Exciting News!

Nathan and Cydil (my brother and sister-in-law) are adopting their second child from Albania. Please visit there blog and join with us in praying for God's provision and timing over the next few months as they bring David home!

www.waggoner.blogspot.com

Happy Mother's Day....a little early!

Mom, thanks for everything! I've been preaching through 2 Timothy and got choked up on chapter 1 vs.5 (I know you're my mom not my grandma :)). I've been thanking God for His hand shaping my faith through your example. I saw this video and thought that it said it well. Hope you have a great day!

Happy Birthday Poppa!

Hi Poppa, Hope you had a good day! Was the hockey game fun? Talk to you soon

Elisha's getting huge!

It is amazing how quickly Elisha's growing. Here he is giving dad a back rub!


He turned three months yesterday and we finally feel adjusted to a 7th Waggoner in the house. He is sleeping through the night and is usually happy during the day....we just have to keep a bottle nearby. This boy can eat!

Some pictures from Peru

The beauty of the Andes mountains in Peru is breathtaking.




We got a lot accomplished. One of the harder projects was digging this drainage ditch (60' long) for a new bathroom. This is Ethan, Rachel's younger brother.




We got to eat some great food...like this guinnea pig (a delicacy!)



At the end of the trip we went to see Macchu Picchu (Inca Ruins).

An airport surprise!

I recently returned from Peru. We went down to help Sarah (Rachel's sister) and her husband Gary get settled into their new home. It was a great week! I'll post some pictures soon.

When we arrived in Lima there was a huge commotion in the airport. Kina Malpartida, a world champion Peruvian woman boxer had arrived at the same time. As we walked out of customs, we didn't realize that she was right behind us. One of our team members looked at the huge crowd with all the cheers and banners and said jokingly, "I guess they're happy we're here."

As soon as the crowd saw Kina there was an instant mob rush toward us. If you look carefully in the video you'll see Keith my father-in-law directly in front of her. It was a scary couple of minutes as the wave of people kept pushing in on us.

I used this video as an intro to the sermon yesterday. Our text was John 15:18-27. Jesus was warning the disciples that the world would hate them because they hated him. More and more in our world, people are rushing to find fame, success, money, and pleasure. Our culture seems to hate everything that gets in the way of this pursuit. The lost will trample over the amazing grace of Christ to get to some cheap substitute that won't satisfy. God used this experience to reignite my passion to proclaim the gospel no matter what the cost.

Caleb and Joshua's baptism

"There is no greater joy than to know that my children are walking in the truth!"

Recent Baptisms

On July 27th we had a baptism service at the local pool in Delavan. It is always a blessing to watch new believers proclaim there faith. It was extra special to our family becuase both Caleb and Joshua were baptized. A video of their baptisms is above.

One lady (Kathy) had to work that day so I went with her small group to a nearby lake for her baptism. Kathy's story is an amazing testament to God's power and grace. Please pray for her husband Mike who is fighting the Lord's work in His life.

Backyard Ministry

We were recently given the swingset you see in the video below. It has proven to bring lots of kids to our yard. On Memorial day we had a killer kickball game with 15 neighborhood kids playing here. We really sense God showing us a missionfield even through our kids playmates. Please pray that Jesus will shine through all of us. In an answer to prayer, God has brought 6 of our neighbors to church on a regular basis over the past few months.

God is able!

2 Cor. 9:8 says, "And GOD IS ABLE to make ALL grace abound to you, so that in ALL things at ALL times, having ALL that you need, you will abound in every good work.

It is encouraging to admit our helplessness to fulfill God's call in our own strength. Grace abounds to us when we depend completely on Him.

Thank you God for the gift of children. And thak you for the promise that you will provideALL things at ALL times, so we'll have ALL that we need to raise our precious children to love and fear you! ALL means ALL and that's ALL ALL means.

In the words of Micah just after this video was taken, "You gotta be kidding me." Well we're not....It finally sunk in with the kids and they were excited except for Leah. She said shortly after the clip. "Stupid baby, I don't want it!" She slowly warmed up to the idea when we said that it might be a girl.

God has an interesting sense of humor. We've cried and laughed together but we know that this is a gift from Him and He'll carry us through.

Standing Firm

He is...
Caleb, Josh, and Micah are going to help me share God's goodness to about 60 teeneagers this weekend at a retreat in Wisconsin. Hope you enjoy the clip below.

Praying for Prayer

Jesus continues to fufill His promise that He would build his church. God is at work here in the cornfields. There has been a growing hunger for believers to gather together to pray. I have been praying consistently with a few pastors in the area. We've agreed to partner together to pray for the local body here. God has put on my heart Jesus' prayer in John 17. His heart cry to the Father should be fueling our passion for Him, each other, and the lost. Four major prayer requests emerge from His prayer.

1. That Christ would be glorified
2. That His disciples would be sanctified
3. That His Church would be unified
4. That the Word would be multiplied

This Sunday (the 28th) we are beginning a week of around the clock prayer based on these requests. The prayer begins at 10 p.m. and will go till Nov. 4th at 10 p.m.

Thanks for joining the army that is marching on its knees, fighting for the Prince of Peace!

All for Him,

Steve for the Family

"I'm glad he chose to forgive me!"

Here are a few recent pictures. One night we cooked out on our driveway! The kids had fun and use can see Leah ecspecially enjoyed her smore.

Another thing Leah is really enjoying these days, is her new kitty. Its name changes every day. I think their calling it "Sally" today. Sally is pretty tough as she "endures" the love of our kids.



