It Feels Different this Year

Pyle Family Update

It Feels Different this Year As I’m sitting here in shorts and a t-shirt, it’s really hard to believe that it’s December!! It feels a lot more like August! And besides the fact that I have my tree up, it really doesn't feel like Christmas is right around the corner.  I absolutely love Christmas, and from the first day of December, I’m usually filled with excitement for the season! But this year, instead of feeling joyful, I find myself feeling a little bit depressed. This Christmas will be a little different. There will be absolutely no chance of snow on Christmas Eve,  no hopes of waking up to a snow covered ground on Christmas Day. There will be no big family gatherings to attend, no loading up the car to spend the day at grandma and grandpa's. There will be no snuggles from my nieces and nephews as we all gather to read the Christmas story and no annual pictures of all the cousins in matching pj's.  As I sit here listening to Michael Bublé singing Let it Snow and I’ll be Home for Christmas (not sure why I'm torturing myself!), I can’t help but tear up a bit. But as I sit here pining for Christmas’ past, I hear God asking me “Am I enough?" When you strip away everything else about Christmas, "Am I enough?” Wow! That really hit me! I’ve known the truth about Christmas since I could walk but it’s all too easy for that truth to get pushed under the tree and become just a small part of the season. Yes, all the family gatherings, lights, trees and presents are nice and are something to be cherished, but God’s reminding me this year that none of those are what Christmas is truly about! My joy for the season should be found in the baby lying in the manger and nothing else! My main focus should be the birth of a baby, a baby born to set us free and give us eternal life!  So while Christmas does feel very different this year, and while I will still dearly miss spending it with our families, I'm praising God for the reminder that the greatest thing about Christmas will never change no matter where I am! My joy is dependent not on worldly gifts but on the greatest gift of all - Jesus! What's Happening with Freedom! God is good! Freedom has been offered another matching gift! It's our biggest one yet -- $50,000! $50,000 could become $100,000 if this match is met by January 8th. We plan to finish out the apartment building and begin adding the necessary classrooms to start the 2016-2017 school year.  Be a part! Click here to give now to the Building Fund by adding "Match It!" to the comment box. Sunlight Power was here in November and set our apartments up with solar. So thankful for their team and their willingness to serve us! Our Christmas program is next week! Please pray for us as we share the good news about the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ with these kids and their parents! Our interns are invaluable! They further the ministry in many ways. We are looking for both summer and school year long interns for 2016! If you are interested in learning how you could be involved in the lives of others in a meaningful way, click below and send us an email! http://itisforfreedom.com/take-a-trip/internships.html

Thank you all so much for your continued support! We are truly thankful for each and everyone of you! Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! - Galations 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free!

Exciting Things Happening with Freedom!

October 2015 View this email in your browser Pyle Family Update

What's Happening with Freedom!

Exciting news!! We had 3 of our second grade boys accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior last week! Praise the Lord! We are beyond excited to see Rony, Johansse and Jhoan take this step in their lives! Please join us in praying for them as they continue to be discipled and as we walk with them through this journey! Construction continues and so do the beards! In case you haven't heard, Gabe and Josh have vowed not to shave until we move into our new apartments! Let's pray that's sooner than later! The stucco crew continues to work inside and out and interior walls are just about complete. SonLight Power will be here in 2 weeks to install our solar energy system! This is the last week to give toward our $25,000 matching gift. We have until the 31st (Saturday night) to meet this match! Currently, about $5,000 has been raised. If you'd like to help us accomplish this goal, click here, fill out the form and write "Match It" in the comment box!  After months of waiting, our big yellow bus finally made it out of customs and is running the morning route like a pro! What a joy it is to see the result of the many prayers that were lifted up for its release! Praise God! What's Happening with the Pyles! The girls continue to do well in school and are starting to form some close friendships with the other kids! They still have days when they struggle to go but we are seeing a lot of improvement over the last couple months! They are also starting to pick up some Spanish! It's so fun to hear them say "Como tu te llama?", "ven", "mira"  and many other things! I know it won't be long before they know a lot more Spanish than Gabe and I! Speaking of which, please keep praying for us! :) Learning a new language can be very frustrating at times but we know it will all be worth it in the end! You can also keep us in your prayers as we continue to have a lot of "firsts". Our "first" Thanksgiving away from home, our "first" Christmas away from home, our "first" birthdays celebrated away from family and friends, etc. Moments like these can be very hard for us but it's also these moments that cause us to fall a little deeper into the arms of Jesus. It's these moments that our faith becomes stronger and we learn to surrender complete control to Him! Thanks again for your continued prayers and support! We truly couldn't do this without you! God is moving in the DR and you are all a part of it! This song by Kari Jobe has been on repeat for me over the past few weeks and it has become my prayer for Freedom International and the DR. Please join us in praying for our students, their families and all our missionaries! "Holy Spirit, You are welcome here Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere Your glory, God, is what our hearts long for To be overcome by Your presence, Lord"

