MISSIONS MONDAY
Since August of 1975, MMS Aviation has served over 100 Christian organizations who use aircraft in support of their ministry. Sixty-nine graduates have served or are serving in remote locations around the world.
Visit the MMS Aviation for more about how they Prepare People & Planes for Worldwide Missionary Service.
::Each Monday we'll feature some info about missions to help us all broaden our understanding of how God is at work in missions throughout the world::
Monday, February 3, 2014
Sunday, January 5, 2014
It's a New Year!
It's a new year and we are excited about where the Lord is leading us! We hope to get to MMS in 2014 and we are eager to serve as God leads us. Our Christmas season was full with family, time with our kiddos, unexpected illness and time spent visiting in the hospital (Trisha's Pappaw), perpetual coughing....ahhhhhemmmm, excuse me, and even snow!
Here's a picture journey of our Christmas season. Enjoy! Please continue to pray with us for God's provision in MMS support raising. We are looking forward to many contacts and are hopeful for the Lord to provide mission partners.
We had some December-fun with Christmas lights, snow, winter-weather-dress-up, and a Jingle-Bell-Jog in freeeeeezing snowy temps!
We spent Christmas morning with our kids and had hours to open and play and open and play and eat and open and play some more! That was a gift in and of itself!
If you'll join us in praying, here are some things we are focusing our prayers around:
~Renewed energy for support raising. The months of November and December were intentionally low-key in support raising because we know people (and ourselves, too!) were focusing on family and additional activities.
~Andy requested a winter leave-of-absence from Costco for March and we pray for this to be approved. This is an opportunity for employees to request extended time off during the non-busy season without losing their status. We hope to make a lot of visits, talks, phone calls...whatever!...in an effort to invite folks into the mission and ministry of MMS.
~Prayer for our personal walks with the Lord and the discipleship of our family.
Here's a picture journey of our Christmas season. Enjoy! Please continue to pray with us for God's provision in MMS support raising. We are looking forward to many contacts and are hopeful for the Lord to provide mission partners.
We spent Christmas morning with our kids and had hours to open and play and open and play and eat and open and play some more! That was a gift in and of itself!
If you'll join us in praying, here are some things we are focusing our prayers around:
~Renewed energy for support raising. The months of November and December were intentionally low-key in support raising because we know people (and ourselves, too!) were focusing on family and additional activities.
~Andy requested a winter leave-of-absence from Costco for March and we pray for this to be approved. This is an opportunity for employees to request extended time off during the non-busy season without losing their status. We hope to make a lot of visits, talks, phone calls...whatever!...in an effort to invite folks into the mission and ministry of MMS.
~Prayer for our personal walks with the Lord and the discipleship of our family.
Monday, December 2, 2013
Thankful
*Disclaimer: after proofreading this post I realized that I grossly overused the exclamation mark. Too bad. I was just really excited about a lot of things!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Happy Thanksgiving! We had a lovely long weekend with our families and were grateful for a few days to spend together as a little-4-person-Gudeman-family!
I was going to say "relaxing as a little-4-person-Gudeman-family" but with a 6yo and a 3yo there
isn't much relaxing going on! Ha! But lots of fun was happening!
Grace went to the movies for the first time! Naturally, she saw Planes.
I ran a 5K Turkey Trot!
Micah turned 3!
Andy spearheaded the Christmas decorating at our house! We are thankful for his dad's help with the lights on the tree :-) No Clark Griswold mishaps here!
We avoided Black Friday shopping so we could truly appreciate what we already have rather than adding more "stuff" to our lives. We ventured out but without a buying agenda. It's frustrating -- yes??? -- to watch the news about people fighting over Black Friday deals just hours after gorging on turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie --> uhhh, I mean reflecting on all they are thankful for.
Seriously, though. It is just crazy.
On the Saturday after Thanksgiving {November 30th} we celebrated Micah's 3rd birthday! I vividly remember having Thanksgiving dinner 5 days before he was born. Talk about feeling stuffed.
On October 27th our sweet Gracie turned 6!
We continue to raise support for full-time missions with MMS. Things will slow down over the holidays as our schedule {work/school/church/family} is too full {of good stuff} for church and home visits. We are 20% funded (!!!!!) and praise the Lord for this!!!! We are excited to have a more focused fundraising time after the New Year.
