Candidate Orientation - Day 2 and 3

Tuesday and Wednesday were great days!!! We continued to have interviews with CAM staff regarding personalities, marriage, teams, etc. Tuesday, we had 3 awesome sessions, which were sort of counseling sessions regarding our marriage. It was so encouraging to have someone walk alongside of us and help us look at things in our marriage that we can build upon and strengthen together. We are so grateful for the individuals who have devoted this week to us and the other candidates, as they use the gifts that the Lord has given them to come alongside of us to help us thrive on the field!

Today, we met with CAM personnel and talked about our future ministry in Spain and how we can use our time in Uruguay as an incubator to prepare to lead a new team into Spain. It is nice to have individuals to consult with and get advice from as we enter into serving in missions. The stewardship department also spoke with us about CAM's philosophy on stewardship and giving. As they seek to help us understand the Biblical foundations for stewardship, we can apply those principles to our lives and also encourage those who are choosing to partner with us -- not only financially, but through their time and talents! We want you to join with us however you are able -- WE ARE EXCITED ABOUT SERVING WITH YOU!!!!

The other candidates have been a blast to be with. When we aren't in meetings, we have the opportunity to hang out, chat, play games, etc. We had an intense game of Apples to Apples going on before lunch today and are looking forward to more times together in the next couple weeks.

Candidate Orientation - Day 1

Today was the first day of Candidate Orientation. It's soooo good to finally be at this point in our move to the field! For the next two weeks, we will be meeting with CAM staff and missionaries as we get closer to going to the mission field!

Our morning started with a great time meeting with Larry and Jaime Hower talking about many facets of ministry and life on the field. They are a great couple who has served in Honduras, Mexico, and, most recently, Canada. Our time with them is so precious, and they are such an encouragement to us as a couple! Throughout the day, we also had a chance to spend some good time with the other candidates -- Joel and Vivian Lara, Jon and Libby White, Kendra Cervantes, Rebecca Zurbrick, Tom and Ann Withers, and Joe and Jenna Blakey. We ended the evening with a game of Rummy Cube.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Goodbyes are hard to do...

Unfortunately, graduation time is a bittersweet time. On one hand, it's exciting to see how the Lord has brought us through our time of seminary and prepared us to the point of graduation from DTS! He has unique and special things in store for our ministry.

On the otherhand, all our friends who graduated have their own ministries and plans ahead of them. While we are excited for each of them, we don't like to say goodbye and have them move!

Within the past week, we have had to say goodbye to a couple of our closest friends at seminary -- the Turners and the Gautiers -- who are moving out of Dallas.











The Turners headed out to Alabama last week to being a ministry position as an Associate Pastor. We are thrilled for this opportunity for them, as it's a great fit and the Lord will use them both mightily to reach out to this growing community; however, they will be missed dearly.













The Gautiers head out tomorrow for Colorado where they will be teaching high school students at a new and developing Christian school. As our "across the hall neighbors" (literally!) we have had the opportunity to see them every day, stop by just to chat, borrow eggs and milk, share life, and play with their adorable boys! We are going to miss them so much and are sad that they have to leave.














The Turners and the Gautiers were some of the first couples we got to meet at seminary through our spiritual formation group. For two years, five couples met together on Sunday afternoon each week and poured into each others lives. Here's our group about 4 years ago...my how we have all changed (and we have added 6 little ones to the picture and Amber's expecting #2!) Amber and Curtis move in a few weeks too! Then we'll be the only ones from our group still in Dallas (for the time being...)













Unfortunately goodbyes are a part of life. They are never fun and they are never easy, but there will always be more goodbyes. We are thankful for our good friends and the impact they have had on our lives. We love you guys!!!!

Creativity with Results

Check out some creative genius. These folks really are willing to think outside the box to accomplish great things. Who says ministry can't be fun?