Oh, Sweet November!

Wow, everyone! Where has the time gone? September & October have flown by and I am just now getting a chance to write about it. So much has happened & it is time to catch up!

WORLD MANDATE

World Mandate (our missions conference) happened in September and it was amazing. Jady was one of the producers & the drummer. Here are some highlights:

Click here to watch a highlight video!

Max Lucado was one of our main speakers. He is an amazing man with an amazing message!

 One of our favorite things about World Mandate is the ministry that happens to the people who come. It is a time of God speaking and calling many people into the things He has for them.

There were some incredible artistic pieces that happened throughout the weekend!

The conference had up to 8,000 at it's largest session!

SOPHIE & TAIT
Sophie is well into her kindergarten year. As you may guess, she loves it. It was quite an adjustment for mom, but Sophie made the adjustment just fine. Here are a few pics of the kids!

Sophie turned 6!!!

The kids helped volunteer at a 5k to raise money for human trafficking.

Tait was a dog for costume day at preschool.

COLLEGE
When we felt God leading us back to Texas we weren't exactly sure what He had in store. We knew that Jady would play a key role in producing events like World Mandate, but not sure of much else. In the past few months several things have developed.

One of the main ones is the opportunity to help with the college ministry. There are between 800-1,000 college students who attend Antioch, so the college ministry is a significant part of Antioch. This fall Jady has taken on the role of Associate College Pastor.

His primary role in that is to help preach in the college services and develop key leaders. It is a fun & fast paced job that he loves.  We will have more updates on his job in our next update.

If you want to watch some one of Jady's sermons, here ya go!

Jady's Sermon: Cultural Architects


ADOPTION

Adoption update! We are currently #4 on the waiting list. That means that 3 other families are in line to get children before we do. So, when will it be our turn? Probably in the late spring.

December marks 3 years of us being in this adoption journey. Our hearts are starting to get a bit tired at this point, but we are SO close! Please pray that God would move some mountains and speed this process along.

We will send specific needs for adoption in our next update.


Thanks so much team! We COULD NOT do it without you guys. Your support and investment in us means more than you know!

Have a great Thanksgiving!

       The Griffins

Summer In Review

Hey everyone! Can you believe summer is almost over? Sophie starts kindergarden at the end of this month...wow! Time sure does fly. We had a great time as a family and in ministry this summer. Here is a recap!

Antioch had our international conference in Colorado in July. You can see from the pic above that it was a beautiful place! Over 700 people gathered together from around the world. We heard amazing stories of all that God is doing in the nations. 

It was an honor to minister to church planters and worship together. Jady was in charge of all the production and services as well as being on the worship team. I was there to talk to different church plants about human trafficking. UnBound is Antioch's anti-trafficking initiative and we are currently setting up several branches across the United States. More on that next time...

Another highlight was getting to see sweet friends who live around the world. Here are some of the gals from Mosaic Community Church in Seattle. Always fun to get time with them. 

Jady ended up in the emergency room after the men's sports day with a concussion, but he is doing fine now! 

After we got back from Colorado our family was able to go on vacation and visit our friends outside of San Antonio. We stayed at their ranch and had way way way too much fun.

There are a lot of things coming up this fall. World Mandate is our huge missions conference that takes place in September. One of Jady's primary jobs is producing the conference. So, things are going to be pretty busy around here. 

Sophie will be starting kindergarden in three weeks! She is really excited, but until then she is happy doing gymnastics along with the Olympics.

Wanted to let you guys know that we will be sending out an update soon on Jady's job and also on adoption. Until then, we want you to know how thankful we are for each of you! 

Love, 

      The Griffins

Summer TIme!

Wow! How is it already summer??? Our family has been quite busy these past few months & we are looking forward to a slower summer. Here are some of the happenings:

Jady's Work

Jady has been busy traveling this spring. He has visited Chicago, Dallas, College Station, San Antonio and Seattle. He has gone to speak as well as promote World Mandate Conference. If you aren't familiar with World Mandate, you can check it out here. 

It is a blessing to be a part of helping spread a passion for missions through this conference. We believe that one of the reasons God has called us back here is to help send more church planters out. What an honor!

Here is a picture of Sophie helping run the World Mandate booth at a church in Dallas. She loved going on a working trip with daddy!

Liz

Right now Liz's primary focus is playing with the kids as much as she can! These last days before Sophie starts school are precious & Liz is soaking them up. She is also still working with UnBound, Antioch's anti-trafficking initiative. UnBound is partnering with law enforcement & other organizations to stop the trafficking of people in the United States. 

