God is faithful but confusing. After along couple of days we have decided not to pursue the latest opportunity to start our pastor's ministry. There are still mixed feelings as we seek to pursue with all our hearts the things of God but seem to keep missing the mark. Please pray for wisdom and discernment as we continue to walk, crawl and run down the path ahead.

To Him be the glory!

Mateo

It has been a very difficult and good couple of weeks. Last week we celebrated our anniversary on the North Umpqua River camping and rafting. It was a sweet time of adventure and rest. We explored dirt roads on the way there and back. We slept (I slept 13 hours the first night) rafted and just enjoyed a beautiful time.
It is amazing that we have been together for three years. So many adventures, so much growth, pain and deep joy. I wouldn't trade it for all the tea in China or gold medals for that matter.

This weekend we went rafting on the McKenzie with my company and a couple from Corvallis. After a great float ( it was almost 100 and the water was perfect for such a hot day) we camped with friends, Brent Lindsey.

On Saturday we got the call. If you have been following our story you know that we have been trying to start a ministry for Pastors and others who need a break. The call was from some friends who are moving out of town and wanted to know if we could rent their place. It is a 6 bedroom log cabin that they have been using for the last five years in close to the same way we would like to run our ministry. It would be a great place but right now with the house payment for our house in Corvallis we can't do it. Another thing they need to know today if we want it.

If God calls you to read this today we would ask for three things. 1) Please pray that we have clear thinking about this huge decision. Leslie is starting work today, there are fires burning all around us and like I said we need to make a decision today. We want to be flexible to what God is calling us to but aren't sure this is the only way, or the way to pursue it. We also want to be wise with our money but don't want to be unfaithful. 2)We have significantly lowered the price of our home in hopes that it sells. Please pray that it does and quickly. 3) If we sold our house we would be able to make the payment. It would be really tight and would require both of us to work full time jobs but we could do it. At the same time we don't think that we should do it by our selves. I have a meeting with one of the men that has the same heart for pastors today at 11:00. I am going to see if he can split the cost with me. The other thing we would love prayer for is financial support. If the man that I meet with can't commit right now I will try to find 50 people to pledge us $20-30 a month to cover half the rent. The idea being that if we can cover half we can use this house to start our ministry. Please prayerfully consider supporting us for this next year.

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2

Nervously but steadily walking the path,

Matt and Leslie

Well it has been a very interesting time for Leslie and me. We did not get the property that we wanted but it has not yet sold. At this point we are going to continue to pray that God would give us the lodge but right now we are taking this as a sign to pursue the same mission in other ways. We have been looking into summer homes in the area that sit empty for most of the year. We know several of the owners and are going to see if they would be willing to donate time in the house for a few weeks a year to provide for those who make a living in ministry. We would then coordinate the facilities and provide the cleaning when our guests left.
As we have been working on this idea several people have given their support to the concept and have a huge desire to see this grow. As a result we are teaming up with a few others from our church to provide a small conference. This conference is a trial run of the experience that we hope to be able to provide in the future. We will be looking for feedback from those who attend.
This conference will be for about 4 couples and we hope to be able to provide 1.) A time of rest and recuperation, 2.) Access to a pastor and counselor with over 20 years experience 3.) And finally a chance to have a group discussion on the challenges of working in ministry.

We look forward to sharing more with you as we hammer out the details.

Cheers!

M+L

Well....

It is not what we expected and when we have a little more time to process we will up date ya'll.

In His Grip,

Mateo and Beautiful

This is the day that the Lord has made.

Here we are, July 1st. If you read this today please pray that God will show up in a huge way and we will be able to buy the lodge for a pastors retreat center.

We will update again tomorrow and let you know what has happened...

Waiting with excitement,

M+L

This is the shelter that Leslie stayed in to complete her SAR basic final.

It was the best of times, it is a growing time.

Here is a quick update:
Leslie and did Search and Rescue training this weekend and she completed her preliminary certification. WA HOOO! Now we will be able to go on searches together.

I submitted a proposal to the Forest Services for a special use permit to run a yurt company in the winter time. Right now it still seems far away but it is very exciting.

We are still praying and asking God for the retreat center and wait to see how the Lord leads. Only a week to go for the first salvo.


