Two Months In Review.

It's hard to believe its been 2 months since our last post. That's pretty sad. We've had so much going on over the past two months that I don't even know where to begin! I'll give you some highlights.

The highlights of February:

• We celebrated two years of marriage on February 13th! We've been extremely blessed to use my parents' timeshare for the past 3 years to celebrate our wedding and anniversaries. Two years ago we celebrated on our honeymoon in Spain, last year we went to Orlando for our first anniversary, and this year we had the amazing opportunity to spend some time in Gatlinburg, TN. We spontaneously decided to go skiing during our time in Gatlinburg--something that I've never done and Brian has only done a handful of times. I can say that was probably one of the top five most fun experiences I've ever shared with my husband. Brian was a natural from the beginning (I think it's because of all the skateboarding he used to do!) and it took me pretty much all day to get the hang of it! It was fun to see my skills progress throughout the day--I started on the bunny slope and finally mastered the green slope after 8 hours of skiing :) We had a great time celebrating our two years of marriage and we look forward to many more.

When we first got to the ski area! Excited!

After a long day of skiing! We were exhausted and cold!

A new ornament to add to our collection.

• We met with our IMB coordinator twice in the month of February and learned some more details about the process of finally getting overseas. We will be attending an "expo" during the Spring of 2013 where we will learn about different positions that we can apply for throughout the world, more specifically in Europe. It is hard to tell right now exactly when we will be leaving, but we know that it should be anywhere between June of 2013 to May of 2014. A lot of that will just depend on how quickly Brian can finish his classes! We are super excited though and are working to prepare now for the huge transition. 

The morning after the best snow of the season.
Brian getting Clifford ready for work :)

    

The highlights of March:
March was such a fantastic month for several reasons.

• My friend, Anna, and I ran our first 5K after training for about 5 months! We ran the entire thing without stopping and we had a great time. 

Anna and I after the Anthem 5K!

• Two of our friends from USF, Austin and Briana, visited with us during their Spring Break. They stayed with us for 5 days and we had such a great time with them! It was so nice to have a break from my routine schedule and just have an opportunity to hang out with some amazing friends. We cooked dinner together every night (well...I cooked, they watched), they went with me to my SWI class, and they even met me at work one day so that we could have a picnic lunch during my break. It was so much fun! After their time here, I rode back down to FL with them...which leads me to my next highlight....

Walking with Austin and Briana around campus
on one of the first days of Spring!

• I got to go home in March! I had an awesome few days with my family, spent some time in Tampa with friends, and got to attend the wedding of Ryan and Amy Warters. After 8 months, I was really needing some good FL time. And I even got to go to the beach to help combat my new-found KY paleness! It was glorious. I was sad that Brian couldn't come with me, but I appreciated his sacrifice in letting me have a few days there. 

Hanging with my dad and brother at the beach.

Walking around USF to check out the changes since we've moved!

And that brings us to April:

• April is always an eventful month for us because both of our birthdays are in April! We celebrated Brian's 25th this past Monday night with Cajun jambalaya (Brian's request), NY style cheesecake and fellowship with our great friends, Ethan and Anna. My birthday is this coming Tuesday--the big 2-1! I'm not sure what Brian has planned for that yet, if anything! Either way, I'm anticipating that it will be a good day :)

• Easter is fast approaching and we are being continually reminded of the reason for this season: the saving work of Christ on the cross and His glorious resurrection. Tomorrow night we have the opportunity to celebrate His atoning death at Sojourn's Good Friday service. Here, we will reflect upon our sin and the blood that was shed on the cross some 2,000 years ago in order to make us right with God. What an ultimate sacrifice that was, once and for all. Then, Sunday we will join together yet again to celebrate the fact that the story of salvation does not end with the cross, but with an empty tomb. An empty tomb that signifies the power of God over death and the life that is found through the blood of Christ. Get excited!!

That's it for now. Thanks for following! We'll try to do a better job of keeping you informed!!

-AM

Where You Go I Go.

I don't even know where to begin! It's been nearly two months since our last blog and there is a lot to update you on! These past two months have literally flown by. I'm not even sure where the time has gone...

