Updates and News :)

Okay, so you didn't think that the last picture post was the one we were talking about on the Facebook site did you? We're  still not quite sure all of what we are going to write in this one, but we're writing it! The goal is to keep this blog updated. We are going to try to post more family related stuff as we do it and ministry stuff as we have updates. So you might see a mix of the two.

Here are some updates on things we're working on:

• Our house in Oregon looks like it's going to sell, Praise God! We're in the final stages so prayer that it continues to go smoothly with no surprises would be very appreciated. This being accomplished will definitely help us move forward in Washington. 
• The house we're renting in Washington seems to be back to "normal" for now. No more crazy mold or fixes that we can see. We're thankful for a place to live and also thankful that we'll be month to month soon to give us more freedom if God brings a place our way. 
• We found a church in Washington that we really like and both of us are working hard to get plugged in with a small group and respective bible studies. Jenna seems to do well at this church too, which is great. 
• Kristine is continuing to do MOPS and is enjoying it. She's also a part of some other local mom's groups and meeting people from all different backgrounds and religions, that's been fun too! 
• Eric is enjoying his job and the challenges that come with it. He seems to get along great with his co-workers and likes the products he's developing. 
• Eric's plane has moved to Paine Field in Everett. This was a great move because it's out of the wet weather and he can safely take it apart without worrying about theft much or losing items. (The last hangar had gravel on the ground...a great surface to lose important small items!)
• We haven't started marriage coaching yet for communication, but figure we'll start that once we get more established in our church, have a stable place to live (no moves), and have a reliable person to watch Jenna during that time. (FYI for those who aren't in the know, we are happy and love each other, so we aren't on the brink of divorce or anything. We just feel we need extra help in the communication department so we can be the best team we can be when we go back to full time ministry)

As far as ministry.... there's been a few people who are worried that we're going to get too "settled" and "comfortable" where we're at and worry that if we get another house that will solidify the deal. Not to worry friends! We mentioned before that we're taking a break from ministry partnership with Mission Aviation Fellowship to seek God's direction and to work on a few things to make us even better prepared for ministry. 

Yes, we're going to look for a house as we're not sure how long this break is going to be. It could be two years it could be five or more. It's much more cost effective to purchase a house at a low market price and put our monthly money towards building equity than giving our money monthly to someone else so they can build equity in their house. We're looking at a place with the mindset that we'll either live in this place for many years, rent it out if we go overseas or sell it. We're not looking for a fixer upper with lots of projects like our last home, we definitely learned our lesson there! But, we are not going to just jump on any house we see. We are praying about it and seeking God's direction in this and essentially, walking by faith because only God knows our future.  

Little by little God allows us a glimpse of His plan and why we were made to take a break from what we were doing and we'd like to share this with you. While we were with MAF and even before when we were thinking of MAF, growing a family weighed heavily on our hearts. Kristine had to have a c-section with Jenna and because of the details of why she needed that c-section, it meant future children would also need to come by c-section. Kristine was worried about how this would look overseas especially not knowing the foreign language there and what would happen with Jenna. We tried to think over and over again about how to plan this out, but as many of you know... you can't just say, "I'm going to get pregnant now" and plan the time, God plans it. She talked with lots of people and we decided just to move forward regardless of the thoughts that were in the back of our mind about it. 

More recently we've felt strongly that one reason God had us delay going overseas, was so that we could complete our family before we go. We didn't need that distraction keeping us from serving whole-heartedly. Many families that are overseas right now are already complete or if they aren't they are able to birth babies naturally and don't have the same fears we did about taking a leap in this regard. How amazing is it that God knew what we needed and helped us? We're trying to get pregnant for a second child now, so prayers are definitely appreciated. We are thinking we might adopt a third child, but aren't sure yet. We're taking things one step at a time. It's just exciting to have this time to grow our family, it's definitely a gift. 

It reminds us constantly of  Jeremiah 29:11, which says, "¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

God has our future all taken care of, we just need to do our job to listen and obey when He speaks, not to ignore it and press on. There are many other reasons we see why God's allowed us to have this time in the states and we know there will be many more reasons that will become apparent to us. We ask that our friends and supporters don't lose hope, just because we aren't overseas yet doesn't mean that God can't use us right here, right now, for His purpose. Keep following our blog and keeping in touch via our facebook page for updates on our journey. 

Thanks for all your prayers! We appreciate them.

In Christ,

Eric, Kristine and Jenna Reed

Pictures!

Lately I've noticed that this blog has had a serious lack of photos! Here's a post to remedy some of that. 

Jenna chasing goats at the Animal Farm this Summer.

We went to the Arlington Air show this year. It was Jenna's first air show and I think she did pretty well. She loved going in the helicopter and watching the airplanes fly. She also decided Mommy should wear a monkey hat. 

This summer is when Jenna started to get really interested in Daddy's airplane too. So Eric took her up for a ride. She wasn't so sure about that part, because she couldn't see out the window. But no tears! So that's a good sign.  

She loves it when Eric reads to her. 

This fall Jenna and I (Kristine) picked a lot of vegetables and fruit. Jenna seemed to like to eat it once she knew where it came from. Who could blame her? :) 

This fall took pictures in the Everett Arboretum. (Pretty sure that's not the actual name) Jenna cooperated for a couple of the shots. :) 

Thankful (written by Kristine)

I know it's a little early to be writing thanksgiving posts, but seriously, we have a lot to be thankful for around here and I think waiting until a silly holiday to do it, well... is silly.

