Fun at the Oldhams

Saturday morning seemed to come early after spending the majority of Friday at the zoo. So we decided to spend the morning at home relaxing. I don't think HK know what it means to relax so the dancing queen roped uncle Noah into dancing with her. We found a kids dance station on the tv and well they spent some quality time dancing.

I think this is the running man. Whatever she calls it this is one of HKs special dance moves. She reverts to it often.

Doing flips. A must in a dance routine.

The tango.

Uncle Noah dipping HK.

This one I will have to explain. While they were dancing Noah would kick his leg over HKs head. After he did this several times she wanted to kick her leg over his head.

Later that morning after the dancing was over. Noah and Hallie Kate put on quite a show for us. They acted out all kinds of bible stories. Betsy and I both took several pictures to attempt to document this event. However, the pictures do not do it justice. We were all cracking up. They acted out Jonah several times where uncle Noah would get under a lot of blankets and act like he was getting thrown up by the whale. HK thought this was hillarious. It took me a few stories to get my camera out but here is what followed.

"Kias" as HK referes to Zachias. Noah is up in the tree and HK is telling him to " you come down because I'm going to your house today"

Now it is HK's turn to be Kias. After Noah got down he would walk on his knees to show that he was short Zachias. So when it was HKs turn she felt that she also needed to walk on her knees while they walked to her house.

Let me set the scene for you. We are about the begin the story of baby Jesus' birth. Uncle Noah handed out roles. HK was the donkey, Betsy was Mary, Nolan was baby Jesus, I was the inn keeper, I don't know what Nate was, and Noah was everything else. Here is Mary riding into Bethleham on her donkey.

Baby Jesus has just been born and I think Noah is the star?

The donkey is laying next to baby Jesus.

Then the shepards come to see Baby Jesus. HK was also a shepard but you can't see her in this pic.

Then the wisemen come bringing gifts to Baby Jesus.

This is the story of Joseph. Hallie Kate is joseph with her multicolored princess blanket coat and Noah is making her second in command over all of Egypt.

Now Josephs brothers are begging at his feet for food during the famine.

Moving on... to the story of David and Goliath. HK is David with her rock and Noah is Goliath with his sword.

David killed Goliath. They also switched roles on this one and HK was Goliath. Not sure which version was better.

Thanks Nate, Betsy, HK, and Nolan for coming! We had a blast with you this weekend. HK don't worry. We went home and got Cubbie. We are taking him to our new house with us tonight.

Change is a commin

Noah and I have officially hit the busy season. I seriously don't think I have a free weekend between now and September (when Allie is coming). As crazy as life seems I don't think I would have it any other way. I am over half way done with the pregnancy and it really seems like yesterday when we found out. This weekend Nate, Betsy, HK and Nolan are coming to visit and we are going to the zoo. I am probably more excited about the zoo than HK is... we shall see. It has been forever since I have been and I am just excited to get some good quality time with Nate and Betsy. With everything going on Noah and I are in desperate need of some quality couple time. So weekend hurry up and get here!

This weekend is also our first preview service. WHAT? I can't believe it is already time. We will be meeting at the Jesus Church in Soulard at 11am on Sunday the 31st. I am a little nervous about what to expect or what it will be like. Our launch team meetings have been amazing but this will be a totally different dynamic. I am excited and expectant to see what God has in store. It seems like there are new developments everyday with August Gate. God has been so faithful and is already doing things we could have never imagined.

Monday we can move to Lafayette Square. We are SO excited to be able to be in our NEW condo. The space will be tight but I am so looking forward to this next season. To preaparing a place to bring my daughter home to. To makeing a beautiful nursery for her (Thanks Mom). To being able to live alone with my husband for the first time in 2 years! We will be commuting back and forth and still staying in St Charles during the week while we both will be working up here or until the end of July.

Ahh... deep breath... September will be here before I know it and then life will truly NEVER be the same... I can't wait.

Here are a few of my favorite things from this week:
~in no particular order~

1. Noah got to feel Allie move for the first time (this was more exciting for me than when I felt her the first time)
2. This weeks launch team meeting was by far the most intimate to date and I am excited to see God continue to build the relationships there.
3. I made $321 in my yard sale...well on my way to getting nursery furniture.
4. Memorial Day cookout at the Konieczkas = Great Food and Great Fellowhip
5. Hanging out with Kimmel for the first time in FOREVER...even if it is while cleaning
6. Looking at my husband and realizing I love him more today than the day we were married.