Thanks again to everyone who has helped and prayed with us. We are excited to see what God does and look forward to what He is going to do.

Thanks,

Mateo and Leslie

THANK YOU!

We just wanted to say thank you to all who have joined us in prayer and fasting these last couple of days. The 17th was intense and a difficult day for Leslie and I. Our emotions were all over the place. I had never fasted with so many others for the same goal. Almost everyone from my work fasted with us and it was very encouraging for both of us.
At the end of the day we went out in the the woods at the base of the Sisters. We read and prayed, walked and talked. It was a beautiful time of expressing our thoughts and fears about the future and our hopes for the retreat center.

Thank you to all who continue to encourage us, We feel blessed to be given a road to travel, a partner to travel with and the beauty that surrounds us,

God bless,

M+L

Well it is a beautiful day over here and we are excited for your prayers and to see God do great things. We would like to thank you all who are going to join us tomorrow in fasting and prayer. We are excited to see what God has in store. Expect great things.

Thanks,

Mateo

Thank you to everyone who has called in the last few days with their support. We are eagerly and expectantly waiting on the Lord to see what he has in store.

This morning I got to have a great meeting with a couple of men who would like to help by adding their services to the mix and offering a more in depth type of experience for those pastors that would like to make a change in the system in which they operate. It was a very encouraging conversation and we look forward to filling in the details of this kind of help to pastors. More info on this to come.

Thanks,

Mateo and Leslie.

These are pictures I took from a Search I went on to the top of Black Butte.

Here are some of the pictures we took this weekend. Hope you enjoy!

Just wanted to give everyone a quick update.
We are still praying and fasting at different times this week for the retreat center and continue to feel like this is the way that God is leading us.

This last weekend we went to Maupin to help at the FemX (an offshoot of the CruX games I work with and help organize). Check out the pictures of the homestead we found on our adventures.

Love you all,

Mateo and Leslie

This last weekend we attended our church's retreat out at the Wildhorse Canyon Young Life center in Eastern Oregon. The time was great and the speaker very challenging. He spoke on praying for fruit, moving from surviving to significance, not seeking growth in the church but impact, and the prayer that coincides and leads each of these shifts. The talk on prayer was especially challenging for me.
He talked about the way we "protect" God in our prayers. We (I) don't always ask for what I want or need because I don't want God to fail. I want to insulate Him from failure to answer my prayers. So I will pray in vague terms and tell him that He is sovereign.
The speaker also mentioned fasting and said that it increases the effectiveness of the prayer. He quickly followed if we were asked for the theological answer to why this happens the best answer is, "I don't know."
It just seems to be the way that God set it up.
The speaker then relayed a story from his personal life where he was diagnosed with a terminal disease and the elders came and prayed for him. The him'd and hawed about God's sovereignty and His plan for the speakers life and it made the speaker more and more sad. Then of the elders got in the hospital bed with him and gave him a hug and prayed, "Father please let Ed live and serve." It was a simple and direct prayer and it was exactly what was needed. That prayer was sent out to the church prayer groups and then around the world to the missionaries that the church supported. Very soon there were over 10,000 people fasting and praying, "Father please let Ed live and serve."
That was 8 years ago. He has not been healed but lives a normal life. Last week he met with his doctor and he is the only one with this disease in the entire world that has lived this long and the only one with it that lives a normal life.
Another example of this is with my friend David. The doctors could not figure out what was wrong with him and his body just kept shutting down. Again thousands of people from all around the globe started to pray for him and he recovered.

My Dad used to tell me that correlation does not impute causality, basically just because two things seem to be related does not mean they are. And that is why I absolutely love what the speaker had to say. He said that there is not some formula to get God to respond miraculously. God does not work like that. He will not be mocked and His ways are above ours. But He does have the heart of a Father and responds to us in that way. He hears our prayers and answers them every time.

The Israelites prayed for a deliver from the oppression of Egyptian Pharaohs and received it. They cried out at the injustice, the feelings of abandonment, the tortured deaths of their family members. They cried out for the promises of the Lord to come to pass. Their Father with the eternal perspective answered them but he waited for 250 years before He answered them.

This side of heaven we will never know the Father's complete plan nor the effect that our prayers and fasting has on the Father, but until then we are called to make disciples and pray without ceasing.

