Ministry Update # 4

Hello!

I hope you are having a fantastic week! 

We were away at a conference this past week so we weren't able to make a video.

Could you be in prayer about my computer! It was sent away to get repairs over the week of conference and it scheduled to get back soon!  Pray it is all fixed! 

Thanks! 

Here is a link to the video

https://youtu.be/4SAwUNdA3Z0

Ministry Update # 3

Hello!

It is ministry update time! This time around it is a family update!  I hope you guys enjoy it.  There are some super cute videos of Piper.  We will get into more of how we are doing in another video.  We really wanted to high light the big change in our that is Piper!  She is growing into a wonderful little lady and we can't be more proud of her.  In the video you will see her first roll over and her first high five (at the end of the video).  They are adorable! 

Our plan is to do a weekly video from here on out to catch you guys up and keep you guys up to speed.   I'm hoping you don't feel spammed by us and that you are getting a picture of the ministry you all are a part of! 

If you have any questions please feel free to email me at Matthew.Annanie@cadence.org

I hope you enjoy the video. (The production value will increase, the more videos come out) 

Matthew

Hello!

Ministry Update # 2  is here. 

We are posting to YouTube again.  Here is the link the video.

Hope you enjoy!

Please feel free to subscribe to our YouTube channel.   =)

Ministry Update #1

Hello!

I just wanted to apologize for the lack of communications coming from us. We plan to get better and this is the start of that. We are going to be doing our updates in video, so you can see us and the ministry that is going on.
If you have any questions please feel free to email me at Matthew.Annanie@cadence.org

I hope you enjoy the video. (The production value will increase, the more videos come out) 

https://youtu.be/K_iaBNOqesk

Matthew

Cambodia

The team, along with some of children from the village

The CSM staff take their students and their families on a mission trip annually. This past December, Matthew and I joined them to see if families from our ministry could join in future trips. Although this was our main goal in going on the trip, God had much more in store for us than simply figuring out if family mission trips would work well for us in Cambodia.

Matthew playing freeze tag.

While in Cambodia, we ran a VBS with almost 100 kids in attendance. I, along with a middle schooler, lead one of four groups of children around to each of their stations: crafts, teaching, games and English. Matthew helped run the game station with some of the students from youth group. At the end of each day and after feeding them lunch, we played hand games, painted nails, braided hair, had photo shoots, swung kids in the air and just loved on them.

Some of Sarah's group.

Day two is when I realized these children just wanted to give love and receive love from us. My van was a little late on this day because we had to stop for ice for our water coolers on the way to the village. Once we pulled up, I saw the large crowd of children hanging all over our team, some were playing hand games and some were just squeezing tightly to their new found friends. As I made my way to crowd, one of the little ladies (She is in the middle of the top row in the picture to the right) from my group grabbed my hand and pulled me away from everyone. I was not expecting her to take off her gold bracelet and gift it to me. I was speechless, delighted, amazed, shocked… completely humbled. She lives in a one walled, grass hut, with next to nothing and she is giving me one of her very own treasures. At first, I struggled taking her bracelet. I couldn’t help but think she could get in trouble for giving it to me. Then I realized it’s not just about giving to these people, but allowing them to give love back to us--however they wanted to show it.

I also enjoyed their love for nature. Each day, the kids would make flower bouquets for us ladies, (tied together with whatever plastic string they could find), put flowers in our hair and some even made flower headbands. Again, they just wanted to give their love. And that’s exactly what I felt.

Playing games after lunch.

As Sarah has mentioned above, this trip definitely had something more in store for us!  While on the trip, the Lord brought to my attention of how short of time we have with people.  We spent 4 days in the new village.  4 days.  We had to pour as much as we could into each moment.  This made me realize how little I do that in my day to day life. Sure, I do it well when I have to, but I don’t pour myself out like I should; I’m actually quite reserved in that regard.  It has made me realize how complacent I have become.  With that realization, I have picked a word to define my new year.  Intentionality.  I want to be more intentional with my time in everything I do.  So feel free to ask me about it any time you think of us!  I’m always only a Facebook or email away from anyone.

