Hi there,
How are things? We are writing to you while spending time away in South Lake Tahoe, which is right on the boarder of California and Nevada. We had a nice blanket of snow fall last night, covering the whole area in about a foot of snow. That didn’t stop us venturing out to grab a late breakfast at the International House of Pancakes (IHOP) restaurant.
We just wanted to open to say a huge thank you for helping to make the wedding happen, your prayers and support were really appreciated in that time. It was a beautiful day. Our wedding took place on a sunny March 12, 2011 at Alexa’s home church, New Hope Christian Fellowship. Preparation for this day was more than stressful. We had opinions from about ten different people on how everything should look and go that day. It was a fight to do things the way we wanted while still keeping good relationships with everyone involved with helping. By the time the day of the wedding rolled around things had fallen together perfectly. Our families pulled together and made it happen, and it was beautiful! Our knees were shaking and our hearts were racing. What we appreciate the most in all this is how obvious God made Himself to us. He brought us together, made us one and now we will live together forever bringing Him glory. We raised over $3,000 from generous givers to help make the wedding (and honeymoon) happen. It was a great day that both of us would gladly experience again.
As we write this we are relaxing to Aaron Gillespie’s new album called Anthem Songs, it is a collection of worship songs mostly written by him but with a couple of ones you would recognise thrown in, I recommend it!
Anyways, to now be writing this update as married couple is an interesting experience but we will try to update you on what has been happening and what we are looking forward to. I, Joel, have been in America for over a month now and it has been a great time. I have enjoyed spending lots of time with my bride to be and now my wife. We have grown so much in a relationship with each other. It has also been a great time of rest for me and seeking God. I have spent a lot of time fasting and seeking God on what He is saying to me. Also just trying to dedicate myself more and more in prayer for others as recently there hasn’t been so much “hands on” ministry going on in my life. Coming before my Father and just asking Him for His hand to move in other people’s lives is a great honour. In all honesty I am eager to see where He calls Alexa and me to serve more “hands on”. However I have really been blessed in this time and the family that I have lived with have been so welcoming and have created a real home away from home. They are the leaders and founders of YWAM Modesto, they are wonderful Godly people that I have learnt a lot from just living with their family and seeing them “do life”.
For me, Alexa, life has been a bit all over the place since Joel arrived. Joel was sick most of the time he was here and it was a bit strange having him around all the time. Really, I had to get used to him not leaving. It was new and awesome. Planning our wedding had its difficulties. It consumed my mind most of the time but, I really tried to keep my relationships strong and I didn’t want to just focus on our wedding but on Joel and my relationship and what that is going to look like after we were married. It became real to me one day while we were going over “our” budget….I was literally thinking….I have to share everything with this man. I had to breathe deeply for a moment. I was ready to commit to him. During the planning of the wedding, I still did my normal work with YWAM Modesto. I became closer with the family Joel was living with and found peace and God in my relationship with them. They taught me a lot about how relationships work. They just made room for Joel and I to watch them interact every day. It was some good practical teaching and they probably didn’t even realize they were doing it.
So where are we heading?
The more we pray as a couple the more we realise that God has brought us together with similar passions and desires. Recently in praying we have felt that we both eagerly desire to go to Bible College and learn more about God and His word and also how to effectively work within the local Church context. We feel that this is our next step. This we feel was confirmed in a number of ways, the biggest that it is just what excites us both the most. Another big confirmation has been that we have seen no increase in financial support for going to Canada. On our current support we would not be able to live and serve in Vancouver, it just wouldn’t be possible. So, in short we will not be returning to Vancouver in the near future. We will most likely be returning to England for at least a few months while we continue to work out God’s direction on our lives. It has been a test of faith and has made us wonder if we heard God right about Vancouver, but we know that God is in control. We hope to return to England either in late April or early May. There are a few things we need to sort out first. While in England we will be praying and seeking God on where we are to go to college and how it is all going to work out financially as school is expensive!
We have been so blessed by you reading these updates and continuing to support us even when things our end are looking rather unclear. Please never hesitate to write if you have questions or feedback, we really value having a relationship with you.
Be blessed today,
Joel and Alexa
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Joel and Alexa 