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

Just Passing the Time Away...

It's hard to believe we've almost been here for 2 weeks already! Boy, how time flies! And boy, how happy we are to have made the decision to move in two weeks before school begins on Monday! Not only have we been able to get all of our belongings unpacked, make our apartment as "homey" as possible, and complete some of the tedious tasks required of moving to a new state (transferring auto insurance, attempting to get new licenses, etc.), we've also been able to enjoy some much needed REST! With such an exhausting two weeks before we moved, having an opportunity to relax has been such a blessing! We forgot what life was like without having the responsibilities of work and school to worry about! Our days have consisted of sleeping in, gaining so much valuable knowledge from Food Network and HGTV, checking out numerous coffee shops around town, applying (x10) for jobs, getting a considerable amount of reading done, and even cooking dinner together! Sounds splendid, I know! Of course, we know (and we are praying) that this won't last for long!

Fortunately, we both have job interviews within the next 5 days! I have an interview tomorrow afternoon as a leasing consultant for a nearby apartment complex. I'm praying that this could finally be the end to my job search. It's a full-time position, so if I got it, that would really be perfect! Brian also has a phone interview on Monday morning for a bank teller position at PNC Bank. He has already made it through two stages of the application process and we are assuming that this will be the last (besides training, of course). It would be amazing if we were both offered these positions. Not only would they result in a much needed income, but we are truly excited for the fact that both of these positions require daily interaction with people outside of the seminary--outside of what could easily become a Christian "bubble." We are looking forward to the opportunities to spread the light of Christ in our places of work. So they would definitely be an answer to prayer, to say the least!

We still have yet to make many friends here, but we know that there will be more opportunities to do so once school actually begins and once we find a church home. Campus is definitely filling up more and more everyday! We visited our first church here on Sunday morning: Highview Baptist Church. We enjoyed it, but we are still hoping to try a few more before deciding on where we will become members. We have found the people of Louisville--and especially students/alumni of Southern--are so friendly and welcoming to new seminary students. Brian has already gotten two calls--one from the worship leader at Highview (a student at SBTS and predecessor to a friend, Eric Yeldell, who used to lead worship at Highview) and one from the pastor of Vine Street Baptist Church (the church that was so hospitable towards us on our mission trip to Louisville in March)--asking him if he would like to get coffee sometime and assist us with the transition to Louisville. This was definitely a blessing and I truly hope that they would be the beginning of great mentoring relationships for him.

Well, what was intended to be a short update turned into quite a long update! Sorry about that...thanks for sticking it out 'til the end :) We are just so excited to share about our time here and want to keep you as "in the loop" as possible! Thanks for following!

-AM

Check out some pictures of where we live below...

This is our apartment complex.

Our kitchen.

Our living room.

A main building on campus: Norton Hall.

The "Luhvul" Life

Tomorrow will be our fifth day in Louisville and we are finally settled in to our new apartment. The apartment is great...it suits our needs extremely well. We are living right on campus amongst other seminary students and families and we really think this will be a great way to get to know some people here in Louisville. In the past couple of days, we have seen many more students moving in and much more activity on campus--an indicator that the start of the semester is just around the corner. 

Ashley's parents helped us move in and just left this morning to fly back home to Florida. It was such a blessing that they were with us to help with the driving and the furniture lifting!! With them leaving to head home, we were given a small taste of our new life here in Louisville...and reminded of the fact that we are alone here in Kentucky. To say the least, we definitely missed their company. Pray that we would begin to make connections with the students that are already here!

Our job hunt is still in full force. We have both applied for countless jobs and are waiting to hear of any responses. Unfortunately, Ashley has not heard back about the job she had a phone interview for 2 weeks ago. In the end, we know that God is going to provide something for us. It's just a little daunting to see the bills start piling up and no income as of yet (although it has only been 5 days). We have been trying to stay optimistic and diligent with searching for more jobs and completing more applications. Your prayers would be appreciated in this matter!!! ;)

Upon our arrival to Louisville on Monday, we remembered why we fell in love with this city to begin with. The character and the culture that is here is really incomparable to anywhere else! The countless local coffee shops are a plus too! We are excited to begin our church search on Sunday and find a place to get plugged in and serve during our time here. 

We'll keep you updated :)

-BM and AM

Tomorrow...It's Only a Day Away...

So tomorrow is the big day when we will officially load up the truck and head to Kentucky! We are experiencing a variety of emotions at this point--nervousness, excitement, and lots and lots of stress! Most of our apartment is packed, but running out of packing tape and accidentally packing up our last sharpie doesn't really help with the progress ;) To say the least, I'll be running a few errands today!

