Kenya Believe It? {Two Weeks and Counting}

I've been all kinds of behind in posting in this space. Kyle has been gone to Kenya for over two weeks and the blog equivalent of crickets has been going on here.

Sorry.

Being a single mama is hard. That is all I have to say.

In other news God has really done big things while Kyle has been in Kenya.

Kenya believe it? Watch this to be miffed and mystified by that phrase.



Here are the highlights from Kyle's trip thus far:

• His journey there was rerouted and he got to have some quality time in the Amsterdam airport.
• He has been quite the celebrity among the children at the Gospel Spring primary school. 
• They managed to get a well dug and set up properly. 
• A western toilet would be a true treat at this point. 
• He has rekindled his love for Indian food. 
• He has had ample time at church...more than ample time. 
• He also has gotten his fair share of rides on motorbike. Which he loves. 
• Today he put the finishing touches on the spring box.
• He got his picture taken with a tiger and garland. Not sure what that means. I guess there is a picture to document. 

I'm anxious to see and hear the highlights. I've spoken with him 3 times and Millie and I are both getting antsy for his return.

Also antsy for the Swiss chocolate that he has promised. He has a layover in Zurich on the way back. 

Millie and I were at home until mid-week last week when we began our journey east. We're visiting family to pass the time and enjoying getting ready for the upcoming holidays.

Pray for Kyle as he begins his journey back on Wednesday. He'll spend a couple of days in Nairobi, then on to Zurich and finally will arrive back in North Caroline on Monday evening. One week and counting!

Classes, Travel and Craziness

Tomorrow Kyle will wrap up the last in the three weeks of water technologies courses. It has been a good time and exhausting all at once.

Pray for us as we are entering a really crazy time of travel and family life. I (Jessica) will be heading to a conference next week. Then Kyle will be gone for a couple of days the following week at a conference. We'll be around home for just a couple of very full days after that and then Kyle heads to Kenya.

Pour on the prayers, will ya?

Sorry for the brevity. I've got a wee girl with the sniffles and apparently dishes don't wash themselves. Ummm, someone wanna work on that for me?

Prayer Needs:

• Energy to prepare for the upcoming travel and work ahead
• Patience and love toward one another during this time. 
• Open lines of communication as husband and wife and as we parent through an unusual season
• Millie while I am away and then while Kyle is away for an extended period.

Fall Courses

This is a really busy time of year around Equip. We've already had a few weeks of courses and this week begins the first week of the three week water technologies course series. Kyle will be super busy with assisting in the instructing for these courses.

This week is the water filtration course. You might remember that back in the Spring we actually had a student come to know Christ through this course. Pray that our students would be encouraged and that if any of them don't know Jesus that they would be confronted with the truth of the Gospel and that their hearts would be softened to embrace Him.

Next week will be an especially long one because it is well drilling which means long days in order to get all of the instruction done.

It is a great time of year and we're so blessed to be here doing this work. Thanks for all the love and support! 

Prayer Needs:

• Pray for our students to be encouraged and fully equipped physically and spiritually for the field. 
• Pray for our staff of instructors to communicate clearly.
• Pray for our family as we work to stay flexible and love one another well.

East Africa Here He Comes!

Hi friends and family,

Well, after all of the on again off again Kyle finally has a ticket and itinerary for his November trip to Kenya! Everyone say "YAY!" and then immediately begin to pray for his safety and ministry while he will be in country.

Many of you may be wondering what Millie and I will be up to during Kyle's three week absence. Well, for the first part we will be around home sticking to normal stuff and trying to get a jump on the holiday madness. Then we'll make our rounds for some visits to family and friends.

Kyle arrives back just before Thanksgiving so we've arranged for him to fly back into a city near our family so that we can stay and celebrate the holiday together.

The time between now and when he heads to Kenya is going to be crazy with a side of crazy. Fall water technologies courses start in less than two weeks and then we have a few random events and things on the agenda for the latter part of October- including our 8th anniversary! Woah!

