D.J. and Amanda's Blog

End of the week...

2011-11-19T16:01:00.001-08:00

Our first week in Regina is coming to an end. We are glad that we are here and are finally getting settled in. A part of us is a little sad to be so far away from home, namely Kansas and Texas, however, we are excited to be here in Canada with these great people. The members of Discovery Baptist Church have gone out of their way to make us comfortable and help us get acclimated. Please continue to pray for us as we begin our first week at the church beginning tomorrow. Tomorrows message is entitled, "Introductions." It is the introduction to the letter of Paul to the Philippians.

One week from now...

2011-11-09T12:07:00.000-08:00

...we should be settling in our new home! Wehave less than one week before leave for our cross-country trek to Regina.

This time of preparation and transition could not have been sweeter. DJ and Iboth had our final days at work last Thursday. We have been spending the pastfew days preparing and crossing items off our "Master To-Do List."Day by day we are getting closer to being prepared logistically andemotionally.

We have been increasingly blessed over the past few weeks. I would love toshare with you some of the special blessings we have experienced.
- A family from our church was generous enough to purchase for us a ton ofclothing from an employee sale at the American Eagle Distribution Center. Wenow have an assortment of new, warm clothes to take with us! Wow! God'sblessing was even more evident because we love all the clothes and they ALL fitus too!
- A couple from our church has been allowing us to live at their ranch outsideof town and has asked us to only reimburse them for the utilities. It has beenso peaceful and beautiful to be surrounded with God's creation! We have come toadore the horses that greet us each morning and evening out our front door.
- Our church family threw us a wonderful "Sad to See You Go, But Glad YouAre Going Where God Is Calling You" Party. It was a special and emotionaltime of reminiscing about the past and celebrating the future. We feltoverwhelmingly blessed by all the touching memories that our friends and familyshared. It was an event that we will remember for the rest of our lives.

- Our church family also blessed us with an overly-generous financial gift. We feel so humbled and honored by this gift and all the kindwords that have been shared with us before our departure.

There have been many other gifts and blessing from those welove. We are thankful to times that we have been able to spend with different members of our family before we leave, also. Everyone’s support and love for us has beenunbelievable. Between the caring graciousness in which our loved ones here aresending us off and the joyful excitement that our new church family is alreadywelcoming us with, this transition has been enjoyable and bearable. We arethankful for that!

Until next time,

Amanda

Road to Discovery

2011-10-24T19:26:00.000-07:00

Greetings… Due to the high demand of individuals who are wanting to follow our move to Regina, Saskatchewan, our blog has been revived. Amanda and I are planning to make the move to Regina on November 14th and barring any difficulties at the border, we should arrive in Regina by the next evening. In the weeks leading up to the big move, we are preparing our immigration paperwork, trying to sell/giveaway our furniture and extra stuff, and prepare spiritually for the journey.

The church we are going to is Discovery Baptist Church in Regina. The faith community there is made up of about 100 lovely individuals. It is in the southeast part of the city. We anticipate that the move will take approximately 18-19 hours to drive – maybe longer pulling a trailer. Please pray for us. Pray that we will get the necessary preparations and transitions completed in a timely fashion as the date of our departure quickly arrives. Pray for our health as we seem to be in less than optimal health as of late. Pray that God would guide and direct us as he wills and more importantly pray that we would be open to his direction and faithfully abide though it might be difficult.

Blessings

DJ and Amanda

First Run Video

2009-07-24T08:49:00.000-07:00

This is the first draft of our Video to Uganda.

This video mainly features only us and not the rest of the team since it goes out to our supporters and sponsors.

Day 5 & 6 - Makindu

2009-07-20T10:35:00.000-07:00

Day 5 was more clinics and seminars. I didn't speak on this day but supported Brent and Richard. Richard preached the crusade in the evening where about 5 came to the Lord.

Amanda continued her work with the clinics. She helped to document the children and pray with the patients. The clinics were overwhelmed with people seeking medical care.
Day 6 -I went with the clinic teams to Busagasi. Busagasi is another smaller village further in the bush. Busagasi was even more in need and more impoverished. This was my first time to serve with the Dental Team. I assisted Dr. Mcvey and Kersten. It was a very rewarding ministry for me. We mainly pulled teeth since a dentist was way too expensive for them. We also passed out toothbrushes. I was allowed to pray for every patient that came through the dental office.

Amanda worked in the medical clinic nearby. She comforted the patients with her love and served as an assistant and pharmacist along with Dr. Gail and Daniella.

Later that evening I returned ahead of the medical teams to prepare for the evening crusade. I preached an evangelistic message about seeking after the spiritual versus seeking after the physical things in life. It was a moving experience for me as 35 people came forward to receive Christ. I praise God for allowing me to be His instrument.

Afterward, the pastoral team ministered to a full room of new believers.

Day 4 - In Makindu

2009-07-17T07:07:00.001-07:00

Day 4 - Our first full day in the bush consisted of clinics and seminars. The medical and dental teams started viewing patients while the pastors went and led a seminar. The first day at the seminar Richard Franz and I preached for about an hour each.

I spoke mainly on unity out of Romans 12. How we are one church even though we are so far away from each other. Because of Christ we are united in His Body.

Afterward, I ate lunch with the pastor. It was the first time I ate with my hands while at Uganda. Thanks to the Newkirks for preparing us ahead of time for this!
Amanda served in the medical clinic documenting the patients as well as just administering her love.

This photo is of Amanda and Mariam (our chef).

The clinics were overrun with people who needed medical care and for many it was the first time they had ever been in a medical clinic.

