Okay, so I (Leslie) have learned that updating a blog is not something that comes naturally to me, it is however something Matthew and I appointed to me. I am much better at short updates, thanks to the encouragement of Uncle John I will try not to feel pressure to write long updates. So here is goes...

While at lifelines training, which seems like ages ago now, I was amazed at how much I learned about myself. I went to the training hoping to gain tools to use to evangelize to College students, which I did, but there was so much more.

I was unable to participate in all of the sessions, being a mom and all, but the ones I did were refreshing. It was refreshing to be with people who are discussing living life for Christ, the good, bad, and the ugly. It was refreshing to hear people be real. It truly happens so rarely. In fact I feel I am often not as real as I could be. I wonder the growth I am missing out on by not being real...

Well, being real. One of the times I didn't make it so a session, I was reading through the handbook and the question was posed: What do you Subjectively believe about yourself? Wow, my list was awful. Here is it; you are not smart enough, not athletic enough, not outdoorsy enough, not fun enough, not a good mom, not a good wife, and God has nothing special planned for your life!! Oh my!

Now what... Well I don't know that I know what to do now, but it was eye opening to realize what was going on in my internal monologue. I am not even sure where all that came from, I know I haven't always believed it, so when did it creep in?

So I shared with Matthew what I learned and ended up having a great discussion about how the lies I believe have recently been impacted our marriage. Though we couldn't put our finger on it before we now realize that I have been living hopeless, what a sad impact that has had.

This post is just for the fun of it...

On our drive these are the things we saw:

Eagle
Bobcat (dead)
Marmot
Wild turkey
Yack (in someones pasture)
Antelope

So the lady at DMV says "Some people drink, some people eat, others get mad and then there are some that laugh". So Matthew laughs. This was said after we learned that somehow the car we bought in Washington with a clean title, was registered in Oregon as a reconstructed title... Um... How does that happen!!

Not much we could do before leaving for Colorado since we found this out the day before we were to leave! So we packed up and left.

On the way to Colorado the sun roof stopped working (bummer!), the drivers side rear door stopped opening from the inside (Leslie got stuck in the back), the passengers side rear window wouldn't roll down all the way... All cosmetic issues so they didn't bother us much. Well except the sun roof!

On the way home from Colorado. About an hour into our 21 hour drive we heard an aweful noise and the oil pressure gauge kept dropping!! NO GOOD!! So we stopped got some oil and dinner and gas and started texting people to pray for our car. Thank you for your prayers.

As we continued to drive we joked about how the last "long trip" we took our other car died and left us stranded and maybe we would find ourself in a similar situation this time. What did the lady at DMV say... We laughed. Here's to adventure!

Matthew figured out that the noise was our brakes and as we continued to drive it got a little better. Though the oil pressure gauge continued to have issues. We still don't know if it is the gauges problem or a problem with the engine itself.

As the noise from the breaks died down it was replaced with a new more disturbing noise. So we prayed, and prayed, and prayed... 21 miles later we are home!! Praise the Lord!!

Though we haven't taken the car in to figure out all that happened to it on our 3,000 mile journey, we made it home and for that we are thankful!

As time drew near for us to leave for Colorado we were waiting to see if the Lord would provide enough support for us to fly or to drive.

Days before we left we had just enough money to drive.

Excited to see what the Lord had planned we packed up and began our drive Thursday night. About half way through our trip to Colorado it we realized that our gas milage was not as good as we thought and the trip was going to be more expensive than we had the money for. So we prayed, trusted God and kept on going. Once in Colorado it got hot, and our airconditioning was not working. by afternoon we couldn't keep Neva cool enough and we needed to stop. By this time we were in Grand Junction Colorado. We stopped at the first hotel we saw and it ended up that it was going to cost us $150.00 to stay there for the night. We needed to stop, so we tried to figure out how we could work it into our budget.

Neva was lathargic and red faced when we got her out of the car. Once we got into our airconditioned room she came to life. It made me (Leslie) so happy to see her crawling around laughing and playing. We made the right decision.