Then to Kenya Kyle goes- I have to try and keep my jealousy down. Although I am not currently jealous of the immunizations and oral typhoid vaccine that he is taking.

Thanks for the way you love our family and how you invest in us. Keep the love and prayers coming!

Weekly Prayer Need:

• Pray for us as we prepare for a very busy season. 
• Pray for additional supporters to join our team. 
• Pray for Kyle as he works out the details of his trip.

Newsletters and Prayer Needs

Hi everyone,
This is gonna be quick! Our newsletters went/are going out this week, both by email and snail mail. You should have already received the e-newsletter, but the mailed newsletter may be a few days behind. If you didn't receive one or the other and would like to please contact us by email. We want you to know all the big picture stuff going on in our lives and the ministry God has called us too and these updates are the best way for that to happen.

As for the rest of life? Well, we are busy, but hoping to squeak in a break over the long Labor Day weekend before Equip fall courses begin.

Prayer Needs:

• Pray for us as we seek God's will for our housing situation. We are blessed to be housesitting for this year, but we are trying to be proactive in seeking out a place for our family to grow and thrive in more long term. Pray that we would be patient and full of faith through the process. 
• Pray for this coming week at Equip. Pray that God would make clear the direction for the ministry and how He wants to grow and sustain it's work. 
• Pray that Kyle and I would be intentional with our time and resources so that every area of our life would be a reflection of Christ. 

All righty. Have a great holiday weekend and enjoy the last lingering days of summer with someone you love.

K&J+M

How the Hoovers Do Vacation

Hi framily, (not a typo)

We're back in our hills and recovering somewhat slowly from our week of family vacation. It was bliss and a reminder that no matter what you are doing in life it is always good, even necessary, to take a break.

It was also just a plain ole' fun time with our extended Hoover family.

By that I mean we ate too much.

Millie got an overdose of her big Hoover cousins- one that she is still recovering from with an almost constant stream of asking for "KayKay and Bubba". We splashed in the pool, played in the sand, took afternoon naps and yes, Kyle and I even snuck a date night or two in.

Here are a few pics to document the week!

Millie with her beloved KayKay

For anyone who knows her it should come as no surprise that Millie's favorite activity was eating...in the house, by the pool, on the beach...wherever. Good thing we brought Chef Poppi along.

Like we said we are in vacation recovery mode. We are putting together our latest newsletter and should have it in the mail within the week. It feels like we have jumped back into life here with both feet and we have a very full fall ahead.

Here are a few things that you can pray for us:

• Pray for us as we plan the next few months. They will be busy with Equip classes, a trip to Kenya for Kyle, a few conferences and the holidays. 
• Pray for Equip as the ministry grows and changes to meet the needs of our missionaries and students.
• Pray for Kyle and myself to be of one mind as we minister, parent and love one another.

Soggy Summer

Folks, we are soggy. Our house already sits on a spring and there is a part of the yard that is so saturated that it is impossible to mow and is slowly turning into a pond. That means that Kyle has had a heck of a time catching up on mowing the lawn after our whirlwind two week trip. It was Millie high by the time we got home and the rain just won't let up long enough to get it mowed...but I digress.

Things are good here in the hills and we are enjoying a couple weeks of normal day to day. We don't have any other big support trips on our horizon. We leave in a week or so to go on our annual Hoover beach week! And all the Hoovers said, "AMEN!"

We're working on prep for fall Equip training courses, marketing and social media (which is my new job, imagine that!), planning for some conferences we will be attending and supporting our folks already serving on the field.

Last Sunday we had the privilege of sharing in Asheville with our church there. Trinity PCA was our church when we lived in Asheville and they have been generous and supportive during our time on the field and now our time here in the U.S. They truly bless us so we were excited to share what we are now doing and encourage the body at Trinity in how they can be a part of God's global work. Thanks Trinity for always welcoming and loving our family! We are incredibly glad to be near Asheville again!

I'm also going to be hopping on board with a new online community for women. Velvet Ashes, is a heart dream in it's early stages. The idea is to create an online community for women serving overseas.

