New Year and a New Job

2016 has been a great year for our family. We spent most of it learning how to be parents and enjoying our bundle of joy. It has also been a year for change. We moved in March and then found out at the end of the summer that the church was thinking about changing the staffing pattern at the church. As the church was discerning what was best for the church, Adam and I were doing the same for our family. As the final decision came to vote at the church it became clear in my heart that God was calling me elsewhere. We have had the roller coaster ride of being excited about a new job and the heartbreaking experience of saying goodbye to students and a congregation that we love dearly.

I am very happy to officially announce that I am the new Director of Youth Ministries at Woodlawn UMC in Derby, KS. I start this week. We are looking forward to this new journey, Adam is currently searching for a new job in that area and we will commute until our lease is up March 1st.

To the Youth Who Are Family,
   We love you so much! Our hearts are still breaking over the fact that we had to say goodbye. You mean so much to us. You will always be in our hearts. I am eternally grateful for the past five years. You accepted me as your leader and allowed me into your hearts. You graciously accepted Adam when I brought him in, and you gave him your blessing to marry me when he asked. I will never be able to express how much my heart is grateful for the way you have all loved my daughter. Thank you for all the ways you have challenged me and pushed me to be better and study harder. My faith is deeper than ever because of the questions and the lessons you have wanted to study. We may not be present every day from this point on but we still care and are very interested in what happens in your lives. We love you all!


To the Congregation We Love,
 Thank you for everything. Thank you for accepting the young woman who was too young for many other churches. Thank you for nurturing her and allowing her to grow up and become the wife and mother she is now. Thank you for becoming my family and making Hesston home for me. I have grown to love this town and all of you more than I could ever have imagined. Thank you for giving me a chance to be more than my age. I am forever grateful for all the ways you have nurtured, provided for, and loved me and my family! Thank you for everything, we love you!