My favorite things from this week

In no real particular order...

1. Feeling Allie move inside me more and more
2. Hearing my husband preach (one of my favorite things in the world)
3. Talking to my mom after she had been out of the country for a week. I didn't realize how much I enjoy talking to her everyday.
4. Hearing Noah pray for our family and over our baby girl before we go to bed
5. Dreaming about what Allie's nursery will look like
6. Starting to pack up for the big move
7. Sitting outside on the beautiful days we have had this week and taking in Gods creation.
8. Looking through the baby section in every store I go in
9. Hearing the miracle that God did for our friends
10. Drinking strawberry limeades from Sonic

21 week update

So it has been a little while since I have given you an update on Allie Grace or Allie-belle as she is commonly reffered to by Noah and me. First of all I am 21 weeks! CRAZY! I am over half way there and it has flown by. We had our latest doc appointment on Friday and Dr. Pignotti was again very positive. Her heartbeat was very strong and he said she was sitting high and tight exactly where she needed to be. Allie is starting to move a lot more, I can feel her on a more regular basis and truly love feeling those little movements.

However, for any of you who have ever been pregnant you know that this does a toll on your body and I am having a minor issue that the doc wants me to see a specialist for to get checked out. Pray that it is nothing, Pignotti said he debated in his head to even have me see a specialist but would rather be safe than sorry and I would as well. So I will be seeing the specialist this Wednesday. I would appreciate all of your prayer.

Last week Noah and decided it would be fun to go check out Babies R Us and register. So after 2.5 hours in the store I think we made a good start. Noah was starting to get a little bored so he started adding random things to the registry (no worries, I have already gone through and taken off some of those random adds, but some I kept because I kinda liked them). We are now registered mostly at Babies R Us but do have a few things at Target and I am working on the best place to register for my cloth diapers. I am thinking about BabyMoon in St. Charles, because people who are local can go to the store but you can also order online from there. If anyone else has any other ideas as to where I can register for Bum Genius 3.0 One Size Cloth Diaper. They look like this......

I am also still in the process of looking for a crib/ changing table set. I feel like I have looked everywhere. I have found a couple possible options but nothing I am in love with. Plus I don't want to spend a ton of money on a crib...so I would gladly take any suggestions here as well. Have a Happy Monday and great rest of the week.

Being Content

Last night as we were laying in bed Noah asked me what my biggest struggle of the day was. I didn't really even have to think about it I just said contentment. When I came home from work yesterday I was so exhausted that I had to take a nap, however, I couldn't fall asleep because: there are other people in the house, the neighbors are loud, Cubbie whines to be up on the bed and then down off the bed...yatta yatta yatta. I finally got up still tired but ready to make my Amish Friendship Bread, its day 10 and it was ready to be made. To my wonderful surprise we had ants ALL OVER MY KITCHEN! I hate ants. Inside I got so frustrated and just thought I am done here I am ready to move. It has been building for a while now, being pregnant, mixed with all of those emotions and challanges on top of sharing your home and every possesion you have with 2 other guys (besides my husband) that live in your house, coupled with the fact that we have no closet space in our room so it is inevitably a mess has begun to wear on me in every way. So when Noah asked me what my biggest struggle was it was like the Lord didn't even let me think, he screamed in my head it is finding contentment where I am at. We aren't planning to move to the new condo until July 11th, though we can move as early as June 1, but even still I have 2+ weeks to be where I am at. How do I become content? Is it a choice or does something need to change? So Lord I pray that you would teach me contentment in the next few weeks as you have been over this past year. I pray that I find my peace, restoration, comfort and identity in you. Thank you for continuing to challange me.

Beautiful Coronado Island and our Trip to San Diego

Well as most of you know Noah and I just got back from California. We had a blast. I truly had no idea how much I needed that time of fun, rest, and relaxation. A time to truly reconnect with my husband before our world as we know it gets turned upside down by, moving, planting a church, raising support, planning a 5K fundraiser, and having a baby. My theme remains...life is never boring in the Oldham houshold. I took so many pictures on vacation I couldn't begin to post them all on here but I felt the ones I chose gave you a good idea of what the week was like.

