God is Good!

Yesterday was John's birthday. We celebrated by having pizza and playing skeeball at Chuck E. Cheese's. While running around the gameroom, I walked away from my camera. When I went to look for it, it was gone. All of us that were there hunted all over for it, asking the employees and other people there. Unfortunately, no one could find it. John and I realized that someone probably stole it. Everyone that was there, not necessarily together, prayed blessings over the person who stole the camera, but also that the Holy Spirit would convict them to return it to me.
Later on an employee called me to the counter and asked me to describe my camera. She said that a lady had stolen it, went home and felt bad about it and came back to return the camera to me!

YAY GOD!

Kenya!

We are going to Africa! Kenya to be more specific. John and I found out last month that we were chosen for the Kenya mission trip. We are so honored to be chosen because there are only 6 first year students out of almost 500 that are going. We really felt connected to it when we read the description back in October. I guess that was the leading of the Holy Spirit leading us to make it our number one choice because we got picked!
The trip is April 5-15, 2008. We will fly into Nairobi and minister to some churches there, and head over to Nyahururu where the Heroes of the Nation orphanage and school is located. We will be spend a few days there with the kids and teachers, and then a few days at Destiny Bible College. The students at the orphanage and the college are being raised as leaders to make a difference in Africa. It's so cool to be a part of that!
We had our first meeting on Friday to get a taste of the trip. They really expect a lot out of us, and John and I are so excited. We will actually be teaching and preaching the gospel in schools, churches, and the streets! I know that our lives will not be the same after this experience. Get ready to hear some amazing testimonies about the love and the power of GOD! YAY!

More Lake Tahoe

Apparently, you can only add a couple photos before the site seizes up. So here's a couple more for ya :)

Lake Tahoe Pictures!

We've been on some amazing adventures since we've been out here. And we've gotten to see some of God's incredible handywork. It has always been easy to say that God made the world, but we've been to some places where I'm standing there, awestruck with what I'm looking at, and I can't help but say, "Wow...You made that?! That's AMAZING!" We'll try to catch you up with a few pictures here and there from some of the places we've been.

These are just a couple pictures of one of my favorite places on earth, Lake Tahoe.

Hooray God!

So, school is still going great. There was an 'Open Heavens' conference this week, so we got to help out with that, and it was really good. Also, Alyson was dancing in her dance ministry class on Tuesday, and she accidentally landed on a metal beam and severely bruised her foot. The bottom of her foot swelled up, and she was in so much pain she could barely walk on it. But we laid our hands on her foot and prayed for it that night, and by Wednesday, all the swelling went away, and the pain went with it! Jesus really is the healer, and it's so cool that He even heals bruised feet. Praise God! We were afraid she wouldn't be able to serve at the conference...you should have seen her hobbling!

John is headed down to Sarasota, Florida for a Great Banquet weekend this Thursday, so we're very excited about that. Be sure to pray that God whacks all those guys good down there.

We love you all, and we're praying huge blessings for all of you!

Outreach and Missions

Last week we were assigned to our outreach for the year. Every Thursday afternoon is dedicated it this. I was placed in an afterschool program at an elementary school. I am really excited about combining two of my loves, kids and God! John is in an outreach called Treasure Hunts. It's basically going out in to the community and ministering to those that God highlights to you. It's not as comfortable as mine, but he picked it to stretch himself.

We had a Revival Group party last night and I brought my chicken club ring....it was a hit! I felt like a real housewife making something for the potluck. It was also a great chance to get know more people outside of school.

Some people have mentioned that they still want to give to us. We would love any other help we can get especially because our mission trip is an added cost. If you would like to donate to our trip you can send money to BSSM:

BSSM
Attn: Kathy Vallaton
933 College View Drive
Redding, CA 96003

This money goes directly into our account for school. We don't know how much our trip is yet because we don't know where we are going yet! We will find out in Novemeber!

Busy, busy

Wow! John and I are busy people! Please pray for energy and strength for us as we are adjusting to our new schedule, especially John. I never thought would see the day when John gets up at 4:30 and goes to bed before 9 . He is being such a great husband to me! He is the one who has to work early and ride his bike to work. I don't have to be at work until 7:15, and I get to drive!

We found out our first session of AMT classes yesterday. I got into the dance class and John will be taking power evangelism. I decided to take the dance because I have always loved dance, but never felt free and confident doing it. I am hoping for a breakthrough in this class that will flow into other areas of my life. It will also be good for me to tap into my creative side and get initmate with God in a whole new way.

Love you guys!

Back to School!

School started last Tuesday, and we are sooooo excited! We can't believe we get the opportunity to be a part of something this cool. We are among 500 first year students from ALL OVER THE WORLD! We have just gotten a taste of what God has in store for us this year, and it is already revolutionizing our worlds! God is so good! You all have an open invitation to come any time! Not only is it gorgeous here, but God is overwhelmingly present. What else do you expect from a school of supernatural ministry?

Here is the website for our church/school if you are interested!
www.ibethel.org

We have jobs!

John and I have been working for about two weeks now at Mahattan Bagel. He works at the main store just down the road from our apartment. I have been working at the express location at the YMCA and then promoting their catering and to-go menu at local businesses. So far it's been great. We have a plethora of bagels because they just throw away whatever is left over at the end of the day. We have taken them by the local mission the one day John closed. Not only do they make bagels, but yummy sandwiches, too. John and I basically can have free breakfast and lunch the whole year! YAY God! We won't, however, be on a no-carb diet! :)

www.manhattanbagel.com

We made it!

We are settled here in Redding, and we love it! Our trip across the country was amazing as well! If you ever have the chance to do a cross country road trip, we highly recommend it! We saw some gorgeous parts of our country! We stopped in Park City for a couple of days to visit friends. There we went hiking, climbed a mountain, and reached the peak. It was breathtaking at the top.

God has given us an awesome apartment here, too. It's worth way more than what we are paying. Yay God! It's pretty crazy moving to a town you've never been to, but he has got it all worked out.

Bethel is great too! They really are doing the work of the Holy Spirit here. School starts in about 3 weeks, and we can't wait! In the meantime, we are still in the job search. Pray that God gives us some good ones!

We love you all and we couldn't be here without you! We'll keep you posted as news develops! God bless!

Here we go!

John and I left Nashville yesterday. Surprisingly, I wasn't too sad. Of course we will miss our friends there, but we can't wait to get out to Redding. Here is our schedule:

July 30- Leave Nashvegas/Drive to D-town
July 30-August 1- Decatur/Family time/LaGondola :)
August 1-2 Drive to Park City, Utah
August 2-5 Fun Times/Camping with Utah crew
August 5 Drive to Reno
August 6 Drive to Redding and move in to our awesome townhouse! Woohoo!

Keep us in your prayers! We need mechanical grace, patience, energy, and wonderful people who want to help us move in once we get there!