That evening Day 2 of the crusade began with Brent preaching the message again. He did great and about 4 came to Christ. One of the duties of the pastors was to meet with the newly born again Christians and to encourage them in their new walk.

Day 4 was all about serving and work. It was a great day!

Day 3 - Off to the Bush

2009-07-15T05:42:00.000-07:00

On day 3 we headed out for the bush. Everybody moved their belongings to travel pack that we brought along with us. After a quick breakfast everyone gathered together for a moment of prayer before heading first to the capital city of Kampala then to "the bush" (undeveloped region) where we would stay the night in Makindu, our first stop.

We rode in minivans through Kampala where we picked up a lunch and some supplies. We also exchanged some American Dollars for Ugandan Schillings. The exchange was in our favor since it was 2400 schillings to an American dollar.

It took us about three hours to arrive in Makindu. In Makindu they have what they call "Kansas College". Kansas College is the secondary school that Uganda NOW supports. When we arrived they gave us a tour of the campus.
We would stay in Makindu for several days. One of the first people we met was a couple named Rosette and Moses. We quickly became friends. You would be amazed how much we had in common with them. They were the Ugandan version of DJ and Amanda.

The day wrapped up with day 1 of the crusade that the pastors would be preaching. The first night 4 people were saved. Brent preached the first night and did a great job. The crusades start with about 2 hours of worship.

That night we set up our bunk beds that came with us from Entebbee and headed to our first night in the bush.

A little about the team:
-I served as a pastor and also as a dental assistant.
-Amanda - Documented patients at medical clinic and ministered to women at Makindu
-Kerstin - Dental assistant from Fort Hays University
-Daniella - Served as Pharmacist at medical clinic
-Laura - Team Leader
-Mariam - Photographer and Documentarian and Educator
-Dr. Gail - Doctor at Clinic
-Dr. McVey - Dentist
-Richard - preacher and construction
-Brent - preacher
-Zach Mcvey- Played with Kids
-Zack Franz - Played with Kids
-Carol - Educator

Day 2 - Day of Rest

2009-07-14T14:07:00.000-07:00

Day 2 was a day of rest for us. The experience of our leaders taught them that we would need a day to recover from the travel. So we sat around the Mussisi house in Entebbe as we geared up for our trip to "the bush."

We took time to worship and pray as well as get to know the Mussisi children as well as the rest of the team. We stayed in family compound in Entebbe that had several bedrooms. The men slept in one room while the ladies slept in a second room. The house had an incredible balcony that was great for early morning quite times. I got up early and watched the sun rise as I wrote in my journal. The weather was absolutely beautiful. Only miles from the equater it was amazing that the wheather was so mild.
view from balcony.... the armed guard at the compound.

We ate and rested.

Amanda and Agatha watching the kids play in the Mussisi compound.

By mid afternoon we took what we thought would be a simple nap. Instead we realized we had hit a wall since it was the middle of the night in the US. We ended up sleeping for several hours. But it was a day of rest so that's ok.

We ended the evening with a cultural training class. There were many rules we had to learn in order to successfully relate to the Ugandans. Some of the rules were.

1. Don't touch children on the head.
2. Pastors must start every message with Yesu Yabizebwe... which means Praise the Lord. If we didn't say these words then they wouldn't take us seriously.
3. Wash underware in private.

These were just a few.

We ended with a Ugandan Dinner of beef (stewlike) rice, beans, cassiva, matoke, and awesome pineapple.

Day #1

2009-07-14T05:56:00.000-07:00

Our first day was all about travel. It took us about 24 hours to get to Entebbe, Uganda. We flew from Kansas City to Detroit to Amsterdam (2 hr layover -photo 1) to Entebbe. The Detroit to Amsterdam and Amsterdam to Entebbe legs were both about 8:30 hours in the air.

This was my second overseas flight but for Amanda it was her first time. We pretty much just watched movies and slept. We flew through a night and landed in Entebbe at the beginning of a second night. We arrived in Entebbe at 10:00pm their time but it took about an hour and a half to get through immigration.

Exhausted and tired we breezed through customs, who just decided to let us through without checking our asking us questions. Apparently, for them, the fact that we were their with humanitarian aide was enough. God was with us. We turned the corner and were warmly welcomed by a crowd of Ugandans in yellow shirts who were cheering. It was the Uganda Family of Uganda N.O.W. They greeted us with open arms, a bouquet of flowers and warm smiles. After 24 hours of flying it was a great way to end our trip.

After a breif ride in the mini vans, we arrived at our host's home in Entebbe. They were prepared for our arrival and they had our first Ugandan meal ready for us. After a formal greeting with the entire team (13 of us Americans, About 12 Ugandans) we ate and headed for our day of rest.
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Home

2009-07-12T06:33:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Family,

We are back home again. We are sorry for the lack of updates, but we were in places where we could not effectively access the internet. We got back yesterday evening and are recovering from Jet lag. We look forward to posting pictures and sharing our adventure with you. Thank you for all your support and prayers. The trip was incredible!

Blessings
DJ and Amanda

Off To Uganda

2009-06-28T05:40:00.001-07:00

Well, time went by fast and the day is now here. Amanda and I are off to Uganda. We are both very excited. While in Uganda Amanda and I will be celebrating our third wedding anniversary. Time just flies by. We want to thank all our friends and family who helped support us through your prayers and financial support. We are looking forward to sharing with you our journey when we return. Please continue to pray for us as we travel and while we are there in Uganda. We love you all

DJ and Amanda

Poverty Thinking Rethought

2009-06-22T09:43:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Family,

We want to thank all our friends and family here is Paola and back home in Texas for your faithful prayers. We are so blessed for this opportunity we have to go to Uganda less than a week from today. We hope you will have an opportunity at least once in your life to be involved in a ministry where you can have the experience of foreign missions.

