New Year

I cannot believe that it is almost 2015! This year has gone by so fast! We have been so blessed by friends, family and even strangers who have supported us as we prepare to move to Malawi, Africa to serve orphans and widows at Esther's House. If you would like to help us move to Africa please visit www.purecharity.com/fernlaunch. There is only 1 day left for it to count as a 2014 tax deduction.

40 ornaments have been taken so far! YAY!

31 ORNAMENTS have been taken! What a blessing! We are one step closer to moving to Malawi. Would you consider choosing "an ornament" from the image below? Choose a number & donate that dollar amount to the Pure Charity website www.purecharity.com/fernlaunch (Note: you cannot click on the actual ornament). BUT... Only 3 days left for it to count as a 2014 tax deduction.

Merry Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone! We hope you have a wonderful day with your families!

Matthew 1:23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

We are planning to move to Malawi, Africa in February to serve as missionaries to widows & orphans. We will live at an orphanage, where the amount of work waiting for us is immense. We are wrapping up jobs, selling our belongings, and preparing to load a container to ship to Africa. However, we are not yet fully funded to be able to serve without finances having to be a concern. That's where you come in! This Christmas, would you consider choosing "an ornament" from the image below? It's simple... choose a number & donate that dollar amount to the Pure Charity website listed (www.purecharity.com/fernlaunch). If every ornament is selected, we will be able to leave on our goal date. And…every donation is tax deductible here at the end of the year.

* If there is a leaf over the ornament, that means someone has donated that amount to our launch fund.

                                 Currently, we have reached 50% of our launch goal.

There are around 1.5 million orphans in the country of Malawi. We are working hard to move there to work at Esther's House Orphanage as soon as possible. To help us make that a reality please visit www.purecharity.com/fernlaunch, financial gifts are tax-deductible. Thank you!

Giving Thanks

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with their families.  We traveled to Atlanta to see Titus' family. We had a lovely time, but unfortunately on the way there we got stuck in traffic for over an hour due to a wreck. I had to capture the moment. HEHE! 

We have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. We have been very busy the last several months working to move to Malawi, Africa. During this season especially, we wanted to stop and take a moment to look back on all the  things God has done for us. When have been AMAZED  at how God has provided for us thus far.

*We are Grateful for friends! This past week a coworker at my school made casseroles and sold them to other teachers to help us move to Africa. We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of our friends and family to help us on this journey.

* We LOVE Referrals! One of our friends told us to contact one of his college buddies who had a heart for missions. We were a little nervous talking to someone we didn't know, but as soon as we started talking to him all fears disappeared. It was like we had known him our whole lives. So grateful that we have a new friend who has a heart for furthering the kingdom of God and now he is one of our monthly supporters!

* We are THANKFUL for IDEAS! One of my coworkers brainstormed ideas we could fundraise in our hometown. She went to her ZUMBA instructor and told her about us and our desire to move to Malawi, Africa to work with widows and orphans. The instructor immediately got in contact with me and now we are having a ZUMBATHON next weekend. We haven't even met yet! Love how God works!

* We APPRECIATE our PARTNERS! We are so grateful for your prayers and support! We could not do this without the help of our friends and family!

* We are EXCITED to move to ESTHER'S HOUSE ORPHANAGE! Over the last few months God has continually confirmed our calling to Africa. We yearn for the people of Malawi and cannot wait to call it home. Here is a video of some of the kids at Esther's House singing. They have such beautiful voices!

 

We are currently 37% funded. Please consider joining our support team financially, either through a

one-­time gift or monthly support before the end of the year, all of which is tax deductible.

You can visit our support pages: 

One-Time gifts- www.purecharity.com/fernlaunch 

Monthly gifts- www.purecharity.com/fernsformalawi

We are having a Zumba fundraiser on December 6th from 2 to 4. We hope to see you there!

Our Future Home

 

Hello friends and family! We have been busy these past few weeks working hard toward getting to Africa. We are continuing to sell our things, meeting with people to share about our support needs, and working on some future fundraisers. A friend shared this photo and I thought it was so fitting for our lives. We are excited to call Africa home...soon! :)

Hello Friends and Family!

We are working hard to move to Africa in 81 days (January 15th)! In order to move we have to be fully funded. We would love for you to pray about joining our financial support team. 

 We have raised 34% of our monthly support goal. This will provide for our daily living expenses, such as housing, gas, food, utilities, taxes etc. If you are interested in joining our monthly support team, go here.

We have raised 30 % of our launch goal.  This includes plane tickets, health insurance, a vehicle, and work visas, etc. If you are interested in supporting us with a one-time gift please, click here.

We are getting excited to move to our new home! 

WOW! September was a busy month for us! We had a yard sale and were so blessed by everyone who helped us!