If you'd like to join us in prayer, here are some specifics:
1. Our spiritual growth -- we will be focusing on some particular areas in which to grow with the help of our pastors. This is so exciting to us! We are thankful for leaders who care about us, for a process that exposes our needs, and an opportunity to grow in God's Word.
2. Our kids -- pray for their hearts to be open to God. Also pray for their ability to learn obedience and respect. They are GREAT kids but they need Jesus just like the rest of us.
3. Parenting -- this is probably our biggest challenge currently and it is likely to remain our biggest challenge for, oh, I don't know, 18 years or so. Or forever. Consistency, diligence, obedience, and love.
4. Preparing our hearts for missions. There is so much involved with preparing to go -- spiritually, emotionally, and physically. In church on Sunday I was overwhelmed -- with sadness, fear, grief, but also the knowledge of strong support-- at the idea of leaving my church family. I realized how much preparation my heart will need in order to go.
Here is a glimpse at some additional Gudeman Fall Fun!
Happy Thanksgiving! We had a lovely long weekend with our families and were grateful for a few days to spend together as a little-4-person-Gudeman-family!
I was going to say "relaxing as a little-4-person-Gudeman-family" but with a 6yo and a 3yo there
isn't much relaxing going on! Ha! But lots of fun was happening!
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| Micah contemplating his turkey dinner! |
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| Grace and RP at the kids table! |
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| Don't mind me. |
Grace went to the movies for the first time! Naturally, she saw Planes.
I ran a 5K Turkey Trot!
Micah turned 3!
Andy spearheaded the Christmas decorating at our house! We are thankful for his dad's help with the lights on the tree :-) No Clark Griswold mishaps here!
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| Christmas magic :-) Try not to be jealous of our floral wallpaper borders. |
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| I am so thankful for this guy <3 |
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| And the turkeys are off! |
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| I'm just thankful I can run with a smile on my face! |
We avoided Black Friday shopping so we could truly appreciate what we already have rather than adding more "stuff" to our lives. We ventured out but without a buying agenda. It's frustrating -- yes??? -- to watch the news about people fighting over Black Friday deals just hours after gorging on turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie --> uhhh, I mean reflecting on all they are thankful for.
Seriously, though. It is just crazy.
On the Saturday after Thanksgiving {November 30th} we celebrated Micah's 3rd birthday! I vividly remember having Thanksgiving dinner 5 days before he was born. Talk about feeling stuffed.
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| What a kid!!! We love this 3yo!!! |
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| Pumpkin birthday pie! |
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| Licking the pumpkin off his #3...wouldn't want to waste any! |
On October 27th our sweet Gracie turned 6!
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| Love this girl!!! Such a sassy, sweet 6yo!!! |
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| Rapunzel! |
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| Disney on Ice for her b-day!!!! Serious business. Don't smile. |
We continue to raise support for full-time missions with MMS. Things will slow down over the holidays as our schedule {work/school/church/family} is too full {of good stuff} for church and home visits. We are 20% funded (!!!!!) and praise the Lord for this!!!! We are excited to have a more focused fundraising time after the New Year.
If you'd like to join us in prayer, here are some specifics:
1. Our spiritual growth -- we will be focusing on some particular areas in which to grow with the help of our pastors. This is so exciting to us! We are thankful for leaders who care about us, for a process that exposes our needs, and an opportunity to grow in God's Word.
2. Our kids -- pray for their hearts to be open to God. Also pray for their ability to learn obedience and respect. They are GREAT kids but they need Jesus just like the rest of us.
3. Parenting -- this is probably our biggest challenge currently and it is likely to remain our biggest challenge for, oh, I don't know, 18 years or so. Or forever. Consistency, diligence, obedience, and love.
4. Preparing our hearts for missions. There is so much involved with preparing to go -- spiritually, emotionally, and physically. In church on Sunday I was overwhelmed -- with sadness, fear, grief, but also the knowledge of strong support-- at the idea of leaving my church family. I realized how much preparation my heart will need in order to go.
Here is a glimpse at some additional Gudeman Fall Fun!
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| LEAVES!!! |
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| A fall family hike |
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| Grace's 1st loose tooth!!! |
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| Togetherness <3 |
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| Togetherness with scarecrows <3 |
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| Peter Pan & Tinkerbell rocked the block! |
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| So many Fall Festivals, so little time! |
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| Grace met Jan Brett, the author and illustrator of some of her FAVORITE books! |
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
A Desk Jockey, Super-Heroes & School
There's been quite a bit of exciting transition in our family over the past several weeks!
