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| Oregon 2008 |
So, when we returned, I continued blogging and have found it to be quite useful - almost therapeutic at times as the Lord works in my life. I've begun following other blogs and have found myself asking the question, "Who are they - What is their background?" and then I have to spend hours filtering through all the posts to get answers to that question. So I have decided to make an "About Us" page and try to summarize our family. If that is even possible.
I was a Navy brat. I have lived several different places throughout my life, but call Jacksonville, FL home. I was born on Guam, lived in Illinois (where all of my extended family is from), California, Hawaii, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. I grew up in a wonderful family with a mother who loved the Lord dearly. She led me to salvation at the age of seven and was instrumental in my foundation as a Christian. My parents divorced when I was 21 and my faith was shaken to the very core. But as I have learned over the years, God brings lots of things into our lives - good and bad - to mold us and shape us. My parents divorce was foundational for me as I learned to own my faith. Make it mine. To trust God in new ways, apart from my family and watch him do wonderful things in my life.
Russell was a PK (Preacher's Kid). He was born and raised in St. Augustine, FL and lived there until he was 15. He accepted Christ when he was 9 years old after his Grandmother had passed away. He struggled all through school, but at 16 gave himself completely to full time ministry. When he was a Jr. in High School, he went to the Principal at Middleburg High and asked him if he could have a room in the mornings before school began to hold a Bible Study. He was given permission, along with a room, and began putting posters up all over the school. I was a Freshman that year and decided to go check it out. My very first memory of Russell is him sitting at a table, leading a Bible Study in the book of John, to a group of about 10 other teenagers. Always the leader.
Russ and I went through High School together for a few years. That same group that met every morning, came to my house one evening a week. We were of all different denominations and backgrounds but we all loved the Lord. I look back at it now and see how very unique it was. Definitely a God thing. We really had our own Student Led Youth Group every day at school. We supported each other, prayed for each other and for our lost friends at school. Russ and I became very good friends. He was more like a big brother to me. We always connected really well, could talk about everything - and he always challenged me spiritually. What a great friend to have. But, we never dated. Kept that part separate. Well, Russ did try one time but it didn't work out. It was actually a complete bust after about a week. But obviously God had other things to teach us first.
Russ went off to college (in Graceville, FL) and Seminary (in Louisville, KY) and I graduated and stayed in Orange Park working for an Orthodontic Dental Lab. We both dated other people and kept in contact through an occasional letter, but mostly would catch up when he was home for Christmas or Summer Break. Always picking up where we left off and then going our separate directions, dating other people, exploring life. In 1995, Russ graduated from Seminary and began working at his first church in Folkston, GA as Education and Youth Minster. He was a single guy, living in a small town only about an hour from home so he began to call old friends to catch up and hang out. That's where I come in. He gave me a call and we, once again, picked up where we left off with our friendship.
After several months he called me to tell me he had strong feelings for me. I remember it well as it took me back a bit. I was multitasking at the time and cleaning my bathroom while we chatted on the phone. As politely as I could, (if polite is even possible when rejecting someone) I told him that was nice, but have a great life - I wasn't interested. I truly believed he would make someone a great husband one day - just not me. I even told him that once. Poor guy. We continued through the awkwardness after that and it was forgotten - at least by me.
During this time, another friend of mine asked me to come lead a group of teenage girls during a "True Love Waits" weekend. I remember being scared out of my mind. I allowed teenagers to intimidate me but I knew this was something I was supposed to do. By the end of this weekend, I was in love with the girls and ready to do more. So, Russell asked me to come and do the same thing at his church. Now, I will have to tell you that I was also invited to go to Disney the exact same weekend. If any of you know me well, you know that I love to go to Disney. So choosing to work with teenagers over a weekend at Disney was nothing but pure obedience at this point in my life. I honestly believe that the reason that we get to go to Disney so often now is because I gave up that weekend 14 years ago. Hee! Hee!
Anyway - enter the "True Love Waits" Weekend at Russell's church. I was off from work on Fridays so I headed to Folkston early to hang out with Russell and help him get ready. What happened next I can only explain as a "God thing". After having been friends with Russell for 10 years, a veil was lifted from my eyes and I saw him differently that weekend. I realize now that we had always been together in my element. He had always come to me - come home from College or Seminary - come into town for some reason. But this time I was in his element. I got to watch him do what he loves. I watched him interact and love people. Not just our mutual friends - but people. Strangers to me. I saw his leadership, his heart, his compassion, his love. I saw him. I saw him with my heart. I know that God put the love I have for Russell in my heart on that weekend and it has only grown since.
I drove home on Sunday night knowing that something major had changed. I had always asked the Lord to show me with complete clarity who my husband would be because when the tough times came, I didn't want to doubt that we were supposed to be together. The strange thing was that I was still frightened. This was Russell. He was my friend. He had been for 10 years. I didn't want to ruin anything with a relationship if it wasn't going to go somewhere. And I had a bigger problem - he was like a big brother to me - I couldn't picture myself kissing him, let alone marrying him and all that that entails.
I called my mom in tears. Explaining to her all that happened and desperately not wanting to move forward and hurt Russell if this was not real. She encouraged me to give it to the Lord and pray about it. I hung up with her and did just that. There have been a few times in my life where the Lord has spoken to me so very clearly that it is almost audible. This was one of those times. Remember - I had asked God to show me CLEARLY. And he answered that prayer. He said, "Cami, this is your husband. Sit back, enjoy this and let me do the rest." A peace washed over me that I cannot explain. I burst into tears again and called my mother back. She was the only one I told as I moved forward in this new relationship.
