Summer Pictures!

Jason and Erika in Glacier National Park

Erika and her mom at Flathead Lake

Avalanche Lake at Glacier National Park

In Bigfork, a cute town across the lake

This is the spot where we got engaged about 2 years ago!  (it overlooks
the gorgeous Flathead Lake and an incredible view and sunset.  :)

Just thought you all might enjoy some pictures from my parents' visit.  Now we just need to find some pictures of Danny as well!  We had a fabulous time together and enjoyed some beautiful local scenery.  

Busy Summer!!!

Wow....it has been far too long since I last blogged!  I guess that just shows that a lot has been going on.  Life has been such a whirlwind, I don't know where to start.  

SBS finished with a bang!  We finished with the book of Matthew to tie it all together, which was wonderful.  Our final paper really helped us to synthesize all that we learned, and realize that we actually do have a much better grasp of the "big picture" of the Bible and God's plan for humanity after doing this course.  We had a lovely few days of celebrating with our classmates, and enjoyed a great graduation and fancy dinner.  Our class performed "Be Thou My Vision" as a choir, and I had a small solo.  

After only one weekend of rest, Jason started working on the campus, both in the facilities department, and in the kitchen.  When we are not directly staffing a Discipleship Training School, we serve in various logistical capacities here.  While Jason did this, I was in a six-week DTS leadership development/ staff training course.  Jason already completed this course (DTS Equip) a few summers ago.  It has been very busy, too, but so good for me!  I learned so much about my leadership giftings and how to put them into practice.  I want to go more into detail on this....so you will have to check back for the next entry!!  :)

In the middle of all this, we have had some amazing visits from family.  First, my parents came for a week in early July.  We had a fabulous time together - such great relationship-building moments while enjoying the beautiful Montana summer!  It was wonderful for my mom and Danny to get a closer look at what we do here and why we are so passionate about this ministry.  We miss them already.  :(   We had a lovely surprise visit from John, Jennie, and Cameron Karle.  They are cousins from my mom's side of the family and were taking a vacation around Wyoming and Montana.  We so enjoyed connecting with them for a day and gearing more about what they are doing.  To top it off, Jason's cousin Jordan and his wife Karla were visiting from England, and we got to spend the weekend with them in the middle of their stay in America with family.   We are so blessed to have such loving and gracious family, and more blessed that they would actually journey all the way up here in the boonies to see us!

I want to go more in depth about what we are personally learning....but I'm afraid this is too long already.  As I said, you will have to check back for the next entry!  Photos will be coming soon as well.  Much love to all of you, and know that you also are welcome to come visit at any time!

Almost Done!!!

Hello everyone!

This will be a short post, but I just wanted to express my excitement that we are so close to being finished with SBS!  We finished the Old Testament on Tuesday, which felt like such an accomplishment after covering so much text in 5 months!  We are now studying Matthew, the final book of the school.  It has been helpful so far to see the way saving this book for last helps tie in God's plan for all of history, and the way that Jesus is the fulfillment of his hope for restoration.

We are in the process of writing a final paper that summarizes just that: God's plan for humanity.  It has seemed overwhelming at times, for it covers all we have learned from Genesis to Revelation and is supposed to synthesize all that information into a big picture story.  However, we are both really enjoying it, as it is helping us to focus on the highlights of what we have studied this year.  It is amazing to see that we really have learned sooo much!  I am so much more aware of who God is and what that means for people.

We will turn in our paper this weekend, turn in our paper/assignment over the book of Matthew on Tuesday, take a final exam Wednesday morning, and then be done!!!!  We will celebrate with a lovely graduation dinner that they host for us at the Hilton in town, and then have graduation next Thursday, June 23.  Thanks so much for your prayers, love, and support over these past nine months.  We are very thankful for all of you, and we look forward to sharing what God has taught us with you all.

Love,  Erika

We're getting close!

Good morning friends and family! 


These past couple months have been amazing.  We have been working through both small and large books, starting from Kings and Chronicles and moving into the prophets, going through them chapter by chapter. It is such an amazing thing to study the Bible like this, and a real privilege for us.  Our lives have been changed this year by what we have been studying.  Erika has learned a more in depth view of who God is and how big he truly is.  This realization has really inspired her to want to speak that truth into other people's lives, and put it into practice by using the gifts that God has given her; I am much the same. 


So, with that in mind, we have made a commitment for two years to be on staff for a school here that is one of YWAM's big areas of influence called DTS (Discipleship Training School).  The quick version of what it is, is a 3 month lecture phase filled with speakers that come who are either pastors, or have been long-time YWAM missionaries from around the world.  They come and minister to the hearts of the students in the school, and give them a foundation for taking this truth into the world.  The other half of the DTS is a 2 month outreach that we will be leading, to help the students see how to apply what they have learned, and to continue to solidify God's call of reaching out to the people of the world with his love.  Whether they decide to go into missions or go home, this school is an awesome equipping tool for making God known wherever they go. We are really excited to be a part of this. 


Along with this, we do have a need that I would like to begin to make known, and that is monthly support.  As of right now, we have enough money to finish out this quarter in the Biblical Studies school.  We intentionally worked last summer to pay for it, but starting this summer, we're going to be full-time staff members sowing into the DTS.  Since YWAM is a not-for-profit missions organization, they ask their staff to raise their own salaries, which means that the donations of others are not spent on overhead and administrative costs.  As of right now, we are praying and asking for monthly donations to help us cover our basic living expenses, and to continue to do what we feel like God has asked us to do.  If you're interested in how to help invest in missions through us, you can visit the support portion of our blog, on the tabs, and it will give you more information about this and how to contact us. 


Anyway, that's what is new in our lives. We look forward to this summer and enjoying what Montana has to offer and to serving here, as many people are coming this summer for building projects and for sending out high-school aged mission teams all over the world. We miss you all, and we're grateful for you. 


Love you guys, 


Jason and Erika