November '07

November has come and gone, but it was a great month. We had our first missionary visit and present his ministry at New Hope Baptist Church. It was amazing! Dexter Kirby has a heart for his people back in St. Vincent. He stayed with us and even brought an old friend from Winston-Salem – Luke Shover. Luke attended Piedmont with us and went to the same church back in Winston. He is a good friend and we enjoyed having both Luke and Dexter visit with us.

Liz and I had the opportunity to travel all the way down to Ocala, Florida to spend Thanksgiving with the family. That was so much fun. We needed the break. We haven’t been with the whole family at the same time in a while so it was wonderful. Our nieces are so cute. They are growing up fast!

Unfortunately vacations have to end. When we got back to Beaufort, we decorated our apartment for Christmas.

We still have our cats.

October '07

October has been a good month. Things have not slowed down any since we got here. The church is going well. No matter how much training you get, nothing can prepare you for the ministry. The good news is, we are growing. We have been running 50 on Sunday morning! But even more amazing than that, we are running 35-38 on Wednesday. Most churches can’t get half their congregation to attend on Wednesday evening. We are praising the Lord to see the faithfulness of so many.

Scott and Amy came out to see us. Scott, being the good husband and father, brought Amy and Dekoda to Beaufort. He had to leave the next day and came back two days later. Liz was very happy to see family. She was even happier to see her new nephew, Dekoda. That baby is cute. We got to take Dekoda to the beach for the first time in his life (even though he won’t remember it). That’s right, it is October and still beach weather. The beaches are only filled with locals, which means they are nearly empty. The water is cool but not cold. The breeze is crisp, the sand is soft, and the waves are crashing. What a place to live.

September '07

God has been so good to Tim and me. It has been very hard living away from all of our family. But since we live in such an awesome place our families just keep coming to us. Tim's brother Steve Decker and his wife Amanda brought their beautiful daughter Katie to visit for a weekend. It was wonderful to see them after several months. While they were here we were able to do many different things. We went to the Historical Fort Macon, out to dinner at a wonderful seafood restaurant (they have the best chicken), and best of all to the beach. This was Katie's first experience playing in sand and swimming in the ocean. Even though she is only one she had a lot of fun. The worst part of the whole thing was that they had to leave. The weekend went by so fast. We're praying that they will come back to visit very soon.






My sister and brother-in-law, Scott and Amy Flowe, were expecting their first child at the end of September. I could not wait until the baby was born and praise the Lord, I didn't have to wait as long as I thought. She went into labor two weeks early. The delivery went very smoothly and Tim and I now have our first nephew. He was a very healthy baby at 7 pounds 5 ounces. My parents, David and Cheryl, are very proud. Daddy is already planning on taking Dekoda hunting and fishing. Momma just cannot stay away from Winston-Salem, NC now. I had the opportunity to spend a week with Scott, Amy, and Dekoda right after he was born. It was a wonderful week and I enjoyed spending time with Amy, but I also missed Tim very much and was glad to get home.

Tim's sister, Andrea, met us in Winston-Salem while I was visiting with my sister. We were able to go out to lunch with her and her adorable daughter Ella. She had grown up so much since the last time we saw her. We are blessed to have such wonderful nieces and a brand new nephew.

Hello From Our New Home In Beaufort, NC

Well, Liz and I have been in Beaufort, NC for almost 2 full months (although we did a bit a traveling before we settled in full-time). This Sunday will be my 5th Sunday as the Pastor of New Hope Baptist Church. God is blessing us beyond what we could have imagined. I love the fact that the beach is a stone's throw away and we can visit on a whim. I love that fact even more when others get jealous =-).

We have also enjoyed recent visits from Liz's parents (David & Cheryl Peters) and her younger brother and sister (Nathan & Lori) as well as my parents (Chuck & Karen Decker). We even have a new edition to our family when we got a new kitten, Sophia (Sophie for short). Enjoy the pictures and feel free to leave comments to say hi and anything else you might want to say.