Crosswinds Movement!

Crosswinds is a movement that cannot be contained by walls! A building will not define who we are! We are followers of Christ! His spirit is here and all around us. Can you feel it??? May all of those who come to Launch Sunday, hear the MESSAGE and feel the LOVE! I am a CHRISTIAN!

I Am A Christian: By Carol Wimmer

When I say... "I am a Christian"... I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin". I'm whispering, "I was lost, now I'm found and forgiven".

When I say... "I am a Christian"... I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say... "I am a Christian"... I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak and need His strength to carry on.

When I say... "I am a Christian"... I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.

When I say... "I am a Christian"... I'm not claiming to be perfect.
My flaws are far too visible, but God believes I am worth it.

When I say... "I am a Christian"... I still feel the sting of pain.
I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name.

When I say... "I am a Christian"... I'm not holier than thou.
I'm just a simple sinner, who received God's good grace, somehow!

~Nelly~

6 Days and Counting...

Our trip to the Beach!

I have to take a moment, and thank all of my family and friends who helped me pack up the truck, unload the truck, and supported us during this move. It SO could not have been possible without your help! Thank you!!!

Well, now that I got that off of my heart, we have so much to share. First, the family... Abigail is loving her new school. It is certainly different than New York, but she seems to have settled right in. She began riding the bus to school in the morning, because we were the last pick-up, and it was only a 5 minute drive. After one day, she asked if she could ride the bus home too. I think it was so much harder on mommy than her, but she is now riding the bus independently to and from school. CRAZY! It might all change come next year though, as we are looking into a charter school here in Leland, that does not offer transportation. We'll see what God has in his plans I suppose... As for Dominic, he has made quite a few friends here. He seems to be the least phased of any of us. God bless his little heart. We have visited the beach, the local park, the movie theatre and spent a good portion of each day roaming around the neighborhood. It has been so nice to get outside!

Nelson dove right into the "techy" side of church business. He is working on the Crosswinds site with Noelle, and it is looking so good! They are also working on graphics and really cool stuff for the worship presentations. He is now learning the sound board for the worship services. It is so cool to have him be on the tech team, and really enjoying it. He is just now beginning to look for work, so that could be a new prayer request for us!

I am having a blast on the worship team, singing my heart out. I couldn't be happier than when I am really worshipping my God. How amazing he is... And I am spending quite a bit of time now coordinating Crosswinds Missions and Outreach. I have been so humbled with this responsibility, yet is fills my soul to help others. I am so on fire with passion to help the needy in this community, that I can't contain myself at times. God has instilled in me a desire to reach out for those who need it most in ways that I just cannot describe. Right now, I am working on a partnership with Manna ministries, which feeds the poor. Crosswinds could not be here at a better time than now. One of the things that I have missed most about NY is my ladies small group bible study. This mid-week ministry was the bread of my week. It was my support, my refuge, and the food for my soul. Well, tomorrow morning, I will begin my endeavor as a small group leader for women. I have started my own Bible Study, and tomorrow is the first time that we will meet. And can you believe it? The church has not yet even opened, and I have 6 attendees! I know... crazy... :)

As for the church... well, it is on fire. I mean, obivously not literally, but the Holy Spirit is doing something in this community that none of us can even begin to explain. People are jumping at the chance to find out what Crosswinds is all about. Everywhere I go, I barely get 5 words out of my mouth, and God is just working in their hearts, building excitement for his kingdom. It is crazy! I am brought to tears almost daily, by the outpoor of spiritual need in this community. It is beyond amazing to me how quickly and invisibly God is sweeping through the streets of this town. Boggles my mind... But anyhow, we still have not recieved our certificate of occupancy for the church building. Despite this, we have begun painting in the church early this week. We have to wait until we get this to begin putting walls up, or anything of that nature. Our team will really need your prayers come later this week, as we do what we have now coined "Extreme Church Makeover"! We will have 3 to 4 days, and few hands to whip this church together in time for our LAUNCH Sunday on the 29th! We can do it though. This team is amazing, and their dedication to Crosswinds is beyond measure. Many of them have become quick friends, and we couldn't be more thankful to work with each and every one of them. God certainly knew what he was doing, when he put us all together. We are all very different, but our differences are complementary. It is unreal, that we have a full worship band, tech team, hosting team, building and parking team, small group coordinator, missions coordinator, etc etc etc, in such a small group of people. What an amazing orchestration, only possible by the one true God. :)

Well, sending our love to all! Enjoy the new pics!

Bike Riding in the Neighborhood

Singing with the Worship Team in our Temporary Location

Our Tech Team Extordinaire!

Leland, North Carolina

We arrived in Leland last Friday night with my parents in tow. Our intentions were to drive part-way and get a hotel, but we ended up driving the entire trip in one day. When we arrived at our new home, we were all very tired, and ready to crash on the floor. However, when we entered the home, we set off the alarm, and did not know the code to turn it off. For about 10 minutes we were scrambling around, trying to figure out what to do. Finally, my darling husband, found the code on the kitchen counter. Who would have thought? LOL. As we were peaking around the house and checking out our new diggs, we very quickly realized that we had absolutely no water. That was a recipe for disaster with 6 people wanting to crash for the night. So, we ended up getting a hotel in Wilmington for the night regardless. When we got up in the morning, we called the utility company and they came out to turn the water on. Saturday was much less eventful, but full of work and love. We all unloaded the truck, and several of the Crosswinds team members showed up to help with food and gifts. It was wonderful to meet some new friends and to see some old. The truck was unloaded rather quickly and our house began to take shape. Over the past week, we have unpacked boxes, hung curtains and pictures, and made this house our home. It is a beautiful house, and is already feeling like home. I will try to post some pictures really soon.

The kids have made the transition so well. They both made instant friends with the Crosswinds kids. We took Abigail to her new school, and they have been really nice and accomodating. She starts on Monday, and seems to be rather excited to get back to a routine. The kids have more than enjoyed riding their bikes and four-wheelers up and down our sidewalks (this is a new concept to us, as we have always lived in rural areas). They are already meeting the other children in the neighborhood and loving this nice warm weather. It is supposed to be 75 today! We are going to go check out the beach!

Overall this transition has been absolutely wonderful, thanks to my parents coming down with us for a week and for the Crosswinds team amazing hospitality. God has been so faithful, and so comforting during our move. My mom bought me a Garmin GPS, so I don't get lost down here. Maybe I'll venture out a bit more, now that I have some security that I won't get lost! I have joined the Crosswinds worship team and will be singing at the service tomorrow. Woo Hoo! Nelson is still searching for his place in the Crosswinds movement, but God will reveal it to him in his perfect timing.

Thank you all for your prayers during this time. My parents are leaving this weekend, and we'll probably need those prayers more than ever as reality sets in that we are really here without our family. We are excited about this new phase in our lives, and how God is going to work through us to benefit the town of Leland. We'll keep you posted!