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.

Looking Ahead to 2015!

Wow! I can’t even describe all the emotions that run through my head when I think about 2015. There is genuine excitement for the changes that this year will bring. We felt God calling us to the DR back in December of 2013 and now to be standing just 6 short months from it seems surreal! But with that excitement, fear also creeps in. I have to admit, I enjoy being comfortable. I’ve spent years building walls around my perfect little life and now, to watch God tear those down and ask me to step out of my comfort zone…well to be honest, it brings on some anxiety!! But God has revealed Himself to me in some amazing ways over the past couple years. And I’ve come to this conclusion….God doesn’t call us to be comfortable! I read the book ‘Crazy Love’ by Francis Chan a few years back. If you want a slap in the face, this is the book to read! This quote from that book really speaks to me!

“But God doesn't call us to be comfortable. He calls us to trust Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if He doesn't come through.” 

You don’t have to move to the DR to be uncomfortable. God’s plan for my life looks much different than yours! But He has a plan and purpose for each of us and I believe He is calling each one of us to step out of our comfort zone and get uncomfortable! Francis Chan says it again so well!

“It is true that God may have called you to be exactly where you are. But, it is absolutely vital to grasp that He didn’t call you there so you could settle in and live your life in comfort and superficial peace.” 

Is moving to a foreign country far from family and friends going to be easy? No. Are there going to be hard times? Yes! But I’ve come to find that the best place I can be is inside of God’s will. I heard this on the radio awhile back and it’s stuck with me. “Complete surrender to God's will leads to complete security”. 

So here’s to a year of being ‘uncomfortable’! I pray that we are all willing to step out of our comfort zone and step into God’s will for our lives. 

Fundraising Update:

Our goal was to be at 60% of our monthly budget by the end of 2014 and we currently stand at 61%! Praise God!! Our next goal is to be at 65% by the end of January. We also stand at 79% of start-up costs! 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.

Happy New Year from the Pyles!

November Update!

Pyle Family  Update

It’s hard to believe that it’s been nearly a year since Gabe boarded a plane to the Dominican Republic for a one week work trip to Freedom. Crazy how that one trip completely flipped our lives upside down. I felt God telling me weeks before Gabe left that it would change our lives in one way or another but I really had no idea that it would involve moving down to the DR to join the Freedom team! Looking back, it’s been a crazy, emotional year. But I stand amazed at God’s faithfulness and provision! Each and everyday, He continues to break our hearts for this ministry and the people we are ministering to and our hearts ache to be physically down there! 

You have been asking when we plan to leave and we are excited to say we have officially set a date. That date is June 1, 2015! Having a date set makes it all seem a little more real! We need to be at 90% of our monthly budget before we leave. 

We currently stand at 48% of our monthly budget and 51% of our start-up costs! This just blows me away considering we started our fundraising only 7 short months ago! So first of all, we just want to say a big thank you to everyone that’s already pledged/given and also to everyone for the prayers! Secondly, we ask that you continue to prayerfully consider becoming part of this ministry and joining our team! We would like to be at 55% of our goal by the end of November! If you are interested in supporting us, please visit  www.itisforfreedom.com, click on Donate under Invest and choose Pyle from the drop down menu. While any gift is much appreciated, signing up for monthly donations makes it easier for us to have a steady income. We are looking for monthly donations of $20, $25, $50 and $100 or more.

What's Happening with Freedom

The search for a third vehicle begins!

A donor offered us a matching gift of $20,000 that will allow us to to purchase a third vehicle. We needed to meet this match by October 22nd and we did! Praise God! We currently transport 90 kids to and from school with only 2 vehicles. Our bus seats 29 and the safari truck has two long benches. These kids are really packed in! A third vehicle will come in very handy as our school continues to grow and we will be transporting 120 kids at the beginning of our next school year! 

6 classrooms almost complete!

We are currently using four classrooms. Three of these classrooms are used for students and one is used as a kitchen/office area. We hope to wrap up two more classrooms on the first level of the building soon so we can move over and begin construction on our apartments. We are all looking forward to being on the same campus as the school!

Meet the newest Freedom team member! 

 Arisleyda is the newest member to join our Freedom team! She joins Angie as a co-teacher in the kindergarten class. Arisleyda has been a big blessing to Angie and our kindergartners. Our students are so starved for attention, and Arisleyda has jumped right in to invest her love and time with these kids. She actively seeks out ways to pull in those children that seem to “fall through the cracks”. She desires success for each one of them. 

How You Can Pray for Us:

• We have several speaking engagements coming up and would appreciate prayers
• For patience as we wait here in the US for our funds to come in
• For God to touch the right people’s hearts to join our financial team

Thank you for all your support! 

Gabe, Krista, Ava, Blakeley & Karsyn 

“it is for Freedom that Christ has set us Free!” Galatians 5:1

Quick Update!

I just wanted to give you guys a quick update of where we currently stand and also share some new things that are going on with Freedom!

