Finding our place in His ministry...

As we sit down to write this we are so overwhelmed with where God has taken us and what He is doing here in Wichita.

Maybe we should back up a little... We had the chance to experience one last big storm before leaving Spearfish and we ended up loading the Uhaul in the rain, but thanks be to God for providing a friend to help all day!!! Then we proceeded to drive in rain a good part of our trip. Salyna's dad and stepmom drove their motorhome along with us. What a huge blessing, not only did we have a place to spend the night along the way, the kids got to ride with grandpa & grandma part of the way!

We arrived in Wichita Monday the 10th with that same storm... it was trying to rain as Miles and some World Impact guys unloaded some of our stuff into our 3rd floor apartment that WI is allowing us to stay in until we can find other housing. Tuesday brought more unloading at the storage and the beginning of a whirlwind...meeting people, staff meetings, Miles beginning work earlier than planned, and at night we slept.

Miles has already been able to experience the whole reason why WI has the Good Samaritan Clinic and Mobile Clinic. His staff position is Mobile Medical Clinic Coordinator, but he also drives it and helps the doctors and/or nurses. The MMC parks and sets up in church parking lots where the volunteer doctors see patients that cannot afford to see any other doctor. The church volunteers help check in patients and visit with them regarding their spiritual needs. It's been pretty overwhelming to see the needs of people in a city right here in America. And almost more overwhelming and awesome to see these doctors give their time to help the poor and needy, all in the name of Jesus.

Isaiah 61:1 "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has annointed me

to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners,"

It's almost like a dream...on several occasions we have looked at each other and said "are we really here? is this really happening?". We serve a mighty and all powerful God!

We have already begun looking for a place to live. Our search has already revealed the huge mission field that will be our neighborhood. We are so excited and anxious to find a place and get started. Please continue to pray with us regarding this!

This picture is of the apartment building at WI Village where we are staying.

So what about the kids?

They have been struggling a little with the lack of a schedule but we have faith and hope that they will come around soon. Davis was very excited to move to Kansas and is pretty excited to be here. He is just being a typical 4 yr old boy which comes with a few frustrating characteristics. Andrew is absolutely done with being in his car seat. It makes for creative distraction tactics while driving around. And we can't forget to mention Sydni's big news... she lost her first tooth! And she is very proud of it, she has no problem with posing for a picture.

We struggle to find the words to express how we are feeling. God's grace and mercy is so incomprehensible. We are so unworthy. We are full of thanksgiving and praise to our Redeemer. And so thankful for our friends, old and new, who pray for us. Grateful to our family who love us across the miles. We love you all!

(pics of the MMC coming soon)

Countdown to Kansas

To say "the last couple of weeks has gone by fast" would be an understatement... that time is gone! It is now time to load up the Uhaul truck. Tomorrow, Saturday, we load and Sunday, we drive. Look out Kansas, here we come!

We have had many, many blessings already with this move. We can't even comprehend how the Lord works. He is truly an awesome God!! And our chief adversary has been doing his share as well, but it all has been done in vain: Our God has already won! We have only come to where we are now because He has allowed it all. We are thankful for the challenges as we continue to grow in faith.

Lord willing there will soon be an update from Wichita.

Summer Pictures

Davis on a friends bike
On a hike

Putting feet in the river in Wichita


Syd learned to ride on two wheels




Throwing rocks in the river
Miles with old friend from CA

copy of Kennedy Connection letter

Proverbs 22:2 says “The rich and the poor have this in common,
The LORD is the maker of them all.”

We have been quite busy lately…and thanks be to God because it has been all His doing. The short version is this…
We went to Wichita, Kansas in July and visited World Impact, a Christian missions organization that focuses on ministries in the inner cities of our country. After much prayer and conversation Miles was offered a job with them. So, yes, once again we will be moving. We are planning on leaving for Wichita on Sept. 9th or 10th.

You can check out World Impact at their websites, www.worldimpact.org and www.wiwichita.org. You can also find a great book on their website, Out of Ashes by Keith Phillips, President of World Impact.

The Kids in Wichita - July '07
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There are poor and brokenhearted people who do not know of the hope of Jesus Christ right here in the cities of our own country. We have always had a heart for others who are going through some of the same things we have been through. We yearn to share the love of Christ with them.

Proverbs 21:13 says “Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be heard.”