 Last week my school had Jeans for Malawi. That's right teachers will pay money to wear jeans to work! This event was a great success! My coworkers are amazing! Titus and I were overwhelmed with their generosity to help us get one step closer to moving to Africa.

So grateful that this week is Fall Break! I spent the weekend relaxing with a friend and her beautiful baby girl in the mountains! It was just what I needed! Our God is a very talented artist! Excited that the leaves are beginning to change.

Now I am in Northwest Arkansas visiting family and friends and sharing about Africa and what God is doing in our lives.

Yard Sale

 We are having a garage sale on Saturday, September 27th to help us move to Malawi, Africa.  If you  live in the Franklin/Nashville area and you have items you would like to donate to our yard sale please leave a comment below. I will be happy to meet you and pick up any items. THANKS for your help! We really appreciate it.

Last Sunday,  at church we sang the song, "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus". What an amazing song! It was very encouraging but my favorite part was learning the back story behind the song.

I Have Decided to Follow Jesus

I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
No turning back, no turning back.
Though I may wonder, I still will follow;
Though I may wonder, I still will follow;
Though I may wonder, I still will follow;
No turning back, no turning back.
The world behind me, the cross before me;
The world behind me, the cross before me;
The world behind me, the cross before me;
No turning back, no turning back.
Though none go with me, still I will follow;
Though none go with me, still I will follow;
Though none go with me, still I will follow;
No turning back, no turning back.
Will you decide now to follow Jesus?
Will you decide now to follow Jesus?
Will you decide now to follow Jesus?
No turning back, no turning back.

Back story:

In the 1800's an Indian man named, Sandh Singh became a Christian. The leaders of his village told him to deny Christ or his family would be killed. He responded  “I have decided to follow Jesus, and there is no turning back.” After he watched his children die, he said, “The world behind me, but the cross is before me.” And after his wife was murdered, he said, “Though none go with me, I will follow Jesus.”

 What a powerful story!
 

Titus and I are in awe of God and how He provides for us! We are so grateful that He is in control and always meets our needs! We met an amazing young man this weekend who does mission work every summer overseas. He shared some verses with us that  reminded him why he was there. I love these verses and plan on memorizing them for both great and difficult days ahead.  I wanted to share them with you as well!

 My mom also shared a verse with us yesterday. That I found fitting for our current journey! I am excited to see what amazing things God will do during our time preparing for Africa and once we are there. I hope these verses both encourage and inspire you! :)

Please share any of your favorite verses in the comment section! Would love to read verses that inspire you and give you strength!

Last night at CWJC

What a sweet night! I have enjoyed volunteering at CWJC over the past 2 years. It is hard saying goodbye! Tonight  Ms.Angela the head of the Williamson County CWJC Campus threw Omar and I a going away party! So sweet! Omar, is a student who is moving to Chicago to attend Seminary. How neat! He is going to be a pastor! God has blessed me so much with this program! I am so grateful that I got to meet amazing people. I signed up to teach them English, but over the past 2 years they have taught me so much about God and his love! They have become a 2nd family to me! I will miss my sweet students and the other volunteers!

I had to share this picture, just for fun! Apparently this is tradition in Mexico. They do this at birthdays and going away parties, it is called "bite the cake" a.k.a. push your face in the cake! Oh these people are so fun! I will miss them. It was a memorable night!

We were very encouraged today! I logged into our Pure Charity page to find that someone had donated to our launch fee. What a blessing! I love seeing how God provides! It is very encouraging to see how the body of Christ comes together to support one another. Titus and I are very excited to embark on this journey! We are overwhelmed by the prayers and support from family and friends.
We are so happy that we will be working with my sister Catherine and her family in Malawi, Africa. There will be 4 families working together to love, encourage, and share Jesus' love to orphans and widows at Esther's House Orphanage. 

There are 2 ways you can help us. By visiting out Pure Charity monthly page
https://www.purecharity.com/fernsformalawi/
and our launch page 
https://www.purecharity.com/fernlaunch

When God Says Go

 Titus and I are excited to announce that we are moving to Malawi, Africa.  We will be living and working at Esther's House Orphanage in Ntcheu through Pure Mission, an organization out of Northwest Arkansas. You can find out more about our organization by going to https://www.facebook.com/puremission. We promise to do our best at keeping you up to date throughout our journey. You can learn more about how God led us to Africa on Our Story page.

As we prayed and studied the Bible for direction we came across these two verses in the New Testament- Mark 16: 15 And then he told them, "Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone and Matthew 28:19 "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
We named our blog "God says go" after listening to this song by Vineyard Music, If You Say Go. We connected to this song and how God called Titus and I to be missionaries and spread his love to orphans and widows in Africa. We are so grateful to our family and friends who are supporting us along the way. We cannot wait to share all the incredible things God will do. Thank you for your prayers and support!