Happy Anniversary!

Can you believe that it's already been a year since we began this new journey?!  At this time last year, we were visiting Warsaw, IN for Josh to candidate to be the new Pastor of Warsaw Baptist Church.  We were called and began our new ministry on April 1, 2014.  We sent out a few prayer letters last year to several hundred of our closest friends and family, but as we dove headlong into ministry and life those letters have fallen by the wayside.  Please accept our apologies for this negligence!  We are working on a new letter, but here's a brief update!

So much has happened since we moved, it's hard to know what all to share!  The kids are all doing well.  They are all making friends in school and in the neighborhood.  Peter is starting to choose his High School schedule for next year, making decisions on what extra curricular activities he wants to do as well.  While he plans for high school, Bethany had her first middle school meeting where we learned about all the changes that will occur from 6th to 7th grade.  She has already decided that she wants to try some art classes and robotics during her Jr. High years as electives, in addition to sports and band.  She also plans on taking French as her exploring languages course.  Chloe has had a lot of fun this year in the drama club.  She has been staying after school for drama club once a week all year and has a big production coming up soon where she will be playing a jester!  We are extremely happy with the public school system down here.  There are some great opportunities for our children.  Peter has been taking a high school math class this year, so he will already have that out of the way for when he enters 9th grade.

We added three new members to our family last year.  Lacie, Night, and Oreo have brought an added level of joy and responsibility for our children.  The kids have done a great job of taking care of them and the animals help to lift their spirits when they get homesick.  We had a bit of a scare with Lacie a couple months ago when she broke her front leg playing on the icy deck stairs with Night.  God was so good to lead us to a vet that gave us a great deal and took very good care of her!  She is now completely healed and only has a tiny limp when she's tired.  They sure do keep life fun!

Those who know us well, know that we are all VERY relational people in this family.  None of us even know what it's like to be an introvert, and so friendships have always been so important to all of us.  It's awesome how God knows the tiniest detail of our lives and works everything in His perfect timing.  About the same time we were beginning our ministry, God was leading another family to a church plant about 30 minutes south of us.  After God did some working, our church is now sponsoring a church plant and we have become great friends with Jacob and Kassie.  They have 5 young children who are SO loved by our kids.  He's also brought several other pastors and pastor wives into our life who have been amazing counselors, mentors, and friends over this last year. As if all that wasn't enough, God also gave us amazing neighbors to share campfires and cookouts with! We are so overwhelmed at how good God is to us, and what a blessing He has given to us in these friendships!

The ministry down here is going fairly well.   Every day, Josh and I meet new people in the community who have either never heard about the love of Jesus, or who have walked away from His love.  We get to share the gospel with someone almost every single day!  I wish we could say that it hasn't been without it's challenges.  When Josh was ordained, a pastor friend of ours warned us to be on guard because there's now a target on our back for the enemy.  He was not exaggerating!  Even in the midst of attacks, we are reassured by God that He has called us and He will see us through.   The church hasn't grown a lot numerically, but we have seen major spiritual growth in many of it's members.  We've had several salvations, baptisms, a marriage, new ministries, one-on-one discipleship, and great Bible study participation over the last year.  There have been bumps in the road, but we have seen that God is up to something in Warsaw, IN!  

How you can pray:

1.  Pray for a revival at Warsaw Baptist Church.  That God would cast out any strongholds and break down any barriers that are keeping His truth from going forth.

2.  Pray for a spiritual awakening in Warsaw, IN.  Pray for God to send laborers who would work in the field with us.  Pray for us to take every opportunity to show the love of God to those around us and for people to experience the hope of the Gospel.

3.  Pray for Valley Harvest Church in Akron, IN and Pastor Jacob and Kassie Wysong

4.  Pray for protection, purpose, and contentment for our children in their new environments.

5.  Pray for God's continued provision and balance as we juggle family, jobs, and ministry.  A specific need we have currently is a second family vehicle.

Thank you all for your love and support!  We have been so encouraged by those friends who have come to visit us and feel blessed to know so many are back home praying for us.  We will hopefully have a new letter ready to go out soon for those who told us they want one.  If you'd like to receive our future email newsletters, please send an email to us at goepfrichfamily@gmail.com and let us know!

The Move: Finding Our Normal

Our move to Warsaw is complete!  We are moved in, unpacked, settled, and working to find our new normal.  The girls have found several kids in the neighborhood their age, but they are all boys.  Peter rides his bike all over our surrounding neighborhoods and hasn't seemed to find anyone his age nearby.  They go back to school on August 12, so we pray every day that God would bring them each a best friend that shares their love for Christ.  It's so strange that life is so different when we only moved an hour south!  It's a completely different world in Warsaw and we absolutely love it down here!  We are preparing another newsletter to send out that will update you on prayer requests, praises, and things God is doing down here this summer.  If you want to receive our newsletter, please send us your address to goepfrichfamily@gmail.com and we will add you!