Busy Summer

This summer was packed full. We had 9 straight weeks of teams. (A total of 151 people!) What an awesome opportunity it’s been week after week to share our lives with them. One of my responsibilities down here is to cook for the teams, which gives me the chance to spend some quality time with them. I’m so thankful for the new friendships that have been formed! Gabe also gets the opportunity to work side by side with some of the team members. Construction is a hot, dirty job but we’ve been truly blessed by some hard workers this summer! They truly gave 110%! The apartment shell is complete and we couldn’t have done it without them! 

It’s also been such a joy to watch the teams work with the kids in our Pre-K 3 & Pre-K 4 classes. Special bonds have been formed and there are always some tears shed when the week is over and goodbyes have to be said. I know that they don’t always see a direct result of their time given down here but, boy are they making a difference in these kids lives! Seeds are being planted! God is truly faithful and we can’t thank Him enough for His provision! Looking forward to fall and a whole new set of teams!

Prayer Requests

    •    Continue to pray for us as we adjust to the culture. We are right smack in the middle of culture shock and we could use the prayers :)

    •    Pray for us as we continue to learn the language. Learning a new language is harder than we expected and it's easy to get discouraged. It's also very frustrating to not be able to understand people so that has been a huge motivator to keep pressing on!

    •    The girls will start school again on September 16th. Prayers appreciated as they continue to adjust.

    •    We still own our house in Berne! Please pray for a quick sale and for patience.

    •    Please also pray for us as we battle days of homesickness. We all have our days. We were so excited to have Gabe's parents visit us! What a wonderful week and a half it was! It was hard to say goodbye.

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Thanks again for all your continued support and prayers! We are so thankful for all of you! We hope to see many of you down here one day! 

We’re Here!

It’s really hard to believe that we’ve been here for a whole month! This month has been packed full of  just trying to get settled. We rented an apartment, purchased furniture, bought a vehicle, started Spanish classes and have jumped into our new roles with Freedom International. The biggest obstacle so far has been adjusting to a new culture. I think culture shock is beginning to hit us all! There are definitely those days when we yearn for the comfort and familiarity of “home”. But God continues to reveal to us that this is where He has called us! A song that I’ve been listening to on repeat this past month is called ‘You have Called me Higher” by All Sons and Daughters. Some of the lyrics read…

And I could hold on

I could hold on to who I am and never let You

Change me from the inside

And I could be safe

I could be safe here in Your arms and never leave home

Never let these walls down

But You have called me higher

You have called me deeper

And I'll go where You will lead me Lord

You have called me higher

You have called me deeper

And I'll go where You lead me Lord

Where You lead me

Where You lead me Lord

This song is such a great reminder that God is calling us all into a deeper, intimate relationship with Him. Our paths will look very different from each other but God is calling us to step out in faith and follow faithfully where He is leading each and every one of us. I’ve spent years building up my own walls, creating a safe zone for what I think my life should look like. God is slowly tearing those walls down and teaching me to trust Him wholeheartedly. And while it’s terrifying at times, I’m realizing that there’s no better place to be than in His will!

Fundraising

We currently stand at 98.4% of our reoccurring monthly income! It takes my breath away and brings me to tears every time I look at that number. A year ago, I never would have imagined that we would be living here in the DR at this point. God continues to show me that nothing is too big for Him! We are so thankful for His provision and for all of you whom He has placed on this journey with us! None of this would be possible without you!

How to Get Involved!

If you are interested in supporting us and becoming part of our team, please visit www.itisforfreedom.com, click on Donate under Invest and choose Pyle from the drop down menu. 

Prayer Requests!

• Please keep Gabe and I in your prayers as we continue with our language classes. Pray for patience and discipline!

• The girls start school on Monday! Please pray for a good first day and that they would make some new friends!

• Pray that we would continue to adjust to our new life in the DR! It’s going to be an ongoing process! 

