Geeky Garble?
Yes, you are on jessiejournal.com. Yes, this is Jessie. I have been trying to figure out how to explain and give updates about my ministry without boring you to tears. So… I’ll have a section called Geeky Garble that will give some ministry details that you can totally skip over if you are bored with computer jargon. I will try to use plain language because I understand it better that way too. So, you have been forewarned about the Geeky Garble heading and when to tune me out.
Life as usual
We have been enjoying the daily life of newlyweds… with “not so new house” woes. Seems like every week something different “breaks” that is more than your normal household expense. Hoping to find relief from this pattern in the near future. Our wallets won’t hold out much longer! But we are thankful for a nice home and quiet neighborhood with a dog park very close by.
I have enjoyed being able to get some painting in on the murals from this project here… but I’ll post new photos soon.
We have also spent some time hanging out at the new UT Southwestern hospital in Dallas. Scot’s dad (who lives in Louisiana) had surgery to remove cancer and there were some complications. He had to spend 15 days there… and we spent most of that time with him as well. Thankful that the hospital is close enough to be with him. And VERY thankful that the doctors were able to remove all of the cancer! Thank you for your prayers as we went through that time… and your ongoing prayers are appreciated as he continues to recover at home.
Kids
Quick overview… Joe has started classes at UNT Dallas… Amanda started a new school year teaching at Green Oaks Academy in Arlington… Natalie is still enjoying tropical life in Corpus Chirsti. We visited her in July and her boyfriend took us on a boat ride. We watched a dolphin follow us around for a little while! I am so proud of Natalie and the work she is doing with Sisters of the Shield (her boyfriend is a police officer). The wives and girlfriends of officers decided to start a support group. She even made the news… click to see the interview.
Football Season
Part of my duties as new wife is to support my husband in things that he loves. Well, football is at the top of that list… I even mentioned it in my wedding vows. He has been so excited as the anticipation has been building up to the first Saturday of all day college football. I like football. I enjoy watching it and going to games… I am just not a fanatic. So I am learning to be totally committed to football to show my support for my honey. I reap many benefits from this… Saturday morning he fixed an amazing brunch to start the football day off right. I will probably gain back the 10 pounds I lost last month very quickly.
Church and personal ministry
Not wanting to overload our schedules, we have been pondering how to serve in our church in a meaningful way. Our church has begun a new Spanish speaker’s service (as I mentioned in my last update), we have been helping during the beginning phase as things get started. We walked through several neighborhoods and passed out flyers inviting people to come to the new service. Since services began, I have been greeting people as they arrive and Scot has helped with audio/video. There has been a great response. One woman told me she would have turned around and gone home if I would not have been there to help her find her way in… she was very nervous about entering a new place and not knowing anyone. Although this has been a temporary commitment, we have enjoyed getting to know others in the church as we serve.
Please pray for the needs of the ministry and the hearts that it will be touching. Pray as well for our Grace en Español pastor Joe Santana as he leads the ministry and the Spanish speakers who will become a part of our family at Grace.
Geeky Garble
Now for the section I warned you about…. Geeky Garble. This past month has been a bit stressful. Our site suffered a brute force attack and was not accessible for a few days. Things are slowly getting back to normal, but there are still some areas that aren’t quite right and I am working to get things back into place.
If you would like to see what the site is all about, you can view the English explanation of it here. This is the Spanish resource link to the actual site… ObreroFiel
I was hoping to begin development on a new segment of online resources, but all of my energy has been going into fixing the attack problems. There is a lot of work to be done for the new site that we are developing and we have a great team pulling things together. I look forward to being able to show it to you… hopefully after the first of the year.
“Housekeeping”
Yes… I am still working to build back my support. Please consider joining my ongoing support team or making a one-time gift to the ministry. Click here to give online.
Thank you for taking the time to read my updates. I would love to grow my reach as well… please share my blog with friends who may be interested in hearing about it.
Pray With Me
- Please pray for Grace en Español as it continues to grow.
- Pray for financial support for the ministry.
- Pray for my team member Beth (who serves in Mexico and is a crucial part of our online resources team) as she goes to stay with her daughter and family who are grieving the loss of their newborn.
- Pray for Joe as he balances work, studies and finances.
- Pray for Amanda and her class as they settle into a new school year. And for Casey and his work.
- Pray for Natalie in her role with Sisters of the Shield.
