Friday, July 15, 2011

Summertime...

Well summer made it to Portland eventually...it just took all of June and a little of July. But it is here in so many other ways. It has been exciting for us so far because we have had lots of family come visit and it will continue through the end of July. First Mark's dad and his wife visit in June, it was good to see them. It had been 2 1/2 years since we seen them last. They stayed about 10 days and then headed to Montana to see Mark's brother and family. Then on the July 5th Mark's mom arrived. She is staying till the end of the month, when Mark's brother Eric and his family are here for a few days. It has been a summer of catching up for sure, we haven't seen them for 4 1/2 years. Allison is soooo excited to see her cousin.

Portico is doing really well. We are moving forward more and more. Seeing God move through our lives and the lives of each person is a great thing. We are seeing God answer our prayers and move us step by step through the process of bringing Him to the lives of people. We had the privilege of joining with Fathers House for a service a couple of weeks ago. We were so encouraged. Hearing from God for individuals and for us as a church was incredible. God spoke life to us. He spoke that we are an "Overcoming Church" and that we will have "favor" everywhere and with everyone we meet and deal with. What a great blessing!

In May we moved in to the heart of the city. To the Pearl District. It is a beautiful place to live. God swung wide the door for us to get into this apartment. We are so blessed. It is brand new and we have everything we need. We walked everywhere now and public transportation is fantastic. Allison will be starting a new school in September, it will be so nice to not have too far to walk. She is excited to start a new school. We are trusting our lives to God and praying for His best in our lives and the lives of Portico and the people of Portland.

Psalms 37:3,4,5,&7
• TRUST in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on HIS
faithfulness.
• DELIGHT yourself also in the Lord, and HE SHALL give you the desires of your
heart.
• COMMIT your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring
it to pass.
• REST in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him. DO NOT FRET- it only brings
harm.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Across your path

It has been about 7 months since writing anything here. At this point I am sure that any followers have given up ha! I just have been unhappy with so many things about it. So today while family left for the beach I sat down to work on it a little. I am so intrigued by blogging. I love most the idea of history. Looking back and seeing the story of our lives and the things we forget and have the joy of seeing after many months or years.
So today this blog got an overhaul. I changed the name, the layout, the look and a couple of little things. I changed the name cause I wanted it to be relevant to me as I write.
On my second visit to Portland with Mark and Allison, I sat in the airport looking out the window at the city and I cried very sad tears as I new I was letting go of a life I loved so much in Phoenix. (Not the weather though!) I was praying God, I don't know that I can do this thing you have asked us to do... I don't know that I am the person for the job, there are so many people, so much pain, so much I don't know. I don't think I have enough love to love this city. A very clear voice spoke to me that day and said, "I am not you to love every single person, I am asking you to love the ones I bring across your path." Of course now I am in love with my city, I live here and I am honored too. And I can honestly say that God has given my the capacity to love way beyond what I ever thought possible. So in honor of that moment, I have named our blog Across your path.

Over the last few months, we have had moments of craziness, miracles, provision, joy, disappointment but if I was to tell every story this would be a long blog. We have moved in the heart of the city. We live in the Pearl District and we love it. We moved in May and it has been a life changing experience for Mark, Allison and I.

Portico is doing well. God is laying a firm foundation and that cannot be moved. We have learned to let go and let God. We have learned to be patient in the face of every kind of situation. We are moving forward. Momentum is the key for us.

Please continue to pray for Portland and for the many lives that need a real Jesus.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

All that's happening at once!

Seems like there is so much to say, yet I don't know how to get it all out! The lastest news from Portico is that we have our newest member born this morning. Congratulations to Derek and Kelli Wert on the birth of Finlee Scott Wert. We love you all. I definitely like growing Portico this way. Ha!
Mark, I and Allison are all doing well. We are so blessed by what God has done and entrusted to us. I live grateful everyday. Allison is doing great in school. She is working hard and it is a beautiful thing to watch her reading and writing improve tremendously. She is such a blessing. We are excited right now to have Mark's mom visiting, so Allison is thrilled!
Living here in Portland definitely makes driving very different, plus having Fina our dog changes that a little too. When we where living in Phoenix, God blessed us with a really good car. It was perfect for living there, but living here it just hasn't been practical for us. When we take Fina to the park she gets wet & muddy...that doesn't work out to well for the car. So as a result Fina really doesn't get to go anywhere. She stays home and we go out. Over the last while we have been trying to figure out a way to get a vehicle we like and one that works to take Fina places too. So we started looking. We were able to sell our Hyundai and then God provided us with enough money to buy a vehicle outright. We got a black Honda Passport, we love it. God is so good to us.
Church is going great, we have visitors weekly. Last week we had a Saturday night service instead of a Sunday morning because the building owner asked for a favor, he needed it for Sunday morning so we asked for permission to leave our equipment up all the time. They approved it. God works in wonderful ways. Saturday night service went great. God is building a great foundation in Portico and I love that. Our team is fantastic. They work so hard. Its truly amazing!
Our last series we taught from Acts. As part of one our Thursday night prayer meetings we had prayer for the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Wow God really turned up. It was incredible. 4 people were baptized in the Holy Spirit and two with the evidence of speaking in tongues. It was a night filled with joy and peace and power. Momentum is something that is built... Portico is gaining momentum all the time. We are moving slow and steady and God is blessing it. What more could we ask for.
Please continue to pray for us. We are praying for more people to join our team right now. Please be praying for growth but also for workers for this harvest field. We love you and thank you for your commitment to praying for us. We are moving forward. "I have decided to follow Jesus, I have decided to follow Jesus, I have decided to follow Jesus.. no turning back, no turning back. Though none go with me, still I will follow, though none go with me, still I will follow, though none go with me, still I will follow, I won't turn back, I won't turn back!." WE ARE PORTICO!