This week we are praying for the retreat center. We feel like it is something that has been laid on our hearts and we we have changed our prayers to a very simple request. We are asking God for a retreat center by July 1st. Our lease is up the 30th of June. We wait patiently and expectantly for his provision.

We would love your support in this by prayer and fasting with us. We are fasting today and continue to pray this throughout the week.

We love you all and thank you for the support you have always given us.
Here's to the God eternal invisible who is able to do all without us but chooses to use us to bring to Himself the glory.

M&L

Life:
"It seems that when we don't make time to have time we don't have any."
"When God made time he made enough."

The last couple of messages at our church have been about our identity As Christians, we believe we have been saved from the penalty of the actions we have taken against God and mankind, we are being saved from the power of these temptations and will be saved from the presence of these options when we go to heaven. But if we only look at the problem we might have a hard time seeing the solution.
Tim, our pastor, has been challenging us to seek out who we are in Christ. For Leslie and I, simply trying to find a quite minute seems difficult. And we want to start a center for pastors to rest! It seems that who we are determines what we do. By trying to better understand who we are and more importantly who He is, our life is lifted from the mundane to deep meaning; from surviving to thriving with and in Christ.

Please continue to pray and fast for us this week, your support is a great encouragement!

Love
M+L

Life is full of Craziness
This week we are praying and fasting for the retreat center. Specifically that God would give us a retreat center by July 1st the end of our lease. It is a big request but love your intersession for us.

It is not my might, nor by power but by my Spirit says the Lord!

Thanks to everyone who has called and offered their support.

M&L

Another week has gone by since spring break, Leslie has gotten back to work and the sun came out for a couple days. It is currently snowing on April 4th!



Over the last few weeks God has begun to reveal to us more people who are like minded in creating a retreat for Pastors. Our hope is at some point to meet with some of these people to pray together and brainstorm ideas.



Currently Matthew and I are praying about begining by doing a mini retreat for ministry workers. We have found some cabins in the area that are not used year round and we want to try to coordinate some of this off time and send ministry couples away or a weekend or two. Our goal for this first step towards the retreat center would be to provide all the meals, desserts and drinks and do all the clean up after the weekend. We hope that by figuring out a system here we will do better when we have a center of our own.

We are looking for a way to keep you all updated on our prayer requests. Currently we would ask that you pray for guidance, provision and that God would bring the people into our lives that He would want to be a part of this.

We have had a great time this last week. Leslie was on Spring break and was able to hang out with friends and have a great time just catching up over coffee. She spent most of the day Friday working with the Equine club members as she fills in for the instructor who is on Maternal leave.
This weekend we roped a few friends into helping us with a ponderous project at our house in Corvallis. We have been trying to fix it up to sell for the last few months and have had trouble trying to paint it. We have had two painters unable to finish the job because of weather and that has pushed back our other projects. So this weekend we decided that we were just going to push through even though the paint was not done.
I was so excited to go that I actually woke up at 3:00 am on Saturday morning and couldn’t get back to sleep. We had asked our friends to be at the apartment at 6:00 am (I know, we’re crazy) and so we got out of bed at 5:00 and got doughnuts for everyone and were on the road at 6:20. Alex, Jenni, Leslie and I drove over together and Seth met us in Corvallis. It was a beautiful drive with fresh snow, the sunrise over the mountains and a beautiful river to follow for most of the dive.
When we arrived we broke up into teams and attacked the gardens and out side for the majority of the day with Seth working on trimming out the house. All the old junk that had been sitting in the shed for the past three owners (more the a decade) was removed and taken to the dump. To give you an idea of how much junk had accumulated in this shed, this was our second trip to the landfill and we deposited more then 3000 lbs. In addition we found 6 gallons of used antifreeze, 10 gallons of old paint, 10 quarts of used motor oil, 1 gallon of paint thinner, and a can of neon green spray paint. All of these last items we are having to find alternate ways of dealing with because they are all toxic.
On the way do the dump we got an impromptu lesson in air dynamics as a tarp we were using to keep everything down caught the wind and lifted the 50 lbs cinder block out of the trailer and threw it at the car behind us. Luckily our tarp has terrible aim and missed the car but the chunks that came of the block after it hit the ground also went in to the oncoming lane and it took 15 minutes to clean it all up.
We all made it through the day fairly unscathed and slept well that night.

