  Now, this place has very little
violence and has seen a few drug lords come to know Jesus!  So awesome!

A school in Rio where we sang, did dramas, dances, and shared testimonies.
So many students were touched with God's love!

Rio school

Powerful drama about freedom

Dance

Jason and Erika on Ipanema Beach

Celebrating Easter in Rio...we surprised the students with an Easter egg hunt.  :)

We also celebrated Easter with a Brazilian style barbeque.
Jason's dad joined us for ministry in Rio....it was wonderful!

Some of our students with Brazilian students and YWAM missionaries in Curitiba.  

A much needed date for Jason and me in downtown Curitiba.
We were so surprised to find this beautiful cafe!

We helped build a  new house for Rosalie...her house was destroyed by termites.
She was a grandmother to all of us!

I'm serious about painting here!  

These are just a few photos...you'll have to check back next weekend for some more!


Love, Jason and Erika

We're Home!

Hey everyone!

   We are home!  We got home last Friday after a long flight from Rio De Janeiro.  Our time in Brazil has been incredible!  People here keep asking us how Brazil was and that is one of the only responses we can give.  The whole DTS did so well there and it was very rewarding for us to be leading a group like that.  Ministry was like cutting through butter because of God, and we tangibly felt the prayers that people poured into our time in Brazil.  Really, it made such a huge difference to have a lot of people praying for us, and for that we are thankful.

We have been waiting to share a story with you guys until we got back to keep it as a surprise....so here it is!!  I know it is a little long, but I promise if you read the whole thing you'll be glad you did :).  It takes time to tell from the heart a small piece of what God did on our outreach.  Again, we are so grateful for your prayers.  We feel like this was a total divine appointment of which you are a part, also.

     This is a picture of a lady named Rosana (pronounced Hozana), and her husband.   We met her in Curitiba, Brazil, in the south.  We did a soccer ministry in the mornings there, and then visited the parents of the boys that came to play in the afternoons.  So one day, we were walking around the poor community with our ministry contact, and felt like God was leading us to go Rosana's house.  We found out quickly that she was very upset with something that was going on in her life: she had recently been told she would die of cancer within the year.  She told us that she was going to the hospital at the end of the week to sign a document refusing further treatment, as the doctors gave her little hope of it making any difference.  So we prayed for her there and then invited her to a weekly worship service that the YWAM base was having.  She showed up with two of her sons, and we all prayed for her at the end of the service.  She seemed to appreciate it, but left without saying anything.  The next Monday we visited her to see how she was doing, and she was very excited to see us.  Through the translator we found out that her doctor had run tests and scans again and came back completely dumbfounded.  He was confused at the fact that there was NO CANCER IN HER BODY!!!  Rosana told him that she had been prayed for the night before and that it felt like fire had gone through her body as we were praying. She told us that she slept through the night after we prayed for the first time in forever, without pain, because God healed her of cancer.  Needless to say the doctor was stunned, we were stunned, and she was incredibly grateful that God gave her life again where death was coming to take it away.  It was so exciting and wonderful to celebrate what God had done with her  and her family that day!

There were many more things that happened on this outreach, but this is definitely a taste of what it was like in Brazil.  We love this country and would go back again any day!  Feel free to call us or email us if you want to hear more about the trip.  There will be a ton more pictures to come.  Check out our Facebook pages as well for pictures.

Love,

Jason and Erika

Update from Curitiba, Brazil

Hello Everyone! 

We are very excited to share a bit of news with you guys!  We left for Brazil a month ago having no idea what to expect.  In such a short amount of time Erika and I have so enjoyed our time here: with the people, the culture, and the ministries we've worked with.  Though we have come to serve, we have experienced the most amazing hospitality here.  We have learned so much about friendship, and have been blown away by the way that even people who have hardly anything will bend over backwards to show our team that they are cared for and loved. (The food is also really good...we have both been saying they really know how to eat down here.  The Brazilians take their food very seriously, a lot like us..haha.)

Our ministry times in Curitiba have looked like this: 

-Reaching out to a poor community by going door to door and praying for people and sharing the gospel with them.  We have seen several people healed and touched by God so far. Amazing to be a part of! 
-Playing lots of soccer and sharing testimonies of how God has worked in our lives afterwards with kids from the surrounding community.  They come for English classes, soccer coaching, woodworking, and discipleship with an amazing YWAM ministry here in Curitiba called Hope Project.  
-Helping build a home for an older widow whose home was destroyed by termites :(. 
-Teaching English and much more! 

We are very thankful to be here and work alongside the long-term Brazilian missionaries here...we have learned so much from them!  They are amazing and so hospitable and loving to our team.  Wish you guys could see and hear everything for yourselves, but here is a little taste :).  Bless you today! Hope you are doing well! 