We currently stand at 42% of our yearly goal! It’s crazy to think that we started the fundraising process only 6 months ago and already we are so close to being half way there! God is good! We are so grateful for each one of you that has partnered with us financially! We can’t say it enough. You are all as much a part of Freedom as we are and we know that God is going to do amazing things through your generous gifts! None of this would be possible without all of you! We would love to see 2 new monthly donors join our team by October 1st. Please continue to pray and prayerfully consider joining us on this journey! You can donate by visiting www.itisforfreedom.com and clicking on Donate under Invest and choosing ‘Pyle’ from the drop down menu.

I’m not sure if I've mentioned it before but besides our yearly income, we also need to raise $40,000 in start-up costs. This $40,000 will go towards a down-payment on our apartment plus 3 months rent, furniture, language school for Gabe and I and a vehicle. Any one-time gifts at this point are going toward this $40,000. We currently stand at 40% of our start-up costs! A big thank you to everyone for those special gifts! I'm just amazed at how fast that is coming in and how God is providing! 

As for Freedom, we started our second quarter for the 2014-2015 school year last Wednesday. This comes after a one month break for staff furloughs. Gabe and I had a chance to visit with several of the Freedom families while they were in the states and it was so good to reconnect with them and hear first hand all that God is doing!

Construction also continues and our school building now has four school rooms, a large entryway and two restrooms (a boys room and a girls room). We were also able to secure the school with steel doors and bars on the windows. The campus has also been secured with 3,000 feet of chain-link fence including a sliding entry gate measuring 35 feet long! 

Something really exciting going on right now is that solar power is being installed at the school! Through the power company, we only have about six hours of power a day on the land (a few hours in the morning and a few in the evening). The Lord has provided an electrician and a crew of experienced installers from Sonlight Power to install it for us! Solar is going to be a good option for us to have reliable power and will change the school experience for our students!

Josh Simos, one of our Freedom missionaries, is back in the states this week having surgery done on his shoulder. He will be in the states for about a week while his wife and 3 kids remain in the DR. Please pray for a speedy recovery for Josh. Please also keep his family in your prayers!

If you are interested in learning more about Freedom and what we are doing in the DR, we would love to meet with you! We’d also be more than happy to talk at your church, sunday school class or small group. You can either Facebook me or send me an email if you’d like to set something up! (krista_pyle@itisforfreedom.com)

We are so thankful for each and everyone of you and the prayers that you have offered up on our behalf! Please continue to keep us in your prayers! Please also pray for Freedom and that God would continue to use us to further His Kingdom.

Krista 

August Newsletter

August Newsletter View this email in your browser

Pyle Family Update

Fundraising - Mini Goal We currently stand at almost 39% of our monthly budget! We are setting a mini goal for the last week of August. We would love to be at 45% by September 1st. We need to be at 90% of our monthly budget in order to actually pack up and move down to the DR. 45% would put us at the half way mark! Wow! That is just crazy to think about! 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! 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. While any gift is much appreciated, signing up for monthly donations makes it easier for us to have a steady income. We are looking for monthly donations of $20, $25, $50 and $100 or more. Celebrating the last day of school this quarter!  Pyle Summer This month has flown by! August held a few important dates for us! Here's what we've been up to! Ava started Kindergarten! South Adams offers all day Kindergarten so it's taken a while to get used to her being gone all day! Blakeley and Karsyn are very happy to see her at the end of the day. :) She says her favorite thing about Kindergarten so far is computer class. Ava also celebrated her 6th birthday on August 16th. There's something about 6 that just makes her seem so much more grown up. We celebrated with a party at the Berne Pool!  Gabe and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary on August 21st! Wow! Where has the time gone?! We will be leaving Friday for a mini get-away to St. Louis! I'm so excited for a kid-free weekend :) Click here for video Click on the picture above to see a video about why we love our new school! One Quarter in the Books! It's hard to believe that we've completed the first quarter of the 2014-2015 school year! While there have been many adjustments, we have truly loved being able to teach these kids in our very own school building! Exciting things are happening at Freedom! We are living inside one big miracle - God is providing financially, students are being sponsored, the building is going up, lives are changing on the ground and so much more! Please continue to keep Freedom and everyone involved in your prayers. It's amazing to see how God is working in the DR and we can't wait to see what He has in store for the future!

You can keep up with us on Freedom's FB page or by following our family blog. We will be speaking at several churches over the next couple months and sharing what God has laid on our hearts. Please keep us in your prayers as we prepare for that and that God would speak through us. Gabe, Krista, Ava, Karsyn & Blakeley   Mission:  Freedom equips people to engage culture according to their design. Vision: Freedom develops life-changing relationships with those most unlikely so                that they become catalysts for change with in the Dominican Republic.

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Waiting

Waiting. It’s definitely not one of my strengths. I’m more of an ‘instant results’ kinda girl. So as you can imagine, this whole fundraising process (it definitely involves waiting!) has been a faith builder for me. It’s really easy for me to get discouraged. We know that God is calling us to the DR so I just want to pack up and get down there asap! It’s really hard to watch all the wonderful things happening with Freedom as we sit over 3,000 miles away in Berne, IN. 