I {Trisha} started a new FULL-TIME job! I am a caseworker at the County Assistance Office. This is a *huge* answer to prayer and we are daily humbled at God's provision. Many people have prayed with us for over a year {one year, three months and ten days to be exact} for this and now we rejoice together at how God provides at exactly the right time. My job is about 10 minutes from home so I can take Grace to the bus stop in the morning and be home for dinner.
Andy will continue to work at Costco evenings and weekends while he takes care of the kids and the household during the days. He is also the main driver of our support raising efforts. We both do the calls, letters, conversations, visits, etc., but Andy makes the game plan that moves us forward.
He's pretty much Super-Dad. His Super-Dad cape sometime gets stuck in the door of hisBatMinivan-mobile.
He cooks.
He cleans.
He launders.
He's Suuuuuuper-Dad!
Grace started kindergarten in August and is totally a pro. She loves Ms. Geyer, art, centers {rotating activities}, and reading. She picks out her own clothes and gets dressed by herself each morning. She reads in her book-nook in the morning until I get up. Every morning she tells me, "Mom, hurry up or we'll be late for the bus!"
It's 7:00am. Her bus comes at 8:07am.
Micah is also off to school this year -- pre-school...or "pre-cool" as he calls it! He goes on Tuesday and Thursday mornings to Ridgeway Nursery School. He also spends his days visiting Fort Indiantown Gap airfield, hiking around Memorial Lake or at Wildwood, or chillin' at the library. A perk of Micah's pre-school schedule is that it frees up a few hours during the week for Andy to focus on support-raising.
We are moving along steadily in our support raising for MMS and are currently at 14%. Our ability to get to the mission field depends on how quickly we raise 100% of the funds we need. We are eager to get to MMS! We are thankful for each opportunity to share about missions and how we hope to be a part of kingdom building at MMS.
I {Trisha} started a new FULL-TIME job! I am a caseworker at the County Assistance Office. This is a *huge* answer to prayer and we are daily humbled at God's provision. Many people have prayed with us for over a year {one year, three months and ten days to be exact} for this and now we rejoice together at how God provides at exactly the right time. My job is about 10 minutes from home so I can take Grace to the bus stop in the morning and be home for dinner.
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| Me in the land of cubes and fluorescent lighting! |
He's pretty much Super-Dad. His Super-Dad cape sometime gets stuck in the door of his
He cooks.
He cleans.
He launders.
He's Suuuuuuper-Dad!
 | |
| It really doesn't get any better than this! Don't show this picture to his chiropractor... |
It's 7:00am. Her bus comes at 8:07am.
Micah is also off to school this year -- pre-school...or "pre-cool" as he calls it! He goes on Tuesday and Thursday mornings to Ridgeway Nursery School. He also spends his days visiting Fort Indiantown Gap airfield, hiking around Memorial Lake or at Wildwood, or chillin' at the library. A perk of Micah's pre-school schedule is that it frees up a few hours during the week for Andy to focus on support-raising.
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| And he's off! |
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
10%...who knew?!?!
Woo hoo!!! We have officially reached the 10% mark in our support raising!
If you had asked me a few months ago if I thought 10% was a significant amount of ANYTHING, I would have said no. But now?!?! I am stoked!
It means that people are sharing our vision for missions.
It means that people are giving sacrifically to see God's kingdom expand.
It means that God's plan for us to serve in mission aviation is becoming a reality.
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| Riding the plane-train |
The kids had a blast and Andy volunteered with JAARS offering helicopter rides. He did the safety briefing and loaded folks into the helicopter. The kids rode a plane-train, bounced in a bounce house, had their hands painted {ladybug and helicopter, respectively}, made toy airplanes, and had their first helicopter ride!
It's amazing how even on days that are exhausting from work and play, when our focus is on missions, we aren't tired. We might be able to fall asleep in an instant but the life-giving force of serving God by using our gifts far outweighs the feelings of weariness. We are so grateful to those partnering with us in ministry to allow us to follow the Lord into missions.
If you'd like to receive our newsletter via snail-mail or e-mail, please let us know by leaving a comment, call us, or send us an e-mail at teamgudeman@gmail.com!
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| Co-Pilot! |
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| Helo-hand |
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| Bouncing! |
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| Assembling an airplane courtesy of MMS |
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| Like father, like son *happy sigh* |
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