I want to start out by thanking you all again for your prayers and financial support! I know I say it a lot but I really can't say it enough! None of this would be possible without all of you standing behind us and we are so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends! Well, I promised you the story of how we got where we are today and I'm finally getting around to writing it!
Our journey with Freedom began only 5 short months ago but I'd have to say God has been preparing us for this journey for several years now.
Gabe and I both felt God tugging at our hearts the past couple years. We felt like He was calling us in a new direction but we just didn't know what He had planned. Gabe began to have a heart for children in difficult situations and shared with me that he felt that we should look into fostering, or even possibly adoption. I wasn't quite on board with this at first. We had been blessed with 3 beautiful girls but I was still holding out for one more of our own.
In November of 2012, Gabe and I were pleasantly surprised (well it might of been more pleasant for me than Gabe!) to find out that we would be welcoming baby Pyle #4 to our family in July of 2013. Gabe had been set on just having 3 of our own and I knew if we were going to have a fourth, it would have to be an act of God :) So when the pregnancy test showed positive, I just knew this baby was meant to be. Our thoughts of fostering and adoption were shoved off to the side as we knew we would have our hands full with a newborn for the next couple years. But as my 12 week appointment neared, we experienced one of the most difficult things we've ever faced. At 11 weeks, I started bleeding. We went in to the doctor the next morning and heard the gut wrenching news that I had miscarried our sweet little baby. I was in shock. Why would God have answered my prayer just to allow it to be taken away in 12 short weeks? I never doubted God's love but I was devastated at the loss and confused. A week or two after the miscarriage, I was driving to one of my follow up appointments ( I was by myself ) and I was in tears and just crying out to God. It was then that I experienced God's presence like never before. It was like He was literally sitting in the passenger seat next to me and I could hear Him say "It's going to be okay. I have things planned for 2013 that you never could have imagined." Wow! What a comfort and great reminder that God's ways are far above any of our own. There are so many things in this life that we will never understand this side of heaven but one thing I do know is that God is the Great I Am. I just have to trust in who He is. Although I still had many tears following that day, I was so excited to see what God had in store for us.
I ended up experiencing several medical set backs with my miscarriage. I never imagined I would be dealing with complications from it for 6 months. It wasn't until July that everything was finally all cleared up. Those 6 months really strengthened my faith and trust in God. I'm a huge worrywart and tend to let that get in the way of letting go and giving God full control. I believe He was teaching me to sit back, let go of the reigns and let Him guide me during those 6 months. After many ultrasounds and a biopsy (which came back clear...Praise God!) the nightmare was finally over. During those 6 months, Gabe had brought adoption back up and felt strongly that we should seriously consider it. At first I was very against it. We had just lost our baby and I really wanted another one of our own. But over the next few months, God began to soften my heart and we began looking into international adoption. I'll never understand why my baby was taken from me but I felt like God was calling me to reach out and help other children in need. So we began the process of looking into adoption agencies.
Toward the end of July, Tom Sprunger approached Gabe and asked him if he would like to be a part of a mission team that was heading down to the Dominican Republic. They would be working with Freedom International and helping them build a school. One of my best friends, Katie Cline, is part of this organization in the DR along with her husband Kurt so we were some what familiar with Freedom. Gabe said he would think about it and admitted later that he tried to come up with any excuse that would allow him not to go, but God kept laying on his heart that he needed to be a part of this team. So in November of 2013, Gabe headed down to the Dominican. Before he left, I could sense God telling me that this trip was in some way or form going to change our lives. As you all know, Freedom International works with the children who live in the sugarcane bateyes. Because of that, I thought this would further confirm are calling to adopt/foster. After 2 short days of being in the DR, Gabe sent me an email and just by reading it, I knew God was doing something powerful in his life. When he came home, I could see a passion in his heart for this ministry. He went back to work but felt like this chapter of his life had come to an end and was being called to start a new one. He text me from work a couple days later and said that we needed to talk. That night he told me that he really felt like God was calling us down to the DR to be missionaries and join the Freedom team. Wow! Much to my surprise, I responded with "ok!". I'm positive that a few years ago that would have not been my response, but through many difficult situations, God had been molding me and shaping me to prepare my heart for this journey! So two weeks before the end of 2013, I started to see what God was talking about back in January when He told me to trust Him! He was right, I could of never in a thousand years we would be standing where we are today but I am so excited to take this leap of faith with Him and allow Him to continue to mold me and shape me into the person He created me to be!