February 1st will mark 6 months of us living in Louisville. We have mixed feelings about this.
On the bright side:

• We both enjoy our jobs and count the fact that God has continually provided for us during our time here as a complete blessing. 
• We have met some incredible people that we wouldn't have had the opportunity to meet otherwise--our friendships are growing and deepening, and for that, we are grateful. 
• We have had the chance to experience a different culture than what we have been accustomed to our entire lives and that has been a great opportunity for growth. 
• We are absolutely in love with the body of believers of Sojourn Community Church and their zeal for Christ.
• We have found this season of study at SBTS to challenge and encourage our personal spiritual lives.

Some negatives:

• Our family is far away...and that's no fun. We miss them all the time. 
• We haven't been able to wear flip flops for months--and winter isn't even over yet! And we are going through some serious beach withdrawal. We have never been so white in our lives ;)
• Often, we reflect on our life at USF and we miss being carefree college students. We miss our friends there and the spontaneous fun we used to have. 

It is obvious: the good outweighs the bad! Please continue to pray for us in these areas as we continue to stay open to wherever God leads!

Lately, our faith has been challenged in many areas. We are confident that this is the Lord's way of pruning us as radical followers of Him--as always, it is tough, yet exciting. 

As many of you are aware, we will be going to France in May for a short term mission trip with our church. Last month, we met our team for the first time and we are enthusiastic about the group that has been assembled. We need $3,000 at the end of February for our airline tickets and another $3,000 by May 10 to cover the rest of our trip expenses. To date, we have $845. We are so grateful for those of you who have given generously and sacrificially!! But obviously, there is still a need, and there have been times lately where we have been getting discouraged. We need to continually remind ourselves that we have a God who can create the universe with a powerful word, who can raise the dead and give them new life, and who can save a lost and dying world by giving his very own Son--and we are worried about raising $5,200 more for our trip?!? Pshh...He's got that one in the bag!

We have also recently completed our preliminary applications with the International Mission Board. The process is very lengthy--complete with several interviews (together and separate), medical assessments, spiritual assessments, and a lot of paperwork. We are totally excited for this process because it means the beginning of our journey overseas. Our first interview with our regional coordinator with the IMB will be on February 7th. We are also prayerfully considering initiating a long-term sponsorship relationship with our church here in Louisville. While we would still be IMB missionaries, this would mean that we would be sent from Sojourn--something that the pastoral leadership does not take lightly. It would require a very high level of service within the church itself while we are here in Louisville (something that we have no problem with), high accountability to the leadership of the church, and being held to a very high standard while on the field--as we reflect Christ (ultimately), the IMB, and the church. Overall, we are extremely excited about the possibilities that God has set before us and request your continued prayers for our growth!

Classes start this week for both of us! We are actually pretty excited about this. Brian is taking another full load of 12 credits and he has already started working ahead. I am taking two more wives classes--the first 6 weeks will be Cross-Cultural Ministry (super excited about this because it is taught by the wife of the dean of the missions school here on campus and former missionary) and the second 6 weeks will be Hospitality (I've heard this is good from others who have gone before me...but I'm interested to see how it goes)! I am also planning on sitting in on one of Brian's night classes with him...we'll see how long that lasts ;)

Well to wrap up this lengthy post, we'll leave you with a few pictures of our festivities throughout the last two months. If you've actually read all of this, count yourself loved because that was A LOT to fill you in on!

-AM

Picking out Christmas trees with our friends, Ethan and Anna.

1st Christmas Eve in Louisville.

Heading to Nashville for a post-Christmas adventure!

Snowflakes!

Visit from Brian's family on New Year's weekend.

Tour of Churchill Downs!

We're Going to France!!

Greetings from the Bluegrass State! We have been living in Louisville for 4 months now and can’t believe how quickly this semester has flown by! In August, we moved from our humble home in Tampa for Brian to begin his classes at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in order to pursue a Masters degree with a concentration in International Church Planting. We are now officially settled and established Louisvillians!

                One area of high priority upon moving was our desire to quickly find and begin serving in a local church body. Having travelled to Louisville in the past, we already knew of a handful of congregations that we wanted to visit and consider further. Among those was Sojourn Community Church—the body of believers that we decided to commit to. Sojourn was extremely different than any church we had attended in the past: the age demographic was fairly young, the style of worship was very unique, and the congregation placed a heavy emphasis on multiplication and the call to plant other churches. This latter point was something that compelled us to begin the membership process with Sojourn, simply because we had recently felt God’s leading to plant a church in an international urban setting.

