Canton Update

I realized I haven't put an update in a while on how life is going in Canton, other than all things Kate...which, really, is what everyone is most interested in :). But I figure I will give a little update on our life and ministry here in Canton, along with a few ways you can pray for us!

The Lord really has been blessing Trey's student ministry in our church. For a while we had about 8-10 students on Wednesday nights. We were maintaining that core group, and Trey and our youth volunteers were pouring into them and discipling them. Over the last few months, though, we have seen rapid number growth in our group. This past Wednesday night, for instance, we had 31 students. The only explanation we can see is that the Holy Spirit has blessed this ministry and is drawing students in...many of whom are not Christians. I asked Trey the other day how many he thinks are actually saved, and he said maybe about 1/4...and that might even be a liberal estimation. How cool is it that these kids are choosing to come to church on Wednesday nights and to hear the gospel week in and week out. Most of our students do not attend church on Sundays because their families do not come to church. Our church has a huge age gap of families with teenagers. We have a thriving children's ministry and a thriving senior adult ministry, but that middle age group is largely missing as a result of a church split many years ago. We are slowly rebuilding, though, and this is where we are also seeing God's blessing. So if you feel the Lord moving you to pray for our church, here are some ways you can do so:

- We are currently searching for a pastor. Our previous pastor, who Trey came in under, has retired from the pastorate. He came out of retirement to pastor our church after the split a few years ago, and he helped bring about much healing and direction to a broken body of believers. We are now searching for God's man who will provide leadership in this next phase of our church's life.

- Salvation!! Like I said previously, many of our students are not Christians. Pray for the Spirit to soften their hearts and to enlighten them to the saving grace found in Jesus Christ. Also, pray for the spiritual growth of our students who are Christians. Ask the Lord to deepen their faith and draw them into strong relationship with Him.

The Lord has blessed Trey, Kate, and me in our family life, too. I am so thankful to be a stay at home mom. We know this is God's best for our family at this time, and while it takes great sacrifice in some ways (especially financially!), it is worth every bit of the sacrifice. Me being home and not working has also allowed me to get more involved in our church and in making friendships with other women. Here are some ways we covet your prayers for our family:

- We are beginning the process of looking for a home. We aren't sure at this point if that means renting a home that's a little bit bigger or buying, but we have outgrown this little parsonage we're in. We are so thankful for our time in this home, and we will stay in it as long as possible, but we are also looking to the future and settling down here in Canton. I specifically am praying for a home with 2 bathrooms...because just 1 bathroom gets a little bit crowded at times. Ha!

- Friendships. We have already made some great friends, but we are wanting to find a friend group that we can do couple things with on a more consistent basis. We get plenty of family time, and we go on our regular dates, but we would love to have some friends to double and triple date with, too. I am involved in MOPS and am also looking forward to some play dates in the near future so I can establish and deepen friendships with other moms.

Thanks for reading, my dear family and friends abroad. Love you!