Easter Weekend and Spring Break

This last weekend we stayed with Leslie's parents in PDX. We had a great time with our family and got to play with our niece and nephew. We had home made soups breads and desserts compliments of my mother-in-law.
I spent most of the weekend taking apart the instrument panel, then the radio, then the steering column and eventually the whole dash and a crossbeam of the frame to replace a heater core in our car. Only after 10 hours of this was I able to find the part the auto shop sold me was the wrong size. I tried to explain that they had sold me the wrong part but they insisted that their system said this one would work. It did not. So my brother-in-law helped by melting the plastic case the core fit in and I jammed it into place and screwed it down. When in doubt, use more power.

We hope you are doing well and if you are in Corvallis this weekend we are having a work party to get the house ready to sell.

Hope all is well and for those of you who have been trying to reach Leslie, she has a new phone so she should be able to get your calls.

TTFN.

Well another week has gone by and with a whole lot of prayer, fasting, and seeking the Lord we have made it through. Let's recap the week: Mateo and Leslie both worked hard at their jobs and both had unique things happen. Leslie had Parent teacher conferences and Matthew went to a COCC class on starting a business in Oregon.
Yesterday we went to a dinner and a play with a teacher from Leslie's school. It was a very cute play about the princess and the pea done in a musical with a school orchestra and a great set. It was quite comical and had several very good singers.

News of the Retreat center:
I (Matthew) got to meet with the owners of the house and explain a little more what we were hoping to to as well as take some pictures and movies of the place. Just going back was a great experience and although the clouds were covering the mountains, I took some great shots of the rooms and small courtyard. (check out the new album)

We still feel like God is leading us in this direction and eagerly pray and wait to see how he is going to make it all work out.

It was encouraging to speak to a pastor early this week and share our heart for the place. He was very excited and asked if I had spoken with another member of the church with a very similar vision.

I was introduced to the other man and we had lunch together to compare notes and see how God was leading both of us. God has been working in his heart for the last 5 years to reach out and minister to Pastors. He believes that money spent in the care and restoration of this group of people is the best possible use of money in the ministry as these men and women have such a huge impact on so many others. He has already started a non profit with the goal of building or buying a lodge or large house to turn into this place of ministry. He has many plans and has visited other retreat centers of the same philosophy. He has also done much research and even some surveys on how best to serve this group of people.

It was really exciting to hear what God had been doing in his life and although we don't know exactly know how we will work together in the future, we were both encouraged to hear each others' hearts for this group of people and find that God has been moving in both of our lives to this goal.

I will look up his web site and try to post it so you can see the awesome vision and work that he has put into this idea. Again we don't know if we are to work together but we look forward to seeing how He works out His plan for both of us!

Prayers Requests:

We have also been battling some health problems (Matthew had bronchitis for two weeks and still has a poductive cough and Leslie has not been feeling well) as well as spiritual protection. I am no expert when it comes to this last area but I really believe that as we trust and see God move in big ways, it is met with opposition. Emotionally, physically, and spiritually it has been tough and seems to be getting tougher. Prayer for wisdom, discernment and healing would be wonderful.

Please pray also that God will financially and emotionally provide for this huge opportunity. We have been praying that He would work it out so we could move in before our lease is up in July. Your prayers in the same directions would be great!

We love you all and look forward to hearing back from you soon!



M+L

Right now we are finding ourselves seeking God for guidance and praying for His provision.


Some of you may have gotten our letter and if you haven't, we are still trying to find addresses for you. If you don't receive a letter by e-mail or snail mail, please leave us a comment sharing with us your address so we can update it in our address book.


If you didn't receive it we will tell you a little bit about where we are.


We have been praying about the future and what serving God is going to look like for us. Many ideas have come and gone. Some hang around waiting to be pursued in the future. One dream/vision Matthew has had for many years is a retreat center; a place where people, pastors, pastors’ wives and children can come to find rest and rejuvenation.


