April Update 2024

Kim Dvorak
May 9, 2024
6 min read

Formation Journey - Upcoming - Prayer Requests - Photo Dump

Happy Blogiversary! For a fun trivia fact, we shared our first blog post on April 23rd, 2017, 7 years, 2 weeks, and a day ago when we were planning a vision trip to Japan. So much has happened since then, but my focus in this post is just an update since last month.

April brought the end of the semester for me, along with a lot of finals stress and state testing for the kids. It also brought warm weather, which we have taken advantage of as a family, a few snow storms, and a few changes at work (check out more about work here).

How is Life?

Life has been pretty intense for the last month, as I wrapped up the rest of my finals and Rett and I completed spiritual formation classes at our church. Now, with our classes behind us, we only have to worry about DTS Graduation this weekend (I'm a summer graduate, but can participate in spring commencement) and the kids school that ends in a few weeks! All in all, we have a bit of breathing room, with which I am writing this update.

Rett continues to work at the UPS store and is moving forward in the process of working with BEE World as well. He is looking forward to connecting with some staff members next week which is exciting and encouraging!

The kids report that they are sad to miss some celebrations and activities at school on Friday, but are excited to watch movies in the car and take advantage of the hotel swimming pool in Dallas this weekend. Last week, Ryan and the rest of fifth grade participated in Fine Arts Night with a choir performance. Choir has never been something he has been much interested in, but he rose to the occasion and learned a lot along the way. He is also looking forward to joining the school orchestra instead in sixth grade. Cecilia is finally getting accustomed to the new school expectations, and outside of school, enjoyed helping out as a Junior Coach with some of the younger kids at her gymnastics class this month. Finally, River (our cat) has unfortunately figured out how to open the door to the garage without our help, which makes it a bit more difficult to prevent her outside excursions. So far, we have managed to continue to keep her out of trouble.

In the midst of everything going on, God has provided a sense of restfulness in his guidance and promises. We were blessed this month by some very personal and meaningful reminders of God's presence with us through our difficult seasons, particularly providing a way forward in relationships and circumstances when we felt out-of-our-depth or even out-of-options. I am encouraged daily to rest in him, being reminded that like the apostle John, through Christ we are already beloved by God.

As the weather has warmed up, we have also taken the opportunity to do some skateboarding and get acquainted with our local parks. Taking Ryan's recently recovered wrist into account, we are being sure to wrap the kids in bubble wrap, I mean appropriate protective gear, before letting them near the skatepark.

Overall, things feel like they have settled down a bit, and we are enjoying having a little more space to breathe. Of course, we are also expecting some ministry-related changes in the next few months, which may come with a number of new mountains to climb. Be sure to create a login (if you haven't already) so you can follow along!

Formation Journey

After our last blog post, I did some updates to our website and added some blog categories to make things a little more organized. In the process of doing so, I couldn't help but reflect on what a journey the last 7 years have been. We were so excited in 2017 to take what felt like a big step of faith toward pursuing missions, so challenged in 2018 and 2019 by the experience of starting seminary, selling a home we loved, saying goodbye to our friends, and moving to a very different state, and so grieved in 2020, 2021 and 2022 by all the loss brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Honestly, I feel the weight of it again seeing our old blogs and the pictures of artifacts from that time.

Looking at 2022 and 2023 I am also reminded of a stubborn hopefulness that began to take root: the journey had not gone as planned, every open door seemed to have slammed shut, yet it was impossible to believe that God was done with us. So we waited, and prayed, and talked with people, and leaned into practicing faithfulness in everyday moments (still learning), and the Lord provided new opportunities, which we have been journeying into this last year. The sense of excitement, then overwhelm, then grief, through the years has been replaced by a small, but growing sense of peace. We don't know what the future holds, but we are learning to rest in God's faithful, comforting, encouraging presence in the midst of it.

The Old Testament is filled with examples of remembrance. Names of places reflected reminders of what God had done there, landmarks were erected as physical reminders of God's faithfulness and of the Law. Even the feasts celebrated in the Old Testament all point to reflection on what God had done for his people. In the New Testament, we are encouraged to periodically drink wine and eat unleavened bread with one another in remembrance of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross for us. Remembrance and reflection on what God has done for us is integral to life walking with him. So if you have a moment...

What has God brought you through over the last 7 years (or longer)?

How have you changed as a result of this experience?

What does walking with God look like now as a result?

Upcoming

Accounts are live! Work-related updates and Non-Instagram access to our Instagram Feed require you to create a login. In addition, I have it set up the system to require my approval for each account before access is granted for the sake of extra security. Please send me a message if you have difficulty in the process!

I am also working with the women's ministry at BEE World to help facilitate a course overseas in Sub-Saharan Africa in November. If you are interested in supporting this project, please consider donating here (or at the bottom of this page) and praying for everyone involved in planning the logistics of this trip! More details to come.

Prayer Requests

Thank you so much for your prayers! I am happy to report that Ryan's wrist has fully healed and he is back to full-functionality in his art and drum practice!

Looking forward, please be praying for our upcoming road trip later this week for graduation ceremonies at DTS and for the experience to be as much a blessing for Ryan and Cecilia as it is for Rett and I.

Also, please keep the upcoming process of fundraising and trip planning for this course in Sub-Saharan Africa in your prayers. I am thankful to be working with an existing group, that will manage most of the details and expenses for hosting the seminar, but there are still many unknowns.

As always, thank you so much for your prayers for our family and your encouragement. We wouldn’t have made it this far without you and we want you to know that we truly feel blessed by your continued involvement with our family through the past 7 years! We are praying for you too, so if you have any specific requests, let us know!