Can You Hear Them?

(A poem written by our daughter, Katie Mae)

Listen to their thoughts, can you hear them?

Watch into their dreams, can you understand them?

See into their pain, can you feel them?

Wanting to make a difference takes its toll, but you keep pressing on

keep on going forward, and you keep on looking straight. 

Leaving the ones you love, being left behind, and watching as the rest of the world moves on.

Jumping on the plane, riding, riding, and riding, but you keep on riding and you never stop.

So you take a chance and jump off, and you soar.

Soaring with the moon and the stars, just to land and be with the world.

The world that never stopped moving and never gave you a second thought.

You land with the ones you had to leave behind, hoping it'll be the same, but you've changed.

You've heard their thoughts, watched their dreams, and felt their pain.

Standing Together

The idea of standing together was made real to me today.

In the midst of catchy phrases like "united we stand, divided we fall" or "one for all and all for one!" the true spirit of standing together with someone in the midst of their struggles is sometimes lost. Instead of a cheesy {but y'all know I LOOOVE cheesy!} overly dramatic idea, the reality is something holy.

"for where two or three are gathered in my name, there I AM with them" NIV MATTHEW 18:20

For the last couple of days I've been going through some major struggles emotionally & physically and on very short notice, today was declared to be the day for them to culminate.

I don't do well with confrontation and am a total people pleaser…though I'm trying really hard to change that into being at God pleaser! :) When people say they are sick with worry, or anxiety, I have a newfound understanding. I was absolutely so anxious about this meeting today that I was angry, upset, and seconds from loosing my lunch in my van!

It might sound silly, but in the midst of this absolutely out of control moment, my current favorite song came on the radio. {HERE IN THIS MOMENT BY BECKAH SHAE, Love it! You can hear it by clicking the link to the right of this post.}

Here in this moment. With. You. Amazing!

I had no idea at the time that Wes had asked you all to pray for me. But I truly felt your prayers.

The meeting went better than I could have ever imagined. I entered it surrounded in peace and left in peace.

You were standing with me. And as we were standing together, Christ was standing with us also.

Thank you.

Thank you so much for standing with me today. Thank you for standing with my family as we travel this journey.

Much love.

The Wilbanks Fam

Blooming Where You Are Planted

Our current bible devotionals have really been speaking to the importance of service. Ephesians 2:8-10 tells us that we were created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared for us beforehand.

A real way God seems to be speaking to us right now is through service where we are.

So many of our prayer team members have spoken to us about being open to wherever God wants us to serve, even if it is right here in Hoover, Alabama.

In addition, active service here at home has the potential to expose challenges, issues and blessings that we may not have even considered in our preparations for a life of overseas service.

You all know we've asked you to be in prayer for our children as we consider this route for our family. Especially Katie Mae, our big hearted yet resistant one. One of our prayer team members suggested talking to KM about the children in Uganda and how we want to go to serve them and help them to know they are loved. So Wednesday night, on the way home from church, I broached the subject again. I told KM how much she would love the children there, that they have so little and yet are so beautiful and so full of joy. After some discussion, she asked if she could do something to help them even before she gets to actually meet them…

She and Ashley decided they would like to start a clothes drive, asking their friends to donate their clothing for these precious Ugandan children. They want to run the whole thing themselves, from collecting clothing to contacting teams who are heading over and asking them to take the donations with them. Ashley even asked if they would be able to tell the kids to let their parents know the donations would be tax deductible!! :) They decided to make an announcement at First Priority at school this week and start working on a slideshow so that their friends can see the kids they are helping. Talk about service! Talk about some proud parents! Please pray that God will use this opportunity to continue to soften Katie Mae's heart towards going to Africa, or wherever God might send us.

Our Sunday School class has tried to get people together many many times before to serve at Jimmie Hale Mission…this time you can bet Wes will be going!

We are continuing to pray that God would show us other areas to serve where we are.

It is such a crazy thing to see how much God is talking to you when you actually stop to listen. Have these giant billboards been there all the time pointing our way but we are just usually too busy to see them? We are definitely savoring this journey and this walking with our Savior.

Thank you for praying,

The Wilbanks Fam