Here are some pics of our new home and our family since the move.  Enjoy!  Thank you all for your continued prayers!

A Celebration of Manhood

Today marked a very important day in our family and the life of our oldest son, Peter.  Peter is turning 13 years old.  This day has been being planned since the day of Peter's birth.  The ceremony today was a culmination of a two year process that Peter has been going through with his father as he begins his journey into manhood.  He has been learning not just what it means to be a man, but what it means to be a godly man of strong integrity and character.  Peter met with four other men of his choosing who spoke the Word of God into his life and encouraged him to love the Lord with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength.

1 Corinthians 13:11 says "When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child;  but when I became a man, I put away childish things."

Today, Peter began his journey into manhood.  He will continue to learn from the loving guidance of his father what it means to be a man and to put away childish things.  We are so proud of the young man he already is, and we know that God is going to use this man in mighty, mighty ways!

Thank you to everyone who came to encourage Peter and celebrate with us as he embarks on this new stage of life!

The service began with a blessing from mama.  I publicly took a step back from the coddling/nurturing stage of my life as mom.  As Peter grows into the man God wants him to be, it will be dad who coaches him through.  The hardest thing for a mom to do is to allow her son to be independent from her, but it is necessary for him to be a man of character, strength, and independence.  His future wife will thank me ;)

Peter chose these four men to pour God's truth into his life.  John Sowers spoke on loving God with your heart.  Daniel Goepfrich spoke on the mind.  Van Gurley spoke about loving God with your strength including resources and purity.  Rhett Keiser spoke to him about the soul and sharing his faith.  We could not ask for better mentors for our son.  The respect he has for each of these men will cause him to remember their words as he grows up in the Lord.

Peter's best friend, Eli Smith stood up with him committing to be his "Jonathan".  He agreed to call out sin in Peter's life, challenge him to grow in his walk with the Lord, and do whatever necessary to keep him on the right path.  Peter agree'd to accept this kind of accountability in his life.

Peter was up and down throughout the entire service.  He chose a passage from the Old Testament, one from the New Testament, and a life verse.  He was to share the passages and explain why he chose them and what they mean to him.  His Old Testament choice was 1 Samuel 24 because he wants to be as strong as David when he could have killed Saul but respected him instead.  He chose Luke 4:1-14 because he wants to know God's word so much that he can withstand temptation.  His life verse is Job 2:3 because, like Job, he wants to be a blameless man who fears God and shuns evil.  He wants to have integrity even when he doesn't know what God is doing in his life.  He shared several other reasons for each of these as well as sharing one nugget that he learned from each of the four men that he met with.  He did a fantastic job.  He has a great gift at public speaking!

The ceremony ended with a charge from Grandpa Goepfrich to love God and to represent the name of Jesus with great care and obedience.  

From us, Peter received a Ryrie study Bible in the NASB version.  He also received his own framed copy of our family crest and creed.  The items of our creed, as taken from scripture, are Honor, Respect, Courage, Loyalty, Humility, Patience, and Self-Control.  

Praise God for the strong Christian heritage and legacy in the Goepfrich family!

We Have a Church!!

We want to thank everyone who has been praying about our journey to find a church.  It has only been just one year since Josh was formally ordained as a pastor in March of 2013.  Since then, we have been on a roller coaster of seeking the right church that God would have Josh to lead.  Earlier this year, several churches began to actively pursue Josh at the same time from all over the country.  One of those churches was Warsaw Baptist Church in Warsaw, IN.  Josh met with a couple leaders from the church and when he came home I knew that he had been given a burden for this church already.  So, after several meetings and a whole lot of prayer, we all went to Warsaw Baptist on March 2 where Josh preached and formally candidated. We are very happy to report, that on March 9, the church voted unanimously for Josh to be their pastor!  Praise God for the work He is doing in the church and in us!

This is a unique opportunity for our family.  Warsaw Baptist is a small church, with just about 14 members who are ready to bring the gospel to their community. After meeting with the church family last Sunday, it is evident that they love Jesus with their whole hearts and love others more than themselves.  We are all so very excited to grow with this church! Our goal has always been to evangelize the lost and lead the saints to a deeper walk with the Lord.  Even though this church has been around since the 80's, we are coming into a church re-plant situation.  A huge blessing God has given us in this plant, is that we are starting with a physical building and a core of amazing individuals who are committed to making Jesus their life center and, as stated earlier, spreading the gospel in their community!  This is very exciting to us!!