• Pray that we don't let ourselves become "comfortable" here and that we continue to step out in faith as we follow God's calling in our lives!

One Week Out!

One Week Out!

No seriously, one week! Talk about a mix of emotions! We are beyond excited to finally be joining the Freedom team not just in heart but actually in person. But with that excitement comes a little bit of fear, a lot of stress and a couple (ok maybe a lot) of tears! Tears mostly over the thought of leaving this community and all of you! We've always known we lived in a great community but we are beyond grateful and amazed how this community and even those from far away have poured out their support and love for us! Our support has poured in faster than we could ever imagine and we've felt the power of your prayers time and time again! What an amazing testament that is! We will defiantly miss this community but it will always hold a special place in our hearts!

Fundraising Update

Once again, God continues to remind us of His faithfulness! A week out from leaving, we currently stand at 96% of our reoccurring monthly income! What an amazing journey this has been and I stand in awe of Gods provision! Thank you so much for all your support!

Whats Happening with Freedom!

Exciting things are happening with Freedom! Below are a few highlights from the past few months!

• A school in southern Ohio closed their building and auctioned off everything inside! God provided Freedom with 950 school items ( valued at $100,000 ) for $5,500! Awesome!! 
• Our apartments continue to grow! The third floor is poured which is the floor we will be living on! 
• About 30 new students will join our school on June 16th! If you are interested in sponsoring a child, you can visit our website and click on Sponsorship under Invest.
• Our website got a facelift! Check it out at www.itisforfreedom.com

Prayer Requests

With one week to go, we need a lot of prayer! Please be praying specifically for the requests below!

• Health for our family
• Safe travels
• That God would lead us in the right direction with our house
• In the business of the move, that our focus would remain on God
• Peace for the families we are leaving behind
• Patience for Gabe and I as our whole family adjusts to a new home
• Ava, Blakeley and Karsyn will adjust quickly to their new school
• Language studies

How to Get Involved

If you are interested in supporting us and becoming part of our team, please visit www.itisforfreedom.com , click on Donate under Invest and choose Pyle from the drop down menu.

Thanks again for all your support! We are truly thankful for each and every one of you! Continue to check FB and our blog for updates!

Gabe, Krista, Ava, Blakeley & Karsyn 

Moving Right Along….Literally!!

Yesterday we purchased our one-way tickets to the Dominican Republic! Talk about things getting real! We are so excited to be this close to moving but also realize that we have a lot to do over the next few months! We have had a slight change of plans on our leave date. We originally planned to leave June 1st but our support has been coming in faster than we ever expected so we’ve moved the date up a bit to May 12th! That’s less than 3 months away! Talk about a small panic attack  :)

Please keep us in your prayers over the next few months as we prepare for the move. We have a lot of packing, selling and storing to do. We will be putting our house on the market in about a month, so please pray that God sends the right buyer along. (If you are looking for a home, let us know!) We also have our residency paperwork to complete, passports to get for the girls, shots, medical appointments and more. Please pray for sanity for all of us as we prepare for this big, but exciting change in our lives!!

By our leave date (May 12th), we need to be at 85% of our reoccurring monthly income. (Although we would love to be at 100%!)  We currently stand at 77%. We've set a goal to be at 80% by the end of February. 

We also stand at 100% of our start-up costs! God is so faithful to provide! We are so thankful for all the prayers and support we have already received and ask that you prayerfully consider joining us on this journey!

If you are interested in supporting us and becoming part of our team, please visit www.itisforfreedom.com, click on Donate under Invest and choose Pyle from the drop down menu.

Gabe’s Trip to the DR 

Gabe just returned from a week long work trip to Freedom. He went with a group of 13 people. It was really exciting for Gabe to be able to reconnect with everyone down there. It reconfirmed our calling from God to be a part of this team. He really did not want to come back!  He would of much preferred the girls and I join him down there. :) (The fact that it was about 80 degrees warmer down there might have played a small role in him not wanting to come back!) 

While down there, Gabe worked on an exciting project…..our new home! Freedom is currently building an 8-unit apartment building. The apartments will house all 5 missionary families, work teams and interns. We are very excited that we will soon be able to live on the Freedom Campus! We currently have a $34,000 match toward our building project. We have until February 28th to double it up! If you are interested in giving, you can visit www.itisforfreedom.com/Donate to donate.

Working on our new home!

The group that Gabe went down with.