Update 10

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Do not copy, forward, distribute, or post this letter on social media View this email in your browser Hello from the Byrds! We are quite tall hobbits ;) Hi! Update time! The past month and a half has been full of learning and growing in the Lord as much has happened both externally and internally. To begin: thank you for praying for our last dinner in Christchurch! Our sweet friends asked us to pray before dinner and we got the opportunity to go before the presence of the Lord and pray parts of the Gospel with them. I continue having this sense in my heart that Carla*s heart is really being worked on by the Father and so I keep praying into that.  The Internal // God has been wrecking both of us in the best ways possible. I have been praying that God would humble me under His mighty hand. Before speaking those words in prayer for the first time, I had to really search my heart. Am I ready for this? I know He will answer. Am I ready for the painful crucifixion of parts of my flesh?  For my transgressions to be brought to light and incinerated in the all consuming fire of our Holy God? Am I ready? After heart seeking, God granted me the humility to pray for humility. Ironic, eh? ;) that I can’t even pray for humility and a fear of God without the empowerment of the Spirit granting the humility to do so.  Anyways, He has been answering. Of course! God has been showing me the depravity in my mind that has been formulated in ways by the enemy. As a young girl, the enemy spoke many lies to me, then I believed them and thought of them so often that I carved neural pathways of these thoughts. Now my subconscious believes these things. Situations will bring about a certain emotion attached to one of these lies and I will weep as the war in my mind rages between truth and lies. But praise God that He who dwells in me is GREATER than he who is in the world. As I partner with the Holy Spirit in consistency and discipline, I am watching my toxic and sinful thought patterns begin to break down and be replaced with truth! And praise God for a husband to wage war against darkness with me! Dr. Caroline Leaf, a neuroscientist who has devoted her life to teaching in churches of the science behind the renewing of the mind, has made a HUGE impact in my life. For more of her teaching, you can search “dr. Caroline leaf how to detox your brain” on YouTube for lectures or peruse her website and podcasts or read one of her books!  Another way God is working is in my love for those around me. The Holy Spirit has been whispering “humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less”. And so much of my morning time with the Lord that I used to spend mostly in shame of all the sin I find in myself has been slowly replaced with praying for others and doing paintings to encourage the body of Christ we are a part of here. And what a delight in thinking less of myself and actually casting my cares on God and trusting Him to work rather than dwelling in shame and wasting mental energy on self centered thought. I confess, repent, be shocked in the grace that is there, and keep moving forward, eyes focused not inward but constantly lifting them off myself and on to those around me and ultimately HIM and what HE is doing to further His Kingdom here in NZ.  The External //   The last time we talked, Stephen and I were in Christchurch finishing building our van! We then travelled north, going through a beautiful area in the South Island called Arthur’s pass and heading up north to Tauranga to where we are now. The Church we were a part of in ChristChurch, City Church, made a huge impact on us. They even had us share our testimonies with the congregation on our last Sunday there! Very quickly they became family to us and it was an honor to get to invest in them for the month we were there.  We decided to work on a kiwi fruit orchard and are still working there on the days that there isn’t rain! It’s been crazy how much rain we have had but we trust God and keep praying for His grace in whatever happens each day.  Our friends Carly and Sean also came to visit us and we had the best time showing them all around the north island! It was like a deep drink of water to have them here.  The past month and a half or so we have been deeply investing in a local church here called Redeemer Tauranga. We jumped right into serving with them every Saturday in helping with their new building. We also have become a part of a young adults small group on Tuesday which has been the sweetest thing! I leave our small group so encouraged and spurred on to deeper seek the Lord and His Kingdom as well as making the Gospel utmost priority in all my interactions throughout a day. Redeemer is such a sweet gift to these sojourners and we pray frequently for God to abundantly bless his people here and to use them for the furthering of His Kingdom in this city.  We have wanted to waste no Kingdom time here and have been diving into relationships. First- diving into our marriage and the sanctification process in that. God is greatly expanding our communication and deep knowing of one another. If this is just 4 months, I am so excited and expectant for the Glory the Father will receive through our marriage in the years to come!  Second- we have been seeking to love the lost and hurting here. I have gotten to know a homeless woman who lives in the same parking lot as us and bring her coffee early in the morning right as I wake up. Stephen has also been building relationship with an 18 year old we work with and has started into deep conversation of the Father and into faith. He came to our van last night and we got to serve him dinner and continue building that relationship! We are praying for more opportunity with Josh*! Please join us in prayer, it is the best Christmas gift you could give us! We pray that each of you will have your souls abundantly stirred this Christmas season in the Glory of Christ's first coming and incarnation and that your expectation and anticipation for His second coming would grow and strengthen. We are meditating much on this anticipation and hope of Christ's second coming. We invite you to join with us in meditating on this and the entirety of the Grand Narrartive! Merry Christmas! Prayer Requests: For the Holy Spirit to keep working in the foundation of our marriage  For us to deeply trust one another such that in situations, we can allow ourselves to be fully known, knowing that we are fully loved and completely safe with each other  For Redeemer Church and that God would strengthen their faith and grant them boldness as they further the Kingdom here in Taurangua For opportunity with Josh and ultimately that Jesus would author His faith such that Josh would be led to eternal life with the Father Some Fun Pictures :) Our drive from Christchurch....and yes- a ferry was required ;) On the top: Some more "after" pictures of our van! On the bottom: Us on Lake Taupo. This is the town that Stephen lived in while I was in North Africa! *names have been changed for their security Do not copy, forward, distribute, or post this letter on social media

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