Because of the nature of this call, we are going to need partners in ministry to stand with us. For all of our prayer warriors out there, we have a few immediate needs.  We know that God has called us and He will equip us and provide every need!  Please partner with us as we pray for a house in Warsaw.  We would like to be moved to Warsaw no later than August 1, 2014 so that we have time to settle before the kids start school in the fall.  It's important to us to move there, so that we can begin to build relationships with those in the church and the community.  The second thing we are praying for is a family vehicle for Josh to drive. Currently, he has a single passenger truck that has been a huge blessing from God, but is very difficult when he drives with all three kids in one seat.  Also, as he commutes to Warsaw for now, something with better gas mileage will help tremendously.  Last, but overarching everything, is that God would provide the finances necessary to pay for said house and vehicle as well as living expenses.    He has been faithful to provide for every single one of our needs throughout our lives and we continue to expect Him to meet our needs because He has promised to do so in His way and His timing.  We have seen Him work in miraculous ways, in part because of the prayers of friends and family and in part because His children act upon prompting from the Spirit.  Praying for others allows us to have a part in the work God does in their lives, and we appreciate all of those who partner with us in this way! Every soul we reach with the gospel of Christ can be traced back to your prayers!  Thank you for being a part of what God is doing in Warsaw!

In His Service,
Josh and Melissa
Peter, Bethany, and Chloe

We Got Spirit!

This week is "spirit week" at Community Baptist Christian School, and all the kids dressed up in crazy ways all week long to show their Cougar spirit for the upcoming basketball state tournament this weekend.  I am generally not very good at the creative thing when it comes to costumes and ideas.  Give me a head of hair and I can do anything!  Hand me some photo's and a scrapbook and a few stickers and I'm good to go!  But, ask me to figure out how to turn my 13 year old son into Crush from Finding Nemo, and I am completely lost.  If I weren't so busy, I might have enlisted the help of someone who is creative, but we did what we could and had fun with what we had available.  Tomorrow they will send the CBCS Cougars basketball team off to state!  What a fun week!

Day 1 - Fashion Disaster

Day 2 - Color Theme

Day 3 - Disney Characters
Peter - "Crush from Finding Nemo"
Bethany - "Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty"
Chloe - "The Working Cinderella"

Day 4 - Blue/Gold Day

Prayer Update

Hello friends!  Just wanted to stop by and request our prayer warriors to be in continued prayer for direction as God leads us to the church He has for Josh to shepherd.  He has been actively seeking a church for a while now and we have looked at many that seem perfect for Josh's giftedness and calling.  Please pray for the people leading the search committee's, that they would have discernment and clarity to follow God's leading, as well as strength to get through the very long process of searching for a pastor.  Please pray for the people at the church that God is preparing for us.  Pray that God would give them patience in the waiting for a new pastor and continued spiritual growth.  Pray that the spirit works in the hearts of the unsaved in the community there, that they would be ripe for the harvest when God calls us to it.  Also, pray for us as we patiently wait on God's timing.  Pray that we would have discernment as well to know which church God would have us go to.  Thank you all for your continued support, love, and prayers!  God is at work all around us, and we are grateful to be a part of it!

A Virtual Christmas Card

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS!

We have so much to be thankful for in 2013.  As the year comes to a close and we begin celebrating the birth of our savior, I can't help but stand in awe of His goodness to us.  2013 has not been an easy year for our family, but we can't ignore the miraculous ways God has worked through some major trials.  The beginning of the year started out strong. My salon, Anointed Beauty, was thriving and it had been a profitable season for Josh as well.  We were able to get our kids back into private school, as homeschooling is just not my calling right now, as much as I wish it could be!

At the end of last year, our church brought Josh's internship full time and he moved his office to the church, and in March, Josh was ordained into the ministry of Christ.  We were so blessed to have our childhood pastor come deliver the message to Josh at his ordination.  Pastor Alex Konya and his wife Pam were in town from their mission field in Hungary, and it was an honor and absolute joy that they were able to spend this time with us and be an integral part of Josh's ordination.  It's only fitting, since they were an integral part in both of our calling to ministry when we were just kids.

After years of health issues, surgeries, blood work, and other tests, I was diagnosed 2 years ago with Fibromyalgia and began searching for treatment options.  I am still working to disprove this diagnosis!  One of the areas that flared up more than everything else was my shoulder.  There were days that it locked up so tight, I felt like I was breaking it when I forced it to move so I could work.  After finally talking to my doctor about it, he ordered an MRI and a consultation with a surgeon.  He discovered a tear, a cyst in the joint, drastic thinning of the cushion lining that surrounds the joint, and some other minor things.  Thankfully, the surgeon was not quick to cut and suggested that I try physical therapy first.  Good thing too, since surgery is out of the question financially!  I went through 8 sessions of therapy.  It didn't fix the problem, but it taught me some exercises I can do to make the arm usable and get through the pain.

