Super blessed on this Thankful Thursday.....

Life here for the Newsom TEAM is going well. We've had so many blessings and feel so unworthy, humbled and yes, very thankful. God has been so good to us.

The TEAM is healthy-- thank you Lord!! Thankful that the kids are finally settling into a school routine that works for all of us!! All the kiddos are really enjoying their sports programs and it's been fun to cheer them on each week-- we are thankful!! We have all made some neat friends and we've already been blessed by the new people in our lives. Thank you Lord!! We do, of course,miss all our special friends and neighbors from past posts-- but they are close in heart and my joy overflows at the thought of having such neat friendships with people scattered all over the world!! We are thankful for the opportunity the Army has given us to truly make an impact and share Christ with so many people from ALL OVER the world!! I miss you all!
The Newsom Team is blessed beyond measure by your friendships and thankful for each and every one!

We are also excited and thankful for the great things that God is doing in our lives. Team Newsom has several projects going.......the Lord has given us a passion to reach out and DO more, share more, serve more. It is in this place of service to others that we've found an unimaginable fountain of joy from the Lord so I'm going to share a few of the things that are happening around here......

Our adoption of Nahome was an amazing way that the Lord has used us (and continues to use us) but this adoption has also opened many neat opportunities for us to share our testimony of faith and our relationship with Jesus with others. At Walmart, at the gym, at Joel's work, at restaurants-- we get asked questions about our adoption and we are thankful that we can share what the Lord has done for Nahome and our family.
The children and I will be travelling to visit our families at "home" next week and will be there for about 2 1/2 weeks. I'm going to be giving our adoption testimony at New Beginnings Church on November 1. On November 8, Orphan Sunday, our adoption agency director is going to travel to our hometown, spend the weekend with us (we are so blessed!) and she is also going to share her testimony with our church body as well. We have been praying over these opportunities to share what GOOD things the Lord has done in our lives and we're really excited about raising adoption awareness and helping find families for orphans!

We're also praying for the start up of an adoption awareness ministry in our home church....check them out at www.compassionforthefatherless.org . We are excited to support and encourage this group of people with a heart for the 147 million orphans in the world.

We're also still praying about the medical mission trip to Ethiopia that the Lord is putting together in the coming year...we will be sitting down in mid-December and making final plans but it is has been amazing to see His hand at work in all the details!! So that's several projects that are brewing in our hearts and minds.....

Our next TEAM goal actually happens at Halloween! We're gonna be shouting Hallelujah this Halloween!! We're planning to use our TRICK OR TREATING to bless others! We're gonna Trick or Treat like crazy this year!! No, we're NOT going to EAT all of that candy but instead, we're planning to share the sweet gift of God's love thru candy with children in Afghanistan and Iraq! Earlier I mentioned our special friends all over the world, well, many of these great American heroes are serving our country right now in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our plan is write a little note to these folks to say, "We love you, we are thinking of you, and we appreciate that you are serving our country," then we're going to bag up as much Halloween Candy as possible and send it to these soldiers so they can in turn, share this excess candy with the children of Iraq and Afghanistan. When Joel was deployed, this was one of his favorite things to do- he loved to give toys, candy and clothing to the street children and children in orphanages there. This is a great way for our troops to show kindness and love to these people that really NEED the LOVE of Christ!!! If you would like to join in the Team Newsom effort.....THIS IS SOOOOOO EASY but can make an impact on our troops by giving them the joy of giving and it can impact the children by receiving a rare sweet treat from a US soldier! Just send me an email and I'll coordinate and give you the address of one of our personal friends serving oversees. It would be super sweet to also write a quick note to this soldier thanking him for his service, then just gather your candy up after Halloween, put it in gallon ziploc bags and go to the US Post Office and send it!!! Our kids are really EXCITED about this and I'm excited too-- who needs 5 pounds of candy sitting in their house after Halloween! NOT TEAM NEWSOM-- we're gonna share our sweets this year!

Next TEAM goal......we've found several missionaries here in the El Paso area that serve in Juarez, Mexico. I have recently received emails from these missionaries that have requested clothing, shoes, toys, etc for the orphanages they are supporting/running in Juarez. So-- Team Newsom is now cleaning out closets, drawers, shoe shelves, and the over-abundance of winter coats, toys, and just "stuff". We're going to donate all of these things to the orphanages "next door" in Juarez. We're gonna send our things across the border to bless the orphans of Mexico. It's amazing that we live only 2 miles from the Mexican border and that just on the other side of that tall fence, there is such devastating violence, poverty, and many needy men, women and children living on the streets. My heart truly aches for these people and I'm excited about reaching across the fence in this very small way. We're praying for Juarez.

Well, until next time I can sneak away and share......

Many Blessings to you and yours,
Amy

Proverbs 28:27 "He that gives to the poor shall not lack: but he that hides his eyes shall have many a curse."

I Timothy 6:17-19 "Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy;
That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;
Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life."