Sophie & Tait

The kids are having a blast. Tait turned three in March & his speech is right on target. Whoo! He still plays the drums every day & keeps us laughing.

Sophie finished pre-school and is ready for Kindergarten in the fall. She is one smart cookie & know she will make the transition well. 

Registered For Kindergarten!!!!

Adoption Update

Many have asked what the status is of our adoption. We are on the waiting list, number 11 in line. All the paper work is finished, now we just need to wait. Uganda recently passed new laws that make it more difficult to adopt out & that makes the process run even slower. The most realistic estimate is that we would get our kids in Spring 2013. You guys have journeyed with us so faithfully.

Yes, it is discouraging. Yes, there have been a few tears. However, we really feel the peace of God & know that His timing is perfect. Keep praying for Ford & Etta :

• Pray that we would get the perfect kids for our family.
• Pray that they would have healthy bodies & minds. That their development would be on track.
• Pray for the remaining $4500 of funding we need to come in.
• Pray that God would hold them tight while they wait for us!

Things Coming Up

• On May 31st we celebrate our 9th wedding anniversary!!!!
• June 8-10th our family will be at a youth camp where Jady is the speaker.
• In mid-July we go to iCON. This is Antioch's international missions conference. Jady is producing the conference - a very big job.Liz is going to help other church plants learn how to fight human trafficking in their locations. She will be teaching them what we have learned here & helping them set up UnBound in their cities. We need $2,000 for the conference. Please join us in praying that comes in as well!

What a blessing to journey with each of you! Please keep us posted on how you are doing & any ways we can be praying for you!

Love,

The Griffins 

With LOVE From The Griffins!

We hope you all had a fantastic Valentines Day! We truly do love each of you and are so thankful for all the ways you love us. Okay, here is our news!

Sophie & Tait

The kids are doing fantastic and keep us laughing non-stop. Tait's birthday is coming up next month & we can't believe that he will be 3! His speech continues to improve and he still plays drums for about an hour a day. 

Sophie loves to preach. She gets up on her bed or on the fireplace with a pretend microphone and shares the Gospel with her 'audience'. It is a blast to watch her heart for Jesus grow as she gets older.

The kids have formed a band called 'The Berenstain Bear Band'. Here is a pic of band practice.

They love to help cook. Here they are helping Jady make salsa.

Elizabeth

Liz is working on helping develop UnBound, which is Antioch's initiative to combat human trafficking. It is something she is very passionate about. She has been able to speak to several groups of sororities at Baylor and also the Antioch women's conference to educate women on the issue. She loves it!

Liz speaking at the women's conference.

Jady

Working on World Mandate, Antioch's mission conference, has been a dream come true for Jady in many ways. He is helping with the production, developing the creative elements and traveling to churches in Texas to invite them to attend.

He also has quite a few speaking engagements. In the next two weeks Jady will be speaking in Norman, OK , speaking at a youth retreat and then traveling to Seattle to speak to the training schools there.

Hanging out at church

How You Can Pray

1. Adoption - we are on the waiting list for children & still need $4500. Pray that it comes in soon! 

2. World Mandate - would you join us in praying for World Mandate? It is in September & we are believing for more people than ever to come & hear God's heart for the nations.

3. iCON - This is our conference for international missionaries. It is in Colorado, and both of us will be going. Jady is helping produce the conference & Elizabeth is going to help oversees workers learn what they can do to fight human trafficking in their locations. We are needing to raise $2500 for us to attend. We don't have the money, but know that God can provide it!

Thanks for keeping up with us! As always, please let us know what is going on with you and if there are any ways we can pray for you! If you are interested in giving to our needs, see the tab at the top called 'Partner With Us'.

Blessings!!!

         The Griffins

Welcome 2012

Happy New Year everyone! As we have reflected on 2011, we are amazed at all that has happened! We left Seattle, stopped in San Diego for 6 months, and then followed Jesus all the way back to Waco. We have purchased a house, and started a new job...whew! This has been a busy & emotional year for us. So many transitions, and as we start this new year our family is glad to plant our feet firmly in the soil and set up a permanent home. 

ALL SETTLED IN

Our living room all dressed for Christmas

Here is the bed Jady built for Tait's room. 

Sophie loves her new room.

Our backyard is huge...and we LOVE it.

NEVER BEEN SO HAPPY TO MAKE A MISTAKE

You may remember that in our last post we said we needed approx $15,000 more for our adoption needs. Well, I (Elizabeth) had some miscommunication regarding our remaining expenses & I was wrong! We actually only owe $4500. WOW!!!! Never been so happy to find out I had made a mistake. All we have left to raise is $4500. That is amazing & I can't believe how much God has provided already. 