                Upon God’s initial calling on our lives to become international missionaries and/or church planters, we very much dismissed any type of consideration for European nations. Ignorantly, we assumed that with such a heavy religious background, countries in Western Europe were, for the most part, “reached” with the gospel. For reasons still unknown to us, God began to break those barriers over the course of this past summer and especially when we moved to Louisville. We began to feel a very real call to one of the many urban cities in Western Europe—cities such as Rome, Paris, Madrid, Amsterdam, among others—and we began to consider those cities for our long-term commitment after seminary.

                Within the past two months or so, our church began promoting the scheduled international mission trips for next summer—three in all. There was always a desire in our hearts to be a part of one of these trips, but we were not hopeful that we would actually be able to go. With both of us having to get off work for a full week and raise a large sum of money ($6,000 in all), it just didn’t seem practical or possible in this season of life. But the Lord continued to prick our hearts in this area. On November 15^th, we decided to apply for positions on the team going to Southern France May 11-20, albeit a full two weeks after the deadline to do so. The team was already chosen and at capacity at that time, but we figured if for some reason we were seen as qualified, then that would act as the Lord’s confirmation that we should go. A week later, we were told that we were added to the team and despite the seeming odds still against us (the task of raising financial support and getting off work), we were ecstatic!

                 Much to our surprise—but a continued display of God’s provision—we were BOTH granted a full week off work in May for the trip. Faced with the seemingly daunting task of raising a total of $6,000 ($3,000 for each of us, including our airfare), we were a little nervous to be honest! But we knew that God had paved the way for this trip to France so far and we know that He has always provided for us in the past, so we just had to have a little faith—no, A LOT of faith—and believe Him when He says that all things are possible with Him. And we truly do.

This trip to Southern France will focus on setting up the groundwork for future church plants and future opportunities to convey the gospel of Christ through those churches. Our team of approximately 18 will be split into three regions and we will be doing a variety of demographic research and surveying, in the hope of equipping those church planters from Sojourn Community Church (and partners) who will come in the years to follow. We feel like this experience will not only prove beneficial to those who come along behind us, but also to us as we prepare to follow God’s call on our lives as international missionaries, possibly in the setting of Western Europe.

We are in need of $3,000 by late January for our airline tickets and the remaining $3,000 one week before we leave for France, on May 11^th. This amount will cover both of our airline tickets to and from France, as well as all of our food, lodging and transportation while we are there.

This need can be met in many ways:

10 partners giving $600 each

20 partners giving $300 each

30 partners giving $200 each

50 partners giving $120 each

100 partners giving $60 each

There are two ways that you can give toward our trip:

Online: Go to international.sojournchurch.com to give directly. On the home page, click the button that says GIVE. Find the link for the trip to Southern France and then click “Brian and Ashley Mathews” (account #728). This will go directly to our specific fund.

By Check: For tax deductible donation, send a check directly to Sojourn. Make the check payable to Sojourn Community Church and make sure to put our names and account number (728) in the memo line. This is important to ensure that your donation will go directly to our specific fund.

For non-tax deductible donation, send a check directly to us at:

                                Brian and Ashley Mathews

                                SBTS Box 173

                                2825 Lexington Rd.

                                Louisville, KY 40213

We thank you in advance for your generous contribution and for the impact that you have already made on our lives and the lives of those we will come in contact with! You are a blessing!

Sincerely,

Brian and Ashley

So This Is What Fall Looks Like...

Well it sure has been a while! I can't believe it's almost been 2 months since our last post. Yea...sorry about that. We haven't done a very good job of keeping you updated. It's crazy to think that the DAY AFTER my last post, I had a job interview, got hired, and started working 3 days later. That just goes to show the faithfulness of our Lord!

Needless to say, we've been pretty busy this last month and a half! It definitely took me a few weeks to get used to the demands of a full-time job. I'm officially the "Customer Accounts Manager" at Campus Quilt Co--a locally owned t-shirt quilt company. I have a lot of customer service-type tasks, as well as the task of charging the final balances on the quilts and shipping them out of our facility. Overall, I really like it! Every day is different--which is nice. Every time I think about it, I am in awe of how God has worked out His purpose and our good through the provision of this job...and all in His sovereign time.