Amanda and I know there is very little we can do to prepare emotionally and spiritually for the things we will experience. A while back I wrote a sermon called "Poverty Thinking." The more we prepare for this trip, the more I realize that we know absolutely nothing about what poverty is. Our American minds cannot even comprehend it unless we have seen it first hand. It is interesting to see the talk in our country about recession, economic worry, and health care policy when we know we are headed to a place where people have absolutely NOTHING and very likely have never seen a doctor in their life time. Praise God for being raised in the U.S. Let us never take that for granted nor let us boast in our privilege.

I must confess that for years I have kept myself emotionally closed off to this type of poverty because it was so foreign and distant. At the very least I would praise God that I didn't have to experience what they did. The fact is that if we are aware that this type of injustice and poverty exists and we turn a shoulder to what is going on, then we are just like the priest and Levite in the Parable of the Good Samaritan. At the very least acknowledge what is going on in these third world countries and allow yourself to feel sorrow.

We are praying that God will just break our hearts for these people because we know that God's heart is broken for them. Even in their poverty these people are reaching out for hope. Hope that someone cares. Pray that we can show them that there is hope in Jesus.

2 Weeks till Uganda Trip

2009-06-14T18:52:00.000-07:00

Amanda and I are two weeks out from boarding an airplane to Uganda Africa as part of the Uganda NOW Outreach. Are team leaders leave for Uganda Tuesday and the rest of the team will follow in a couple of weeks.

We are still preparing both emotionally and spiritually. We know that what we will see and experience will change are hearts and world perspective forever. If you are reading this, please be in prayer mode since my passport has yet to come in. We know God will provide but it is getting down to the wire.

In the mean time, I was allowed to preach for the first time since leaving Solid Rock. It was nice to be back in the "pulpit" again. I definitely missed it. Amanda on the other hand has been continuing to work hard in Kansas City at State Street.

Anyway we look forward to hearing from you. Thank you everyone who has supported us whether it is financial or by prayer. In the mean time here are some more pictures from last years trip.

Going Uganda

2009-05-12T17:40:00.000-07:00

Finals are ending and Amanda and I are getting ready to go on a big adventure this summer. In case you haven't heard Amanda and I are headed to Uganda on a mission trip. We are going with an organization called Uganda N.O.W. Neither Amanda nor I have ever been on a mission so this will be a new adventure for us. It is amazing how this opportunity came about which we will share in a future post leading up to our departure on June 28th.

For now we just wanted to get the news out so you could be in prayer for us as we are in preparation to go. In the mean time, here are a few pictures that team took last year on their first mission trip. These are the children we will be caring for along with their families.

Half Way Through

2009-03-26T12:31:00.000-07:00

It is the end of March and I am halfway through my first semester at MBTS. So far it is going great. After a busy (studying) spring break I did well on my Theology Midterm and restarted classes this week. I am learning so much but the work is exhausting.

Amanda is working in downtown Kansas City at a financial business called State Street. She moderately likes the job but being in the "business world," is not the same. While I was recently made the permanent Worship Leader at Pearl Street. I enjoy it though it can be pretty stressful at times when I have to prepare the music for the Sunday Service. But I must say I love it. I am also currently working on their new website which should be up soon.

Recently, Amanda and I both separately felt led to look into a mission trip to Africa. I never thought that missionary work would interest me but the Lord has worked a compassion for the African people into my heart. Please pray with us as we consider this venture. We miss everyone in Texas and hope to see you all soon.

Three Weeks In

2009-01-29T17:39:00.000-08:00

This week marks the third week of school for me. I never dreamed I would be attending seminary. So far the classes are awesome! It is a lot of work and studying but I enjoy it. It is the first time I have been to school studying something I know I will use in my career.

One of the classes I have is Basic Evangelism. In Basic Evangelism I am required to share the Gospel with 10 people. One person a week. Several things about this are a little awkward. 1. We are sharing to Gospel for a grade. In fact, I am worried about how I am going to get it done. 2. Why am I worried when it is what we are supposed to do as followers of Christ? Though I tend to disagree with the direct evangelism method that is taught by the professor, for I am in the relational evangelism camp, I find myself deeply convicted that I don't evangelize enough despite what method I hold to.

That being said, this past Saturday I found myself up early and in North Kansas City with the Midwestern Seminary Evangelism Team called MET. It was my first time to experience a group of people with the sole purpose of sharing Jesus with the world. There were six of us who went to a Kansas City neighborhood where we went door-to-door "EVANGELIZING!" I must say it was a very scary feeling. After the first few doors my fears began to ease. Thank goodness I was partnered up with a experienced evangelizer. People either didn't open the door to us Bible (sword) welding folk or they were open to talk to us.

One person we talked to was named Eric. Eric is one of the 8,000 that might loose their job from Sprint. He was very nervous, and we had the opportunity to pray for him and encourage him. We had a couple of experiences like this. No one came to Christ but we were obedient to the word. Evangelism is definitely a growth area for me. I will be going out tomorrow once again with the MET Team. Even though it is scary I feel drawn to this ministry. I want to try what they call "hardcore evangelism" which is a MET team that goes to down town Kansas City every Saturday evening from 9pm to midnight evangelizing on the street mainly to drug dealers, the homeless and street walkers.

There are so many opportunities at the seminary. Last week the pastor of Sherwood Baptist came and spoke to the students. This was the pastor of the church that made the movie Fireproof, Facing the Giants and Flywheel. Tomorrow, Billy Graham's grandson will be speaking to us about the ministry of Billy Graham.

