Life in Missouri

July 18th, 2011

Hello everyone! It's been a while since I have updated you, so I'll try to include as much as possible AND to remember to update more often. ha

From NEW YORK to MISSOURI

We moved to Missouri in late November of 2010. Then, we went home for the holidays to FL to have Christmas with my family. It was great fun. We returned to MO in January and went looking for a church! We searched high and low until finally God showed us our new church home here in St. Robert, MO. Our church family is great.. very welcoming, and loving. We love them a lot. Here is a picture of the church BUILDING but not the church family.

God immediately showed us ways to get involved and get to know our family. It's been a blessing to be involved in ministries here and reach out to people in our community. God has used Paul and I to start a "Prayer and Praise Night" every other Saturday night to just come together as believers and glorify God in song and prayer. It's been awesome so far!

Also, Jackson has now become an official "world traveler". He's been to all parts of NY, MS, FL, MO, IL, and most of the states in between. He's very happy and such a sweet dog. :)

In April, Paul and I celebrated our ONE YEAR anniversary!! God has truly blessed us in the past year and taught us SO much about His grace and love. Paul is honestly the most amazing, caring, loving man of God that I've ever met. I love him with all of my heart and am so blessed to be called his wife. :)

This is us and the anniversary cake Paul got me! He knows me well. :)

In June, we went to HAITI and God used it to change a lot about us and our plans. God showed us through Haiti that you don't have to have ANY material possessions or savings to be filled with the unconditional, ever flowing love of Christ. He wants to FILL us with HIS love and JOY daily...we just have to let Him do so. Sarah, one of the kids in Haiti, had the biggest impact on my life. You see, she is such a hard worker and a straight-A/B student in school. She walks back and forth to school everyday with a HUGE SMILE. In fact, she always smiles. No matter her plans for the day, she ALWAYS wanted to clean our muddy shoes at the end of the day. She would sneak down and grab them while we were eating dinner..then, she'd scrub them during dinner time. She'd set them outside to dry and eat dinner after we were done. I caught her in the act one night:

Stunned, I told her "Sarah, you don't have to scrub our shoes.." I was going to go on and tell her that we thought higher of her than that and that we didn't care how dirty they were..it was fine. But before I could finish, she looked at me with a great BIG smile and said "I love scrubbing shoes..Its my favorite thing to do!" I could tell by her huge smile and nodding head that she definitely meant it. Those simple words meant so much to me. In ten words, she humbled my heart and made me realize just how spoiled and selfish I was in America. I don't need material things..I dont need a fancy car..I dont need a huge house..ALL we really need is God's love to fullfill us. If we allow God's love to fill us with HIS joy Everyday, it will leave ppl wondering what we have and why were so happy...I know it leaves ppl wondering after they meet Sarah--I experienced it. We as Americans, need to be humbled and help ppl..maybe its not cleaning shoes for you...maybe its helping at the soup kitchen, giving to a homeless person, playing bball with some kids, Ask God..He'll show you, promise!

Also in June, Mason and Charity got married! They had a pretty wedding in New Hampshire and we were thankful we were able to attend! They will be moving to North Carolina at the end of the year for seminary! Pray for them as they prepare for their big move.

We were able to see my family for July 4th weekend!! It was so much fun! :)

This weekend is Katie's wedding!! I'm so excited for her and Ben.. I know she'll be the best wife ever for Ben! (She can cook really well! :) Hope yall have a great week and be blessed!

Love,

The Walkers

My Parents Visit NY

Mid-August, my parents decided they were going to come visit NY! I was very shocked and very excited!! If you know my parents, they don't travel very much, so it was a huge surprise! :)

The first day, they flew into Buffalo around 1:30pm. Since Niagra Falls is only 30 min from Buffalo, we visited.

We got a few pictures by the falls together. :) We also ate at the Hard Rock Cafe which was A-mazing! :)

The second day, Paul and I showed them around base, where Paul worked, took them for "New York Style Pizza" @ Cams, and showed them some of the waterworks in the area where the Black River runs though. Dad was very impressed at all of the beautiful water scenery and rocks.

This is a picture of Mom and Dad standing in Black River (the city) where we walked by the waterworks.

Memorial crosses. :(

Some of the waterworks in Black RIver. :)

More pictures of black river :) On Day 3, we went to Alexander Bay and visited Boldt Castle. We also took a boat tour of Millionaires Row (where a few famous people used to live 100 years ago). It was fun! :)

Me and Paul by the Castle.

Boldt Castle.

On Day 4, we drove to West Point and Paul showed us where he had classes, where the stadium was, the library, a garden, etc.. It was a gorgeous campus!! I loved it.

Mom and Dad in the Garden at West Point.

:)

Me and Paul walking through the dorms down to the library.

Me and Paul by the chapel :)

DAY 5, we went to NYC!!! Dad and Mom's first trip to New York City.. I think they loved it. :)

In one day, we...

Visited Time Square (my personal FAVORITE) :)

Walked Central Park (where Paul and I got engaged a year b4) :)

Saw the statue of liberty.

Ate at the Shake Shack (as advertised by the Food Network) ..Its very good btw.

Rode the Subway..

Saw the empire state building, visited ground zero and memorial, rode in taxis and walked a ton! :) It was a great day!

Day 6, we took it easy. We went to church and visited with each other. We also had a bonfire with the neighbors and made smores! :) Delicious!

