Dear Family, Faithful Partners, and Friends:
Don't you just love autumn? We hope that you are enjoying this season as much as we do.
Time sure does fly by when you are having fun. The month of October went by in a blur.
We continue to pray God's blessing on you and your family. With holidays coming up at the end of the month I know things get a hectic in most homes.
Please know that you truly are in our prayers and we hope you can feel them.
The scripture that I have been meditating on this month is found in Mark 3:25 (NASB) and it says,
"If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand."
I see this happening so much right now in all different areas of life. From sports teams to families.
I humbly plead with all of you, we must be united. In this day and age it is so easy to get distracted and become consumed with our own personal matters.
It's so hard to find 2 or more people who are on the same page working toward one common goal. Let's all be reminded of what the Word says in Matthew 18:20 (NIV),
"For where two or three gather in my name, there I am with them."
Our prayer is that you and your family would be united as ever. We must continue to pray for our families that there would be no division amongst us.
It is difficult to do, but it is possible. It takes a lot of humility, forgiveness, and most of all prayer.
We cover you with our prayers and we thank you for covering us.
It is difficult to do, but it is possible. It takes a lot of humility, forgiveness, and most of all prayer.
We cover you with our prayers and we thank you for covering us.
October has been filled with so many life-changing events. Here is a recap on what took place.
Catalyst Conference
This Conference was absolutely amazing. Samantha and I went last year and we decided that every year we were going to do our best to make it.
It is truly a world-class christian leaders' conference. The speakers were amazing.
We learned so much. The theme of the conference was Be Present.
It means that it is easy to be distracted in the grind of everyday life and technology. How we should always be present in the way that we engage and and interact with others.
There was also an strong focus on "being present" in our communities. We left the conference so encouraged and excited to be more present and involved in our community. Samantha will blog a detailed recap soon.
It is truly a world-class christian leaders' conference. The speakers were amazing.
It means that it is easy to be distracted in the grind of everyday life and technology. How we should always be present in the way that we engage and and interact with others.
There was also an strong focus on "being present" in our communities. We left the conference so encouraged and excited to be more present and involved in our community. Samantha will blog a detailed recap soon.
Samantha's Grandparents
'Abuelita' is an affectionate name for grandmother in spanish. That is what we call Samantha's grandmother.
While we were in Atlanta we got the opportunity to see Samantha's grandmother who has Alzheimer's disease.
It was also great catching up with the rest of the family who live there. We always enjoy our time with them.
In related news, we are deeply saddened by the recent demise of Samantha's grandfather (we fondly call him 'Tata') who lives in the Philippines. It was very difficult for Samantha not to be with her family at a time like this. She has never felt so far from the place she called home for so many years.
We privately mourned but found comfort in our Father who reassured us that Tata is now in His arms. Thank you to everyone who sent kind messages and sweet prayers.
'Abuelita' is an affectionate name for grandmother in spanish. That is what we call Samantha's grandmother.
While we were in Atlanta we got the opportunity to see Samantha's grandmother who has Alzheimer's disease.
It was also great catching up with the rest of the family who live there. We always enjoy our time with them.
In related news, we are deeply saddened by the recent demise of Samantha's grandfather (we fondly call him 'Tata') who lives in the Philippines. It was very difficult for Samantha not to be with her family at a time like this. She has never felt so far from the place she called home for so many years.
We privately mourned but found comfort in our Father who reassured us that Tata is now in His arms. Thank you to everyone who sent kind messages and sweet prayers.
Boys and Girls Club of Williamson County
God has opened up an a huge door for RUSH with the Boys and Girls Club of Franklin in Williamson County. Our church has done outreaches and have been involved in the past.
But we really wanted to partner with them on a regular basis. I took a few students and volunteers one friday while some schools were on fall break, and we we served them pizza and hung out with the kids.
We had such a great time.
Michael Chapman
Mike has had such a great impact on the lives of the youth. He played a big role in developing RUSH as a youth group in the Brentwood congregation.
He is a worship leader and just a very gifted young man. He took a job in Canada where he will be working in church leadership there.
We sent him off on a night of honoring him. I got the idea when I was in the Philippines.