My work at the church is going great. I just finished my fifth Sunday leading worship. Every week is a challenge as we as a team are learning new songs and building our contemporary music selection. The changes I am implementing seem to be effective as more and more members appear interested in joining the team... Praise God. We just rebooted and cleaned out the sound booth computer and implemented a dual monitor projection system. It works great and will be a great asset to the team. Please continue to pray for me as I continue to work with the team. They are great and very gifted and supportive to the vision we are focused on.

Well that is all for now. Tomorrow Amanda has an interview for a job in Kansas City. We are very hopeful. We hope to see all of our friends and family soon.

Back to School

2009-01-24T14:21:00.001-08:00

On Friday, I went to orientation at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri. Amanda and I left early in the morning for the hour drive to campus. After a brief breakfast we spent the day listening to speakers telling us about campus life.

After about seven hours of talks we finally went through the registration process. My classes are Basic Evangelism, Theology II and New Testament II (Romans - Revelation). We were extremely blessed. We found out that I could enroll in a free class. So I signed up for the New Testament class at no cost. This saved us about $500 that was unexpected. God is Great! Also, books were very inexpensive. I remember paying almost $600 dollars back when I was in college. The books for my three classes were under $100. My first day of class is Tuesday.

On another subject, my Pathfinder is now repaired at a third of the cost that was first given to us. Once again God came through for us. It runs great. I was fearful that after the repair that the transmission would leak or something, but that has not happened. Thank you to our new friend Toby.

Our time here in Paola has been great. Tomorrow will be my third Sunday of leading worship at Pearl Street Baptist Church. It has gone pretty smoothly. Please pray for guidance in what Amanda and I need to do for jobs and living location as it takes us a hour for me to commute to campus twice a week. A big con for this commute is that I will likely miss out on campus life. We miss everyone and can't wait to see you again.

Amanda's B-Day Wish Comes True

2009-01-16T09:51:00.000-08:00

We woke up this morning and we saw that outside there was this strange white powder all over the place.
Amanda got her Birthday wish. Ever since we arrived here in Kansas, Amanda has wanted to see snow. It currently 13 degrees outside though once it gets below 30 degrees it seems to all feel the same IMO.

This evening Amanda and I are going to celebrate her birthday by going to the movies and out to eat in Kansas City. We are adjusting to everything little by little. I had my first Sunday leading the worship music at Pearl Street Baptist Street. I think it went considerably well especially since it was the first week.

The second talk going around is about a house. Houses here are very, very inexpensive. In fact, it would be more to rent than to buy a house. There are a lot of beautiful homes. Many of which are short sales and foreclosures. We are currently looking for a house that is in town that has a fireplace (Amanda's request) and a basement (my request). Please pray for us in this area.

We miss all our friends and family.

New Week in Paola

2009-01-05T08:44:00.001-08:00

We just wanted to give everyone and update about what is going on with us. Where do I begin? First, as I may have mentioned already, when we arrived, we found that the Pathfinder was inoperable. Evidently, I towed it wrong. So we have to get the transmission repaired which is going to cost an handful. There seem to be a lot of people here at the church with contacts and advice so we know it will be taken care of soon. You can pray for us in this area.

Today, I am meeting with the praise and worship team at Pearl Street Baptist Church. It will be my first meeting with them. I am a little nervous because the inadequacies seem to just creep in and try to steal my excitement about helping out. This is another area you can pray for me in.

Also today, we are scouring the Kansas City area for jobs. We have to pay for tuition some how. So we are very busy. We are also excited because houses are so inexpensive here. Once we get ourselves established we are looking at maybe getting a house. In some cases it would cost more to rent than buy the house. Unfortunately/Fortunately it is a good time to buy.

We love everyone. Feel free to post a comment, we would love to hear from you.

Arrived in Paola

2008-12-30T16:29:00.000-08:00

After driving two days, we finally arrived in Paola, Kansas. It took us about 6 hours of driving today from Oklahoma City where we stayed the night. The feeling of excitement really hit me when we crossed the Oklahoma and Kansas state line. Shortly after we crossed the line we started seeing the familiar chicken hawk sitting on the power lines along the highway.

It is hard to believe this is real and that we are finally here in Kansas. We have followed through the plan. When we arrived, we discovered my Pathfinder, which was towed, no longer wants to go in reverse. Something is wrong with the transmission. Well, I guess we couldn't expect everything to go smoothly. But we are here now ready to begin the next part of our lives.

Loaded Up and Ready to Hit The Road

2008-12-28T19:52:00.000-08:00

As you can see we are all packed up and ready to hit the road the first thing in the morning. We started the day picking up the truck from Kyle. After a few minor "hitches" with the trailer lights we got the trailer to our house.

Our friends, Travis and Amy Hall came over and helped us load the trailer. Amy helped Amanda inside the house packing a few leftovers and cleaning the house. Both Travis and Amy were a huge blessing. Without their help this would have been a very long day. Diane Bailey came by also and lent a helping hand. My mom and dad were here to help us load up and say goodbye. We have been so fortunate to have them so close by for the past few years. Then Jay and Jodie Bryson came to say goodbye. Jay came just in time as I was getting a little wore out from all the moving (I really need to start working out again!).

In a matter of hours the trailer was packed. We said good bye to our friends and quickly hit doze mode. Later this evening our friends Zach and Rachel Roberts came by to say good bye. Amanda and I decided to spend our last night in San Marcos going to a movie. We saw Valkyrie.

