Spring Recap

Church update, baby watch, family happenings, moving forward, and ways to pray!

Church Update

After over two years of prayers and conversations, the paperwork is signed and we officially have a property for our Calistoga church plant! Built in the mid 1800’s, the church is a darling piece of history, but she is definitely showing her age. Due to the black mold, faulty foundations, and an awkward layout there is much to rebuild before it will be safe and hospitable for the community.

Despite the tired state of the building, 26 people came out for a prayer meeting in May to celebrate what the Lord has done, and to corporately pray that He would continue to be gracious in meeting our needs for financing (most likely over $1 million), skilled workers (contractors, architects, etc.), and that the hearts of the community would be softened to receive the gospel.

We are now in the midst of reinstating insurance and transferring banking info, and are learning how to share the church plant vision and inviting fellow churches to participate with us financially. (If you think your church would like to partner with us in seeing the gospel shared in Calistoga, CA, please let us know!)

Baby Watch!

Our little girl is on track for her due date of July 21, though Christin is convinced she’ll make her appearance on the 28th. This baby is announcing her robust health with a regular pummeling of her housing, especially just after meals and right before bedtime, and has already become a fantastic conversation starter with folks in the produce aisle, at the gas station, and the airport. There are only a few more items we need to acquire before her birth, though most of the necessary baby supplies have been sweetly gifted to our family, for which we are incredibly grateful!

Family Happenings

As I (Christin) write this, Jason is in his home office finishing his last assignment of the Cornerstone Seminary Spring quarter, and polishing his sermon for Sunday, Thea is taking a break from figuring out her newest favorite song on the piano and is attempting to light a fire inside a miniature bottle, Auna is using an art program to create stop animation of an adorable baby fox, Kaden is sporting a wardrobe of wild hawaiian shirts at Wolf Mountain Camp in Grass Valley during his month-long Leadership Live program, and Baby Girl is practicing her ninja kickboxing skills.

The kids fill the home with music and friendly chaos, and especially love meeting up with friends online to play minecraft and other group games.

Thea and Auna finished up a sweet school year with Classical Conversations and American Heritage Girls (complete with learning some Latin and being awarded Presidential Awards for their hours of community service), while Kaden worked mostly independently through his highschool work (including learning beginning Japanese and completing the online portion of his Learner’s Permit).

Jason’s many seminary classes have included preaching practicums and analysis of the OT and epistles, and his monthly preaching at our church continues to exposit through the first several chapters of John. He attended a conference in GA put on by our missionary umbrella, has met up with a number of fellow SEND church planters, continues to lead music at church, and has been up to his eyeballs learning the business side of heading up a nonprofit organization.

I (Christin) was given the opportunity to speak at a few women’s events, attended an amazing writer’s conference at Mt. Hermon, and spent a week visiting dear friends in South Dakota. My schedule has been rich, trying to cram in as much as possible before baby comes. I am still working toward my Biblical Counseling certification and have been slowly working on a book proposal I’ve been invited to submit. My brain cells are slower and my energy is lower, especially as I’m fighting off a cruel ear infection that put me in the ER and demanded an MRI, but my peace is secure and my joy is full, and Jesus is SO good.

Moving… Forward!

Since January we have been looking for housing in the upper Napa Valley, hoping to get settled before baby comes and to dive into the community as soon as possible. There has been a shortage of rentals, and we’ve applied for nearly every house that would fit our budget and our family, though each time Jesus has said no. However, we know that with every ‘no’ the Lord is simply directing us to a better ‘yes,’ to a home that will better allow us to accomplish that which He is calling us to do.

We have applied for yet another home, and, like all the others, we are hopeful that this is where Jesus would have us. Yet we hold our hopes with open hands, trusting in His perfect will and perfect timing. When we do move there will be many exciting decisions, including determining doctors and where baby will be delivered, scheduling moving trucks and friends with brawn, deciding what items to purge, and all the other moving logistics and costs.

As we are on the cusp of moving, this is the point where we are beginning to invite fellow Christians to partner with us financially, supporting us as a missionary family. Until we officially launch the Calistoga church (as soon as Easter 2025!) we will commute the hour to Solano County as Jason continues to serve as Associate Pastor at Trinity Benicia. His income will cover our needs, though rent alone will consume 60% of that each month, leaving very little wiggle room for incidentals, and fewer opportunities for hospitality. We are excited to see whom God will bring to come alongside us, and we are confident that He will provide for our every need for us to do His will.

Please Pray For Us!

That Jesus would continue to make His will known, and would provide for our needs, that we might follow Him with excellence and delight.
That our family would love Jesus first, best, and only, that our love for Him would deepen our care for each other, and that our unity would pour into a sincere love for the Napa Valley community.
That our baby might be delivered safely, and may be a beautiful tool to reach hearts that need to know how much Jesus loves them.
For our housing and that we would trust in Jesus’s timing and provision.
That we would be fully supported as missionaries by Easter of ‘25, as we step out in faith that Jesus will continue to provide for all our financial needs as we obey Him.
That more churches would support the financial endeavors of the church plant building, excited to see the gospel preached in Calistoga.

Thank you!

Jason, Christin, Kaden, Thea, Auna, & Baby

(This is a copy of the bookmarks we handed out at our prayer meeting. Please consider printing out this image and adding it to your fridge to remember to pray for our family and the Calistoga church plant.)