Whenever it was someone's birthday or a special occasion, there was always a moment of honoring that person. Each person around the room would say something how that person has made an impact on their life.
The night was full of tears and God's presence. It was powerful! If you would like to follow Mike's journey in his new role, visit his blog.
RUSH Middle School
Absolutely love these kids. This month was great because we got the chance to share different Bible stories.
Bible stories are so effective at this age. Their response was so heartwarming.
We also decided that we were going to get involved with Samaritan's Purse (Operation Christmas Child) and Compassion International.
Together we are going to sponsor 2 children from OCC and 1 child from Compassion International. So excited about this.
Costume Party
We had a costume party the Sunday before Halloween. No we are not promoting Halloween.
But we did have a fall festival for the younger children, so we decided to have a costume party for the high school students and promote it as an outreach event.
We had a great turn out of about 100 students. The night was full laughter and life.
We were all so blessed.
Candyland
For our fall festival the theme was Candyland. We had it on Halloween day itself.
It was great seeing all the families and the kids in their costumes. Samantha and I, along with many of our RUSH volunteers helped out.
We are so proud of the RUSH students who selflessly stood outside in the cold evening weather to bring joy to all the children who came.
For our fall festival the theme was Candyland. We had it on Halloween day itself.
It was great seeing all the families and the kids in their costumes. Samantha and I, along with many of our RUSH volunteers helped out.
Pastor Rafe and Liz Young
This couple is absolutely amazing. Pastor Rafe and Liz were the senior pastors at Bethel Franklin prior to when we arrived.
They are moving to Lexington to help with an Every Nation church plant there. There will definitely be a huge void left behind with them being gone; they truly are irreplaceable.
But with that said we know God has called them to Lexington, so we sent them off as a church. They will be missed along with their 3 beautiful girls.
Montgomery Bell Academy
Coach Marty Euverard is the head coach of the football team of this school. He was one of the most sought after coaches for this prestigious all-boys private school and took this job earlier this year.
He asked me come share during one of their devotions. I felt I had a word from the Lord to their football team. I know it help bring their team to a new level.
I have now been their the last 3 weeks speaking in their devotions, in the locker rooms, on the bus, and traveling with the team. God is doing some amazing things on this football team and am really humbled and honored by the opportunity to serve them.
They are now in the playoffs with 3 straight great wins.
Personal Discipleship
Coach Marty Euverard is the head coach of the football team of this school. He was one of the most sought after coaches for this prestigious all-boys private school and took this job earlier this year.
He asked me come share during one of their devotions. I felt I had a word from the Lord to their football team. I know it help bring their team to a new level.
I have now been their the last 3 weeks speaking in their devotions, in the locker rooms, on the bus, and traveling with the team. God is doing some amazing things on this football team and am really humbled and honored by the opportunity to serve them.
They are now in the playoffs with 3 straight great wins.
Personal Discipleship
Samantha started meeting with one of our middle-schoolers for personal discipleship. Gabrielle has such a deep love for Jesus and is hungry to know more about His Word.
She is so mature beyond her years and really amazed by her desire to know her Creator. They will continue to meet on a regular basis and Samantha hopes slowly bring other girls in.
I'm so proud of my amazing wife for her commitment to make disciples.
She is so mature beyond her years and really amazed by her desire to know her Creator. They will continue to meet on a regular basis and Samantha hopes slowly bring other girls in.
I'm so proud of my amazing wife for her commitment to make disciples.
This month has been amazing and we truly couldn't do this without you. God is so faithful.
We are falling more and more in love with Jesus everyday and pray that you are too. I hope this blesses you as you have been such an incredible blessing to us.
We are falling more and more in love with Jesus everyday and pray that you are too. I hope this blesses you as you have been such an incredible blessing to us.
We love you,
Robert and Samantha
We could not have done all of this without the faithful partnership of family and friends. Your support through prayers and finances go a long way. We are grateful beyond words. If you are interested in ways to partner with what God is doing in Nashville, please click here.
We could not have done all of this without the faithful partnership of family and friends. Your support through prayers and finances go a long way. We are grateful beyond words. If you are interested in ways to partner with what God is doing in Nashville, please click here.
