Hello friends,
I wanted to take a moment to write about our move to Minnesota. Before I begin, here’s a short recap of our time here in Tulsa. When Kaitlyn and I first moved, we were excited to see what Tulsa had to offer. We were both young in our perspective careers and moving allowed us to step full force into our married, adult lives. During the first year and a half in Tulsa, Kaitlyn and I struggled through our adventure and had lost hope of finding a solid church family. As a result, we felt it was time to move. We mulled over the direction we were going to head, further south or back north, and after much discussion, we decided back north was right for us.
Not long after making this decision, we began attending Mingo Valley Bible Fellowship Church. Kaitlyn and I can both say this church has had a huge impact on the last 6 months of our lives in Tulsa. As I said in a previous post, we were thrilled to move from Tulsa because the journey hadn’t been what we expected. The move, however, will not be as easy as we originally thought. As I am sure you know, Kaitlyn and I were lonely and discouraged people without any Christian friends. This church was, in a way, Kaitlyn and my saving grace and brought a renewed hope and energy to our marriage. The Lord provided a church to us when we needed a church the most and fulfilled our craving for Him. I have to say that the people inside this church are amazing people of God and they came by us and gave us the support and love we needed. There isn’t a way to adequately express our thankfulness and love for each person, but I’ll do my best to share a little with you.
To begin, I want to say thank you to two brothers in particular. Matt and Ben have largely impacted my personal walk with the Lord, which will forever change how I lead my wife and family. Matt has been the friend and brother I needed here in Tulsa. From the beginning we had an instant bond and a passion for sharing the love of Christ. I began to meet with Matt every week, digging deep into the richness of God’s word and allowing the Holy Spirit to do His work in us. In the short time that Matt and I met, I expanded my knowledge vastly and furnished a new fire to continue to do so, even as we go our separate ways. The only thing I can say, Matt, is I wish I had of started meeting with you sooner! But I am glad we had the time we did and that we will forever keep the brotherly bond that we have. Thank you for taking the time to invest in me, to love me, to call me out and to walk beside me in life’s most important journey.
The second person that I mentioned is the lead pastor, Ben. It is truly amazing how God has used this man to preach God’s word and share the truth. There have been multiple instances where God has used Ben’s sermons to speak directly to me and to others, this is fact. Ben’s heart is to shepherd his flock and watch them grow in Christ. He has a unique ability to relate to people outside of his pastoring role (and from what I have seen, this is rare). I think sometime people struggle to hold conversations with pastors because we have the preconceived notion that the only thing they can talk about is God and the Bible. While these are two very important things, Ben has an ability to implement those into his conversations with each person. If you want to talk about something, just talk abut it, he’ll listen and respond. Ben you have a gift; a gift that allows you to build strong relationships with the members in your church body and I appreciate your passion and desire to preach truth. You have an awesome ability to use words to deliver a powerful sermon in a clear and understandable manner. It is blessing to learn from you.
I have shared a lot of what this church has meant to me, but I also want to take a moment to share what this church has meant to Kaitlyn. Before attending Mingo Valley, Kaitlyn too was spiritually deprived. She was tired, weary and not encouraged. Like I said, she unfortunately wasn’t receiving leadership from me. As Kaitlyn began to get plugged in, she quickly fell in love with the church and it’s offerings to the members. The messages were rich and rejuvenating for her, providing her the encouragement and nourishment she needed for her soul. She began to see her husband change, grow and become excited as a result of attending. She finally had some Christian friends that were there to encourage her and support her, girls that loved to see her each week and asked about her when she was away. Well…why am I telling Kaitlyn’s story when she is right here to share it. You can take it from here Kaitlyn…
Anyone who knows both Nicholas and I knows that I am not nearly as eloquent as him, and he has done a marvelous job of describing where our hearts where before we found Mingo Valley. However, I’ll attempt to share my perspective as well.
The phrase that most accurately describe my life at that point is a “spiritual desert.” After a year and a half of living in Tulsa, I had no close friends, no church and no support system (other than my husband and mom, of course). I desperately wanted the fellowship of Christian friends for both Nicholas and I. We decided to move and I was frustrated we couldn’t leave right away-my two year contract with the hospital wouldn’t allow us to leave earlier, however. We were “stuck” until Feb., so I continued to pray God would provide me with a good attitude and patience while I struggled with discontentment. In May I met Meredith. Her sweet twin boys were born prematurely and I took care of them throughout their hospital stay. As her boys grew, so did our friendship, and eventually we started hanging out as friends, and then as couples. God provided Meredith as a encourager, listener and sister in Christ; I am so grateful for His provision.
In July Nicholas attended Mingo Valley for the first time, and I attended in August. The first service I thought it was almost too good to be real. After a year and a half of searching had we finally found a church? We continued to attend, and, WOW, did God provide. Everything I had lacked was given and God’s goodness was heaped upon me. I met many more Christian women and became friends with two in particular; Brachelle and Lisa. They are two women I will desperately miss as we make this move, and already have shed tears over. Thank you both for investing in me and encouraging me.
Before attending this church I didn’t know what it meant to truly love your church. I had liked my parents church in college and the one Nicholas and I went to in Wichita; I had learned from the pastors there; I had enjoyed some of the people. But at Mingo Valley I was challenged, convicted and held accountable. I was excited every Sunday to go to church to soak in the Word and love seeing my church family. I have grown more spiritually in 7 months than I did through all of high-school and college. I think God put me in a desert so I would more greatly understand His sovereignty, and now He has been gracious enough to drench me in His rain.
Ultimately, what Kaitlyn and I got out of this church was true and genuine fellowship and community. We were shepherded in the Word and loved by the members. A church like this is a rare find and I encourage anyone in Tulsa to go and give them a try. If you are looking for the truth, you will find it here, given in an clear and understandable message, but expect to be challenged and convicted. All in all, the move to Minnesota won’t be one without sadness. We have seen the Lord greatly provide for us both over the course of the last 6 months (and the months before; we just didn’t realize it at the time).
In conclusion, to our sweet brothers and sisters in Christ; you are all loved dearly and we can’t thank you enough for coming along side us while we lived here in Tulsa. We will continue to keep you in our prayers and we hope you know that this is not the end, we will be back to visit you. You will always be in our hearts and the things you have taught us we will carry on and we will be intentional in our search for a new church, looking for a community of believers as close as you. You, as our church family, have provided us much encouragement and helped strengthen our relationships with the Lord, as well as with one another. It is amazing to see how the Lord provides, even when we don’t always have patience for the journey. You truly have something special and we thank you for being a part of our journey and allowing us to be a part of yours
May God be the Glory forever and ever.
N + K
We miss you guys!!
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