Day 7, I drove my parents to Buffalo and goodbye. It was sad, but exciting knowing I'll be down to visit in just a couple short months!!

---->23 short days until I'm Mississippi Bound!!! Emily's wedding is almost here and I cant wait! :) Then.. Christina's wedding will be here shortly after!! Woo HOO! :)

God has really blessed Paul and I here in New York. When we move to Missouri, we'll really miss New York and all of our wonderful friends we've made here. We know God's plans are greater than ours and we rest in that. Thank you God for being BIG and for allowing us to have such a great experience in New York! :) We love New York. :)

Prayer: Please pray for my friend Sarah's grandpa, Amy and her family, and the barracks ministry.

Love yall much! :)

Prayer

Also, I'm so bad about sharing prayer request. However, I have several. Pray for our barracks ministry that God will really speak to their hearts through cookies, sausage biscuits, church and HIS joy. My friend Amy lost her gramps so if you could pray for her and her family, thatd be great! Also, close friends of Paul and I, David and Megan, are going through a tough time right now. He just deployed this morning. Keep them in your prayers. My friend, Jess, has been sick. Also Megan (different megan) and Kellan as they progress in their pregnancies. Pray for safety, their help, and comfort as they continue to progress through this time. :) And.. pray for Paul and I as we begin packing for our BIG move to Missouri!

There are also a million blessings I should report. God has blessed us greatly with AMAZING friends here at drum. I just love them. He's also allowed our families to visit us recently which has been very rewarding... Also.. I'm going down south for a couple weeks coming up soon!! WOO HOO! I'm excited! :)

God's Chisel

Lately..

Wow, this sumer has REALLY flown by. I apologize I haven't written in several months. God blessed Paul and I with a visit from my parents which was so unexpected and absolutely amazing! We really enjoyed it! We also were able to visit Paul's sister Erin, my cousin Justin, go to Sean's wedding, AND visit Paul's grandparents, parents and sister Danielle. Also, Paul's parents came up for a weekend as well. It's really been a fabulous summer, and I'm so sad to see it go. God has really and truly blessed us during our short time here in New York.

Honestly, I knew I would make the best out of being in New York, but I never imagined how much I would fall in love with the people, environment, scenery, ministries, etc here. I absolutely LOVE it, and I'm so sad to be planning a move away from New York. I keep reminding myself that God's plans are so much greater than my own!! If not for HIS plans, we never would've been able to live in NY to begin with. So, praise to HIM. Even though we have no clue what the future holds, Paul and I trust Him whole heartedly. The rumor around the military world is that Fort Leonardwood (in Missouri) is one of the worst bases. Morale is down because there's nothing to do there and.. there's nothing to do there. Walmart is a 45 min. drive away is what I'm told. This is where we're moving in October, but I know God has great BIG plans and we're going to make the best of it! We know it's a blessing in disguise just as NY has been. Sure, maybe we can't see the surprise now, but God will reveal it in His time. I'm resting in this verse: "My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" Phil 4:19. So.. Here's to a month of packing and lots of hugs, cookouts and eventually goodbyes. Thank you God for giving us the opportunity.. you were right, it was awesome! :)

God has also been showing Paul and I the rewards that come with forgiveness. For when we forgive others, God really does shower us with blessings and joy! This is a tough for me to admit. But, when we first arrived in NY after the honeymoon and Paul had to make his way back to work, I was pretty disheartened. I had never not had a job or an income before, and I just didn't know what to do with myself. I would clean the house EVERY day even though it didnt need it. Then, Paul would come home to another day of a very clean house and dinner on the table, and I would get disappointed if he didn't noticed I cleaned! (Ofcourse he wouldnt, it looked the same as yesterday!) ha Anyway, I didn't realize it then.. but God really has used these few months of no job and no income to completely humble my heart. He's filled my days with TONS of things to do such as volunteering for the FRG, running army functions, baking several times a week for one of our ministries and for Paul's office or neighbors, throw showers, organize weekly "Couple dinner" where the wives meet at 2pm and cook for our hubbies, have lots of cookouts at our place, visit the farmers market weekly, cook for my hubby and most of the time friends every day, work out.. and so much more. Though I don't have a job, I feel like I do! ha God has used this to completely change my heart. I used to strive to be a workaholic, get things done, stay as long as it takes kind of worker. Now, I'm striving to get a job teaching college classes which would most likely be part-time unless I wanted to add more classes to teach as I went. I've talked to a couple ppl in Missouri about it, and I'm praying God will show me if it's His will or what is exactly.

God has really been convicting me lately of settling for my joy in Him. I haven't been craving for more and more joy, instead I'm ok with the "middle" joy. Does that make sense? I was reading Galations 4 today where Paul is asking the Galatians "What has happened to your joy" and God really convicted me of this. How dare I think less of myself bc I don't have a job.. I'm defined by GOD not by this world or how much I work. I should rest AND rejoice in HIM! "God, give me unconditional joy that pours out of me no matter where I am or what I'm going through. Give me a joy that is defined by you alone! Amen."

I want to leave you with one last thought, It's Ephesians 4:32.. "Be kind and compassionate to one another forgiving each other just as Christ forgave you!" When we hold on to past pain someone else caused us, it ends up hindering us more than that person. I just want to encourage you to forgive. Forgiveness is so freeing and makes you feel so alive. Most importantly, it increases how closely we walk with Christ! So forgive, and live joyfully! It's God's plan for you. :)