On a mission

Travis and I prayed before we even left Hugoton that God would lead us to the church He has chosen for us here in Louisiana. God did his part, and we had to do ours.

Our part was getting out there and looking for that church. You all know Travis and I don't care what denomination of church we go to, but we insist on finding a body of believers who love God, believe Jesus died for our sins to give us the opportunity to accept His gift and be with Him for eternity, and believe what the Bible says. We went to work, asking people which church they would recommend for us and we also used the phone book and the Internet as resources.

Travis had the opportunity to visit two churches before the rest of us came down. He knew the first church he went to wasn't for us, but he wasn't sure about the second church he visited, though.

We went back to the second church as a family again, because Travis wanted me to have input, too. We left that church and I asked the kids if they liked it. Madalynn, who had been at children's church in a different building while we were at church said, "Mom, do you think this is the church God planned for us?" I said, "What do you think about the church, Madalynn?" She said, "I don't think we this one is the one for us." I couldn't have said it better, and we DIDN'T go back!

God works in exciting ways. We drive by this plot of land along the Interstate every time we go to Wal Mart that has a big truck trailer sitting on it. We were talking about churches one day as we passed it, and noticed it said, "Coming soon, the Mission." It had some other information on it, but we didn't read that. I just said, "Huh, I wonder what church that is? It would be nice if we could find a church that close." I didn't think a thing more about it.

Travis visited a church website online and thought we should try it out. I was hesitant to go, because it is right across the street from Southestern Louisiana University in Hammond. I figured the congregation would be mostly college students. We aren't too far away from their age, but being married and having four kids changes how we relate to college kids just a little bit. :) I trust Travis, though, and consented to visiting.

We walked in and were greeted with sincerety. The nursery and kid's volunteers made our children feel welcome and at home. Travis and I didn't really chat with anyone during this visit. We just sat back and observed and kept our eyes and ears open. The church members were normal people, coming from all walks of life. The pastor was versed in his Bible and had all of his preaching credintials, but was just a normal guy, too. He preached an excellent sermon about miracles and we went home feeling refreshed. The whole family just "knew" that was our new church home.

We asked the kids what they thought wen we got back into the car. They all started excitedly telling us about the fun they'd had. Madalynn then said, "I think this is the one we should go to." Really, God's Holy Spirit was guiding us the whole way and that's what we were all "feeling."

The funny thing about it, is "The Mission" on that truck billboard, is the same The Mission Church that is now our church home! Maybe we're a little dense, but we just had no clue of any connection between the two "missions." Our church purchased that lot some time ago and is in the process of building and relocating there. We don't mind the church location right now, but we will have much less of a drive to church when the building at the new location is completed. God just threw in an extra bonus!

We have been back two times since that initial visit and have joined a life group, where we've met a few friends. Two of my specific prayers is that God would provide some friends for me and that He would tell me what to do about school for the children. The first night at life group I met several really neat ladies, two of whom are teachers; two answered prayers, not a coincidence!

We are excited the hunt for a church didn't take too long and that we found a place we can relate to! The Mission Church is non-denominational and probably has an attendance of 200-300. I'm going to try to put a link on this page you can click on if you want to know more about our new church.