Love, 

Jason and Erika 

Reaching Out To Brazil

        What an amazing country Brazil is!  We feel so blessed to be here doing God's work.  We are in one big group of 57 people (including Jason's dad for 11 days) and man is it fun to be together like this!  It is our first time to do outreach with such a big group, and our ministry times on the streets attract people right away.  Worship has been an amazing way to draw people in, as well as dramas, dances and testimonies.  Wow, has it been fun to be able to encourage each other from different perspectives of what God did during these times.   Jason's dad hasn't been on an outreach in about 10 years, so this has been an incredible experience for him as well to be able to go out with a group of people and minister again.  He is such an encouragement and example to all of us, as staff and students.

One highlight of our outreach times so far has been doing evangelistic programs at schools in a poor suburb of Rio de Janeiro.  At 3 different schools, we have been able to share the gospel with close to 3000 teens!  It is so evident that the Holy Spirit is touching their hearts, by their tears and their desire to pray with us.  We also had the opportunity to prayer walk/worship through a favela (slum) that used to be one of the most violent ones in Rio.  A man named Pedro has been ministering there for the past 22 years, and said that through God's intervention and doing prayer walks there in the past 5 years, it is now a safe place for everyone!  They no longer war with the neighboring favelas.  Also, the top drug lord of that favela came to watch us pray and worship for a while, and Pedro said that he had an experience with Jesus recently that changed his life!

Thank you for sending us to Brazil.  We feel so privileged to be a part of what God is doing here.  We have seen a lot of lives touched and we still have 6 weeks to go!  Please pray that we would have energy to continue to press into what Jesus has for us here; we want to be involved in all of it!  If you want to see a few photos of what we are doing here, check out Erika's facebook page!

Love, Jason and Erika

Hello Seattle!

Hello from Seattle!

The entire Winter DTS and staff are here for the week to share God's love with the people in this city.  We are being hosted by an amazing church, Westminster Chapel, that is the home church of some good friends of ours who are on staff in Montana.  We are partnering with them for some outreach opportunities, as well as just showing up in parks and places where people congregate and asking God for opportunities!  So far, our group has been able to talk to a lot of people and pray for them and bring encouragement.  Seattle has a very diverse culture, and our students are so excited to understand and share God's heart with people who are often ignored or marginalized.

This week is such a great opportunity for us to put into practice all that we have been learning these past 6 weeks.  I think one of the most important things is that ministry MUST flow out of our own place of rest in God's love.  If we aren't filled by him, we don't have much to give.  The little that we do have is then given out of our own strength, and then, we burn out quickly.  If we learn how to stand at our full height as daughters and sons of Father God, we can see people the way He sees them, and have something to share whether or not we have anything in common with the people we meet.  Jason and I personally have been so challenged and refreshed by the reminder that we must be continually going to the Lord to fill us before we try to give anything away.  I hope it is an encouraging reminder for all of you as well - don't go it alone!  The Father has so much rest, love, and peace that he wants to lavish on you today.

Please be praying for divine appointments, health, and safety for us this week!

Love, Erika and Jason

So thankful for a place of rest!

So.....in absence of a typical update this week, I finally did something I know I told you some of you I would do over a year ago!  I uploaded some photos of our little home!  We have only lived here like a year and half now.  :)  I will try to do photos more often on the blog, but I guess because my laptop is so old, it literally takes 20 minutes to upload 10 photos!  I am just praying the trusty old thing holds up a little longer.  Our home is kind of like an efficiency apartment.  It was renovated from an old hotel building.  The story behind it is so cool!  This hotel was located on the lake about a mile from where we live.  The hotel was old and not in fantastic shape, and a couple in the community wanted to donate the lakefront property for a city park.  Instead of demolishing the buildings, they donated them to YWAM, AND paid to have them moved onto our property!  It was an incredible answer to prayers here over many years, asking for more staff housing.  Some amazing staff here renovated them into little apartments that have been lived in since Fall 2010.  Our cousins, Josh and Emily Brooks, made a fantastic short video about this gift.  Here is the link if you are curious!  

We feel incredibly blessed to have such a cozy and peaceful home to come home to after very long days of ministry.  Thank you all for being a part of providing a place that is a haven of rest for us, and also one where we can invite people in and show hospitality.  Hope you enjoy your little tour!

Love, Jason and Erika

Our front door

Right inside the door

The living room

Kitchen area

The kitchen itself!

Main part of the "house" - living/dining/desk :)

Bedroom...sort of a room, I guess.  :)

Bathroom

I love this little fire pit area that a church team made for us this summer.  

The outside of the building - obviously it doesn't look like this in February.  :)

                                                And that's it!  Come visit us sometime!