These are our towels that we always take to the beach. I figured it was a good intro picture to our vacation story :)

Here noah is sitting in the Kayak before we take it around inlets and near the bay. While we were kayaking we found a spot where there was numerous jellyfish. Neither of us had ever seen jellyfish swimming in the water before... WOW. They were captivating.
This is the dingy. Taking the dingy out was also a lot of fun. We drove all over the Cays.

Ok for all of you who have been asking here I am in all my glory at 19 weeks. Crystal Wright... this is especially for you :)

Here I am with the love of my life on the beach on Corondado Island. The beach was by far one of our favorite hang out spots. We could jump on our bikes and be there in less than 2 minutes from the house!
Here our our sweet rides! Oh yeah! Mine was called the Kosmo Kruiser. Its name was on the back.
Here is Noah on his beach cruiser. I don't think his had a name. His wasn't as cool as mine :) We had a blast riding back and forth to the beach.

My birthday was May 3rd and the only thing I wanted to do was find the cliffs that over looked the water I had seen when I came on a business trip last year. It was a little bit of an adventure to try to find them but we finally did right at sunset. Let me tell you no picture will do this place justice. It is truly breath taking. Might be one of my favorite places on earth.
Noah and I at Sea Port Village in San Diego for my birthday.
Here I am at Buster's Beach House where we ate on the water :) (my only other request was to eat on the water)
Noah at Busters...annoyed that I am taking pictures while he is trying to figure out what he wants to eat.
we decided to go with their famous homemade pizzas. This one is call hawaiian something. It was very yummy.
We also got some jerk chicken kabobs.
After we ate we headed up to La Jolla to find the cliffs I wanted to see.
Another view from the cliffs.
Noah and I have not had the pleasure of owning a grill this past year so we seized every opportunity to grill out. We bought all kinds of meat: steak, salmon, chicken etc. and grilled up some awesome meals each night. Here are our new favorite chicken and steak kabobs. We had these twice because we loved them so much!!
Noah was the master grill chef. He did an amazing job and I think he liked it.
Here is the sunset off the beach on Coronado Island.
me taking lots of pictures

one of the several pictures I took of Noah :)


Noah wrote our baby girls name in the sand so she would know that we thought a lot about her on this trip.

Like I said all in all we had an amazing time and want to thank Linda and JC for letting us use their place it was truly a place of total relaxation and I now know why they call it their little paradise. I can't wait to go back!

A Baby Girl and San Diego :)

Well I have been super busy as of late but wanted to let everyone know that Noah and I found out we are having a baby girl. I will talk more about my thoughts and what I am feeling about this later, but wanted to let everyone know. Her name is Alethia Grace Oldham but we will call her Allie. I have always liked the name Allie, and Noah wanted something with deep meaning, so we came up with Alethia which means truth in Greek. We are also leaving for San Diego in the morning so I will update everyone and post either while I am there or as soon as I get back :)

17 Weeks Along and a little theologian?

Well I am passed the 17 week mark and things are still going well. My nausea is almost totally gone which is Awesome and the headaches are down to about every other day. My back pain has subsided a little bit but does flare up and let me know when I have been on my feet to long.
This week Noah is in Chicago for the Gospel Coalition. As I sat at home last night I wondered if they would be streaming the conference live and sure enough I found it. I decided to watch. Mark Driscoll was speaking (always a bonus) and it made me feel like I was with Noah. After watching for about 20 minutes or so I started to feel something in my stomach. I have had little twinges several times before and always wondered if it was the baby but this time it felt very different. It felt as though something was fluttering in my stomach. It is so hard to describe because it doesn't feel like anything else I have ever experienced before. I knew it was the baby and what cracked me up is that I knew Noah would be thrilled to know I felt the baby move for the first time but to add that it was while I was watching Driscoll preach would thrill him. He was so proud! So who knows...we may have a little theologian on our hands... at least we know peanut (as emily calls the baby) is a fan of Driscoll. :)

More Time

Ok so I know this song came out in 2007 but for some reason I really like it right now.  I think it describes where I am at in life.  I have felt like it has taken us forever to get to the place to launch August Gate and now it is right around the corner.  As Noah and I are continuously trying to raise funds his famous line is if we can just get through this first year we are going to be fine.  I think that is why I love this song so much.  Its not that I want more time its that the months ahead are months we have longed to see for so long but at the same time this is the scariest time of my life.  So I guess deep down inside I am screaming... we need more time to figure it out... we need more time to raise the money gives us a few more months and we will be fine.  HA!  How little my faith is.  It is like when I hear this song God is laughing at my lack of faith and I know that.  You know how sometimes you feel so strongly that the way you feel is valid until you say it out loud and you hear your own stupidity. That is why this song makes me smile because I know that God is faithful and in its own unique way this is my little reminder. So Noah... its you and me till the end.  I love you always and forever no matter what!