So that is our story in a nutshell! And you all know the rest of the story :) We are now officially part of the Freedom team and looking forward to the day when we can join them in the DR! We again thank you for all your prayers and support! If you are interested in supporting us finically, just click on the Donate button on the right side of this page. We love you all and are so grateful for all your support!
Krista
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Saturday, May 3, 2014
Moving Right Along!
I just wanted to give you all a quick update on where we currently stand. So far, we have raised 15% of our goal! That is awesome! God never ceases to amaze me :) I want to say a BIG "Thank-You" to everyone who has already partnered with us financially. We are so honored to have you on this journey with us and we can't wait to see what God is going to do in the Dominican through your generous gifts!
I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but our target date for leaving is around this time next year (May 2015). In order to reach our goal, we will need to bring in about $1000 a week. I know that sounds like a lot but when you break it down, it's actually very reachable! Here are a few examples of how we can reach this weekly goal.
We ask that you would continue to prayerfully consider joining our team and supporting our family as we head down to the DR. If you decide to give, all you have to do is click on the 'Donate' button on the right side of the blog and it will take you directly to our site.
If any of you would like to learn more about the ministry and what we would be doing down there, we would love to meet with you! Just give us a call or send us an email and we will find a time to sit down and chat :)
We are so blessed to have all of you praying for and encouraging us as we walk on this journey! Your prayers and words of encouragement have been felt and are truly appreciated! We love you all!
Krista
I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but our target date for leaving is around this time next year (May 2015). In order to reach our goal, we will need to bring in about $1000 a week. I know that sounds like a lot but when you break it down, it's actually very reachable! Here are a few examples of how we can reach this weekly goal.
- 4 people committing to $25/month
- 5 people committing to $20/month
- 2 people committing to $25/month and 1 person committing to $50/month
- 9 people committing to $10 month
- 1 person at $50/month and 4 people committing to $10/month
We ask that you would continue to prayerfully consider joining our team and supporting our family as we head down to the DR. If you decide to give, all you have to do is click on the 'Donate' button on the right side of the blog and it will take you directly to our site.
If any of you would like to learn more about the ministry and what we would be doing down there, we would love to meet with you! Just give us a call or send us an email and we will find a time to sit down and chat :)
We are so blessed to have all of you praying for and encouraging us as we walk on this journey! Your prayers and words of encouragement have been felt and are truly appreciated! We love you all!
Krista
Monday, April 14, 2014
We Need You!
Many of you have been expressing that you are interested in supporting us.
Well most importantly you can pray for us! There is so much power in prayer and we have already felt it’s presence in our lives. One thing that has always amazed us about the community of Berne and the people that live here is how quickly people are to surround someone with prayer in a time of need and lift them up to the Lord. We can’t count how many people have already told us that we are in their prayers and we’ve felt the power and presence of those prayers in our lives. Please continue to pray for us as we raise our support and begin the process of making the ‘big’ move. We know that if God is calling us to the DR, then He will provide! Please also pray for our girls as this will be a hard transition for them and also for our families that we will be leaving behind. Pray for us as we go through our language study and begin the process of learning Spanish. We pray that you would also lift the ministry up in prayer and that God would continue to use them to further His Kingdom. Freedoms plan is to begin the 2014-2015 school year in the new school building so please be in prayer for that!
Secondly, none of this would be possible without your financial support. It’s very humbling for us to ask our friends and family to support us. But God keeps reminding us of something; He has created some to go and He has created some to send. Neither role would be possible without the other. So we ask that you would prayerfully consider walking beside us on this journey and supporting our family as we head down to the Dominican Republic. We hope to be able to go as soon as possible and our departure date depends on how quickly we can raise our financial support. Our family is looking for monthly supporters at $10, $25, $50, $100 and $200. While one time gifts are greatly appreciated, monthly gifts make it possible for us to have a more stable income. If you would like to be part of the ‘Pyle Team’, you can either give online or by check. While we haven't left yet, you can begin your monthly gifts immediately. This money will go toward our start up costs.