As most of you know, we're in a transition period. Instead of a few months passing, it's felt like a few years! Taking a break from our dreams of serving with Mission Aviation Fellowship to follow the Lord's leading was one of the hardest things to do, yet God's completely confirmed in us that it was the right thing to do. We were treading water with MAF and hoping to find some land, but whatever direction we went, we just stayed in one spot. Once we took a step back, looked at where we were at and listened closely to God, a ship appeared to take us in a different direction.

God's confirmed in us over and over again that taking a break was the right thing to do. He provided Eric with a job that he enjoys, provided us a house to rent and provided mom's groups in the area for me to get involved with right away. On the weekends we worked on the house in Oregon for the most part and Jenna proved to be a great little road trip traveler. Thank the Lord for that! We were fretting about what to do about a Realtor and who to choose and God had a guy call us from a company and offer to sell our house. This was a company we hadn't paid much attention to, but we realized we'd heard their advertising a lot on the radio and had seen their signs around. How amazing that God provided that for us?

We listed our home mid-september and here we are at the end of October and God provided a buyer who is interested in our home! We are in the closing process right now and would love your prayers that things go smoothly. When the e-mail came, we could hardly believe it, but we knew God had a hand in it as He does everything.

Around this same time we feel we've found a church up here that we can call home. It may be confusing to some, because we started going to another church, but God keep nagging us to try this other church that Eric's coworker goes to. So we prayed about it and went in asking God to confirm if this was the place He wants us to be. In the first few minutes we knew God wanted us there. The people were warm and welcoming and understood our desire to be involved in global ministry. Eric is getting plugged in and I've been to a women's event. At that event God spoke in little ways through the women that were there to help confirm in my heart that this is where we are supposed to be regardless of what happens in the future, and that's enormously comforting.

People ask us if we're going to continue with MAF, the answer is that we don't know. Right now we're taking a break for one to two years or more to focus on our walks with God and work on a few things. We know that if it's the Lord's will for us to serve with MAF, we will. If He has another ministry in mind, then we'll serve there. It's our hope and desire to grow so strong in our walks with God that we're open to serving in the moment, wherever He leads us. But things take time.... we want to give God all the time He needs to shape us into who He wants us to be. :)

In the meantime, we're extremely thankful for how He's provided for us and it's showing us that walking by faith is vitally important. A lot of times we want to have things figured out, we need to realize that God's already got things figured out. It's up to us to follow Him wherever He leads.

Where do I fit in? (Written by Kristine)

Lately I've found myself wondering what most everyone wonders from time to time.... where do I fit in? Every time I move to a new place I wonder if this is the place God wants me to be for the long term, or is this just a stop along the journey?

We've been checking out different churches and I've been checking out different mom's groups and bible studies and this question continues to spin in my head, do I fit in here? Should I fit in here? What do I need to do to fit in here? Is changing parts of me really going to make me "fit in" or am I fooling myself?

 I look back on the past few years of my life and I realized I've been trying way way too hard to fit into a culture that I don't fit into. I am not a woman who cares if I have perfect hair or designer clothes, I am happy if my hair is clean and I wear clothes that I like regardless of the label. I am not a hipster, but I love the music most listen to.  I am not a super hippie gal, but I do enjoy helping our family eat healthy. I am not an awesome crafter or decorator, but I do love to sew with what stitches I know and decorate when I get the chance. I am not super mom, but I try my best every day.

I've decided that I am okay with being Kristine. I'm okay with being a person who: loves learning about new technology, who has a million craft projects she wants to do, is kinda okay at the guitar but really just loves to sing with others, tries hard to be a good mom, wants to hike...even though we never get the chance, who enjoys meeting new people and hearing about their lives, loves to cook and longs to travel and learn about other cultures among other things. I'm okay with not being the best or the thinnest or the prettiest one in the room. I'm okay with often being the quietest one in the room, it means I like to listen and get to know others. Yes I am human, and yes I do get my feelings hurt, but I think I've decided to just be me. :)

Out of all the crowds I've been with, I think where I've fit in the most and felt the most at home has been with my missionary friends. My heart still longs to live overseas and to help spread the gospel there. It sounds crazy to people that I've met here, I mean why would I want to give up this culture and everything I own to move my family to an unfamiliar place? I've found over the years that it is in in those countries, that I feel like I fit in the most. Where I feel like I am home. It doesn't make sense to those who "fit in" and feel called to serve in this culture and that's okay.

I know that the Lord gave me the desire to serve overseas for a reason. With everything that's happened in the past year with us getting into MAF yet needing to take a step back, it's been hard to see where God wants our family in the future. Yes, that's been discouraging, but I think it's exactly what I need to rely on His timing even more in my life. I don't have all the answers....heck I don't know ANY of the answers...but I know that God has an even better plan in mind. He gave me the desire to serve overseas for a reason and in His timing that will happen. I just need to be patient, be open and be honest in the mean time to be able to grow. I need to stop trying to figure it out and just live life for God. To be able to be the best person I can be here for God whether I feel I "fit in" or not. The only place I'll ever truly fit in is when I am worshiping my God in Heaven, and I am okay with that. :)

Jennavieve's First Flight -Written by Eric

Jennavieve's first flight in an airplane! I thought it went pretty well, but I couldn't tell what Jenna was thinking. I think from the time the engine started until we were stopped she had kind of a blank stare. She almost looked frightened, but she didn't let out a noise. We had earmuffs on her to protect her hearing and wrapped up her head to make sure they stayed on her, but I think she really didn't know what to make of all the noise anyway. Next time we see how my tighter headset works for her. I think if she can hear my voice she might have a little fun with it.

So now we have to figure out someone to watch Jenna while I take Kristine up again. I haven't taken her up since Jenna was born.