Lord Captivate Me in the Wait

This week has yet again been packed with decisions and emotions for Noah and me.  First of all we decided to go with the apartment that I talked about a few posts ago.  We will be able to move in July 1 and we can't wait for the challenge of moving all of our belongings into a small apartment... should be an adventure. However the thought of having a small little place that only Noah and I live and and are able to bring a baby home to thrills me beyond belief.... I can hardly wait.  I can also hardly wait for the Lord to prove his faithfulness once again over our financial security.  As most of you know Noah and I are raising support for Noah's salary to plant the church that God has called us to plant to reach the city of St Louis.  In the financial times that we are in raising support is not an easy task.  For the first time EVER I have felt myself starting to get nervous.  I know God is faithful and I know he will provide but with the way things are going he is making it imperative that we trust him and step out on COMPLETE faith.  Lord captivate my heart in the wait.  I also decided this week that I can hardly wait to find out whether we are having a boy or a girl.  It seems silly I am sure but I have started feeling what I can only describe as slight twinges and every time I wonder if it is the baby moving.  My mind races every day as to whether I will have a son or a daughter and the weirdest things is a really don't care either way I just feel like I can't move forward in my obsessive need to plan without knowing.  Today as I was thinking about this God began to bring me back to the journey that we have been on that has brought us to where we are.  The pain and tears of longing for a baby seem so distant and yet it was only 17 weeks ago.  I am so grateful for the journey, I am thankful for deep gratitude it has given me for the life that God is knitting together in my womb. I praise Jesus for the wait and all that He taught me and continues to teach me in the times of waiting.  I was reminded today of my favorite poem and I wanted to share it with you.  May the Lord captivate your heart in the wait....

Desperately, helplessly,longingly, I cried.

Quietly, patiently, lovingly, He replied.

I pleaded, and I wept for a clue to my fate,

And the Master so gently said, "child, you must wait."

"Wait? You say wait?" my indignant reply.

"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why.

Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?

By faith I have asked, and I'm claiming your Word.

"My future, and all to which I can relate

Hangs in the balance, and you tell me "wait"?

I'm needing a 'yes', a go ahead sign.

Or even a 'no' to which I can resign.

And Lord, you have promised that if we believe,

We need but to ask, and we shall receive.

And Lord I've been asking, and this is my cry:

I'm weary of asking I need a reply!

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate

As my Master replied once again, "you must wait"

So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut

And grumbled to God: "So I am waiting for what?" 

He seemed then to kneel and his eyes met with mine

And He tendrerly said, "I could give you a sign."

I could shake the heavens, darken the sun,

Raise the dead, cause the mountains to run.

All you see I could give, and pleased you would be.

You would have what you want, but you wouldn't know Me.

You'd not know the depth of My love for each saint;

You'd not know the power that I give to the faint.

You'd not learn to see through clouds of despair;

You'd not learn to trust, just by knowing I'm there.

You'd not know the joy of resting in Me,

When darkness and silence was all you could see.

You would never experience that fullness of love

As the peace of My Spirit descends like a dove.

You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,

But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

The glow of My comfort late in the night;

The faith that I give when you walk without sight;

The depth that's beyond getting just what you ask

From an infinite God who makes what you have last.

And you never would know, should your pain quickly flee,

What it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.

Yes, your dreams for that loved one o'ernight could come true,

But the loss! if you lost what I am doing in you.

So be silent, my child, and in time you will see

That the greatest of gifts is to get to know Me.

And though oft'may My answers seem terribly late,

My most precious answer of all... is still... wait.