It will be a community that connects these women who face very real challenges and have very real needs with one another for encouragement. Give Velvet Ashes a "Like" on facebook to show your support if you don't mind!

That is the long and short of what is up with us this week. I think Kyle and I just feel like there is so much to be done. There are so many needs and the greatest need is that we get the Gospel to where it is going, I think it was F.H Henry who is known for saying "The Gospel is only good news if it gets there in time." Yeah, we are trying to get it there in time. Pray for us as we do this work God has called us to.

Prayer Needs:

• Pray that we would be focused in our work.
• Pray that the enemy would not find a stronghold to discourage us in support raising and this walk of faith.
• Pray that we would take time to rest in this season of craziness.
• Pray that we would be full of love, patience and compassion as we work alongside others for the same purposes.

There's No Place Like Home!

Welp, we made it through 2+ weeks of travel pretty much in one piece. Since July 5th we have criss-crossed North Carolina and been through 5, count em' 5, states with a toddler in tow. Millie has slept in closets and corners and we have slept in a different bed almost every night, but we've finally made it home!

We were blessed to have good weather almost the entire time. It was a great time of sharing about the ministry and seeing friends and family all over the place in the process. Millie got to see a space shuttle up close and personal when we stopped for a couple of hours to stretch our legs at the Air and Space Museum in D.C. I learned that Maryland is more than coast. Who knew there was so much in that sliver of land between VA, PA and WV? We did get to enjoy the Northeast heat wave and sweated our way through an afternoon in Pittsburgh.

That is just the way we roll, right?

We finally made it back to our hills and we are trying to get back to "normal"- whatever that is! We are home, for the most part, for the next few weeks and then we will take a bit of a breather at the beach for the Hoover family beach week!

Our support raising efforts are an ongoing process and one that we could really use your prayers for. God has continued to bring community around us to encourage our hearts spiritually and financially. We are confident He will complete the good work that He has started, but there are days when we need a boost of encouragement.

So we made it through 2 weeks of travel stateside. Not sure if we're ready to tackle international travel with a toddler. But...you never know with us!

Prayer Needs

• Pray that we will see fruit from our support raising efforts.
• Pray for Equip as the pursuit of a new director continues and fall courses are on the horizon
• Pray for us as a family to remain patient and gracious with one another through a hectic season of life.

On the Road...Again!

The Queen City trip seems like a million years ago at this point! We were home for a rainy 4th and now we are back on the road for a massive two week trip through Eastern NC, Virginia, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Anyone else already tired? Yeah, me too.

In other news, Equip International just launched their facebook page this week. "Like" the page to see more information about our upcoming classes and to read about our missionaries scattered across the globe. Equip truly is a unique missionary training and sending agency and the facebook page will allow you to experience the uniqueness of the ministry up close and personal. 

We covet your prayers as we travel, share and work on the road all with an 18 month old wiggle worm in tow.

Prayer Needs:

• Safety as we travel
• Grace and patience as a family as we navigate a crazy schedules, unfamiliar places, and long car rides.
• Clarity and passion to communicate our calling to those we are sharing with and faith that God already is preparing the hearts of those we are asking to join our team.

Thanks friends!
The Hoovers (Kyle, Jessica and Millie!)

Trip to the Queen City

We are unpacking our bags from yet another journey. We spent the better part of this week hanging around Charlotte, NC. We were able to stay with family so Millie got to enjoy some good hang time with her Hoover cousins.  {watermelon eating, splash park, playground sliding, Chick-fila, she was a happy girl!)

We spent a year and half prior to our move to Marion living in the Charlotte area so we are familiar with the lay of the land. We have to say that we don't miss it at all, ok with the exception of our church there, we don't miss it at all. We really and truly miss the amazing community that they are and loved seeing some of our Exodus family and updating them on what we are doing.

It was an encouragement to share in the hearing of the Word on Sunday and share meals (full of good conversation and lots of laughter) throughout the week with friends. It truly reminded us that Christ is our bond though miles may separate us. Kyle was even able to share the vision of Equip with another Charlotte area church and hopefully connect them with one of our Equip missionaries for help with future overseas ministry!