Four weeks ago we attended a party at a friend’s parents' house. The house is a beautiful log cabin just a few miles outside of Sisters. While there Leslie had the vision of this house as a retreat center. After learning that the house was for sale, Leslie mentioned this to Matthew. For the next two weeks, she prayed about it and on the third week shared with Matthew that she believed we are to pursue this house. Matthew called the owner and we made a date to visit.
As Matthew shared that our hope was to buy this place to provide a retreat for others, the owner began to share with us her story of looking for a retreat. When her husband found this place they knew it was the retreat his wife had been looking for. They have used it over the years to bless many. Youth groups have used it as a retreat center, friends and family have found it to be a place of peace and rest.


As she walked us around the property she told us,”This place is God's and I have always known it.” We were blown away by the work she has done on the place, sharing with us stories about the pink and blue tile and purple paint she found when they first moved in. The house is much different now and she has done a beautiful job making it a unique space. One of the unique pieces we really enjoy is the stain glass windows in the living room that were salvaged from an old church in Montana. We learned that the afternoon light shines through in such a way as to illuminate the living room with beautiful golden light. The house sits on 11 acres with a pond, a barn, a two car garage with an apartment and a three bedroom house with four baths. From the upstairs there are views of the mountains and as she walked us around the property we found many beautiful spots where one could sit for hours and enjoy Gods creation.


Our vision for the property is not unlike the owners’. We hope to set it up as a non-profit and use it as a place where people can come to find rest and rejuvenation. Specifically those who are in ministry, though we would like to have it open for anyone in need. We are continually praying for guidance and provision as we begin to pursue purchasing this property. As this is God's house we know that to be able to buy it God would have to provide, and the property is priced almost $2 million.

We have also been praying that we would be able to by the house by the time our lease is up in July. We know that these are huge requests but also have seen and believe God can move in great ways. Until He closes the door, we will continue to pursue this dream we believe he is leading us to.

We would love to share more with you so if you are in Central Oregon or have a few minutes give us a call.

Love M+L

So it has almost been a year since we posted last. We have decided to be a little more diligent in this as so much is happening and we don't always remember everything when we get to talk with you all. So here it goes.

Almost a year in review...
This last summer, we moved into an apartment in Sisters. If you stand on one leg and lean to the left you can see one of the Sisters mountains form our living room. The apartment is great; it has three bedrooms and two baths and is 1100 sq feet. We have a guest room, so please come visit.

Leslie has been working at Bend Senior High and loves it. The staff and students are great and the drive sure beats I-5 which she used to commute. On her way in the morning the sun is rising and reflecting off the sisters mountains to the right. On her way home the light makes the sisters mountains look pristine.

Matthew is working at Rescue Response Gear, a search and rescue equipment company. He is learning a lot and is able to use many of his skills to help the company. Including saving it from flooding when a pipe burst up the street and flooded into their lot. He made the front page on that one:)

We are both doing search and rescue now, Leslie is still going through the training and Matthew is brushing up.

We have wonderful fellowship within our home group. There are many young couples we have met who have a passion for God and growing in their walk. It is great to be surrounded by likeminded people.

We have enjoyed many outdoor adventures. Snowmobiling with Ben and Ella was our most recent adventure. We had a great time!! The snowmobiles took a beating, but while we where trying to fix one of them we decided to build a snow cave which turned into a snow slide!! If you got a running start at it you could cruse through the tunnel we built. Unfortunately on our way back one of our snowmobiles ran out of gas... Matthew went and got more gas, while Ben started a fire. Ella and Leslie made a snowman and gathered wood for the fire. Wood was hard to find so Ella and Leslie took to breaking down dead trees!! Thankfully Matthew came to the rescue and we made it off the mountain as the sun was setting, it was beautiful.

So winter is almost over, though it could still snow over here up until June. We had the first BBQ of the year over at Alex Cretzingers house. He had just bought mini-bike and the guys wanted to try it out.

Through out the last year we have been constantly provided for, and taken care of by our Heavenly Father. All of our financial needs have been meet every month and even the surprise bills and misadventures, through prayer and hard work have been satisfied. He has also been guiding us through some of the harder work of the heart. Though it has not been easy, He has been faithful to give us the strength to see it through. In this we have been blessed with a deeper character and understanding of dependence on Him. WE ARE SO BLESSED!

Without much detail that is where we have come, and next we want to tell you where we are going...