Author: Kevin

I am a follower of Jesus, husband, pastor, author, and caffeine addict. Please follow me on Facebook or Twitter. You may also want to consider subscribing to the RSS feed.

Trunk or Treat–El Paso

It’s that time of year again:  October 31st is coming and our church will be doing our annual Trunk or Treat event.  Last year we had it when my wife and I were brand new to El Paso (we had only been here for a couple of weeks).

I know some have mixed feelings about this holiday, but we believe October 31st is a day that the Lord has made (Psalms 118:24).  We see this as a great opportunity to reach out to our community and let them know how much we care.

My Car Last Year

Last year we had droves of kids and families visit our campus.  They found out about our Trunk or Treat celebration different ways: some through our signs, some through word of mouth, etc.  We loved having them all, regardless of how they found us.

A Couple of our Students

We are looking forward to another great event, and we’re hoping this year will be even bigger! Hopefully we’ll see kids from all over Northeast El Paso: North Hills, Apollo Heights, Mesquite Hills, Pleasant Hills, Castner Heights, Fort Bliss, etc.  We’re a short drive from all of these before-mentioned locations.

We’ll have candy to give out for the trick-or-treating kids and we’ll also have one or two bounce houses.   It will be a great time for you and your family to enjoy some safe fun and sweet treats.  Be sure to say hello to me (Pastor Kevin) when you stop by and let me know if there’s any way I can pray for you.

Note:

We are continuing to do Trunk or Treat every year. To get directions and more information just click here: Trunk or Treat El Paso

Confessions of an Expectant Father

On March 17, 2012 Mare Cris gave me a title I wasn’t sure I’d ever have: husband. Over five years have quickly gone by since then. We’ve seen the amazing faithfulness of God through both blessings and trials.

We decided that this year was the right time to start our family. We felt like things had settled down here in our new ministry assignment and we saw no reason to wait any longer. Neither of us is getting any younger (especially me).

We weren’t really sure what to expect. We’ve known other couples that conceived before intentionally trying to start a family. We’ve also met couples that struggled with infertility (some of whom were never able to have biological children).

Weeks turned into months. We weren’t really worried, but we were beginning to wonder if we were in for a long wait. I wrote this Scripture down in my prayer journal:

Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots
around your table.

-Psalm 128:3

God graciously fulfilled this promise back in July. Mare Cris was experiencing the first telltale signs of pregnancy and used some home tests that I bought months before. The two lines were unmistakable evidence of great news: we were officially expecting a baby! My cousin (who is an OB/GYN) was the first to hear about it (she confirmed the reliability of home tests). The next day (after positive test #2) I called my dad to inform him that he would be a grandfather again. The following Sunday my wife was leading worship at our church and shared the good news with them.

The daily grind of first trimester queasiness, dizziness, and fatigue have taken a toll on Mare Cris. I’m still trying to believe this is actually happening–it’s hard for me to wrap my mind around the idea of being a father. But words can hardly express how grateful and excited both of us are.

Yesterday we were able to see our little one for the first time. Hearing the tiny heartbeat nearly brought tears to our eyes. I’m sure we would have both been sobbing if we could have gazed at the live image long enough. But it was over within a few minutes–just long enough for our technician to gather the needed information. A doctor came not long after the test to give us the age of the child (a little over 8 weeks) and tell us everything looked normal. I’m sure this is all familiar scenery for the medical staff, but Mare Cris and I were awestruck.

Soon I will have a new title: father.   The baby will be born in late March.

Thank you, Lord!