Franklin... and more.

I'm so sorry its been more than two weeks since I've posted anything! Its harder than I thought to keep up with a blog!

I'm so excited to tell you about our new pet! James went "creature hunting" as he likes to call it with his two younger brothers out at heritage lake. They went kayaking around all the little coves searching for frogs, turtles, snails, lizards, bugs, anything a young (or old) boy could get hands on... :) After four hours of doing what they love, they found two turtles and a bunch of water snails (that no one kept because they smelt HORRIBLE!). A snapping turtle...which now has a wonderful home in the Neighborhood Academy classroom and a BEAUTIFUL painted turtle...now lives with James and I and I named him Franklin. ;) He's just so cute, if I say so myself!

There's so much thats happened lately...I'll try to cover all the highlights... :)

James and I used all of our wedding target gift cards and had a BLAST picking out stuff for our new home. Actually, let me re-phrase that... we had a BLAST when we got home with all our cool new stuff. The picking out stuff part was another moment where was had to re-say our vows... if you know what I mean... just kidding. haha. No, it wasn't that bad, we just had to have priorities and be willing to compromise. Anyways, we got some much-needed bedding & rugs & some other stuff for the apartment. I think my favorite part of the entire process was that when we got down to our last 20-30 dollars, James and I decided we should just splurge and buy all the "fun" food that we never get to buy because its never in our budget. So, we got 2 tubs of ice cream, each of our choice, pizza rolls, mozzarella sticks, fruit snacks, vitamin water, gardetos, chips and queso, and chocolate chips to make cookies! :) It was fun and we enjoyed pigging out when we got home.

James found out that he has to preach two sermons & teach two communions & lead two small groups before the end of the year! I think its great and I'm very excited for him. He hasn't quite seen the good in it and is trying to forgot about it!

I was so blessed last Sunday and this Sunday--God has definitely shown his faithfulness and continues to move on the eastside of Indianapolis. Last Sunday, we could not get ahold of any of the kids' parents to see if they wanted to come to church with us, so none came. Well, three songs into worship, all of the sudden Trayvon walked up to me and sat down. I looked at him and asked him, "How did you get here?" He said, "Zion and I walked." I guess the boys realized that it was 3pm and it was time for church. So, Zion and Trayvon walked from their house (only 5 or 6 blocks away) to Neighborhood Fellowship. I was so thankful and just wanted to praise God over and over again. To the kids, they are starting to see that Neighborhood isn't just for James and I, but its their church too. We want them to be apart of the church, apart of the community, of the family even if they're 3, 4, 7, 9, or 11 years old. We also want them to know we aren't the only ones that love & minister to them, but also the entire church of Neighborhood loves them too and want them to see Jesus. Progress is being made and we're oh so thankful and excited for what's to come!

Yesterday we had something AWESOME happen as well. Johnea, one of the girls, that comes with us to church on a fairly regular basis, her mother came to church yesterday with her and her 3 other siblings! Although there wasn't a decision made or radical change in her heart, a step was made. Kourtney, Johnea's mother, recognized that she needs the church and was willing to give it a try. She brought a bunch of neighbor friends with her and hopefully an impact was made, even if it was very small, like they want to come again because they serve dinner after service every sunday. I think Kourtney's kids, Johnea, Reshay, Cory, & Mikey, appreciated having her there and in a small way, felt more loved. God is good all the time! I pray that she'll come again and pray that God moves in her heart to make more "little" steps and to draw near to Him and follow His will.

Lastly, the ESL class is a GO! Starting September 12th, we will be serving a meal and teaching an English class at a church in Broad Ripple to all limited English speakers that want to come! I'm so excited for this opportunity to build more relationships with the Latin people of Indianapolis. Also, I'm excited for this opportunity to serve with my awesome, loving, hard-working husband of mine! :)

So, I think thats a wrap! I've got to get a little cat nap in before I have to leave again to meet with some friends & show off some wedding pictures! :) Next post, I'll make sure to get some of the professional pictures loaded!

Blessings,
Hannah