Caleb turns 7 tomorrow. I can't believe it! Time flies. He is super huge into football these days, so he wanted a football theme party. We just finished and the neighborhood kids have gone home. It was a great time. And now Rachel and I will collapse.








The most exciting thing that has happened recently has to do with Joshua. Rachel and I had been noticing a big change in his attitude. Then one night we were all wrestling and Josh got hurt. Normally this would have set off his temper and he would have been pouting for some time. Through some tears he quietly said, "That's o.k. Micah. I know you didn't mean to hurt me." I thanked Josh for his reaction and told him that he was acting like Jesus would have. He said, "That's because he's living in my heart now." I asked him to explain and he shared what had happened a few nights before. He said he was upset with himself because he couldn't stop lying and being angry all the time. He said he felt so bad about his sins that he cried out, "I just can't take it anymore Jesus. Forgive me of my sins or you're gonna have to kill me!" And then he smiled and said, "I'm glad he chose to forigve me!"

Catching Up

It has been almost two months since our last post. We are hoping to prioritize some time to keep you updated on what God's doing in our lives. Today, I just wanted to post some pictures. When the family was out in July we went to the Abraham Lincoln Museum. The kids loved it.

We started homeschooling this week! It is quite the ordeal with Micah and Leach wanting to be there every minute. Micah seems to be picking up a little bit as he tries to answer the questions. As you can see Micah and Leah are still learning where to put their hands during the pledge to the flag.

The piano tuner is downstairs adding a little extra noise to it all. Rachel starts piano and violin lessons next week. She has 9 students and I have 4 kids to keep quiet or keep out of the house for 3 hours on Mondays and Tuesdays. Pray for both of us.

Hope to post again soon!

Sola Deo Gloria

You guys go to church or something?

We're already seeing a big part of our mission field here....the neighborhood kids. It seems like they're always around to play. The boys love it, but Rachel and I are still getting used to it all. One particular boy is a challenge. Little (well not so little) Tyler, a nine year old boy that lives a couple blocks over has been at our house for 10 or so hours that last couple days. He is very demanding and not very polite. A few minutes ago, we found him inside helping self to snacks and the Play Station. When asked about it he said that he saw Caleb do it. Rachel calmly explained that Caleb actually lives here but she would gladly get Tyler something if he would be willing to ask first.

My office overlooks the side yard where Tyler has been loudly expressing his desires for how play time should go. Presently the kids are playing in the sprinkler. Well I should so that Tyler is playing in the sprinkler. He evidently thinks it is "cool" to lay on top of it and keep the others kids from the fun. I just about yelled, "Get off my sprinkler you chubby punk." In fact just seconds ago I had opened my mouth to express a slightly nicer version of the above statement when I heard Josh ask Tyler this question. "Tyler do you love God and Jesus." To which Tyler responded with a question of his own, "You guys go to church or something?" Caleb began to tell him about our church.

My boys' sensitivity to Tyler's spiritual needs was a strong contrast to my selfishness and the frustration I had over Tyler's loud interruptions to my sermon preparation instantly began to preach to my heart. God loves even the sprinkler hogs and it's no accident that Tyler lives nearby. Pray for him (and for us!) . Maybe someday soon Tyler will go to church or something!

Well guess what...Tyler just walked into my office....no kidding! Not sure how he got in here, but he's asking what I'm studying so I guess it's time to live out loud!

"Dad, guess what I prayed when I woke up"

I was welcomed yesterday morning by Josh nearly shouting, "Dad, guess what I prayed when I woke up." He didn't give me time to guess but continued, "I prayed, 'God thank you sooooo much for this house and can we please live here forever.'"

It was great to hear his excitement about our new home. Greater still to hear his gratitude directed to God. We had a good talk about God's goodness and provision.

"Can we please live here forever." Josh's request got me thinking. Later in the day I talked to Josh again about our utlimate forever home. If we are listening God will remind us every day that we are aliens and strangers here, and that we are to be living for more that what meets the eye. These are good reminders for us as we take nearly daily trips to Menards (something like a Home Depot). Kingdom perspective; that's our prayer these days for our family, for our church fellowship and for all believers.

All for Him!

Three cats + 1970's shag carpet = Major asthma attack

After a week of moving and a week serving as a speaker/music leader (Rachel led the music thank goodness :)) for a camp in Virginia the entire family is back home and settling in.

Sorry it's been so long for a new post. The last month has been crazy. We're finally unpacking the mountain of boxes in every room. Unfortunately the digital camera is in one of those boxes....so no new pictures yet. We should be able to find it soon.

The previous owner's three cats + 30 year old shag carpet = a major asthma attack on move in day. I was here working alone when my cat allergies set off the worst asthma attack I've every had. I crawled down from up stairs and passed out sucking air from an air condition vent in the living room. Somehow I woke up 2 hours later in our rental house 10 miles away with a major head ache. God was protecting in a powerful way.

All that to say that the major project has been "de-cating" the house. After a lot of man hours asthma medicine, itchy eyes, and hives, we're finally "breathing easy" and smelling french vanilla air freshners instead of kitty litter :)

Gasping for each breath reminds you how feeble you are. We're completely dependent on our Creator. We continue to learn this lesson in many ways and are grateful to be able to play a small part in what He's doing here in central Illinois.

More updates with pics coming soon. Thanks for your prayers.

All for Him,
Steve for the family