Brian is really enjoying his job as well, along with his classes of course! With both working as much as necessary, it has been quite the adjustment, but we have learned to appreciate the time that we do have together a little more. We recently drove north to a farm in Indiana to pick apples and a pumpkin! That was such a blast! We still have apples that we are trying to figure out what to do with...as well as an awesome pumpkin that has a lovely home just outside our front door. Fall here is nothing short of glorious. It has definitely heightened our awareness of our creative Designer. There have been many days when simply driving around town is just breathtaking! The trees are the most vibrant yellows and oranges and golds and reds. Florida ain't got nothin' on this!

Unfortunately, every season comes to a close...and we can feel that winter is just around the corner. I, especially, am a little nervous about this, simply because I have no clue how to drive on icy roads. That'll be interesting. We are excited for the holidays that are just around the corner and the opportunity that we have to celebrate as our small family of two. Not to mention the possibility of both of our families coming to Louisville the week after Christmas--that would just be the icing on the cake!

Well...its probably about time I get some sleep. Early morning for church tomorrow--and this whole work thing has made me even lamer than I used to be as far as staying up late is concerned ;)

Here are some pictures from our Fall:

As always, we appreciate your prayers and love!
-AM

Wow...It's Been a While...

So it's been a few weeks since I last wrote on this blog. That is for two reasons: (1) at one point I was extremely busy and exhausted to even have the time or motivation to write and (2) because I haven't really been looking forward to sharing what has been happening as of late. But I now have the time and I now think its a decent time for an update....so here it is...

I'll start with the good stuff. And believe me, there has been A LOT of good stuff. The Lord continues to bless even through the times of despair. We have been resting in His promises and His blessings and His willingness to provide for us on a daily basis.

One great thing that has occurred recently is that Brian began his training for his new job today! After a few weeks of interviews, drug testing (he was clear LOL), background checking (also clear), he finally got his job as a bank teller for PNC Bank here in Louisville! He is very excited about it...but not so much about the fact that he has to wear a tie to work everyday ;) So he'll officially be working MWF and going to school Tuesday and Thursday. It's perfect and I think that his personality will fit the job exceptionally well!

Another good thing is the weather here. Today is a glorious high of 65 degrees. It's sunny (a change from last week's overcast 65 degrees) and breezy and perfect light jacket weather! The leaves are beginning to fall...which means any day now, they'll all start to change in color! So excited for that! Last Friday night, the Seminary hosted a humongous Fall Festival that was Narnia themed. There were jousting knights and endless carnival snacks and bluegrass music...not to mention about 20 inflatable games for the kiddos! It was definitely a blast! This Saturday, our church (yes, we have decided on a church!) is hosting another Fall Festival that is supposed to be equally as fun. We are already signed up to help with the clean-up of the event, so hopefully we'll be able to make some new connections with fellow church members through that!

We decided to start attending Sojourn Community Church--the Midtown campus, for all you KY followers. It is completely different than anything that we're used to...and that is a big part of why we chose to make that our home. It is definitely more of an urban church with a focus on reaching out to the urban community of Louisville. It also has a very young age demographic (something we weren't sure if we really wanted, but something we decided we could live with). Overall, Sojourn is very missionally minded and focused on expanding the Kingdom through continuous church planting endeavors. One thing that sets it apart from other churches that we had visited is their unique blending of certain Catholic practices into the service. The location of the church is a heavily Catholic influenced area, so Sojourn actually incorporates some things you would typically practice in a Catholic church (ie. liturgy, weekly communion--without compromising its grounded Southern Baptist doctrine) to reach out to that community. All in all, we love it and are excited for the opportunity to spend a couple of years in a church that has this different dynamic to it!

So, for the not so good news, I do not have a job anymore. Sad, but true. The nanny job basically fell through after a week of being there. I'm not going to get into details, but it took me a little while to get adjusted to the job and the family wasn't too willing to wait for that to happen. Overall, I'm obviously bummed about it but I'm trying to view the week that I had worked there as a learning opportunity. I know that there is something else out there and I know that God has sovereign control of the situation. So my job search has began once again...and it sure would be nice if I could find something sooner rather than later. Please keep this situation in your prayers--that myself, and that family, would find something that could better fit each of our needs.

I think that's pretty much extent of life right now! Keep Brian in your prayers as well as he learns to balance the demands of a 30 hr/week job and a Master's level course load!! I'll say time and time again that I am so grateful for his sacrifice and contribution!

