Unexpected Blessing

A few weekends ago we took a little trip to Rockwell, TX. It is about 45 minutes north of us. The plan was to go up on Saturday and stay the night with a family that lives there and then go to Cornerstone Rockwell (a church plant from our sending church in CA) Sunday morning. One thing to make it all interesting... we don't really know the family, yet here we were going to stay at their house. So how did we all get connected? Our gracious Lord of course. Karen's (the lady of the house) and my (Michelle's) mother grew up together. Karen and I used to play together as real little girls, but had lost contact many years ago. One Sunday I happen to see Karen at church in CA and I told Jonathan, I know that girl! So we said hello to each other, yet still didn't get in touch or anything. Karen was also my cousins teacher, so I knew she was in the area, but again, just never connected. Then one day at the post office in CA I saw her. She was moving the next day to Texas for the Cornerstone Church plant. I said, "No way, we are moving to Texas too." So she said to contact her when we got there. Well a year and a half later we are finally did it! At first we were a little nervous as we didn't know them very well and we were going to stay with them and well you just never know, but we are pretty easy going and they are believers, so I figured that it would be good. Well it wasn't good at all... it was WONDERFUL!!!!!

I hope and pray that when people stay with us they will feel as genuinely loved and cared for and comfortable as we did. They definitely have the gift of hospitality. We were so encouraged and blessed. In fact we were planning to leave after lunch on Sunday, but we didn't leave until 9PM that night, and that was because we had to. We really didn't want to part company. It made me so excited for heaven when we won't have to leave each others fellowship ever.
(The pic above is of their girls.)

Sunday morning breakfast. Jonathan, in picture above (in Brian's shirt since he forgot his) Jonathan and Brian have a lot in common too. They both grew up in AZ, not to far from each other actually!

Above their little boy and then Karen in the next picture.

On Saturday when we got there we all went to a picnic with some of their friends. It was a lot of fun and the boys had a great time playing football.

Andrew and Cody jumping rope, Cody and Kyle on the bridge.

Philemon 1:7 "Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints"

This sums up our weekend and how grateful we are for our dear brother and sister!