So we went and got food, came back to our room and we were all in bed by 5pm and didn't get up till 8am the next morning!! So good!!

When we got up the next morning and began to pack we recieved a text that some friends of ours were going to support us for $250.00!! This would cover the room and we would later figure out that the extra amount was just enough to cover the extra cost of gas to get us all the way back to Sisters!!

Praise the Lord, he didn't give more or less than what we needed, he gave us just enough.

Thank you Lord.

Worry, something I have struggled with for a very long time. Over the last few years it has gotten better, I have gained much of my freedom from worry by having an amazing husband. Now is the next step... Matthew confronted me on my worry and how, though it is better, it sometimes limits us in what we can accomplish for God. It is SIN! So here I am confronting something I continue to fight, and trying to find the weapons to fight it. I would appriciate your prayers.

On a different note, Neva will be 1 year old in 2 days!! So exciting!! It is amazing all that she has learned and how much she has changed in a year.

The last couple nights we have been teaching Neva to put herself to sleep.  Something she has been doing off an on, but now we are expecting a little more of her.  Which means some crying is involved.  It is hard on Matthew and my heart to hear her cry so we pray.  It was amazing to see how God answered our prayers. 

As I (Leslie) sat in bed the other night I prayed that God would protect Neva from spiritual, emotional, physical, and mental harm and attack while she is in bed crying.  I prayed that He would teach her how to lay down from her sitting up potition (which we usually find her in when we go in to remind her it is bed time).  I prayed that He would comfort her, and love on her, and meet her where she was at.  As I prayed she got quieter and when I finished she was asleep, it was 8:30pm. 

Last night Matthew and I lay her down and initially she was out because she was so tired.  Then she woke with a poopy diaper,  so Matthew cleaned her up said night night, lay her down and she began to cry.  So after about 30 minutes of crying our hearts needed to talk to God.  So we stopped held hands and prayed for our little girl a similar prayer to what I prayed the night before.  We finished praying and Neva had quieted.  10 minutes later she was asleep, at 7:30pm. 
Though it has been hard to listen to Neva cry, it has brought Matthew and I closer and it has drawn us closer to God.  Thank you Lord for this difficult time.

Through this I have also found renewed desire to pray so I start my day with prayer and Matthew and I end our day with prayer.

Matthew's sister is in town for a couple weeks and we had her over for dinner last night.  It was so good to see her.  Of course within moments of Matthew arriving home they began an intense conversation which lasted through dinner and on into our card game.  Love it!  What is famliy for if not to challenge your way of thinking. 

Garage sale next weekend at our place, if you are around.  We hope to sell a few more things to pay down debt...

In other news, Neva is pulling herself up, unfortunatly once she is standing she can't always figure out how to get back down:).

Matthew has an ATV training this weekend for SAR (Search and Rescue).

I had my first cup of caffinated coffee in 20 months and I feel ill!!

We are getting ready for Neva's 1st birthday, I found a gluten free dairy free chocolate cake I am going to try.  I hope to sew Neva her present, if I can get my sewing maschine to work. 

So much has happened. We have a little girl Neva Ann, who will be a year old this month!! For almost a year we have been renting a couple rooms and living with a friend of ours in Sisters. Leslie has spent her first year as a stay at home mom, which has been challenging. Matthew is working for Rescue Response Gear and loves it. We have been working for two years to pay off all our debt and we are 80% there! We are now trying to sell Matthews Jeep, snow mobile and Odyssey to pay off more debt. This June we are headed to a training in Colorado for Campus Crusade for Christ's Life Lines ministry. Matthew will we working part time for them this coming fall. Recently our "reliable" car died and we were thankful to have an emergency fund so we could buy a replacment. This weekend I will go to Portland to pick it up. It is a Trooper, we have been so impressed with Matthew's other trooper which is still going at 280,000 miles, that we wanted another one! It is also a little bit more spacious since we have a baby. Off to get something done now that Neva is napping...

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!