Online:
1. Visit www.itisforfreedom.com
2. Select Our Team(at top) 3. Choose the Pyle Family
4. Choose ‘Click Here” under Invest
5. Select monthly or annual
Freedom International Ministries
P.O. Box 92
Noblesville, IN 46061
We once again thank you for the love and support you have already given us and want to thank you in advance for making it possible to share Christ with those in the DR. God is working in amazing ways in the Dominican Republic and we are so excited to be a part of it and would love for you to join us on this journey of faith!
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Our Trip to the DR
So I'm finally finding the time to sit down and write about our trip! We had an amazing week in the Dominican Republic visiting Freedom International Ministries. The families down there all welcomed us with open arms and we enjoyed our time getting to know each of them. It was especially wonderful to see Katie Cline and her adorable growing belly! The week flew by and while I was not ready to leave the 90 degree weather, I was most definitely ready to get home to my girls! I'm so thankful for our wonderful families who gave up their time to watch the girls while we were gone. I think it's safe to say the girls were slightly spoiled :)
I want to start off by thanking you all for your prayers while we were gone. They were definitely felt right from the start. I was so nervous about the plane ride but once we got on and took off, I actually enjoyed it...for the most part :) We witnessed the most beautiful sunrise and I was reminded of God's presence and faithfulness in our lives.
Gabe and I arrived in the Dominican late Tuesday afternoon. The first night we just settled in and spent an evening with Jason Hilgeman (president of Freedom International) and his wife Pam and their 3 boys. We got to learn a little more about the ministry down there and what they are doing and also what they are envisioning for the future.
So who exactly is Freedom International? Here's a very brief explanation of who they are and what they do.
Freedom International believes in "Equipping people to engage culture according to their design."
Freedom International Ministries works in the Haitian sugarcane villages (called bateyes) in the Dominican Republic with a focus on creating disciples that can use their gifts and abilities to glorify God. They are invested in long-term impact through life on life discipleship. They use many tools to implement their vision including a bilingual Christian School, VBS, English, short-term teams and interns. They want to equip people to go back into their communities and impact their culture for Christ.
The vision of Freedom is to develop life-changing relationships with those most unlikely so that they might become catalysts for change within the Dominican Republic.
Freedom believes that there is no other tool that provides contact time like a school provides. From preschool to 12th grade, a student will spend over 18,00 hours at school. Coupled with the Christian way of thinking and godly teachers that love the children, lives will be changed. And this is where I spent most of my time in the Dominican. Freedom currently has 3 grades - Pre-K 3, Pre-K 4 and Kindergarten. I got the privilege of spending time in all 3 classes. While communicating was a bit of a struggle since most of them do not speak much English (not yet anyways!), it was such an amazing experience to be able to interact with them through play, music and teaching. They love to have their picture taken as you can see from the images below :)
They currently meet in two local church buildings that are located in one of the bateyes (Lima) they work in. But God has been providing for them in amazing ways! He has provided the funds for them to begin building their own school building. When completed, the three story school will contain 72 classrooms which will be able to accommodate 1800 students! They started in 2012 with just Pre-K 3 and just over 20 students and are finishing this year up with 90 students! They currently have 120 students enrolled for the 2014-2015 school year and will be adding 1st grade to the mix. Below is a print of what the school will look like. The section highlighted is what is currently under construction.
Gabe spent most of his time working on building the school. He had previously made a trip down to Freedom International back in December 2013. It was so exciting for him to go back and see the progress of the school since then. The goal is to have 4 classrooms completed by June so they can start the new school year in the new building!
I want to start off by thanking you all for your prayers while we were gone. They were definitely felt right from the start. I was so nervous about the plane ride but once we got on and took off, I actually enjoyed it...for the most part :) We witnessed the most beautiful sunrise and I was reminded of God's presence and faithfulness in our lives.
Gabe and I arrived in the Dominican late Tuesday afternoon. The first night we just settled in and spent an evening with Jason Hilgeman (president of Freedom International) and his wife Pam and their 3 boys. We got to learn a little more about the ministry down there and what they are doing and also what they are envisioning for the future.
So who exactly is Freedom International? Here's a very brief explanation of who they are and what they do.
Freedom International believes in "Equipping people to engage culture according to their design."
Freedom International Ministries works in the Haitian sugarcane villages (called bateyes) in the Dominican Republic with a focus on creating disciples that can use their gifts and abilities to glorify God. They are invested in long-term impact through life on life discipleship. They use many tools to implement their vision including a bilingual Christian School, VBS, English, short-term teams and interns. They want to equip people to go back into their communities and impact their culture for Christ.