5K/ Walk a Thon Benefit

For those of you who do not already know, Noah and I along with members of our core team are planning a 5K/ walk a thon to raise money for August Gate (the church we are planting in the city in August). We are also planning on donating a portion of the proceeds to Children's Miracle Network who inturn supports St Louis Children's Hospital as well as Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital. The cost to participate in either the walk or the run will be $25.00 and the event will take place on September 12, 2009!

To back up and explain why we are giving a portion of the proceeds away.... A huge part of who August Gate will become is giving back to the community. We want to be know as a church that loves and gives freely back to the community we are wanting to reach. So with that being said we felt like the hospitals were a huge part of that community.

We have just started the planning process for this 5K / Walk a Thon but God is placing the details in place. First of all Children's Miracle Network is excited to partner with us and help us in any way that they can. Secondly, we have been blessed with a resource in the city who is going to help us work on the details with securing a location and a permit. I have also started working on getting sponsorships to help underwrite the upfront cost of the event and yesterday I heard back from Vitamin Water. They are going to partner with us and take care of the drinks and hand out free vitamin water bottles at the event! Praise God!

If you are interested in partipating or helping sponsor this event please contact me at heatheroldham@gmail.com. I am excited to see what God is going to do through this event! I am ready to be utterly amazed :)

Moving to the City

Noah and I are seriously looking over a lease for a condo in Lafayette Square. We will be moving down there in July. However, with moving into a condo comes a lot of challanges and changes for us. First of all we have never lived in a residence this small and with a baby coming soon after we seriously have to get rid of some stuff. Not to mention this condo would be on the 4th floor of the building which would make taking Cubbie out a bit of a challange. I mentioned to Noah last night that many people get rid of their dogs after they have a baby. Well Noah has taken this seriously like this is the final plan. I am not saying I want to get rid of Cubbie because I don't. He has been part of our family for almost four years. I just want what will be best for us and for him. I don't know if it is best for him to live on the 4th floor where the lease says he has to be

leashed and muzzled when we take him outside. Not to mention the challanges that come with me trying to take him and a newborn outside in the middle of December. My mom has volunteered to let Cubbie come visit for a while if that is what we decide. I just don't know. I don't know if I can look at Noah's face if we really did this. We do love our dog very much...so we will see how it all pans out. Back to the condo, we are prayferully considering if this is where God would want us to be and would covet your prayers as well. We know this is a big decision and want to stratigically be placed where God would want us to be. We do love the Lafayette Square area and love the idea of being right across from the park. Should be an interesting ride...like always :)

Easter Weekend

This weekend Noah and I went to Eldorado to celebrate Grandma Grays birthday and Easter with Noah's family.   I took a ton of pictures and wanted to post a few of our niece Hallie Kate and nephew Nolan.  We had a blast spending time with Nate and Betsy and Noah's Dad.  Hallie Kate kept us entertained and Nolan is the sweetest most easy going baby. 

            

Keeping You Updated- 16 weeks along

When I first attempted to start a blog I had the best of intentions to keep it updates so that all of our friends all around the world (mostly the United States) would be able to easily find out what has been going on with Noah and I. Well at the risk of a major excuse we have been SO busy that this is the last thing on my mind. I keep saying that will change when the baby is born but lets face I dont think life will ever get less crazy so I am starting fresh.

First of all I want to update everyone that I am 16 weeks pregnant and doing well for the most part. My major complaints are headaches and back pain. I have finally moved past the nausea stage for a bit (though it comes back to visit every so often) and now I am battleing major headaches on a daily basis. I have been told this is commen in pregnancy so I am trying to suck it up and drink more water. The back pain seems to be my sciatic nerve and the doctor told me I should feel a little relief in a few weeks but not to get to comfortable because it will be back when the baby gets bigger :) Oh the joys. I would do this everyday of my life to hold that beautiful baby in Sept/ Oct.

For those of you who don't know we are due on September 30th. This is exactly 1 month after we launch August Gate in Soulard so times are exciting!!! Noah and I believe we have found a condo in Lafayette Square to live in. Though we are not thrilled about the idea of moving again we are very excited for what the next stage in life will bring. Always an adventure :)

On the baby note I have decided to do cloth diapers. I have been researching several kinds and all the different options pose their own pros and cons however I believe I have decided to go with Cottonbabies- Bum Genius 3.0 All in One/ One Size Fits All! If anyone knows where you can register for these I would be excited to find out that information.

