Finally Getting Settled In

Hey everyone! I know this has taken forever for me to setup but for the past month my life has been pretty insanely full. It's hard to believe but tommorrow will be 3 weeks that my friend Joel and I have been in Wyoming and 4 and a half since I left home. Life has been moving a hundred miles an hour since then but despite how hectic everything has been things are going well. God has continued to affirm that this is where I need to be and has provided so faithfully. One of the coolest examples happened on the drive up to Wyoming from Colorado. We didn't really know where we were staying that night, all I knew was that we were supposed to stay in this rundown bunkhouse at this little church on the rez. Anyway while we were driving up I called the math teacher that talked me into coming out here to see what we needed to do to get setup for substitute teaching and he was like, "Hey I meant to tell you the mortgage on our house is paid through August, we'd love for you guys to stay there until you find something more permanent." That was such a huge blessing, finding a place to stay had been something that I had been having to consistently turn over to God and try not to be anxious about. After being on the road for a week and a half and having two cars overloaded with stuff it was great to be able to unpack and have a place to make food, shower, and wash clothes.

It seems as if everyday God has provided for us in a new way. The realtor lady I had been talking to before coming out and her boyfriend have been a huge help to us by taking us out to eat occasionally, providing us with work, and now letting us housesit for them for the next few weeks while they're on vacation. Their hospitality has been incredible.

Another great example of God's provision happened when I was walking around the town early one morning the first week we were here. I saw a poster on one of the shops that said the methodist church in town was having vbs that week so I figured we'd go see if they could use us. We went and sure enough they had a lot more kids than expected and were short on help so we volunteered with them all week. We got to meet a lot of people from the community including a group of high schoolers that we went hiking with that Saturday. One of the kids didnt go to the Methodist church but went to Wind River Community Church, a church that meets in the local high school. We figured we would try that church first and we've been going ever since. The pastor and his wife are amazing and have taken us in as if we were their own kids. They've had us over for a meal multiple times and allowed us to hangout at their house late at night. We've become friends with their kids and quite a few other young adults from the church. They are all great people and I can't tell you how good it is to find that kind of church when you're far away.

God has provided tremedously on the reservation front as well. We've met lots of people who have been serving out here for years and have been so encouraged by our arrival. They have felt overwhelmed, overworked, and forgotten for a long time and many have said they've been praying for years for someone to come help. That was encouraging and affirming for us to hear and made me all the more excited to be here.

God opened up yet another door of opportunity this past week when one of the girls we've been working with out there called me and asked if I would mind coming out to the Shoshone tribe senior center where she works because they needed a dishwasher for the day. I went and ended up working there all week and it's been better than I ever could've hoped. The older people are very respected in their culture, most kids are raised by their grandparents and everyone seems to look up to them. I've been able to sit down and talk with many of them during lunch and got to hear some really cool stories. They seem to like me because I work hard and some have already trusted me to watch their grandkids. Not only have I met many of the older people but Thursday I met the chairman of the tribal council (modern day chief) and I was informed by some of the older people that he was impressed with me for serving the seniors. That is a big step in winning their trust and so once again God has been so faithful.

That's the major highlights but throughout these past few weeks God has never ceased to amaze me. There seems to be a consensus among the workers on the rez that something big is about to happen and I'm so excited to be here in this moment. When I was in Morocco this past spring I remember how powerful it was to see those missionaries living in the fight knowing that they were on the edge of changing the world for Christ. They were witnessing pretty miraculous things and they all seemed to know they were right where they needed to be. I prayed almost to the point of tears that God would let me serve in a place where I could see Him like they get to and sure enough He has. It's cool stuff and it's fun, it really is. Thank you again for all of your prayers and support it has meant a lot to me and has helped more than you all know. Continue to pray for God to prepare the hearts of those on the rez for Him to prepare the way for all the work that's being done out there to be successful. Now that we're getting settled in I'll be posting more often. I love you guys and think about you often, have a great week!