This is our last blog entry in San Marcos. What Amanda and I are going to miss the most about San Marcos are all the close friends we have made. Thank you to everyone for being there for us especially in these last weeks. It has been a whirlwind month full of lots of unexpected events. However, we know that God is in control. We can't wait to see what God has in store. Good bye for now friends and family, we will see you after a while.

Packing Time Almost Complete

2008-12-25T20:32:00.000-08:00

Amanda and I got back from my (D.J.) parent's house this evening and spent the rest of our Christmas packing up a few more items. Last night my parents took us to Mi Tierra Mexican restaurant for a Christmas Eve of Mexican Food in the famous Mercado of downtown San Antonio. It was very tasty.

I was notified on Christmas Eve Morning that I was accepted to Midwestern Baptist Seminary. We are both excited for the uncertain future ahead and going back to school, but also sad to be moving away after years in San Marcos.

We know that God is in control and we are just along for the ride. Two days left before we load the truck for KC.

Moving to Kansas

2008-12-20T18:46:00.000-08:00

Hello family and friends,

We know that you guys want to follow our adventures, so we are back on the blogosphere. In case you don't know, we are making a big move to Kansas, near Kansas City.

After eight years of ministry at Solid Rock Church, I was asked to resign from my position as Associate Pastor. We had indicated to the church leadership that we were ready for a transition out, but things happened faster than we expected. Our hopes would have been to at least stay with the "church family" until I could have secured another job.

Nevertheless, God still works in times of disappointment. The week after we were asked to leave Solid Rock, we took a trip to Kansas to spend time with Amanda's family for Thanksgiving, as we had already planned. While in Kansas, we took a tour of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. It was wonderful and I knew that is where I should be. We decided to leave for Kansas after Christmas.

We will be loading our moving truck on Dec. 28th, and departing on the 29th. We are sad to leave all the people we have grown to love here. But, we are looking forward to a new adventure to share together.

Amanda's Return to the World of Blog

2008-03-31T18:50:00.000-07:00

Wow! It has been forever since I stepped in here! We have been doing great! The weather is getting warmer (Boo!) and we have already experienced some 90 degree days. Ugh! I am not ready for summer, but it sure seems to be on its way.

Like DJ said, we have a new kitty. We didn't know at the time of his blog that she was the Craziest Kitty on Earth! No doubt about it though! She is so wild and quite the acrobat! It is so funny how talkative she is, too. She loves to say 'hi' to people on the phone. (Be sure to remember that the next time you call!) Every once and a while she sleeps. And, when she does, she is the sweetest lil' kitty. She also wishes that she was able to roam free in the wild outdoors, but to her disappointment she is an inside cat. To compromise, we got her a leash and harness. She gets to go outside with us now and go for a walk in the yard. She loves it!!! It is so cute, too! She is such a handful and always keeps us wondering what she will do next. One of my friends told me that God is preparing us for children. Yikes! That's scary!

We have both been busy working and loving what we are doing. We are blessed with jobs that we are passionate about and enjoy doing everyday. I am thankful that we get to work with people and bring a little joy into their lives. My business with MK has been going great! I just finished my first month of qualification for my first career car! I plan to complete the qualification process by May 31st. I can't wait to be cruising in my FREE Pontiac G-6! So much fun!

I hope you all are living and loving well. Enjoy your day! Love you all!

Long Time No Post

2008-02-24T18:17:00.001-08:00

It has been a long while since our last post, but things are going great!

I am still at Solid Rock Church as the associate pastor working to grow the church family along with the rest of the staff.

Amanda graduated from Texas State University last December with a degree in Psychology. Now Amanda is very busy working her business as a Mary Kay Consultant. She is doing extremely well and her business team is growing. Check out her website at www.Maykay.com/acastilleja

We also have a new addition to our family. Amanda and I adopted! (She was a graduation gift) Her name is Gabby. We named her Gabby because she loves to talk and will set down with you and have an engaging conversation.

We pray all is well with our family and friends and look forward to hearing from you soon.

Survived the Summer

2007-09-08T08:40:00.000-07:00

Amanda and I had a smooth Summer with many exciting events in our lives. In July, Amanda attended The National Mary Kay Seminar. She came home more excited then ever to get busy on her Mary Kay Business. She has done extremely well and I have never seen anyone work so hard. You might want to check out her website at www.marykay.com/acastilleja. Amanda also started her last semester of college. Keep a watch out for the graduation announcement coming in December.

As for me, the summer went smooth. The Summer of Passion ended but hopefully not the passion. I am excited for the return of our pastor. Already we are in the planning stages of expanding our church building to accommodate more children. Last Tuesday, I had the privilege of opening the San Marcos City Council in an invocation. It was an honor to pray for our city even in a time when praying in City venues isn't popular.

That is all for now.

Blessings

Summer Update- Camping @ Garner State Park

2007-07-26T08:14:00.000-07:00

Amanda and I both had a great mid-summer camping trip to beautiful Garner State Park. Our camping experience began by setting-up our little comfortable tent on Thursday (July 12th). We found a nice little camping spot with plenty of shade which made the whole trip comfortable in the hot crispy sun.

That evening we went down to the chilly Frio River for a nice soak and cool down. It was very nice and the sights were breath taking... or that might have been the artic water.

We cooked outdoors on our trusty camp stove as well as on a campfire. Our meals included: roasted chicken, Peach Cobbler (dutch oven), Fajitas, and Amanda's Favorite Spaghetti O's.