The vision of Freedom is to develop life-changing relationships with those most unlikely so that they might become catalysts for change within the Dominican Republic.
Freedom believes that there is no other tool that provides contact time like a school provides. From preschool to 12th grade, a student will spend over 18,00 hours at school. Coupled with the Christian way of thinking and godly teachers that love the children, lives will be changed. And this is where I spent most of my time in the Dominican. Freedom currently has 3 grades - Pre-K 3, Pre-K 4 and Kindergarten. I got the privilege of spending time in all 3 classes. While communicating was a bit of a struggle since most of them do not speak much English (not yet anyways!), it was such an amazing experience to be able to interact with them through play, music and teaching. They love to have their picture taken as you can see from the images below :)
The little boy in front is Deivi. He is 3 years old and one intense, tough cookie! I spent most of the school day on Thursday with him and I can say I was exhausted after those 4 hours! He started with Freedom just a little over a month ago. Pray that the Lord will take that intensity and use it for His glory!
They currently meet in two local church buildings that are located in one of the bateyes (Lima) they work in. But God has been providing for them in amazing ways! He has provided the funds for them to begin building their own school building. When completed, the three story school will contain 72 classrooms which will be able to accommodate 1800 students! They started in 2012 with just Pre-K 3 and just over 20 students and are finishing this year up with 90 students! They currently have 120 students enrolled for the 2014-2015 school year and will be adding 1st grade to the mix. Below is a print of what the school will look like. The section highlighted is what is currently under construction.
Gabe spent most of his time working on building the school. He had previously made a trip down to Freedom International back in December 2013. It was so exciting for him to go back and see the progress of the school since then. The goal is to have 4 classrooms completed by June so they can start the new school year in the new building!
These pictures are from his trip back in December. The school has come a long
way since then. I didn't get any pictures of the school on this trip :(
It's so amazing to see what God is doing in the Dominican Republic! The school not only allows them to build relationships with the kids but also provides an avenue for them to connect with their families and others in the sugarcane batayes. They also spend time in the bateyes doing VBS which allows them to connect with kids that do not attend their school and share the love of Christ with them. Gabe and I were so touched by the ministry and what God is doing through their obedience to Him.
Sooo...where does that leave us?! Well we are excited to announce that we are officially part of the Freedom International team!
Wow! It blows me away to just type that and think how far God has brought us in just a few short months. What an emotional roller coaster ride it has been! While we know this will be one of the most challenging things we will ever do, we also know that it will be one of the most amazing things we will ever experience. God is doing some awesome things in the Dominican and we are humbled that God is allowing us to be a part of it!
Please continue to pray for us as we now begin raising our support. That in itself will be a challenge for us but we know that if this is where God wants us to be, He will provide! It will most likely take us about a year to a year and half to raise our funds so we will still be around for a little while :) I will continue to keep you updated on our progress and journey! I've posted a link to Freedom's website below so you can learn more bout this wonderful ministry! There's so much to share and so little space to do it in :)
Galations 5:1 "it is for freedom that Christ has set us Free!"
Monday, March 17, 2014
Here We Go!
Wow! I can't even begin to describe how God has been working in our lives over the past year or so. I never in my life would have imagined I would be standing here! God works in amazing ways and I stand in awe of His presence and power in our lives.
I'm not a writer by any means, but I just want to share my heart with all of you and tell you how God is working and moving in the life of our family and ask that you pray for us as we start down this journey with God. I don't believe God ever intended us to live life alone. He has called us to lift each other up and to encourage one another along the way. We would not be able to take this journey without all of you standing behind us and lifting us up in prayer. There is so much power in prayer!
There's a lot of background to how we got to where we are standing today but I will leave that for another post ;) I'll keep you wondering for a bit! The fact is I just don't have the time right now to write it all down. I tend to go on and on with my stories, and it's so hard to put it all in just a few paragraphs. I promise I will share those details soon!
Gabe and I are leaving for the Dominican Republic tomorrow morning to visit Freedom International Ministries. One of my very dear friends, Katie Cline and her husband, are missionaries down there. But we aren't just going for a friendly visit. Gabe and I feel that God is calling us to join the Freedom International Ministries team and become missionaries in the DR!
