Seasons of Thankfulness
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,
to which indeed you were called in one body.
And be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom,
singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
And whatever you do, in word or deed,
do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3:15-17
Carson & Reid starting their first day of middle school together in Lake Wales.
Greetings from sunny Florida!
We think fall must be upon us despite the pumpkins and autumn leaf displays not quite matching the sunny skies and high temperatures outdoors. Even though it may not look or feel quite like autumn, we love this time of year and the focus on thankfulness that comes with American Thanksgiving. We are grateful for the blessing of being in Lake Wales for our home assignment as God continue to reveal His goodness in the timing of our being here. God graciously gives us much to be thankful for every day and in every season, and we wanted to highlight some of these that you might join us in prayer.
Home. We no longer have a house of our own, yet we have been provided for above and beyond in the use of First Pres Lake Wales’ mission cottage. It is cozily furnished and the perfect resting spot for our family. We are delighting in the luxuries of a dishwasher and a tumble dryer. We are thankful for the provision of this house to be our home while we are here on home assignment.
Church. We are conveniently just across the street from our home church and love being able to regularly participate in Sunday morning worship and Wednesday evening youth group. We enjoy reconnecting with our church family and supporters every opportunity we get, as well as meeting new people. On Wednesdays Colby is helping with middle school youth and Emma with high school youth. We are thankful to be able to participate in youth group and church as a family as we seek to encourage and to sharpen one another in our faith.
School. Carson (7th) and Reid (6th) are in the same school and are adjusting well to middle school life. Their teachers are working with us on any lapses in instruction due to different curriculum and coursework from Scotland, and we are pleased as parents to see the kids handling the totality of changes so maturely. Both kids participate in Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) on Fridays during lunch. Colby is able to be there with them as a youth leader which is a delight for him, too. We are thankful for the school’s support of our family in our transition, and we are thankful for the FCA club being held in a public school and well attended.
Sports. Carson is thrilled to be back to playing soccer on a community league with some of his friends. Saturday games and weeknight practices also provide opportunities for fellowship for the whole family. We are thankful for fun events like soccer that bring people together and lend themselves to building relationships.
Gifts. In addition to playing soccer, Carson has PE and Outdoor Leadership at school so he is active and outside every day. Our artist Reid is in an art class at school and looks forward to it daily. Colby is mentoring middle school boys that need support and someone to believe in them. Emma is helping with Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) as a mentor mom to encourage mothers of young children. We are thankful to be involved in activities such as these that bring us joy and use our gifts.
Support. We are thankful for you! Your prayers, your notes, your financial giving, and all you do helps spur us on and make it possible for us to be funded through World Witness for full-time ministry. Thank you for partnering with us through our two years of service with Grace Church Leith in Scotland and into the next season of ministry to follow after our home service finishes in the States this summer.
Ministry update: We are talking with World Witness leadership and members of Team Europe as we continue to pray about the specifics of our next field of service. We are excited about the possibilities of where the Lord may lead our family next. We participated in the World Witness board meetings in early October and aim to have our next field of service confirmed by January. We have hearts for those that are in seasons of transition and pray that God would teach us much from our own experience in this season of changes that we can apply to future ministry opportunities.
Again, we thank the Lord for you, and it is a joy and a privilege to be able to partner with you in Kingdom work.
With thankful hearts,
Colby, Emma, Carson, and Reid