First Mennonite Church recently had 30+ people go down for a week long mission trip. Several of our friends were on this trip and as they posted pictures on Facebook, Gabe and I both looked at each other and thought “it’s no fair!” We so wanted to hop on the plane and head down with them.

But as I was lifting my discouragement and frustrations to the Lord the other night, He randomly brought a song to mind. (I love how God speaks to us!) The song is called “While I’m Waiting” by John Waller. I went to YouTube to listen to it and it really touched my heart. Here are some of the lyrics. (I've also posted the video below)

While I’m waiting, I will serve you

While I’m waiting, I will worship

While I’m waiting, I will not faint

I’ll be running the race, even while I wait

When we are waiting for something to happen, it’s easy to just be idle. We know God is calling us to the DR but that doesn’t mean we can’t be active here while we are waiting. God still has a purpose for us here, and that’s why we are waiting. So while I’m waiting to join the Freedom team in the DR, I will serve God right here where I am. While I’m waiting, I will worship the Lord Almighty! It’s easy to be discouraged during this process but I can’t forget what all He has already provided and done! He has already provided 35% of our yearly budget and 20% of our start up costs! That is just amazing in itself! So instead of being discouraged about how far we have to go, I will worship Him for everything that He has already provided!!

I’m also reminded that God’s timing is perfect. He knows when we will be in the Dominican. I can only see right in front of me but God, He’s already there. I just have to trust Him daily and take those bold steps of faith. He is using this waiting period to prepare our hearts for the ministry He has in store for us. I love these verses on waiting on the Lord!

Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD. ~Psalms 27:14

Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. ~ Psalms 33:20

I wait for the LORD, my soul does wait, And in His word do I hope. ~ Psalms 130:5

"The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I have hope in Him." The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the person who seeks Him. It is good that he waits silently For the salvation of the LORD. ~ Lamentations 3:34-36

But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. ~Isaiah 40:31

So while waiting is not one of my favorite things, I will wait on the Lord and serve and worship Him right where I am!

Have a blessed day everyone!

Pyle Family Newsletter

Check out our Pyle Family Newsletter! We will be sending one out every month. If you want to receive our newsletters, you can email me at kristapyle@itisforfreedom.com and we will get you added to our list! Pyle Family Update

Fundraising Well we reached our goal! We wanted to get to 30% by the end of June and we did it! We currently stand at 34%. Praise God! Thank you to everyone who has supported us financially and we ask that you continue to keep us in your prayers. 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. Pray for us! I’ve been reminded countless times through this process how powerful prayer is! Please keep us in your prayers as even now we prepare our hearts to serve God in the Dominican Republic! We are so anxious to get down there and physically be a part of the team. We continue to ask that you prayerfully consider joining our support team. We know and trust that God will provide! Our new bus! Pyle Summer This summer has been a busy one for the Pyle Family! Here are a few events that have kept us running from one event to the next! Ava registered for Kindergarten and will begin this fall at South Adams! I can’t believe we are already at this stage in our lives! Not sure this momma is ready for that! Karsyn and Blakeley will both attend Pre-School at First Mennonite Church for 3 mornings a week. My sister, Erin, got married to Matt Rupp on May 24th. I was in the wedding as well as all 3 of the girls. As you can imagine, they loved every minute of that! The girls attended 2 Summer Bible School programs. Ava enjoyed her first year of T-Ball. She especially loved that her daddy was the coach! All 3 girls took swim lessons this year at the Berne Pool! They are quickly becoming quite the little swimmers! Gabe and I enjoyed a kid-free weekend in Michigan visiting some dear friends! It was nice to have a short break and be able to reconnect with each other. Gabe is currently working on flipping a house with a friend. This keeps him very busy and we are all ready for it to be done! The kids in their new classroom!  New Beginnings The 2013-2014 school year ended in May and the new year (2014 - 2015) began June 9th. Along with our pre-K3, pre-K4 and kindergarten classes, we have now added 1st grade to the mix! In the past, school has been held in churches in one of the bateys we work in but we are so excited to announce that we began this year in our very own school building! Above is a photo of the kids in one of the classrooms. We currently have 3 classrooms and a lunch area completed but there is still much to be done! More floors and ceilings are being poured as well as plumbing and much more! We have about 120 students enrolled this year and were in dire need of a second Freedom vehicle to transport kids. God is so faithful and provided us with just that! (photo of the bus on the left)

You can keep up with us on Freedom's FB page or by following our family blog. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we continue to take these steps of faith! We are so excited to get down to the DR and begin the work God has laid before us! Gabe, Krista, Ava, Karsyn & Blakeley Mission:  Freedom equips people to engage culture according to their design. Vision: Freedom develops life-changing relationships with those most unlikely so                that they become catalysts for change with in the Dominican Republic.