This week we'll be doing a bit more planning for the remaining weeks of summer and hope to enjoy a bit of family time around the 4th before we head out on another journey.

A lot of folks have asked about how Millie does traveling. She is a rockstar 90% of the time, but we all have our limits, right? We still have quite a bit of travel a head of us so if you could keep her in your prayers that would be amazing. She is a wiggle worm so prolonged sitting while awake is borderline torture for her.

Other prayer needs:

• Continue to pray for folks to partner with us financially. We believe God has called us to this approach to providing for the ministry we are a part of and so we are trusting that He is on the other side faithful to provide. 
• Pray that Kyle and I will communicate well and love each other well through this season of our family and ministry. 
• Pray for Equip as an organization as we face a time of (good) transition. Pray that vision would be cast and that those working with us would be refreshed and inspired for the work ahead. 

If you are interested in joining our e-newsletter mailing list send your info to internationalhoovers(at)gmail(dot)com 

Early Summer Update

Hello to everyone,

It has been awhile. A whirlwind of awhile and much has happened.

Let me back up a bit. In April we were blessed to make the move to Marion, NC. The day after we moved Kyle began teaching water technologies courses for the Equip Spring semester. That meant 3 weeks of non-stop classes. It was exhausting for us all, but hey, that is why we are here!

After the classes ended in early May we were able to settle into our new home a bit more, but only a bit more because since the beginning of May we have burned up the highways traveling and reconnecting with friends far and wide.  We hope that many of them will grow into a community of supporters for our family and ministry. That really is what this summer is all about.

We've been all around Western NC, all throughout Georgia and around the Triad (Greensboro, High Point, Winston-Salem area) for support trips thus far. It has been fruitful to reconnect with old friends and share with close friends and family the details of what we are doing both here in Marion and around the world.

We will be heading out on a few more trips to other parts of North Carolina this month and up into Pennsylvania and Ohio in July. We would love to see many of you along the way!

Kyle was originally planning to go to Kenya in July but that trip has been postponed until November to accommodate the schedule of a Kenyan pastor who will be accompanying him. That will allow us to solely focus on support raising this summer which is a blessing.

In the fall Kyle will be teaching more training courses and will be working full time with Equip.

That is a quick update for curious folks!

I will be blogging once a week from here on out and always feel free to contact us at internationalhoovers(at)gmail(dot)com

Weekly Prayer Needs:

• Pray for encouragement as we support raise.
• Pray that we would be constant in prayer and steadfast in our faith that God will provide.
• Pray for wisdom as we get involved in our local community. 
• Pray for protection as we travel.

The Big Details

It has been a long road to this point. We've sent out letters to many of you, but I'm sure you have a million questions like where have ya'll been lately? We'll be visiting more of you in the coming months, but what I am here to tell you right now is the big details of the journey that we are about to transition into.

Yesterday Kyle turned in his resignation at work. Two weeks from now we will pack up our house and move to Marion, NC. Kyle will jump into the water technologies training courses for a few weeks and after that we will be hitting the road to visit many of you and share our hope and vision for the future.

You can read more about the heart of this journey over at my (Jessica) blog. 

God has done great things in our hearts and in our reality to make this move possible. We knew several months back that we would need to be able to raise support full time to have the necessary finances to work for Equip full time. It just isn't possible to raise support full time when you both have full time work that takes up your time (me, chasing around a toddler and writing and Kyle working easily 50-60 hrs. each week). We prayed that God would open a door to do this and as He is so prone to do, He did. {Gulp}

We are moving to Marion and will be residing for the next year in the home of some folks that are headed back to the field in Central Asia. It is a humble abode, but has everything we need. This serves several purposes. First, the house is rent free to us. We only have to pay utilities and mow the lawn. Second, we will be able to raise support while having a home base in Marion. This allows us to raise the support we need in full- hopefully by September of this year- while being local to Equip for classes and other purposes. Lastly, it give us ample time to find a more permanent home for our family. After years of wandering we aren't done wandering, but we are hoping to develop a bit of a home base for ourselves.