Cargo Vans and Gath-Hepher

Have you ever rented a car before? I have and the the process is usually pretty smooth. But this monday as I was heading out of town for a three day fund raising tour of Southern Illinois, the rental process didn't turn out as well as I had hoped. Heather had spent hours researching the best prices for my trip. We booked an economy car and were ready to go. But Monday morning when I got to Enterprise, things changed for the worse. 

First, there was only one worker at the desk as the one or two others that usually work in the office were out picking up people or cars...becaus as we all know...they are the company that picks you up. I waited in line for my turn to give them my confirmation number and for them to in turn give me my 40 miles to the gallon clown car that would be cheapest on gas. However, I quickly found out that 7 cars had not been returned so I was pretty much up a creek. To top things off, an executive from Anheuser-Busch was in front of me and you better believe they were going to give him the next car that came available. But since I had no other choice, had been dropped off by a friend and needed to get on the road, I agreed to take a cargo van. 

Now let's discuss the cargo van for a second. At first I thought, "No big deal." During my 4 years in youth ministry I had driven a 15 passenger van probably 200 times, so I was used to the size. But what I quickly found was that with the lack of seats as well as any sort of interior lininng to the van, not only was the thing a beast to drive, but I couldn't even hear to talk on the phone while driving. Luckily, I was able to drive the cargo-beast-van to Mt. Vernon and trade it out for a mini-van. I had never really understood why they were called that...mini-vans... until monday, and I was a believer. 

But besides being made fun of by high school students for driving a man van, the whole thing ended up being a blessing. When I turned it in this morning, the bill ended up being half of what I had expected. For my trouble they had taken the rate down to half of what my reservation was for. I was on a trip to raise money for the new church, so spending less money was a bonus. This is just one example of God's faithfulness. At first it seems like I was just trying to be a good Christian to the frazzled youth lady behind the desk who was trying to pawn off cargo vans on anyone who would take...but it ended up being a blessing in disguise. I'm no prosperity preaching, name-it-claim-it, guy...but it sure does seem like God blessed the efforts to bring him glory on Monday. 

My trip to Southern Illinois was a blast. I was able to see family including my beautiful neice, Hallie Kate and my sweet baby nephew, Nolan.  I was also able to sit down with several individuals as well as pastors representing churches to talk about parterships for funding August Gate. Everyone was very gracious and I am so grateful for the time that other's devoted to hearing my heart. I was unable to meet with everyone I had wanted to due to scheduling conflicts and busy life. 

Last night I was able to speak to over 100 folks at Little Chapel Church in Harrisburg, IL. The crew there is always so gracious in letting me step into the pulpit. Barry Steed, LCC's stuff of a worship/evangelism/youth pastor thought it would be fun to let me play bass as well. It was a great time. I spoke from the book of Jonah and 2 Kings. My goal was to let them know that they were the Gath-Hepher for my Jonah. As God has called me to my Nineveh to preach the Gospel, Southern Illinois and specifically LCC have been my Gath-Hepher...where I am from and where I was taught to love Jesus, listen for His call on my life and then follow it with wreckless abandon once I hear it. The people of LCC were again very generous and I pray that there will be even more lasting partnerships with many that were there, heard the vision, and took some of our promotional information. 

I had planned on coming back today, but I missed my wife so incredibly much that I hopped back in the rental-man-van and headed home late last night. Plus!...I heard that this week our baby has developed ears and can hear us when we sing and speak to him/her. I couldn't wait to get home and talk to my baby! 

I am so thankful for all the people that took time out to sit down with me. I'm thankful for those who gave to August Gate...some of whom hadn't even heard the vision straight from my mouth yet. If you are reading this and would like to know more and play a part in helping to fund this church plant during its first year, please contact me at noah@augustgate.com . To Christ be the glory!

February/March Newsletter Content

Recent Family News...

We are sure the word has spread like wildfire across Southern Illinois and South Florida, but this will serve as our announcement to theworld...WE’RE PREGNANT!!!

Just yesterday we had our second ultrasound and saw our little son or daughter. The doctor says that the baby and Mom are both doing amazing and that we are on track to welcome him or her into the world sometime around the end of September or the beginning of October. We can’t even begin to describe the joy that we feel over this whole situation. We want to thank all of you who prayed over this situation for the past several months. The greatest thing we have learned through this process is the goodness of God. He is the giver of all good gifts and the creator and sustainer of life. Back in the fall I wrote one of the Biblical names of God on my white board in the office. Jehovah Jireh, The Lord will provide! I have looked at it almost every day and prayed, trusting in that promise. As I sit and write today, I am glancing over at that name on the whiteboard and rejoicing in the unfailing love of Yahweh!