At this point, we have re-done our homestudy for our new house & are on the waiting list for kids. The estimated wait time is 8 months. We are praying that it is sooner, but we are just happy to see the end in sight after 2 years of being in the process. Thanks so much for all of your prayers! 

JADY'S JOB

Jady is back in full-swing work mode. He has his hands in quite a few things, but his main job is World Mandate. He is helping produce the conference as well as promote it to surrounding universities & churches. This conference is key in allowing more people to be exposed to God's heart for the nations. Many of Antioch's church planters around the globe look back to their attending a World Mandate as key to God calling them into full time ministry. Jady is excited to expose more people to the conference and help get more missionaries on the field. Thanks for all the ways you partner with us to make it happen. To learn more about World Mandate, visit the World Mandate website.

HOW TO PRAY

1. Jady will be doing quite a bit of traveling to speak at a variety of churches and training schools in the next few months. Pray for safe travel as he goes and a peaceful home while he is away. 

2. Keep praying for our adoption:

• the remaining $4500 to come in
• that the process would move speedily now that we are on the waiting list
• pray for Ford & Etta - that God would keep them safe, healthy & love on them while they are waiting to come into our home.

3. Upcoming Expenses : We will be going to a conference for international missionaries this summer. We will have the opportunity to minister to these church planters in a variety of ways. It is something we are honored to be able to do, but it costs about $2500. Join us in praying for all the finances to come in. 

Thanks for walking life out with us, following Jesus with us and supporting us in what we are doing. We love you guys!

The Griffins

Marvelous November!

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a great thanksgiving last week! This past month has been pretty significant for our family...

Homeowners!!!

Miracle of miracles! This month we bought a house. Thank you all so much for your prayers for this. We purchased the house the first week of November & Jady has been remodeling it. He tore down the popcorn ceilings, and then floated, texturized, and painted the new ceiling. Whew! In true Jady fashion he has been working hard and we are excited to move into our new house this weekend.

Here is our den...covered in popcorn ceiling debris.

 

 The hallway construction zone. Kids bedrooms & bathrooms will be off
this hall.

The kitchen. Getting prepared to paint the ceiling & cabinets.

Told you Jady has been working hard! We will post the after pics after we move in. Yea for a house!!!

Tait's Miracle

Tait has been in speech therapy since last fall after being diagnosed with a severe speech delay. He has been making gradual progress. Slowly he started making sounds. Then he started saying words. His vocab began to increase & conversation began to trickle. We had him re-evaluated a few weeks ago & he tested exactly where he should. He no longer has a delay & requires no more speech therapy! Whoo!!!! Way to go Tait. Thanks to each of you who prayed with us for his healing.

Adoption

This is the time of year we begin to get questions from you guys about end of year giving. Some of you are looking for opportunities to give tax-deductible donations before the end of the year. Do we have a need you can give to????

YES! We are still needing $15,000 for our adoption. The process is nearing it's end, but we need this last bit of money before we can go get Ford & Etta from Uganda. If you are interested in learning about our adoption or want to know how you can make a tax-deductible gift for it, click on the 'Adoption' tab up at the top for instructions.

We love you guys so much and are SO thankful for the ways you invest in our lives. Blessings!

Love, 

    The Griffins

Good News!

Hello! We have some good news to share with you. We had asked that you join us in praying for everything we needed to come together for the house we are trying to buy. We really loved this house, and it was a great fit for our growing family. But, we didn't have the money for a downpayment. Jady did several speaking engagements to earn some money & we tried to sell his car. It didn't sell and we were still over $4,000 short of the money we needed. We have been choosing to stay peaceful and believe that God would provide the money. 

On Saturday afternoon someone gave us a check for $2,000 for out down payment. As our family was celebrating and thanking God for how good he is, Jady got a phone call from a friend of ours. He asked how much money we still needed for our downpayment. We told him $2500 and he said that he will send us a check for that amount. 

God provided $4500 in 20 minutes and we are now all set to close on the home Nov. 4th. Thank you guys so much for praying. We are overwhelmed at how good God is and how people are willing to give when God leads them to. 

Some other highlights from the past few weeks:

• Sophie turned 5 on October 10th! How is that possible??? She is loving Texas, her new school and living at Papa & Lolly's while we wait to get into our new house.
• Tait is doing great. His speech is improving by leaps & bounds. Speech therapy starts up for him on Wednesday morning and he is excited.
• Jady has gotten to speak at several churches & training schools this past month. He has also gotten to help coach football at Texas Christian Academy. Football & preaching...two of his favorite things!

Thanks for praying with us along this journey. We are so blessed by each of you. Have a great week!

     The Griffins