Friday, October 1, 2010

We did it!

Friends and Family,


We are awaiting the fall colors here in Oregon. Autumn is my favorite time of the year. Sweaters,football, farmers market, leaves falling, and the harvest.

A few years ago I sat in pre-field orientation before I went on the mission field to Ireland. The Africa director of missions for the Assemblies of God preached a message on the harvest. Ever since then I’ve been fascinated with the harvest.

This year more than any other year, the harvest takes on a deeper meaning for me. It’s obvious the coralation between planting a church and harvesting. The closer to the launch of came the more I would think and pray, “win the lost, harvest the fields.”

On September 19th we officially launched Portico Church. It was a beautiful day. Our two goals were to honor God and to win the lost. Both were accomplished. We had seventy-six people in attendance which included about thirty from our launch team; twenty visiting pastors, and family; and about twenty-five unchurched guests. Our guests heard the Gospel and were given an opportunity to ask Christ into their hearts. It is amazing to think that some of those people heard the Gospel for the very first time. And for many of those in attendance it was the first time they had ever experienced the presence of God.

I am so grateful that we are a part of planting a church. There isn’t too many things that I’d say are a greater honor than doing what were doing. I feel like one of the most privileged people in the world.

After service we went to a local Portland restaurant to have our Launch Reception. We celebrated together the opening of a new church in an area of Portland that is largely unreached. The Oregon Ministry Network, our parent church pastors, and some Portland pastors were there to show their support and friendship. We are honored to work with such people.

I am also honored to work with you. Hopefully you believe me when I say that your support and prayer for us and Portico Church has made this process easier. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You truly have a share in the eternal purposes of this church plant.

This is the last newsletter that we will send. Some of you have already fulfilled your commitment to support us and others are finished this month. We will continue to update you on Portico Church. If you would like to have us email you our blog every month please contact me at: mark@porticochurch.info and let me know.

May God bless you and your family. May you see the riches of the reward for your faithfulness in sowing into the kingdom of God. We love you and are thankful for you.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Remembering Promises

When we decided to plant here in Portland... this is what God spoke to Mark on one of the first trips we made "I am about to Breathe on Portland." I was sitting here praying this morning.. and I was reminded of that promise... but God is not just breathing on Portland but on this world, He is saving souls and changing lives. We are so incredibly honored to be a part of that. That is just one of the many things He has promised. I am so excited to see what great things are going to happen. The Bible says that His Word does not return void, but it accomplishes everything that it was sent out to do. Great things are coming!

Monday, September 13, 2010

We are Launching this weekend...

Wow what started out as a blog to record the journey to the Launch of a church, comes to a head this weekend. WE ARE LAUNCHING PORTICO CHURCH THIS SUNDAY!!!!!! To say I can't believe it is the understatement. We are sooo excited and busy ha! But it is all worth it! We have had about four services now at our building, and all have gone incredibly well. Our focus on the Word has been from the book of Ephesians... this has been great and challenging. I am just so excited to see what God is going to do. We have hurdled many things and grown in so many areas. All in what seems like a really short time. We will be here in Oregon a year on Oct 25th. Crazy! Pray for us this weekend as we Launch, it is our hearts desire to see the people of Portland have relationship with God. For God to touch this city, so it will never be the same again. Putting God in the picture changes everything.

Allison is doing great, she went back to school about a week ago and she loves it. I am so proud of her. She challenges things head on, it is so good.

Please pray for Portland and for its people, God is breathing life here... it began a long time ago and we get to be a great part of it. Pray for people to be drawn to us and to Portico so we can give them the hope that is within us.

Please continue to pray for us for strength and wisdom to fulfill the purposes of God as we serve people. And financially... Mark lost his job a few weeks ago and I can't get one. I am starting to clean houses again and just did one today. Please pray for more clients for me so we can bring in some more income.

Thank you we appreciate you. Love and blessings

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Update...

Tonight we went to the hospital and the verdict is that both Mark and Allison have strep throat. I wasn't surprised but relieved that it wasn't anything worse. Both are know on antibiotics for 7 days. Please continue to pray for speedy recovery. Our God is our strength and I know He has everything in hand. What a relief to know we have a God who takes care of even the smallest things. I love Him so.
Just yesterday a song that I haven't heard in years came back to me... its a kids song and it says "My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do. My God is so big, so strong and so mighty there's nothing my God cannot do... the mountains are His, the valleys are His, the stars are His handy work too... My God is so big so strong and so mighty there's Nothing my God cannot do. For you and me, you see its true!" How true this really is. Our God is an awesome God, how grateful I am to serve Him and see His hand at work in our lives. All thanks be to Him! Thank you for praying.