On Friday we decided to take a tube trip for a few hours. It was nice and peaceful. Though the water was shallow in spots (where I got beached) the sights were marvelous. The sun found all the spots where we didn't have sunscreen. for me that meant a sunburned belly... since I was originally planning to wear a T-shirt. I am still peeling as I speak.

Saturday was a relaxation day as we could hardly move from our sun burns. It did rain but we survived. In the evening, we had the special opportunity to see the beautiful stars through the telescopes of the San Antonio Astrological Association. We saw the rings of Saturn, Jupiter, Binary Stars, Nebula... plus many many more stars. The night sky was so clear! After that we went to the camp dance that Garner State Park hosts every night during the summer. It was more like a junior high prom as every kid in the camp seemed to be hanging out there.

Sunday we made it home.

It was an awesome trip that showed Amanda and I that we could survive the challenges of an outdoor camping trip. It was a great one year anniversary trip that I will never forget. The food, the river, the scenery and more importantly the company was the best. We would highly recommend Garner State Park to anyone who wants to have a comfortable camping experience.

Blessings

a year gone by...

2007-07-11T09:11:00.000-07:00

woo-hoo! we just celebrated our first anniversary this weekend (july 8th)!!! we are astounded that an entire year has already passed. we agree that the last half of the year has been much more enjoyable than the first half. :) but it is all part of the process.

we had a really wonderful celebration of our first year of marriage. dj surprised me on friday with a beautiful wooden wine rack and a tasty bottle of red wine. i have been wanting a wine rack for a while. it was so nice that he remembered that! it is so lovely. i will post a pic soon. and on saturday moring he had a beautiful flower arrangement delivered for me. it was dark yellow roses and tons of daisies. dj picked out the flowers and vase just for me! what a sweetheart! the flowers are so pretty and the bright colors emit happiness.

our plans didt go exactly as we had planned but it all turned out great. dj had originally planned to have someone preach in his place on the 8th but that fell through. so we were in town and in church on our anniversary. (oh the life in ministry. good thing i knew what i was in for when i signed up for this!) we decided that we would take our friends canoe down the river on sunday afternoon. dj and i went canoeing a lot when we were dating and engaged. we havent even been once since we got married. whoops! our plans went array when we found out that the battery in the pathfinder was dead! we actually discovered this on saturday night when we were leaving to go to the fireworks show. (san marcos put on a fantastic firework show! it was awesome!) so after church dj's family, grandma and uncle took us to lunch. after we got home dj took the battery to auto zone to get it checked. they had to charge it for an HOUR before they could test it. ugh! so we waited. and as we waited, the clouds moved in. actually they were already there, they just got thicker! so by the time that we got the battery checked and replaced...it was raining! oh well, we just stayed home and enjoyed each other and our time together. (if you know what i mean...hee!hee! that probably embarassed dj!) oh, and we have been saving our delicious wedding cake. thanks mike and diane for freezing it for us. we were sooo surprised...after a year it tasted great! we cant imagine how good it was on the wedding day. we never got a piece at the reception. the bites we shoved in each others' mouths were all we tasted of it. janell, dj's cousin, made our cake for us and did an amazing job! thanks janell!

we are leaving tomorrow morning to go camping in celebration of our first anniversary!!! we cannot wait! dj's parents set us up with a lot of the equipment that we needed. we are going to garner state park. dj did a wonderful job planning this trip for us. it looks like he picked a great place for us to go. (you can check it out at garnerstatepark.com) we will be there til sunday. the weather forecast looks great so far. no rain and highs in the mid-90s. the park is on the frio river so we will be able to stay cool while we are there. ahhh! so excited!

well, i better go. i am starting to study for the GRE test. i plan on taking it late-august. oh, fun! actually i do like tests, especially standardized ones. :) okay, talk to you when we get back from our trip! alc.

i lost my friend...

2007-06-22T10:16:00.000-07:00

those of you who know me well knew my lil' friend kahlua. miss ku was a gift from one of my mom's friends for my graduation from high school in 2000. i was sort of an adoptive mother since her real mom was going in to the air force and couldnt take her along. that is where our journey began...and yesterday it ended. kuhla had been sick for the last three weeks with a sore under her tongue. she had been to the doc and we were giving her antibotics daily. after two weeks it didnt get better and we took her back in. the doc decided that it would help it heal if her teeth were cleaned. so we scheduled an appointment to get her teeth cleaned and to get her groomed. when the sedated her they found that the sore had grown and was much worse. the doc did an aspiration of the tissue in her mouth and found out that it was cancer. when we got to the office, they let us know that it was growing very quickly and the tumor was preventing her from swallowing. we knew that she was in pain and was feeling worse as each day passed. we decided that it was best to let her go. we didnt want her to hurt anymore.

my lil' ku-ku-bear was the best pal ever. she was there for me during the hardest times of my life. i can remember so may times when the best part of my day was coming home to see her waiting for me. when i lived by myself, she helped me retain my sanity and kept me from diving into depression. it seems so funny that an animal could mean so much to a human. but that is what made her so special...she never judged me or held a gruge when i messed up. she was how i first understood god's unconditional love for me. not only was she sweet and tender, she was a wild woman. she would race through the house, climb on anything and act like she owned the place. she would make me laugh so hard. its so sad to think about how much i will miss her hairy lil' face.

First Ordained Week

2007-06-04T06:24:00.000-07:00

I just want to say thank you to all my family and friends who attended and sent their love for my ordination. Your blessings mean a great deal to Amanda and myself. My first week on duty went pretty easy until the weekend hit.

Friday night the church family held a family movie night at Bob and Marty Nelson's house. It turned more into a children's night but that is good too. The rest of the weekend my buddy Matt and his family had to move with very short notice so we were busy all day Saturday packing and moving. Even though it was work it was fun to hang with the guys.

