Refining!!

Since arriving in Alaska, we have been able to experience some super fun things. We have seen many many moose, some in our front and back yard!!

We have seen some beautiful dogs, sled dogs.

We have also seen some reindeer!! The kids really got a kick out of these!!

We have met some awesome people, who have really ministered to our lives in ways that they probably are not even aware of!!

God is so great even in the hard times. This morning in my quiet time I was reading in Isaiah, the verse that really spoke to me was Isaiah 48:10, "Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction." My bible is a study bible, and in the explanation of this verse it says: "For without the testing, we would never know what we are capable of doing, nor would we grow. And without the refining, we will not become more pure and more like Christ."

Wow, this spoke to my heart, in a time that I really needed to hear something. Reading this verse helps me to remember that no matter what we face, we are not alone, and our experiences are not in vain. God has a purpose for all that we go through, even though in the middle of a trial it may be hard to see, or even think about a purpose, God has one. He can also use any trial that we are going through, or find ourselves in, for His glory.

We are not forgotten and we have not been left alone to find our own way. God is here and has been the entire time, even if we have chosen not to see Him, and He will always be here!!

I am so grateful this morning that God reminds us of His awesome glory and presence in our lives!!

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The journey has started. We are on our way to Alaska, and are so excited. The first day we traveled through three states. We went through SC, NC, and Tenn. It was great!! The kids did very well, and we only had a little rain at the very end of the day.

Day two we went through the rest of Tenn., Kentucky, and Missouri. It was great too, but we did not think we would ever get out of St. Louis!

Day three we made it out of Missouri, through Iowa, and into South Dakota. Missouri and Iowa have such beautiful land, or at least the part we saw was beautiful. I love seeing all of the red barns and farm houses. We stopped at a rest area for lunch and had a little picnic, which was a much needed break from the car!!  We stopped in Mitchell, SD for the day and took a tour of the Corn Palace. It was interesting, but I was not very impressed. The kids have done so good on the trip so far, I am so proud of them!! Bryan has done an awesome job as well, driving us around.

We are super excited about tomorrow, Day 4. We plan to stop at Mt. Rushmore!! Traveling through the states like this really opens your eyes to all of the wonderful and beautiful things that God has created.

  

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Blessed beyond words!!

That is what our family was today, blessed beyond words.  A great group of wonderful people had a cookout for us, sort of a going-away celebration, if you will.  We feel so very blessed to have been able to spend time with each of you today.  Your support truly means more than I could ever find the words to say.  I know without a doubt that we can count on your prayers.

I was so very privileged to be able to serve with you all on the mission trip that we went on.  Each of your stories touched my life in many ways, and I feel that God hand selected our group for that specific trip because he knew that we would impact each other so powerfully.  For me, it feels like a family gathering when we get together. 

Mary, Tom, Patricia, Jimmy, Julie, Tamara, and John, you guys are great, and we love you all so very much.  We can not thank you enough for all of your kind words, thoughtful actions, and generous donations to our journey.  I want you all to know that God has used each of you to encourage us during this process, that at times has not been easy.  You guys are proof that even though Satan will throw everything imaginable at you when you decide to follow God, God will respond by sending some of His strongest warriors to hold you up.  You guys ARE those strong warriors, thank you for allowing God to use you in that way!!

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Letter to Family and Friends.

Dear Family and Friends, we hope this letter finds you doing well.  We have some exciting news from our family.  We will be serving on a Mission trip in Alaska this summer as a family.  We feel that God has called our family into mission’s ministry, and more specifically, Alaska.  We are so excited to get started on this wonderful journey and so thankful for all of the opportunities that God has presented us with.  We are writing you to ask for your help.  Our trip will cost approximately $4000, and we want to ask if you will prayerfully consider donating $20, or more if you would like, to our mission fund.  If everyone that we contact sends $20 then our trip will be fully funded. 

Once the mission portion of our trip is complete, we will remain in Alaska to attend Alaska Bible College, where we will study for our Bible certificate and Missions certificate.  We are so very excited about the changes that God has made in our lives, and are so very excited to be able to share the love of Christ in this way.  Alaska has such a great need for Christian missionaries.  There are still so many villages that are not accessible by road, and that do not have a church.  So many in Alaska are in great need of the love of Christ, and we want to help bring it to them. 

In the Bible, God calls His people to go and spread the good news.  We appreciate your support as we follow God’s call on our lives to serve as missionaries in the villages of Alaska.  We ask that you continue to pray for our family as we start on this journey, and any financial support that is donated will be greatly appreciated.  You can donate online by visiting our blog, www.wattsministry.com, there is a donate button on the side of the blog.  Be sure to subscribe to our blog, so you can keep up with all that is happening on our journey.    

Blessings,

Bryan, Brandy, Alyssa, Avery, Hunter, Alyanna, and Emily Watts

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The Journey Begins!!

We are so excited that you stopped by.  We are currently in the process of preparing for our very long trip to Alaska.  That trip will be over 4,000 miles and we will be driving there!!  We have offically received our acceptance letters for school, and are ready for classes to begin in the fall. 

We are also very exctied about the opportunity to serve on a short term mission trip at the end of the summer.  We will continue to update the blog as we get closer to our departure date. Be sure to subscribe to the blog, so you will receive  updates in your email when we update the blog.

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