Christmas Update

Dear Family & Friends,

Merry Christmas and greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! What a wonderful time of year to reflect on the blessings that the Lord has poured out on us. Here in the Anderson Household, we have had a lively and transitional year - and definitely one which radiates the blessings of the Lord!

The last update that you received from us was probably heralding the news of Amos’ acceptance of an Associate Pastor position and Meredith’s acceptance of an administrative position at Fellowship Bible Church Russellville (FBCR). The Lord opened the door for us to join the staff at our church in a very surprising way and one which we were somewhat blind-sided by – however, we can now see that our jobs there are just the next step in preparing us for what we hope will be long-term service on the foreign mission field.

As we made the transition from Glenhaven Youth Ranch to FBCR, we were once again faced with settling into a new home, a new town, new jobs, and new friends. It was bittersweet as we left the ranch – the boys and girls there had really found a home in our hearts; however, Russellville, our new hometown, is only an hour’s drive from Glenhaven. So, we are still able to see the children and to see Meredith’s family often. We have even had one of the young men from the ranch spend the weekend with us a couple of times. And we have indeed settled in to Russellville. The convenience of being “in town” after being nearly an hour away from any semblance of a town (when we were at Glenhaven) is so nice! Our church family is wonderful and our pastor and his wife helped us with the many details of transitioning. They were gracious and kind in our chaotic move.

Our new jobs at church are not without their own challenges and hurdles. We know that we are so privileged to be in full time church ministry at such a young age though, and are trying to be learners of those who are wiser and more experienced than us. Amos’ plate is full as he teaches adult Sunday school, coordinates college ministry, creates a men’s discipleship program, leads our missions’ team, and also serves as the Youth Pastor. Meredith spends her days taking care of all of the administrative details of the church including accounting, publishing, and coordination of schedules. She also helps Amos out with both the mission’s team and the youth group.

We are VERY busy with church and often find ourselves booked every night of the week. However, we still try to reserve time to enjoy each other and enjoy the great outdoors. One of the best parts about living in Arkansas is the beauty of the state. We love hiking, biking, camping and living on the edge of the Ozark Mountains.

As we look forward to 2008, we are excited to discover what the Lord has planned for us. He is so faithful and life in Him is never dull! Thank you for your love, support, and prayers in 2007. We count our family and friends as one of our biggest blessings and we love ya’ll so much! J

Much Love,
Amos & Meredith

The Business of Life

We've gotten a little too swept up in the business of life lately and have failed to update for quite some time...we're sorry!

Things here in Arkansas are status quo. Amos & I continue to stay busy, busy, busy with church. We have recently taken on the challenge of leading our youth group of 7th-12th graders ....that makes Amos the Associate/Youth Pastor - just the title is busy! We also continue to be very active in college ministry and are the directors of our Missions Team. Amos teaches a Sunday School class every Sunday morning and we're actively involved in our community group. Needless to say, our time fills up quickly!

This past Sunday, our church celebrated Halloween with a Fall Festival Potluck and Trunk or Treat for the 73 kids in our congregation! It was so much fun and the kids in their costumes were ridiculously adorable...check out the pictures below!

In our limited spare time, we like to get out and enjoy God's creation in this gorgeous state that we live in. We spent our last day off visiting the "Grand Canyon of Arkansas" and hiking at the Pedestal Rock wilderness area. Check out the pictures below!

God's blessings be upon you and we love you all!

Anniversary Weekend

We were blessed to celebrate our first anniversary in a beautiful cabin on the White River in Mountain View, Arkansas. We spent a fabulous weekend sight-seeing, cavern-touring, fishing, & relaxing. Mountain View is famous for their folk music and folk culture. We enjoyed getting a taste of that, as well as touring the sixth largest caverns in the US at Blanchard Springs Caverns --- really amazing! Amos topped the weekend off by giving me a plane ticket to WI to visit my friends at SBR in September...what a great guy!

We've been incredibly blessed in our first year of marriage and can't wait to celebrate many many more together!

Check out our pictures. You'll be able to tell that fun was had by all...even Kenya! :)

July

Summer has been flying by for us - here are some of the highlights of July...

About two weeks ago, we headed to Yankee-territory to spend 5 days with Amos' family. It was a great time to catch up with all of his family in Minnesota, as his grandparents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a big bash. His extended family from all over the states was there for the occassion. Meredith was able to meet some relatives she hadn't yet and Amos just enjoyed seeing the fam.

We also got to spend some time with Kincade, Tiffany, and the Kirkpatrick's - always fun and laughs! Amos even arose one morning at the butt-crack of dawn :) to do some "real"fishing (none of this Arkansas business!). Unfortunately, his luck ran thin in the morning. He broke the streak that evening with a beautiful 26'' Northern though. Meredith netted her first Anderson fish and fun was had by all!

The past two weeks have been spent catching up at work and continuing to dive into the ministry God has for us here in Russellville. We both love our jobs and are learning much everyday. Amos is really in his niche - brainstorming, dreaming, planning, and implementing programs; as well as preparing to preach twice at the end of August. Meredith loves the administrative aspect of her job and the blessing of seeing accomplishments at the end of everyday. We've so enjoyed getting to know the people of the church better and were incredibly blessed at a Welcome Party that our Pastor and his wife (Bob & Kay Manry) hosted for us this past Sunday. The people of the church showered us with gifts for our home and pantry - as you can imagine, we wound up with some pretty delicious homegrown/homemade foods! YUMMY :)!

We also celebrated Amos' 24th birthday on the 15th. Our Welcome Party happened to fall on the same day so we had a combined celebration. The following day the Tuckers and Rices came to our place to celebrate as well. Amos was thrilled with his gifts...a sawzull, John Wooden books, TONS of shotgun shells, fishing gear, & a target thrower.

Our one year anniversary is this Sunday! A wonderful couple from our church has offered us the use of their second home on the White River in northcentral Arkansas. We will be enjoying the weekend away - relaxing and celebrating one year of wedded bliss!

God is so good and so faithful. It is our hope and prayer that you feel and see His hand in every moment of your life and enjoy the abundance that comes from being His children.

Much Love,
Amos & Meredith

Our New Home

Hey Guys,

We are all settled in to our new home in Russellville, AR, so we thought we'd share some pics of the place. It's a one bath, two bedroom home that we're renting from some wonderful Christian landlords. God totally picked this one out for us. We love it - it's definitly an adjustment to go from the sprawling ranch to the confines of one corner lot in the city; however, the conveniences are amazing! Check this out...

Estimated Travel Time (by car) from our new home:

To the Bank - 1 minute

To the Grocery Store - 2 minutes

To the Doctor - 2 minutes

To a Gas Station - 2 minutes

To a Fast Food Restaurant - 4 minutes

To Lake Dardanelle (where Amos can FISH!) - 4 minutes

To Walmart - 8 minutes

To Church/Work - 10 minutes

This may seem normal to many of you, but compared to the approximate one hour that it took to arrive at any modern convenience when we lived at the ranch - this is wonderful!

We'll keep you posted!

Love Amos & Meredith