We've said a good amount of our goodbyes so far...and the rest will come tonight with our last weekly service at the BCM. It's a bittersweet task. We are definitely looking forward to the trip up to Louisville! We'll be taking 4 days total: tomorrow we'll be heading to my parents house (a 1.5 hour drive), Saturday morning we'll head to Pensacola (a 6 hour drive), Sunday evening we'll depart for Birmingham (a 4 hour drive), and Monday morning we'll finish out the trip with a 6 hour drive to Louisville. It should be a fun journey--seeing as my parents are not exactly the "road trip" kind of people :)

Its possible that I might have gotten a job in Louisville...should know within the next week or so. I had a phone interview last week for a Claims Processing position with Humana health insurance. I thought it went pretty well and my interviewer made it sound promising. Please pray that I will be content with whatever God decides about this job. I know that He has something lined up for me...its just a matter of being patient and allowing Him to work. We also bought a car last week--talk about a leap of faith! We realized that having two cars in Louisville was more necessary than what we had originally thought, especially with both of us planning on working. Brian's uncle got us a great deal at the dealership he works for in Daytona and we took him up on it! In the end, we stand assured knowing that God will provide for us financially. He always has and He always will.

Brian will begin school in just over two weeks and he is completely thrilled! Please pray that he would remain enthusiastic about his schooling and learn how to balance his time with all of these new responsibilities that come with a Masters level degree. I am so excited to see him in this new phase of life!! I, on the other hand, officially just finished my Bachelor's degree last week. It was probably the most exciting day I've had since our wedding!! I'm looking forward to taking a bit of a break from school and (at least for the first semester) will just be taking a class one night a week with other seminary wives.

Well, we'll definitely make sure to keep you updated as best as possible with the upcoming move! It'll be a hectic couple of days...so we'll probably fill you in when we get to Louisville. Thanks for following :)

-AM

                                                             Last date night in Tampa

16 Days and Counting...

As many of you already know, we'll be moving to Louisville in 2.5 weeks...July 29th to be exact! Crazy as it sounds, we do not have a free night until the day we actually get to our apartment in Kentucky! It has been insane trying to cram everything into three weeks--places we want to make sure to visit, people we want to see, and on top of all that, school and work! We are just exhausted these days!

I am finishing up my final class for my degree within the next week and a half! Most of you know that I walked in the spring but still had two online classes over the summer in order to complete my requirements. One was a work-at-your-own-pace class, so I've been done with that one for a while now. The other is my last religion class...and it is a tad more work than I was expecting/wanted. Not to mention that my professor is about the most liberal non-Christian that I could've possibly gotten, so that always makes it fun...considering I am taking a class on the Bible. Pray that I would find that time to make it a priority in these busy days!!

I can't even begin to tell you how excited we are to begin this new phase in life. Lately, I have come to realize that Brian's thoughts are very rarely focused on something other than seminary. For the past two years, he has had to finish up the degree that he no longer had a real passion for...and now he gets the opportunity to have that passion again. Obviously, he is beyond excited. And our apartment reflects that excitement. He already has about half of it packed up (I know I will be more appreciative of this during our last week here)!!! 

We are heading to Daytona this weekend to spend some time/say goodbye to Brian's grandpa and his Uncle's family. It'll be a nice trip...it's usually always pretty relaxing when we spend the weekend over there. We were just in my hometown for the last time this past weekend (besides a possible stop on our move up to KY). It was great to see everyone from North Oak and hear their encouraging words and prayers over us...God has definitely used that church to bless our lives and our marriage!

So that pretty much sums up what is going on with us at the moment! 

As always, thanks for following :)

-AM

Our first post!

So this is our first post on our new blog: Fill Us Up & Send Us Out. We can't believe that we only have 3 short weeks left in Tampa until our big move to Louisville, KY. It's exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time! Our apartment is already about half packed (thanks to Brian's unexpected motivation) and the moving truck is reserved! Luckily, the Jacobson family will be coming with us up to Louisville to help us move in...that will be a huge help! Every time we feel as if we are ready to move, it seems as if something happens that makes us realize how much we'll actually miss our friends here! But we know this is what God wants for us...and it's time to move forward with His plan! 


From here on out, we'll both be posting on this blog (probably Ashley more so than Brian), and we'll each sign our own posts. Its amazing that we have friends all around the world...so we felt this was the best (and easiest) way to keep everyone posted!


Thanks for following!