That is the deal. We're moving two weeks from Saturday. We've been so blessed by those that have become a part of our lives here in the Charlotte area. We commented after church on Sunday that we would love to move Exodus Church with us to Marion. Is that possible? Next plant maybe? Does Marion count as the "Greater Charlotte Region"? You get my point. We've been blessed by the body here and we rejoice that many of you will be part of our team moving forward- and our moving team! Thanks in advance for helping with the piano. 

The coming months will be full of God-sized adventure. Training classes (at least the water technologies) run from our moving weekend through the beginning of May. We'll be all over {NC, GA, SC, PA, FL, TX- all possible stops on our tour!}sharing our work with Equip and the work of many folks on the field and how you can equip us and yourself to be a part of the Gospel work all over the globe. Kyle will be headed to Kenya for the better part of July. Yeah, it's gonna be a wild ride, but one we are excited about and leaning hard on God to provide for every step.

Here are a few things that you can post on the refrigerator for us...

Prayer needs:

• Sanity as we move

• Hearts full of faith in God's provision

• Smooth transition for Millie to new surroundings

• Supporters to already have their hearts softened to join us as partners financially

 Please send any questions or comments or information to join our mailing lists to internationalhoovers(at)gmail(dot)com and look for a brand new website in the coming months.

Thanks for going on this journey with us.

In Christ Alone,
Kyle, Jessica and Millie Grace Hoover

Fully Convinced

Hi folks,

Sorry for the silence. There is so much to share, but I'll keep this one brief because some of the details of the future are coming together, but aren't quite firm enough to tell the world. Let's just say that God is at work and by His grace we hope to be actively moving in the direction of where He is calling us in the very near future. I don't mean to be vague. I just mean to ask for your prayers in the mean time as we seek God's lead and provision.

Kyle attended a support raising boot camp last weekend in Arkansas. He came back with his eyes opened and inspired in a new way as to how to see God's provision through His Body for those of us in full-time supported ministry. We are eager to share this with so many of you face to face in the very near future. That is really exciting stuff. I hope you see that as exciting too and that God would move in your heart as our community to join this journey of faith.

So would you pray for us right now? Right this second please, stop and pray that God would provide so that we can move into active ministry sooner rather than later?

This morning I was reading in Romans. Romans 4 to be specific and I think I've found a verse that our family is going to claim during this season.

"No unbelief made him (Abraham) waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised."(Romans 4:20-21)

God is faithful and I know that He is going to provide. We want to walk forward into what God is doing "fully convinced" as the passage says that God is going to fulfill His promises. I hope that you are experiencing this in your own life no matter what the season is. Old Punxsutawney Phil says that the winter is about to be over. I know that my family could use some Spring both in our front yard and in our hearts. A heart fixed on Christ is full of hope and that is what Spring is all about. 

We can't wait to share more, but for now please pray. Pray big things for us. He is faithful. He WILL surely do it. 

Love,
Jessica (Kyle and Millie too!)

Millie Turns One! ! ! !

Well, it is a new year and Millie turns one year old today! I think we can all say, "Where has the time gone?" She is walking, well...running (out of control) really. She smiles most of the time. She still doesn't sleep through the night. You heard me. She doesn't sleep through the night, but she is sleeping more so we will thank God for it, right?

She had a great first Christmas which would have been her second Christmas, but as you recall she chose to wait a couple extra weeks to make her entrance. Kyle never lets her forget his lack of a tax break last year. I failed to post any pictures from Christmas, but I promise before the end of the year I will. That's the best I can do right now, lol. Her party will be on Saturday and I will certainly make
sure that every cake smashing moment is recorded for all to see. It should be a blast.

Here is a little reminder of this past year. What a doll. A very photogenic doll at that.

We love our sweet Millie girl and are so blessed to have her in our lives and a part of our crazy family.