Please keep praying for Heather and the baby over the next several months. We won’t know if the baby is a boy or girl until sometime in May and we look forward to announcing that whenever the time is right.

In Other News...

Heather has started a new part-time job to help save for the coming of the baby. She is the office administrator for Child Evangelism Fellowship, a Christian organization that starts “Good News Clubs” in elementary schools.

Noah just finished two more classes, is starting two more this week and will be only 11 classes away from finishing the Master of Divinity degree at Liberty.

Noah had an assessment meeting with the church planting board for the St. Louis Metro Baptist Association. It went very well and we are excited to be partnering with a network of churches that loves St. Louis and loves the Gospel.

Noah got his first look at maternity pants when we went shopping a couple weeks ago. The elastic waistband had him questioning, “I wonder if they make those for men?”

Fund Raising...

With a baby on the way and August just around the corner, I have an urgency to begin raising funds for August Gate. We are trusting God for everything we need and are reminded of His faithfulness as we were able to raise money to do a church planting internship this year. We understand that He provides the means for every call. But I also understand this recent quote I heard at a church planting meeting I was at, “There is only one problem for God when it comes to finances. While He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, He has chosen to keep it in Christians’ bank accounts.” I was just made aware again this morning through an article on theresurgence.com that as the lead pastor I have to be the lead fundraiser. God has placed this vision and call in my heart and on my life and because of that, I am called to the task. Now let’s be honest. This is a huge task! Not only do I need to raise enough money for a personal salary to provide for my family but I also have to raise enough for start-up costs, rent for a meeting facility and sound equipment. 

March is the beginning point for this fund raising. Next week I am renting a car and driving to Southern Illinois to sit down with as many people as I can in four days and share the vision of August Gate hoping to raise funds. But more than that, I believe it needs to be what Bill Dillon calls “People Raising.” I don’t just want to talk people into opening up their wallets and check books to hand over a few dollars to another “good cause.” For August Gate to be what God has called it to be, we need people to believe in me, believe in the vision, and believe in the mission.

I have been and will continue to set up face to face meetings for those in Southern Illinois and phone meetings for those in other places. If you would like to hear more of the vision and find out how you can be involved or if your church or someone you know would like to begin giving to missional works, please let me know as soon as possible.

August Gate Update...

Vision Meetings

Over the past couple months we have been having monthly meeting to share the vision of August Gate with friends and those who might be interested in being involved in a St. Louis church plant. Between the first two meetings we have met with over 35 people. Our next vision meeting is Saturday, March 21st in Soulard. I know it is short notice, but if you would be interested in attending this meeting or a future vision meeting, please get in touch with me. These meetings are a great opportunity for people to hear the vision, meet the people, and experience a little bit of the feel of August Gate. These meetings are a jumping off into what we are calling our Launch Team.

Launch Team

As people hear the vision, meet the people and experience the feel of August Gate and after we have the opportunity to get to know them, their stories, and desire to be a part of what is going on, we give people personal invitations to be a part of the August Gate launch team. This team is a group of people who have bought in to reaching the lost of St. Louis with the Gospel and have committed to seeing this church launched in August of 2009. The launch team is currently 15 people with three married couples and nine singles ranging from 18 to 31 years old. We are hoping to add to that number after this Saturday’s vision meeting.

We have begun having weekly launch team meetings at our house on Sunday nights. We gather for teaching, worship, and fellowship. Over the next few months I hope to see this group develop into a cohesive unit with a united purpose, vision, and mission. We will be meeting at our house until we outgrow it, which is quickly approaching, as well as meeting down in Soulard to eat in restaurants and pubs, getting to know the workers and owners.

I am currently teaching through the book of Jonah and you can listen to or download the weekly teaching online by either going to sermon.net/augustgate or searching for August Gate on iTunes.

Website

Josh has been working diligently on our new website and we hope to have it up by the end of March. This website will be a place to read about our mission, vision and values, stay

updated with what’s going on, listen to weekly podcasts, views pictures and send interested people to.