This was June. By October, Russ had a ring burning a hole in his dresser drawer. It was intended for Christmas but he's never been patient about things like that! He took me to dinner in Jekyll Island, GA and proposed as we walked on the beach afterward. Needless to say, I said yes. Actually, I think I screamed it. And the wedding plans were in full swing. We set the date for September of the following year and entered into the beginning of watching God continually provide above and beyond anything we could imagine.
One of my favorite movies of all time is "Anne of Green Gables" set in beautiful Prince Edward Island, Canada. I never said anything to anyone about desiring to go there for a honeymoon and I left those plans up to Russell. But, the day he called me and told me that's where we were going, I was ecstatic! I considered it my wedding gift from the Lord. Time and time again, the Lord provided "Exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ask or imagine" (Eph. 3:20) for our wedding. Little did I know that He was laying the stepping stones of faith we would need for our marriage. I had Eph. 3:20 engraved in Russell's wedding band so we could always look back to our engagement and see how God had provided for us and we could know how He would continue to do so. Wow - I had no clue!!!
We spent a glorious week in Canada and when we came home, settled into ministry life in Folkston. I had quit working to be a wife and his support. It was a major financial adjustment, but the Lord continued to provide. I became his built in chaperon for trips and I loved teaching the girls in the youth group.
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| My mom with Jarod - Sept. 8, 1999 |
While in Opelika, I took over directing the Puppet Team at the church and continued in my support role for Russell. We were there 3 years and then the Lord began moving us in a new direction. The Lord took us out of the church and into full time missions. What a scary thing that was! We joined with Student Venture - the High School ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ. The miraculous thing was that we were placed in Jacksonville's Student Venture. We were coming back home! This was exciting because my mother has just been diagnosed with ALS (or Lou Gherrig's Disease). A fatal neurological disease that stops the communication between your brain and your muscles until you become paralyzed and trapped in your body. She was going to need constant care.
What a crazy year and a half that was. I could write a book on all the ways that God grew our faith. We moved in with my mom the last 6 months of her life and raised our financial support at the same time. We learned lesson after lesson through this season. Our marriage went though a huge pressure pot and all kinds of yuck came out. It was hard. But when Russell and I married, we prayed that our marriage would be used by God, would be an example to others and He broke us down in order to build us back up. I learned in those years that everything, I mean EVERYTHING has a purpose. All things that come into our lives, good or bad, come into them for a reason. Nothing happens to us that doesn't pass through the hand of God first. We can either grow in faith and learn from them or get stuck there and be useless. We chose the hard thing - to learn and grow through them. We haven't been the same since. Our marriage has grown, our friendship, our respect for one another, our love has grown. I cannot even explain. We learned how to love each other the way God loves us. Unconditionally and with grace.
Jarod turned 3 while we were living with my mom and she passed away on December 8, 2002. Russell's sister, Belinda, died of cancer a month later on January 11, 2003. We continued to raise our support for Student Venture and now that our family crisis was over, God took us right into another crisis - financial. Raising support was one of the hardest and scariest things I ever had to do. We left a steady job with insurance to raise our own living expenses through the contributions of others. It grew our faith like nothing else could. I honestly believe that everyone should have a season of support raising. We learned how to trust God for every penny that came into our house. Russell's job was making phone calls and asking for support for his family - humbling. We didn't rely on going out and earning a pay check, but trusting people to send us money every month to support our ministry. If they didn't sent it - we didn't have the money to pay bills. Here again, I could write a book and tell you story after story of how God provided "exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ask." It may have come in last minute, but we always had just enough. We learned about generous giving, about waiting for the Lord to provide instead of trying to fix it ourselves. We learned that sometimes we are put into hard situations and they have nothing to do with us. It's not necessarily because we did something wrong - but because God wants to use us in the lives of the people around us. Because we are the vessel God uses to help grow another persons faith. God just wants our availability. We learned how to be real and transparent. How to share our lives and our stories with others so that they can see God's hand. We learned how to give Him the Glory and enhance His reputation.
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| January 11, 2005 |
Also in January of 2005, a small remnant of people from church got together and asked Russell to be their Pastor. The interim pastor had stepped down and the church was dissolving. Some felt very strongly about keeping the church going, so they asked Russ to lead them. Thus Pathway Church was born. Russ continued working pest control and preaching on Sunday's. In August, he got a job teaching 8th Grade Language Arts at Wilkinson Jr. High. He enjoyed it and it brought in a steady paycheck and insurance. We were able to buy our first home. What an exciting time that was! God had once again gone "exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ask or imagine!"
Russell continued teaching school and during the summer of 2008, God began to once again move us in a new direction. Russell knew that he could not continue as a bi-vocational pastor. It was wearing on him and he couldn't give either job his 100%. His heart was for the church. God had called him to preach. But where? We took the summer off and headed to Oregon. Being involved with Jarod in Scouts, Russ was hired as Camp Chaplain for a Scout Camp. Now I have come complete circle to the beginning of my story. You can read details on our Oregon trip here.
We came home from that trip and Russ taught for another year, all the while putting his resume out to churches all over the country. Oddly enough, in June of 2009, God flew the doors wide open for Russell to Pastor Ocean Park Baptist Church right here in Jacksonville. That within itself, is another incredibly long story full of lot's of those God details. We continued to live in Orange Park and commute out to Jacksonville Beach to church for nearly three years.
So, that is a glimpse into our ongoing journey of faith. A little of the background to us and the stories you read in our blog now. I condensed as much as possible but still do not feel as though it is complete. I'm a very detailed person and there are so many fascinating stories within the stories that I would love to share. God is a God of details and we can clearly see how each of theses events has only built our faith for the next thing coming. We don't know what lies ahead, but based on our past, we know that God is faithful. These are the stepping stones of faith that we will carry into our future walk with Him.