This is something I would have never pictured myself doing! I've been praying for awhile that God would help me step out in faith and out of my comfort zone. I never imagined it could involve packing up our family and moving to another country and leaving our family, friends and everything we know and love behind. But God works in amazing ways and His ways are far above anything we could ever hope or imagine for our own lives. So we are trusting God and taking steps toward this calling in our lives.
So if you could please be in prayer for us this week it would be greatly appreciated! First for the plane ride down and back! I am not a fan of flying and would love the prayers :) Also, that God would reveal himself to us in amazing ways while we are down there and that we would know without a shadow of doubt whether or not He is calling us to the DR. I believe that God directs moving objects. So we are taking this step of faith and believing that God will guide us and direct us in the direction He wants us to go. Whether that leads us to the DR, somewhere else, or right back to Berne, we just want to offer Him everything we have and be obedient to His calling for our lives!
I recently heard on the radio that "complete surrender to God's will leads to complete security". While this seems like a huge step for our family and scares me to the core at times, I believe that if God is calling us to the DR, then there is no safer place for our family to be. And that is inside His will. His word promises that "He will never leave us or forsake us" and we are clinging to those promises! I continually pray that God will humble our hearts. I pray that He gives us hearts of clay that are always willing to be molded and shaped into the people He has created us to be!
So as we take this first step on our faith journey, we just ask that you would join us in prayer! God's will for all of our lives is that we would love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind and soul and that we would love our neighbors as ourself. He calls us all to do that in different ways. We just have to have a willing heart. I pray that we are all obedient to God's calling in our lives and that we are never afraid to take those small steps of faith and pray that God will direct our paths!
I love this song and it has truly spoke to my heart these past few months!
Oceans - Hillsong UNITED
Can't wait to share about our trip when we get back!!
I'm not a writer by any means, but I just want to share my heart with all of you and tell you how God is working and moving in the life of our family and ask that you pray for us as we start down this journey with God. I don't believe God ever intended us to live life alone. He has called us to lift each other up and to encourage one another along the way. We would not be able to take this journey without all of you standing behind us and lifting us up in prayer. There is so much power in prayer!
There's a lot of background to how we got to where we are standing today but I will leave that for another post ;) I'll keep you wondering for a bit! The fact is I just don't have the time right now to write it all down. I tend to go on and on with my stories, and it's so hard to put it all in just a few paragraphs. I promise I will share those details soon!
Gabe and I are leaving for the Dominican Republic tomorrow morning to visit Freedom International Ministries. One of my very dear friends, Katie Cline and her husband, are missionaries down there. But we aren't just going for a friendly visit. Gabe and I feel that God is calling us to join the Freedom International Ministries team and become missionaries in the DR!
This is something I would have never pictured myself doing! I've been praying for awhile that God would help me step out in faith and out of my comfort zone. I never imagined it could involve packing up our family and moving to another country and leaving our family, friends and everything we know and love behind. But God works in amazing ways and His ways are far above anything we could ever hope or imagine for our own lives. So we are trusting God and taking steps toward this calling in our lives.
So if you could please be in prayer for us this week it would be greatly appreciated! First for the plane ride down and back! I am not a fan of flying and would love the prayers :) Also, that God would reveal himself to us in amazing ways while we are down there and that we would know without a shadow of doubt whether or not He is calling us to the DR. I believe that God directs moving objects. So we are taking this step of faith and believing that God will guide us and direct us in the direction He wants us to go. Whether that leads us to the DR, somewhere else, or right back to Berne, we just want to offer Him everything we have and be obedient to His calling for our lives!
I recently heard on the radio that "complete surrender to God's will leads to complete security". While this seems like a huge step for our family and scares me to the core at times, I believe that if God is calling us to the DR, then there is no safer place for our family to be. And that is inside His will. His word promises that "He will never leave us or forsake us" and we are clinging to those promises! I continually pray that God will humble our hearts. I pray that He gives us hearts of clay that are always willing to be molded and shaped into the people He has created us to be!
So as we take this first step on our faith journey, we just ask that you would join us in prayer! God's will for all of our lives is that we would love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind and soul and that we would love our neighbors as ourself. He calls us all to do that in different ways. We just have to have a willing heart. I pray that we are all obedient to God's calling in our lives and that we are never afraid to take those small steps of faith and pray that God will direct our paths!
I love this song and it has truly spoke to my heart these past few months!
Oceans - Hillsong UNITED
Can't wait to share about our trip when we get back!!
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