Amanda awoke Sunday morning with a severe sore throat so she wasn't feeling very well all day. But being the trooper she is, Amanda made it to church to hear the kick off message even though I insisted she stay home. The first day of "The Summer of Passion" went great! After the message we had a kick-off potluck. We were suppose to go rafting but those plans fell through.

Please pray for Amanda to feel better.

oh deer!!!

2007-05-29T11:41:00.000-07:00

this was definitely not something that we planned for while we were on our goal-setting retreat!

on friday, we were on our way to have lunch with our pastor, mike. we were talking and laughing as i was driving. then dj yelled, 'watch out, babe!' suddenly a big ol' dear slammed into the front of the car on my side. then it flew up and hit the windshield. as soon as we were stopped i looked over at dj and he was covered with glass. it was a horrible feeling! he looked around for me as i drove the car over to the shoulder of the road. we got out and made sure we were okay. dj really helped me calm down and handled the situation amazingly. he is really strong under pressure. i have been in wrecks before by myself but this time it was so reassuring to have him me. mike picked us up and we had the car towed to the body shop.

it was so crazy how quickly our plans had to change! obviously we did not end up having lunch with mike. but i also had to spoil a surprise that i have been planning for months. my parents were flying in for dj's ordination but he didnt know that. i was supposed to pick them up from the airport at 2pm and the deer hit us at noon. i decided that it was time to reveal the surprise! ;) no way was i driving up to austin by myself after that incident. we were both pretty shook up.
get this! we went home, showered, changed clothes and went to pick up mom and dad at the airport. after that, we went to get some lunch in austin. as we sat down at johnny carino's, dj found a piece of glass on the back of his neck! those little glass shards were everywhere!

we are so thankful that god kept us so safe! it could have been sooo much worse! god is good!

home sweet home

2007-05-29T09:58:00.000-07:00

well, we arrived home from our vacation last wednesday. it took me a while to get the pics on the computer and to finally sit down to do this...
we had a fantastic time! the drive to flint (near tyler, tx) was so beautiful! we stayed in a lovely, cozy cabin next to palestine lake. it was a wonderful and relaxing setting.

the first few days, we worked on goal-setting for our lil' family. it was really exciting. for me, it felt great to sit and decide what i want out of the next year. as a couple, it helped us to understand each other better and to make sure we are both working toward the same goals. (we used a workbook called 'intimate encounters' and would recommend it to any married couple.)

then we had a few days to relax and enjoy ourselves. i was looking forward to getting some sun. but a soon as we finished our goal-setting the rain rolled in. boo-hoo! so much for catching some rays. on tuesday as the rain was pouring down, we decided that if we couldnt play outside then we would play inside. we got ready and drove over to shreveport, louisiana. we had a really nice time at the harrah's horseshoe casino. it was a fun night out!this picture was the closest that we got to any benjamins the whole night. :) oh well! it was a great time!
we took the back roads on our way home. i have never seen so many georgous wildflowers! it was such a plesant close to a relaxing trip!
we were so thankful that we were able to take that time and spend it worry-free and together.
alc.

Finally Off!

2007-05-18T07:49:00.001-07:00

By D.J.:

Amanda and I are finally off to our retreat after our whirlwind week. It will be great to get away before our crazy summer hits. We are going to a little resort near Tyler, Texas. Amanda and I have both been looking forward to this for quite some time. WARNING: If you try to contact us you will most likely get an answering machine.

Our retreat comes not a moment too soon. Even moments before we left the enemy has been trying to cause wrinkles in our plans, but we prayed against it and so we are now on our way. We look forward to planning our summer and rest of the year, but more importantly spending quiet, quality time together. We will be gone until the 23rd. Then the craziness begins all over again.

Blessings to all of you.

i did it!

2007-05-07T07:43:00.000-07:00

yippie! i just finished my spanish final! woo-hoo! i am free!

tornado in greensburg, ks

2007-05-06T17:34:00.000-07:00

in january, we had a bad ice storm here in san marcos. it made me laugh because so many of my family members called to check on us. family does that for each other. when dj and i see a storm heading for spring branch, where his parents live, we always call them. sometimes it seems a little silly or needless. but its nice to know that someone is watching out for you.

when i got up saturday morning, dj told me that a bad tornado had hit a small town in kansas. he couldnt remember the name of the town. 'green...something?' i asked him if it was greensburg and he said that sounded right. as a kansas girl at heart, i know the names of a lot of small towns in kansas but i knew this one because i lived there when i was little. a couple hours later my parents called to make sure we heard the news. we dont have cable and there wasnt anything on the channels that we have. i sort of dismissed it. you know, the usual 'oh my. that is sad. i hope everyone is alright.' then i went on with my own business. my mom called me later to let me know that my cousin holly's husband, luke, was working there. the place he was staying and his truck were demolished! it was shocking to know that one of my loved ones was affected by this disaster. my mom talked to our family members and found out that luke was safe but they are really shaken up.

its embarrassing to admit but i really didnt come close to understanding the magnitude of this tornado until right now. i just took a break from studying to look for videos on youtube.com. it was really awful to see what happened there. i always tell people that no matter where i live, i will always be a kansas girl at heart. and my heart is aching. i know its a little hole-in-the-wall town that doesnt matter to a lot of the world. but it hits so close to home for me. those lil' towns are filled with good people. now i understand why we call to check on our family...because life is filled with the unexpected.

god bless the town of greensburg, those who live there and all who are affected by this storm. his mighty love and comfort to all his children.
alc.

hmm...i dont know what to say...

