2018 // Year // Review

Our dynamic family continues to grow and change. We love to see how much Ephraim and Nathan are growing into their personalities and developing their independence. This year was our first full year in Waterford, California. We are all beginning to find our place and acclimate to the new pace of life. We like our little town with it’s small town traditions and activities. We have four drive-thrus, three discount stores, a grocery store, and even a gym. Any other stores are a twenty minute drive through idyllic fruit and nut orchards. We pass four fruit stands on our way to Target. Though, we may have passed cow pastures on our way to the mall in Houston, life in rural central California, has been a major shift for our family. 

We moved to Waterford for Kevin’s job, which like everything in our life, has evolved since he first started. Initially he was the associate pastor of worship, media, and youth, which involved teaching 5-6 grade students, running back of the house tech for Sunday mornings, coordinating with the front of the house worship leader, and creating and publishing any media for the church. In January, his job changed, though his title did not. He is now running the youth ministry for students in 7-12 grade and restarted our young adults ministry which Jacquelyn also helps with. There have been over a dozen salvations and a dozen baptisms in those two ministries.  The youth group has almost doubled since January. Kevin has put an emphasis on intentional discipleship through small group discussions on Wednesday nights, mentorship meetings with a few student leaders, and monthly leadership meetings for adult volunteers. He, also, visits the schools in town weekly, even teaching music one day a week in one of the schools. He prays for his impact on youth not only that attend Wednesday nights or Sunday mornings, but that he is able to further his reach to the youth of this community and show them Jesus’ love.  Kevin has moved away from front of house worship. Though he still leads or plays the occasional Sunday, we now have a designated worship pastor and he is in charge of tech: lights, sound, visuals, and our video stream. Kevin has also begun preaching in front of the whole congregation with two sermons in 2018 and more scheduled for 2019. As Kevin, balances work and home commitments he is also working on his health through diet and exercise. Though being a pastor requires more on call time than the average job, Kevin makes his family a priority with intentional time with the boys and occasional dates with Jacquelyn. In 2019, Kevin looks forward to growing his ministries, making his family and his fitness a priority, and taking steps towards a masters of divinity. 

This year, Jacquelyn has kept herself busy with children’s ministry, young adult ministry, and a bit of women’s ministry, though, currently is taking a break from serving as she prepares for the arrival of our third baby boy who is due in late December. She has enjoyed serving in a variety of capacities in leadership for children’s ministry including teaching and helping lead the preschool class, heading the decorating for VBS, and serving as part of the children’s ministry leadership team. In January, Kevin started the Young Adult ministry, and Jacquelyn assists him with helping to host events in their home as well as supporting him during the weekly meetings. This year, Jacquelyn also helped with the Women’s tea which included planning, baking, and hosting a table. While our Women’s ministry is undergoing some changes, she prays for the future to hold a home for the women of the church to be able to come together and fellowship as well as minister to women of the community. She looks forward to bonding with the newest member of the family as well as returning to serving in the church next year. Her primary job continues to be caring for the house and children, and she is looking for a way to balance caring for three boys and going back to school in 2019, which is made easier by Ephraim being in Preschool. 

Ephraim has grown leaps and bounds this year. He turned three in August. This summer, he went though a series of assessments through the regional center and the school.  Though these assessments caused worry for mom and dad and included seeing a specialist in ASD (Autism spectrum disorders), Ephraim’s final diagnosis was simply a speech delay. He had one more assessment at the end of November to determine if there is an audiological source for his speech delay, where it was determined that there is not, but he will return in a year to ensure his hearing is perfect. Ephraim has already been showing huge improvement all areas of his speech. He began preschool in August, where they focus mainly on developing the students socially and emotionally. His favorite places to go are the library, church, and Burger King. He absolutely loves reading and can recite many books from memory. At the library he gets to select some of his own books and goes for his favorites: Pete the Cat, Dinosaur Versus, and anything with superheroes. He loves going to church, because he knows that is where daddy works and asks multiple times a day when we are going to church. He has begun asking to join his parents for worship and enjoys singing the songs with the adult congregation. Ephraim is brilliant. He is exceeding his goals for his speech therapy and shows remarkable skills when it comes to memory and spacial reasoning. Ephraim loves puzzles and spontaneously recites verses from memory. He also loves dinosaurs, sharks, superheroes, and construction. Ephraim is orderly. He enjoys structure, organization, and rule following. He especially wants mama and daddy to follow his rules. He is independent. He prefers to do things on his own and asks for help if necessary. His most recent assertion of independence is going to the bathroom with the door closed 🙌🏼 Ephraim is kind. He greets everyone, uses his polite words (sometimes unprompted) and shares (unprompted) with friends and especially with his little brother, Nathan. In 2019, Ephraim looks forward to meeting his new little brother, continuing preschool and church, making new friends, and learning more from the world around him. 

Nathan turned one in April and is absolutely loving the independence of running, climbing, and riding everywhere and everything. While Ephraim is at school, Nathan enjoys leisurely breakfasts, personal cuddles and reading time, and naps. He loves playing with his older brother and they get along well. Ephraim demonstrates lots of skills that Nathan picks up, some are good and some are bad habits. He enjoys copying his big brother which sometimes means screaming because Ephraim spoke loudly or climbing on something because Ephraim did. However, it also includes sharing food and toys; putting trash, toys, and dishes away (sometime all into the trash can 🤦🏻‍♀️); using his words to ask for things and communicate; and reading and playing kindly. Nathan enjoys books that make noises or are the lyrics to songs. He also loves anything with wheels and his pacifier. Nathan loves to explore. When we’re inside he explores new uses for household objects and toys alike (usually interested in how high he can climb with said item). Outside in the orchard, he likes chasing the outdoor cat, picking up rocks and leaves, and following his brother’s lead. Nathan continues to eat everything he can get his hands on and continues to grow. His favorite foods are oranges, apples, and carbs. In 2019, Nathan is looking forward to more independence and responsibility as he becomes a big brother, as well as new experiences as we continue to discover the natural beauty surrounding the Central Valley and new friends as he continues to expand his world and his comfort zone. 

Our town is in the middle of the Central Valley which has a high rate of recreational drug usage and homelessness, low 3rd grade reading levels, and many families living below the poverty line. We moved here knowing we were moving into a mission field and ask that you continue to pray for our family, that we can be a light to the community where God has placed us and make wise decisions concerning the education and future of our family. For 2019, as a family, we pray for steadfastness. We pray that as parents we continue to provide stability for our children as our family grows. We pray that we as Christians we continue to be faithful to the mission that God has given us to make disciples, primarily in our home with our three boys, and also within our ministries in the church, and throughout our community through creating meaningful relationships with people outside the church. We pray that as a couple, we continue finding moments of intimacy and romance in the everyday chaos and exhaustion. We pray that we continue to recognize the steadfastness of God in our lives and the lives of those around us. Our family is in a mission field where the mission is clear and the need is great, we pray that wherever you are, God shows you your mission field and the best ways to reach the needs of your community.