Woodfins in Wyoming

The past two months have been a whirl wind. We are finally getting a moment to collect our thoughts enough that we can get them written down to share.

Not long after our December update we had to make a last-minute trip down to Georgia for two funerals on each side of the family. This was a very hard trip as it was the first time the kids had to ride across the country. They did great, but on our second day of driving Georgia started to not feel well and it turns out she had the flu. That severely limited who we were able to go see but it worked out well enough, we got to spend Christmas with our families which was a great moral boost for Kent and me.

Since we got back to Wyoming, we have been focused on preparing for the next 6 months. This will include monthly bible studies in Pinedale, our family finally moving to Pinedale, cleaning out and prepping the building for summer mission teams and regular use. Kent is also working with Tyler and Don on prep work for finishing the apprenticeship and transitioning into starting. One of the biggest pieces that we needed for these processes to start was a name.

The heading may have given it away, but Rendezvous Church is coming to Pinedale in 2024. We wanted a name that could represent and fit the community of Pinedale. One of Pinedale’s biggest events of the year is Rendezvous Day in July, where the Trader’s Row sets up camp in the church yard. The definition of Rendezvous is ‘to meet or come together’ at a particular time and place. The Rendezvous Days started as a time when the mountain men came out of the mountains into town to trade goods and stories and be replenished before heading back into the wilderness.

This is what we want Rendezvous Church to be, a place for Christians to find truth and be replenished before returning to their daily life. We want the church to offer community and be a part of the community of Pinedale.

We love the name, but Kent and I cannot take full credit. It was suggested to us by Brian Summerall who was raised in Pinedale and now lives there with his wife and family. I have mentioned them before, and they have been so excited about us coming to start a church in Pinedale, and we are so grateful to have them helping us launch Rendezvous Church.

In upcoming events, we have Winter Carnival on Feb 9-11. Our Home church, Mt. Calvary Baptist Church in Cochran, GA, is sending a small delegation for the event. With their help we will be looking at how we can have future mission teams come to Winter Carnival participate, volunteer, and minister during the event. I will include the link for the Winter Carnival info page, and look forward to next month’s update. https://www.mainstreetpinedale.com/winter-carnival

Two other updates for January. I have started my job as a New York Life Agent, we are getting a feel for the balance of me having a part time job. I ask for prayers as I start that we can maintain the work life balance that we worked to establish in our family. I also want this job to be a blessing to others, that I will be able to reach out and meet new people and get share my faith and the love of Christ with them.

And if we didn’t have enough going on, we are also expecting our 4^th child at the end of July!!!

We found out on New Years Day and  baby looks and sounds healthy so far. All the kids are excited to have new baby coming. James’ exact request was “I want 3 boy babies. One for me, one for Georgia, and one for Caroline.” He is not getting that. There is only one baby and that will be plenty. Please be praying for the transition from Casper to Pinedale. I am already working with my doctors to find resources for the transition. I am hoping to meet with doctors at the Clinic in Pinedale when we visit in February. I would appreciate prayers for them to be understanding, accommodating, and flexible as much as possible.  

We are also coming up one some partners 1 year of giving. We have the goal of reaching out to each of our partners individually and also doing some video updates for churches, before we visit in May.

We look forward to updating you next month, we hope to talk to many of you soon.