March Update

Ahoy, Ahoy Everyone!

(Oooops! We wrote this blog and then never posted it! Terribly sorry! We thought that we should post it anyways just to keep you updated and informed!)

Alas, time never does seem to slow down and we’ve had yet another jam packed month full of work, work, work, and of course, fun, fun, fun!

Nate
Nate has been especially busy this month with work/ministry. On top of his usual work load, he’s also had the opportunity to preach at church, take the church youth to The Big Story- a big youth worship event in Southampton, attend a day conference, take leadership of the youth worship team, plan and prepare for the Canadian Bible School team that comes in a weeks time, prepare for the NOISE (see below), and more…

Erika
I’m just keeping myself busy being a full time mom- and loving it! I aim to get at least one load of wash and one chore (besides the cooking and dishes) done a day- it doesn’t always happen, but I try! And between that, I’m just busy busy playing, feeding, changing diapers etc. I’m still helping out at exodusonfire on Friday nights. Friday mornings are always good fun as I meet with a group of mom’s for coffee and to talk more than just “goo goo gaa gaa”! I do like to get out with Kelaiah, so when it’s not raining we try to do something fun outside.

Kelaiah
Our little girl is growing up so quickly and getting bigger everyday! She’s getting really good at playing and enjoying little jokes- like funny faces. Kelaiah also likes it when we read to her. Her favorite books seem to be “The Farm” and “My Shining Bible” (I hope the latter remains her favorite, in different forms, throughout her life!). However, these days Kelaiah’s priority is “chatting”! She loves a riveting “conversation”, so long as she’s the one doing most of the talking! We are absolutely captivated by our little one and even though every parent thinks their child is the best- ours really is!!!!

The NOISE
The NOISE is a project that is all about letting our actions speak louder than our words- i.e. - living life loud. We put on this project in Englefield Green where Nate runs two of his youth clubs. The areas that we target are generally the poorer areas or public areas that no one else tends to. Projects usually include picking up rubbish, washing windows, clearing over run gardens/yards, cleaning public walk- ways, handing out lolly pops, etc. In addition to the things mentioned above, I believe that this year we may be cleaning up and painting a police station in the area that hasn’t been used in nearly 5 years due to its poor condition. The police would like to use it but haven’t the time to fix it up. Having the station open would be a huge benefit to the community.
All of these random acts of kindness are done to show the community that we care, and to share the love of Jesus with them. We always end the NOISE with a free b-b-q that’s open to everyone in the community to come and enjoy. At the b-b-q we usually have the Canadian Bible School team perform some dramas and share the gospel. In the past couple of years we’ve seen a few of the young people Nate works with give their lives to Jesus through having the Canadians with us. Although the Bible School team is a huge blessing, the NOISE now has such a good profile in the community we’re able to get more and more people helping us out. This year, another local church will be sending 10-20 of their members out to help. Several of the young people from Nate’s clubs came to help out last year, and it looks as though we’ll have an even better turn out this year! Nate’s been working with the local government to arrange all kinds of help from garbage pick up trucks, to road works signs and visibility vests. One of the councilors was able to get Domino’s Pizza to donate 20 large pizzas for the pre-NOISE kick-off party! He’s had all kinds of meetings in person and on the phone with police, church leaders, Tesco (a local grocery store) the press, etc, just to make this project happen. This year looks like it’ll be the biggest NOISE so far and we’re excited to see what God will do in the community!

Answers to Prayer
God is leading and directing us in the ministry that he’s put before us- more details to follow
Nate has had a huge amount of favour with the local government as he’s been planning the NOISE


Thanks to everyone for you continued support and prayers. We couldn’t do what we do without you!

Love and Blessings,
Erika and Nate & Kelaiah