Sorry for the super long post...there was just a lot of catching up to do!
With love always,
AM

Answered Prayer!

This last week and a half in our life has been filled with many ups and many downs. Thankfully more ups than downs! While I didn't get the leasing consultant job I was hoping for, many more options presented themselves! After a few days of diligent prayer, yesterday proved to be an amazing milestone in both of our job searches! I applied and had an interview with a nannying agency who actually gave me the contact info for a family who is looking for a nanny immediately (I was able to have an interview with the mother today and it seems pretty promising)! I also got three other calls for interviews yesterday from a variety of other employers...all in the matter of minutes. It was amazing! Brian also got a call from one of the banks he has been waiting on and they are finishing up the hiring process, which is awesome! To say the least, God is providing!

Brian has been enjoying his classes so much...although he is starting to get a little tired of all the reading he has :) I have gone to a few with him and they are unlike anything I have ever experienced. They are like Sunday School on ridiculously strong steroids! I begin my Seminary Wives Institute (SWI) class on Thursday night and I am very excited for that! Especially because it will allow me to make some connections with some other women here in Louisville. I was a little skeptical, but apparently SWI classes here at Southern aren't as lame as what one would initially think. Almost all of them are taught by actual professors wives and are very theologically based (not "how to make curtains" based--although that could be helpful) ;)

We are planning on visiting one more church on Sunday and then we think we will be making our final decision on where we make our church home! The crazy thing about Louisville is that there are so many amazing churches that its so hard to choose! We think we have found where we are going to stay, but we think this last visit on Sunday will help confirm that.

Thank you for your prayers and your love!!
We miss all of you!

-AM

A thought.

It's official. Today marks the first day of the fall semester at Southern. And after an interesting weekend, we are happy to see that everything is moving along as planned. Saturday evening, a massive thunderstorm (I've named it Hurricane Louis) graced its presence upon Louisville. If we were still in Florida, this thing would have been classified as a tropical storm...and a heavy duty one at that! As we ate our dinner, we watched the swaying trees, howling winds, and utter downpour just outside our windows. And then the power went out. We figured that, like Florida, we'd be getting our electricity back in a few hours, tops. It wasn't until Sunday morning when we woke up--still without power--that we remembered that we surely weren't in Florida anymore. It wasn't too big of a deal...just a couple of cold showers and a few meals out. But it wasn't until we ventured out for church on Sunday morning that we realized the great effect of the storm. Stop lights were out all over town (scary at the largest, most dangerous of intersections), huge trees had fallen into houses and cars, businesses and families were without electricity as Louisville electric worked to repair the ancient power lines. To say the least, everyone thought it was an interesting way to begin the new semester at Southern (luckily, the school's power was restored on Sunday evening...or that would've made for a fun first day)!! While this incident was, in the grand scheme of things, rather minuscule compared to some other alternatives, it did teach us a few things. It reminded us of the luxuries that we have and it tested our ability to do without those things if necessary. Considering we were in the middle of an extremely intriguing TV show when the power went out, it was tough :) But it reminded us that God doesn't always have our comfort in His interest. Sometimes He reserves the right to put us places and in conditions where we aren't always safe and aren't always comfortable--but ALWAYS where His name will be glorified. And thats just something that we, as believers, need to accept.

So yea, it was just a storm. And yep, this is a rather far-fetched analogy...but I thought it was worthwhile to share.

Ways that you can pray for us in the coming days:
Brian had two interviews today for two different banks and two different teller positions. One seems like a better opportunity than the other and both banks seem intent on hiring him, but the time might come when we have to accept or reject one without knowing the final decision on the other. Pray for guidance in this area, that we would be willing to step out on faith if the situation arises.

I have a second interview tomorrow for the leasing consultant position I applied for last week. This interview will be with the actual owner of the apartment complex. There are two other applicants in the running for the job. Pray that they might see something different in me.

We have begun our church search in Louisville. Right now, we are feeling drawn to the two churches we have visited--but they are entirely different from one another. We feel as if each would be equally amazing choices...just for different reasons. We want to get plugged in as quick as possible so that we can begin serving and building community. Pray that God would show us exactly where He wants us to be.


You're awesome. Thanks for following.
-AM