New Beginnings

There's a whole lotta new stuff going on in the Rowan household this fall. I'm not sure you really want to know all about it, but I'm going to pretend that you do. Okay? :)

Shea (5) has started Kindergarten! She loves it, thinks it's super cool, and is especially enamoured with the bus. Five mornings per week, four of my children are at school. Wow!

Malakai (3 next week) has had his first visit to Preschool! Starting next Tuesday, he will begin attending two mornings per week. Two mornings per week, five of my children are in school. (Yes, that's all of them.) Unbelievable!

Pat is preparing to return to Haiti this fall (he was there last fall as well). Last year they were laboring to put the finishing touches on the trade school run by Haiti Arise Ministries. This year they will be hard at work rebuilding the homes of the HAM staff and community members, as well as possibly working on an elementary school. The trade school had to be demolished after the earthquake, and HAM will be rebuilding it eventually.

(On a side note, in order to serve on this missions trip, each team member is required to fund raise his or her own support. They each need approximately $2000 for the whole trip and it needs to be in by September 26th. With two and a half weeks remaining, we are sitting about $1200 shy of meeting our fundraising goal. If you just read those words and felt God nudging your heart, please email me to find out how to partner with our family in sending Pat out to share the love of Jesus in Haiti.)

Our family has found a church home. Finally! After being so involved for so many years, it was not an easy task to find a new church! We are waiting to get connected in a small group and I have hopped on board with the women's ministry. The kids love it there and the Pastor is a man who is not afraid to preach the Truth straight from God's Word!

In just over a month I will be speaking on Mommy, Why are you Angry? at the Freshwind Women's Conference (in a breakout session). I am both thrilled and terrified, yet resting assured that God is in complete control.

There are, of course, a million other new things about to begin - dance lessons, skating lessons, karate, hockey, and zumba... But we've all got that kind of crazy, don't we?! What is God doing NEW in your life this fall? Is He calling you to a new ministry? Blessing you with a new addition? Moving you to a new home? Showering you anew with His grace and mercy? Please share; I'd love to hear...