2007-05-02T07:37:00.000-07:00

from amanda: our wedding website was the first time that i have ever posted anything online for the whole world to see. so it seems a little weird for me to share my life's happenings to anyone who cares to read this. well, bear with me as i try to figure out what is important enough to share...

i just took my biology final this morning at 8am. the exciting thing about finishing that class is that it is my last core curriculum class. my remaining classes are upper level psychology classes and business classes for my minor. i am really excited about the classes that i will be taking in the next few months!! this is what i have been working towards forever! as dj mentioned, i am getting really excited for my graduation party! i know that i still have plenty of work to do but it is so hard not to think about.

i am absolutely thrilled that this semester is coming to a close! it has been a long and trying one. i officially finished my internship at the san marcos high school yesterday. i was working under one of the counselors for 10-12th grades. one other intern and i were responsible for facilitating a mentorship program between the high school students and texas state students. it was a lot of work. definitely more than i was expecting. but it was all worth it. it was a fantastic experience and i learned a lot. became close with my supervisor and will keep in touch with her for years to come. in addition to the internship, i had to deal with my second semester of spanish. i have my final on monday and i can not wait to close that chapter of my life! oh, and i also learned how to play racquetball this semester!!! dj, my dad and luke all love to play. so now i get to be a part of the madness. it is an awesome sport!

i have been really happy lately because of all the time that i have been able to spend with my best gal pal, jennifer. this is probably one of the best times of our friendship. when it started out in 2000, we were just wild and crazy. then i moved up to kansas and we were states away from each other. then in 2004, we became roommates when i moved down here to san marcos. that was a tricky time! it was tough to switch from best-friend-mode to the world of roommates. but we survived! now, its great! jen and i have been able to hang out frequently. and we let dj join us every once and a while. :) actually, that was one of dj's tests. he had to get along great with my bff. he passed! we all have a blast when we hang out! i feel so blessed when i am spending time with the two of them. it doesn't get any better than that!

for those of you who know our kitty, kahlua, you will be happy to know that she is doing well. she got her hair done last week. i said that she dropped two dress sizes in time for summer. we love having her around to entertain and comfort us. meow!

in other news, dj and i have been doing really great. its hard to believe that we are about to celebrate 10 months of marriage! the months have been flying by and one year is just around the corner. we have been loving our time together! things have been changing for both of us but new experience are just new opportunities to grow. i have learned so much about myself in the past ten months. cant say that its all been good either. for me, marriage is a mirror that causes me to realistically look at all aspects of myself. i know that both dj and god will continue to hold my hand as i learn and grow. one day at a time...

okay, thanks for joining me! i hope there was something of interest for you. :) love you all! alc.

Made It Through April!

2007-05-01T06:50:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends,

We made it through a long last week of April. Amanda had a few difficult tests at school as she closes her next to last semester at Texas State. Amanda has one more test left this week. It is time to start thinking about a graduation party coming in December.

Pastor Mike had to quickly head out of town because his father was admitted into the hospital in Arkansas. This left me with the opportunity to fill in for the message this past Sunday. With the short notice it was a great opportunity to live out the Scriptures I was preaching about. Epheisans 3:14-21. During the week God made it clear that none of us are 100% adequate for ministry. In fact, God did not create us to be 100% adequate. Can you imagine if He had? The truth is, we need to rely on God for our strength.

After the message, we had an incredible summer planning session. We are calling this summer's theme, the Summer of Passion. With over 30 people in attendance at this meeting, we had a planning groups for children's ministry, fellowships, and creative. With all these ideas we have plenty of momentum heading into the summer.

May 7: Amanda's Last Final for Spring
May 4 & 5: D.J. Concerts (Wimberly, 5/4 @ 7:30 pm & San Marcos, 5/5 @ 7 pm)
May 12: D.J. Performing Wedding
May 13: D.J. Preaching - "Blessed Mothers"
May 18-23: Marriage Planning Retreat
May 27: D.J.'s Ordination Ceremony, 3-5 pm

First Post

2007-04-23T09:17:00.000-07:00

Hello Family and Friends,

I have never used a blog before but I hear it is a great way to communicate to friends and family.

Yesterday, Amanda was inducted into the Psi Chi (Psychology) Honors Society. Amanda received her induction pin after being publicly recognized. Congratulations to Amanda! A distant cousin of mine (D.J.) was also present to be recognized. They are part of the Castilleja family. They were from Catarina, Texas and attend the Castilleja Family Reunion every year.

Please pray for Amanda as her school year comes to a close. December 15th is just around the corner. Amanda will be taking a summer semester and will be on the homestretch for her final fall semester.

It really seems the last few months have been a challenge as far as ministry goes. I guess it is my preparation for a life in ordained ministry. This summer Pastor Mike and his wife, Diane, are going on a summer sabbatical. The responsibilities at Solid Rock Church will be left up to me. This will be a great opportunity to see if pastoral ministry is really what I want to do with my life. I certainly feel called but as I have learned in recent weeks, it can take a real emotional toll. I will be ordained the day before Pastor Mike leaves. With a month and a half left until the Summer, there is plenty of planning to do. Pray that God would give me patience and wisdom as Pastor Mike's Summer Sabbatical approaches.

Until the next blog,

Here are some upcoming dates to be aware of:

April 27 & 28: D.J. & Amanda at Alpha Weekend Retreat
April 28: D.J. Concert @ Central Market in Austin
May 7: Amanda's Last Final for Spring
May 13: D.J. Preaching - "Blessed Mothers"
May 27: D.J.'s Ordination Ceremony