“Time to get up ladies!” we said as we gently knocked on their doors.  “It is time to head to our 1^st Annual Stroll N Roll!”  All the young ladies in the house were great sports as we woke them up early on a Saturday morning.  We had a great turn out for our first year and are eager to have any even larger group next year.  We would like to thank our sponsors, The Old Cannery Furniture Warehouse, Hometeam Northwest Realty and Clearwire.  We would also like to extend our thanks to our largest donor, Olympic Landscape and Irrigation.  Lastly, but definitely not least we would like to extend a HUGE thank you to all of our walkers and everyone who sponsored them.  All funds raised go directly to helping pregnant mommies who are in desperate need of housing and support.  We couldn’t do it without all of your help! Mark your calendars for the 2^nd Annual Stroll N Roll, Saturday, July 16^th, 2011.

On April 30^th we were fortunate to have several members of the City Harvest Church prepare us dinner.  We took this opportunity to invite over some ladies who had recently given birth in order to have a bit of a reunion.  We had no idea the elegance that was in store for us!  I walked in the kitchen and thought that they had hired a catering company but found that the ladies just decided to wear white shirts and black bottoms with matching red aprons.  They had prepared menus placed on chargers on the beautifully decorated table and served us a three course dinner.  To start we had a Caesar salad and bread and were even offered freshly ground pepper and cheese!  Our main entrée was gorgonzola chicken over a bed of pasta and for dessert we had delicious cheesecake.  They served us and cleared our plates between each course.  The attention to detail was phenomenal as was the food!  To top it off they presented each of us with gift baskets each including complimentary facials donated from Rejuvenation Salon and Spa! We were so incredibly blessed and enjoyed the time that we were able to spend with the new mommies and their babies.  Thank you so much ladies of City Harvest Church, you truly displayed a generous and servant heart which exemplified the love of Jesus!

The ladies from City Harvest Church

The ladies from City Harvest Church

The Art museum sparked much conversation and reflection, especially trying to visualize the architects aim at creating mountains and waves in the center of the building (not to easy to see for those of us who are not very artsy!) After finishing with the art museum we headed for the Bridge of glass and enjoyed the reflection pools outside the Glass museum.  We stopped along the way and pointed out our favorite Chihuly pieces.  Lastly, we wrapped up the day at the Washington State History Museum.  We sat in a covered wagon, dressed up, and learned a lot about the development of the railroad and the evidence that points to Bigfoot’s existence.  Both important to learn about prior to becoming a mommy!  Not really, but lots of fun and culturally enriching none the less!  After a couple of hours walking around museums tackling the walk back up 19^th st. was a bit taxing!  Overall we all had a terrific time and truly enjoyed a beautiful Pacific Northwest day!     

“You can do it…..one more push…he’s almost here” were common phrases around here this past month.  We have had the pleasure of welcoming three handsome lil’ boys to mommies of New Beginnings!  We have been blessed to walk with Amelia, Christina and Ha during their pregnancies and celebrated with them as they entered official mommyhood.  While we are saddened by their departure from New Beginnings we couldn’t be happier about their new little arrivals.  Congratulations ladies!

Many of you may remember Amelia, a young lady we wrote about in our October newsletter.  While at New Beginnings Amelia began to experience the love of Jesus in a way she hadn’t before.  Seeking a healthy lifestyle she began consistently attending AA and church.  Both of these avenues led to some important milestones she celebrated in December; on the 13^th she was baptized and on the 27th received her one year sobriety coin at her AA meeting.  Both of these events were reflections of God’s sovereignty in her life.  We have all been blessed to watch Amelia continue to flourish and felt bittersweet when she was accepted into a housing program which will provide her low cost housing while pursuing her education in Social services. Her growth over the past couple of months has inspired her to mentor other women who have struggled over their lives.  On Saturday, January 23^rd, Amelia moved out of the New Beginnings Home. We have greatly missed her (and her fantastic cooking) but know that the New Beginnings Home functioned just as it should in her life.  Our home gave her a place to sleep, food to eat, time to dream, mentorship, life skills and friendship.  She will be welcoming her son Isaiah in just a couple of weeks and now she has a place of her own to welcome him into.   Thank you for making a difference in Amelia and Isaiah’s lives.  We appreciate your commitment to this ministry!

The ladies of New Beginnings with Comfy Pillows from Select Comfort

As the bags of pillows were unloaded into our home our curiosity increased.  Bag after bag began to fill the living room.  “Where in the world did all these pillows come from?”  Our director, Miles Musick informed us that Select Comfort donated 50+ pillows to the New Beginnings Home.  Anyone who has been pregnant knows that pregnancy and sleep go hand in hand!  There is no  better way to get great sleep than with brand new, amazing quality pillows.  We are always in need of essentials such as pillows and are so grateful for this generous donation!  Thanks so much Select Comfort!

What an adventure we are on.  We’ve said it before but must say again that we feel so privileged to share life with all of the incredible women that we have met so far!   We know that God has a remarkable plan for them and are so eager to be a part of all that He is doing here. 

Blessings,

Dave and Heather Wait

Our theme is Back to the Future which highlights those from the past who stand out because of a particular quality (i.e. George Washington for the quality “selfless”). We even have a home-made time machine that the kids crawl into; it has lights and sound which the kids LOVE!! We also serve them snack, complete a craft, sing a song, read a story/skit, and play a game, all that are centered around the week’s theme. We have the amazing opportunity to give love to 25 children every week! While we always come home exhausted we know that the kids are having fun and the parents are being blessed with free afterschool care. God has asked us to be the body of Christ and this is an awesome way for us to reach our local community and be His hands and feet. We continue to appreciate this unique occasion and time in our lives and look forward to serving the community of Puyallup when we begin at New Beginnings full time.

6:40 AM Beep Beep Beep (my alarm)

7:45 AM Breakfast

8:20 AM one of us leaves to take the kids to school

8:30 AM-12:30 PM Lecture

12:30 PM Lunch

1:30 PM Prep for the after-school program that occurs on Wednesdays (we do a two hour after school program with K-3^rd every Wednesday) or we are on a local outreach or small group time.

2:50 PM one of us leaves to pick the kids up from school

5:00 PM Journaling/Quiet time (AKA do homework with the kids!)

6 PM Dinner

7 PM (on Mondays) we have another time of lecture

11 PM Bed??

In addition to the above schedule David has work duty once or twice a week from 2-4:30 and must refill the wood boxes three times a week (we have a few buildings that are heated through wood stoves).  I have dinner prep two nights a week from 4:30-6.  Our family is also responsible for cleanup for all meals every Thursday. We have weekends a bit more free although there are some that are blocked out for special events and outreaches.  Phew….not done yet!  We have six pages of journaling to do every week and scripture memorization.  We also have book reports to do which means having to have the time to read the book!  For those of you who know me, you are probably laughing….I thrive on this type of craziness!  For those of you who know Dave…pray!! Hahaha!

There are 8 of us total in our DTS and already we can’t even think about the day we have to say good-bye to them.  They are amazing and we are so blessed to share our days with them.  Today we had to say good-bye to Petra and Jeannine, two girls from Switzerland that have been with us since we arrived.  They are fantastic young women who love God.  We anticipate seeing them next year when they hopefully come back to WA for their own DTS (we are working on that still!).

Overall, this schedule has been an adjustment for us both but we are appreciating the time away to be in the Word of God and to spend time as a family.  We also feel so fortunate to have this time together to build a solid foundation to return to New Beginnings.  That’s it for now…..