a journey with the Thomason family
For the first time since we arrived at Mission Training, the weather actually did what it said it was going to do: snow! We woke up to a blanket of white and the fluffy goodness just kept on coming for the entire day. For us Californians this is a wonderful change of pace and our family especially loved it. Titus and Avery were really excited to get out and play in it, so here’s a few photos.
Don’t judge us, but we skipped church this Sunday. It’s not because we don’t like church–in fact, it’s the opposite–we love church. We miss our home church and wish we could spend more Sundays there. But this past Sunday we decided it would be nice to take a mini “staycation” and enjoy some of the beautiful scenery here in Colorado. Many people have told us about Garden of the Gods (or The Garden of God as we like to call it) and we wanted to see it. Thankfully, it’s only thirty minutes from where we’re staying, so we packed up the minivan and ventured out. It was a beautiful day, although a bit windy, but we enjoyed God’s creation and I snapped a few photos for you to see.
Afterwards we went out for lunch and then hit a fun ice cream shop that was recommended to us by my sister and brother-in-law called Josh and John’s. Yum!
One of the blessings about living in Colorado for a month is that we get the weekends to go see friends and family that we haven’t seen for a long time. This past weekend we got to spend some time with my sister’s family. Our kids got to hang out with their cousins and they all had fun playing on a nearby playground. We forgot to bring our kids jackets so they borrowed from their cousins…us Californians get a little cold. Below are a few photos.
Heather was kind enough to cook us lunch and dinner, but somewhere during our conversation we started to talk about Krispy Kreme doughnuts. I ended up downloading an app that is supposed to tell you when the doughnuts are hot and fresh, but it wasn’t really working. In the end we all went over to Krispy Kreme and they were handing out the fresh ones (even though the light was off)! Here’s a few more photos I snapped with my iPhone before we said goodbye.
Just yesterday we left Kingsburg where we spent four days (Friday – Monday) serving at Grace Church of the Valley (GCV). We stayed with a great family, the Andersons, and our kids loved playing with their dog Remi and their kitten Boots (pictured above).
I (Shay) have begun helping lead music for GCV every other weekend. It was a joy to serve with their music team and sing songs that exalt the Savior. Our previous pastor at Placerita Baptist Church (PBC), Scott Ardavanis, is now the senior pastor at GCV and it’s always fun to see him and spend time together. A few of our friends from PBC came and help with guitar and percussion which was a wonderful blessing.
In addition to leading music, Pastor Scott has asked me to help in the area of communications at GCV. Above is a photo of their first communications team meeting. There’s a great group of people there who really want to serve in that area and I think it’s one of the most vital teams in the church. They are the people who will help communicate to the body on a number of events, programs, prayer requests, etc. and help reach the lost world using the tools God has given us in technology and the Internet. This is almost identical to the role I will be assuming with Josiah Venture in the Czech Republic and I truly believe God has given us many wonderful tools to communicate His message.
Now I’m sitting here in Walnut Creek, CA at a friend’s house just enjoying some rest as we prepare for a few meeting with churches today and tomorrow. Please pray that we would communicate clearly our story and what God is doing overseas and that we might gain some new partners in ministry in the next few days.
For next two weeks our little family is taking a drive up the West Coast to spend time with friends and family and to share about what God is doing in our lives. We’re calling it “Thomason Tour” and we hope you will follow along with us as we travel. If you’re following along on social media, be sure and watch for our Instagrams and Tweets by searching for the hashtag #ThomasonTour. You can follow us on on Twitter and Instagram.
Right now I’m writing from “the road” in Walnut Creek, California where we’re spending three days. We just spent the past 4 days leading music at Grace Church of the Valley in Kingsburg and enjoying meeting many new people.
The “Missionary Van”
Some who are following us closely have already seen that we now have a van. We’ve been driving a Ford Escape for the past few years, but the Lord opened up an opportunity for us to buy a used 2003 Honda Odyssey from our friend and so now we’re traveling in mini-van style. Our friends have allowed different missionaries to borrow this van over the years and so it’s been kindly dubbed “The Missionary Van” which puts a smile on our faces.
Thomason Tour Schedule
You might be wondering where we’re going, so we thought it would be helpful for you to see our schedule:
Oct. 4-7 – Kingsburg/Visalia, CA | Leading music at Grace Church of the Valley and helping with junior high ministry.
Oct. 8-10 – Walnut Creek/San Francisco, CA | Spending time with friends and supporters and meeting with two potential new church partners.
Oct. 10-11 – Redding, CA | Seeing family
Oct. 11-14 – Portland, OR | Spending time with friends and planning to share at their community group.
Oct. 14-16 – Yakima, WA | Seeing family and friends, meeting with current supporters and connecting with two supporting churches.
Oct. 17-18 – Travel and Roseville, CA | Traveling days, but connecting with current friends and supporters.
Oct. 18-21 – Kingsburg, CA | Back in Kingsburg to lead music again and help with junior high ministry.
From Kingsburg we’ll head back to our home in Santa Clarita, spend four days regrouping and repacking, and then we will hit the road again for a month long training in Colorado!
Prayer
We would ask you the please pray for us during this time of travel and connecting with people. Please pray for safety as will put over 2000 miles of travel in. Please pray for God to use this time to encourage our hearts and open the doors for more partners in ministry. Our hope is for God to use this time to grow our prayer and financial support, encourage those around us, and for us to be able to share all of what God is doing in our lives.
See you on the road!