      

We are planning to return to this village in June and are inviting some of our families from ministry to join us. We will be gone for 10 days this time around and are looking forward to seeing the kids again, as well as, leading families on a mission trip together. We are confident this mission trip will bring families closer to each other as they pursue Christ together and serve together. It’s going to be an exciting time for them and for us.

Next Stop, America

Back in November, we spent some time away getting to know
our fellow CSM missionaries from Camp Foster. It was
a great taste of what this summer will bring.

“We’re coming home, coming home. Tell the world we’re coming…” You read that right, Matthew and I are headed back to the states this month!! All Cadence Missionaries from the Untied States, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Cambodia, Germany, Spain and Italy will be gathering together for a week-long conference! The conference is hosted every 5 years and it just so happened to fall on our first summer in the mission field. This will be a week of gathering together as a Cadence family to refresh and encourage each missionary. From what we have been told, there will be plenty to offer: workshops, seminars, prayer, worship, honoring staff members, a talent night, games, sharing and free time for fellowship.

Currently, Matthew and I are feeling a wide range of emotions. We are extremely excited to meet our Cadence family that is serving all over the world, as well as, reunite with those we have had the privilege to meet. We are greatly looking forward to time for rest and to be poured in to. We are also thrilled to visit the East Coast. We have greatly missed our friends and family, tears of joy will most likely be stained on my face. Not to mention, we will have the joy in welcoming a new member into the family, my brother and sister in love are having a sweet little boy!! (Ekk! It could not have worked out any better)! Oh, and let’s not forget one of my favorite days of the year: Cow Appreciation Day! I am very much looking forward to biting into a chick-fil-a sandwich! ;) There is no doubt, we are glad to be visiting for a brief time. It will be fulfilling and well worth the trek across the world.

BLUE SEAL! One of our favorite places to build community.

In choosing to become missionaries, we chose a life of sacrifice. We gave up living close to our friends and family; missing holidays, birthdays and celebrating in all that life brings our way. (Yes, social media and the internet is a great way to stay connected and we love being able to easily do so with those in the states, but that will never take the place of being fully present). We also gave up the gift of having our heart in one place. As long as we continue in our lifestyle, we will have a heart divided between our home in Japan and our home within our friends and family back in the states. (This is something other missionaries, military families and anyone who lives a long distance from their relatives/close friends can relate to). This is where our wide range of emotions come in. We are absolutely thrilled to visit the states but at the same time, we do not want to leave Okinawa, even if it is for a short 4 weeks. In the last eight months, we have poured all that we have into starting new ministries, getting to know families and we have established a solid community. We have a strong sense of it being too soon before we return to the states. The main reason for that is because our summer is extremely packed, with the Cadence Conference smack dab between our two VBS’s. (If you know anything about VBS, you know there is a lot of work put into them, now times that by two—wowza). We are also planning to launch a new program in the fall, which is extremely exciting but needs a lot of planning and prep time. I would like to think that amidst our crazy summer, God is taking our relationship with Him to a deeper level. I believe He will be growing our understanding of what it means to have peace. The peace that knows God will work everything out for our good. The peace that allows us to enjoy each moment we are in, instead of worrying about the work waiting for us when we return and the peace that surpasses all understanding. It will be a summer of growing and stretching, not always fun but the end result will be incomparable.

One of the families we have grown close with! 

You may be wondering what are plans will be while we are state side. Well, wait no longer! :) We will fly to Chicago on June 21st and stay until the 25th. Because of VBS and our normal ministry days, Matthew and I will have had 10 consecutive days of ministry, ending with our flight back to America. We plan on using our time in Chicago to recover from jet lag and get some well needed rest. (Please know that it is extremely rare for us to work 10 days in a row. We make it a priority to guard our rest days). On the 25th, we will make our way to Wisconsin, where our conference will be held. From the 25th until the 28th, there will be a pre-conference for Cadence Student Ministries (CSM). (Matthew and I are the first Cadence Children’s Ministry (CCM) missionaries—making it the first ever CSM/CCM Cadence wide staff conference. Whoot whoo)! On June 28th, the rest of the Cadence missionaries will come, officially kicking off the conference. On July 5th, we will fly to the East Coast and fly back to Okinawa on July 14th. It is a short window, but we hope to see as many people as we can!