This year, with great joy and excitement, Josh was able to start his martial arts ministry back up!  He has classes on Tuesday nights at the church and classes have been consistently  full.  The kids go with him and are working hard to get through the ranks .  He gives a devotional and shares the gospel each week and has already seen God at work in peoples lives.

Several factors, including my health and some very clear direction from the Lord, led me to make the heart wrenching decision to close down my salon in June and go back to booth renting at Cheveux.  Owning a salon is one of my greatest heart's desire, so you can imagine how hard it has been for me to give that up for now.  It was a fairly smooth transition, and despite the fact that this has been one of my slowest seasons I am still convinced that I am right where God wants me.

Also in June, we did something we have never done before!  We hosted a foreign exchange student in our tiny home!  Peter gave up his bed for a month so that Alberto could come from Spain to join our family.  He is a 14 year old boy that fit quite well into our family.  He enjoys outdoor sports, video games, and is a certified chocolate addict.  I think his favorite thing at our house was when I made brownies.  He would have eaten warm brownies and ice cream for every meal if we let him!  We just loved Alberto and still keep in touch.

Well, one week before Alberto left, on my final day of physical therapy, we had the crisis of the year.  If you read our blog, you know all about our Bethany's accident at the pool.  She nearly lost 4 of her adult teeth in that accident.  We are still going to follow up appointments to keep an eye on her teeth.  I will not rehash the story here, you can go back and read about it if you missed it.  I will say, that she is doing fantastic!  We were unable to take a family vacation this year, but we did do a few small trips nearby.  She was cleared by the doctor to eat soft foods on the morning we left for our trips.  She was very grateful to be done with her liquid diet!  When she went back to school in August, she was not allowed to play at recess and we were not sure that she would be able to play volleyball or clarinet, both of which she had been looking forward to all summer.  Well, by God's healing hand, she got to do both!  The surgeon and orthodontist agree that there is a 99% chance that all four teeth will need root canals within the next 3 years.  So now we wait and watch the teeth and pray that she is in the 1% that never needs the root canals.  In the meantime, we give thanks to God who is the great physician!

Peter started a new chapter in his life in August.  He entered the world of Junior High!  I still can't believe I have a 7th grader who is about to be 13!  Wanting to please his mother who has always wanted to be a soccer mom, Peter joined the soccer team at Community Baptist.  At first, he hated it because he couldn't keep up with the other kids and he had no previous training.  We are so proud of how much he improved in such a short time.  By the end of the season, he was getting aggressive and had some great ball handling skills!  I made sure he knew that I would be fine if he never wants to play again, but I have a feeling he might have actually enjoyed it.

Don't ask... I'm not really sure!

Our little Chloe is not so little anymore.  In a couple of weeks, we will be celebrating her 10th birthday already!  She's too young for sports and band, and praise the Lord, has not had any major incidents this year!  She continues to keep our family entertained with her bubbling personality and loving spirit.  If her older siblings are any indication, this next year will be one of many changes and growth for her.... I don't think I'm ready!  For now, she's enjoying the 4th grade and is anxiously awaiting her birthday.

2013 has also been a year of continued waiting for us.  Josh completed his schooling at Oklahoma Baptist last year, and is now working on his Master's at Southern Seminary.  We have resumes out all over the country and are ready to move as soon as God says "Go".  In the meantime, we continue to joyfully serve at South Side Baptist with Josh still leading the youth, and myself running the ladies ministry.

As you shop, bake, wrap presents, and travel to be with loved ones, make sure you take some time to reflect on all God has done for you this year!  Make sure you are right with Him, and don't forget that He gave the ultimate gift in His son Jesus Christ.  It is only through Christ that we can enjoy a relationship with God.  If He is your savior, let this season remind you of your joy.  Don't let it cause stress that will overshadow the real reason of Christmas.

We greatly appreciate those of you who uphold us in prayer!  There are a few ways that you can pray for us in the coming year.  Please pray for health in our household, specifically for continued healing for Bethany and for more good days than bad for myself.  You can pray for the church that we will be called to one day.  Pray for the people in that church to be blessed and pray for us to be prepared for the task that God would have for us.  Please, also pray for God's continued provision on our finances.  With again rising medical debt and declining income, we are blessed beyond measure at how God has provided this year!  Pray for decisions that will likely be coming in order to be faithful stewards.  Pray for wisdom and guidance along each step of the way.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and for your love and support!!
THE GOEPFRICH FAMILY
Joshua, Melissa, Peter, Bethany, and Chloe