We would love nothing more than for you to lean in with us as we grow in a deeper understanding of our Creator. Pray for our hearts and minds as we enter into this crazy summer season. Joining us in prayer for both VBS’s, conference, traveling, volunteers who will run the ministry while we are gone, and that we find time to rest. I would also ask that you would pray for our marriage. Busy times can become very stressful times and we desire to love each other well in the midst of it all. Thank you so much for partnering alongside us, encouraging us and believing in us. We are extremely grateful to have such a strong support system!

Strengths and Weaknesses

Okinawa CSM/CCM staff

At the beginning of a new year; making resolutions, plans to improve, to be a better person, to function well as a team is exactly what our Cadence team did at our first ever Cadence Student Ministry/ Cadence Children's Ministry, CSM/CCM, conference. (Sarah and I are the first CCM missionaries). It was a time of looking to the future, seeing where we want to go and asking the Lord if He would direct us there.  It was also a time for us to get to know each other better because over half of the Asia team arrived on the field 3-6 months ago,  To help us understand each other better we all completed a ProScan Trait Survey. It is like a personality test that identifies an individual’s four basic personality traits and a whole lot more; strengths and weaknesses, sources of motivation, energy level, current satisfaction level, and sources of stress.

Sarah and I were both hesitant about going away for a whole week to do a conference. Our thoughts were, “it’s the new year! We have so much to do! We have so much planning and so much work to do, so we shouldn't be going to a conference! We just got on the field!!”  It was a rookie outlook on what conferences can do for a team and for our own renewal. Needless to say, we followed the guidance and wisdom of the leaders set before us and made the journey to the first ever CSM/CCM conference.

During our free time one afternoon, a few of us
explored a waterfall.

We had our conference at Okuma, which is a resort on the Northern part of Okinawa that is for U.S. Military.  Our leadership brought in guest speakers, Darrell and Cheryl Hammond from Higher Ground Consulting, for the week to help us understand the ProScan test. They are experts on building teams and improving communication between people.  While we talked about a lot of information over the week, my big takeaways were the motivators and demotivators for the team (especially when it comes to Sarah).  The motivators are something that truly drive you to take action. We all took time to look at a list of motivators that were specific to our ProScan results and defined 4 of them.  After that we all shared with each other our motivators.  I shared that cooperation, friends, happiness, and outside activities were the things that get me to take action.  If I have one of those things in my life, I love to take action and get things done quicker!  Happiness is my number one motivator.  If I’m not happy, I’m not effective. Period.  Sarah’s motivators are stability, structure, time to adjust to change, and strong leadership.  Knowing these will help me motivate her to do her best!  We had a chance to talk to Darrell and Cheryl one on one about these different motivators. They told me to encourage Sarah to take time out of her day to reflect and have moments of peace.  This will help her feel less stressed and be more motivated to do things, not just in work but in life.  While most of her motivators are going to take time to establish, we have started working on them.  It was great insight for me as a husband to understand that these things are important to my wife!  It is making me a better husband and person! The demotivators also helped me better understand how and why Sarah communicates the way she does.  While the demotivators weren't unfamiliar to me, I just didn't have a name or description to put with them.  Putting a name to something always helps me better understand.  All of this information is also going to help me with my new teammates as we begin to work more together.  I’ll be able to know how I can be most effective when working with them or just hanging out. It was such blessing to go to the conference!  We came back refreshed, ready to hit the road hard!!

Our leadership team encouraged all of us to get to know 

each other better. Sarah and I did that by sharing 

meals with those on our team.

Sarah and I have come to a clearer realization that rest is important!  Whether you are in ministry or not, taking time to rest and reflect on life is important.  Cadence International is helping us realize this. This past conference, we learned a lot, on top of  getting refreshed! After making an international move and starting two overseas children’s ministries, it was needed and will continue to be needed!  Looking to the summer, we have our all staff conference. This is a conference for every missionary within Cadence to attend and it is hosted every 5 years.  While we still have a little bit of the “we just got here” bug; we are totally on board with being refresh and renewed by all the stories of ministry happening on U.S. military bases around the world. We will be sharing the details of our summer conference in the weeks to come, stay tuned!