We always knew that our past life experiences and our love for our Lord would one day lead to a full time ministry, but we never dreamed it would be this early in our lives. The Lord will use us for His glory when we are open and willing. We pray that our humbleness, brokenness, and willingness will remain.
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Family Happenings
○ We had a great time with Salyna’s mom when she came to visit for two weeks in June ○ Salyna has been feeling pretty well, doing better than she has in years. She has decided to try home schooling this year ○ Sydni will turn 6 on Sept. 4…WOW ○ Davis is growing!! He still struggles with allergies, but is doing well ○ We are all enjoying Andrew being 19mo. old. He has a great personality ○ Miles continues to be in the Word constantly. The Lord has been gracious with allowing him to grow so quickly in faith and knowledge.

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Please Pray With Us
† For Us to remain sensitive to the Spirit’s leading and letting God direct our paths
† We would quickly find housing in Wichita
† Wisdom for Miles as he begins this new job and ministry
† Strength and patience for Salyna as she begins home schooling
† Financial needs would be met, specifically- moving/relocating expenses & medical expenses as we will be without insurance for 90 days
Praises
□ Some of our moving expenses have already been paid
□ Miles’ dad, Gary Kennedy, had surgery for prostate cancer on Aug. 10th. His doctors believe they got all of the cancer. Please pray for his continued recovery.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Raising Support

World Impact would like their staff to help raise financial support to cover living expenses, medical insurance, etc. If you would like to help support us in this ministry or with relocating expenses, please send any correspondence to the address below.

Miles & Salyna Kennedy
c/o World Impact
3701 E. 13th St.
Wichita, KS 67208

We will be staying in a temporary apartment until we can find other housing. Our email addresses will remain the same:
kennedymiles@hotmail.com kennedysalyna@hotmail.com
Our cell phone numbers will be the same for a little while, we will update you when they change.
Miles 605-890-9646● Salyna 605-890-9489

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We would like to thank everyone who has already been praying for us and been in contact with us regarding this move. It is comforting to know that our family & friends and brothers & sisters in Christ are sharing in this with us. As we spend much of our time preparing for this move, we still think of and pray for you too. Please let us know what is going on in your life and how we can be praying for you.

May we all be reminded that the Maker of us all loves us, will never leave us, and gives us a joy and peace that surpasses our understanding.

In His wonderful grace,
The Kennedy Five

Update - Miles' Dad

Gary had his prostate cancer surgery on Aug. 10th and everything went well. The doctor believes that they were able to remove all the cancer and that it had not spread. Please continue to pray for his recovery.

The Lord is moving...

Actually, the Lord is moving us, again...
Miles will be working for World Impact in Wichita, Kansas.
This all happened very fast and is very much the Lords doing, not to mention an answer to many prayers. So how did this happen?

We had a trip to Kansas for a wedding already planned when a friend of ours, Chris Deck, encouraged us to stay a couple days and check out World Impact, where he works as well. So we did. We met lots of wonderful, godly people in Wichita and learned about World Impact's ministries. And we just felt called to partner with them somehow. We knew that our past, our adolescence, the family situations we grew up in, and our love for the Lord would someday lead to a ministry where we could truly be used by God. We just didn't think it would be this soon and certainly not unless we were seeking it out... well guess what, the Lord made it happen anyway! It was His timing! Amen!

So after a lot of prayer and a little bit of talking... a position at World Impact became available to Miles. World Impact is a Christian missions organization that ministers the love of Jesus in the inner cities here in America. In Wichita they have several ministries; 3 church plants, Good Sumaritan Health Ministries including a Mobile Clinic, The Urban Ministry Institute (theological education), 2nd Blessing Thrift Store, and the Morning Star Ranch. You can check out their websites at http://www.worldimpact.org/ and http://www.wiwichita.org/

We are so excited to make this huge move for Christ. It is going to be a move that will require a lot of us, most importantly, we are going to have to depend on the Lord to give us what we need, spiritually, physically, and financially.

Thank you for all the prayers already, we ask you to continue to pray for us. We will be sending a letter/email soon with more details.
~Miles & Salyna

Little Man

Andrew got his first haircut and it was at the barber shop where his daddy and big brother go. I guess he's one of the boys now... but he's the only one with a pacifier!

Wichita...what an experience

What an amazing time we had in Kansas!

We had the privilege of spending 4 days with some dear friends and visiting the mission, World Impact, where they are on staff. The Lord is doing an amazing work in the inner cities through World Impact missionaries. In addition to seeing their facilities, clinic, mobile clinic, and ministry institute we got to attend one of their church plants where we gave our testimonies. Our passion for helping others who are going through things we have gone through grew leaps and bounds in those short few days. Our hearts desire is to serve Jesus full time and we are patiently waiting for the Lord to reveal His will for us regarding this.

In the middle of all of that we got to witness the joining of two lives in Christ. God's love is truly amazing!!

This is a picture of the church we attended - Lighthouse Community Church

Our friends, the Decks - Chris, Angela, Samuel, Katie, & Elias

Mr. & Mrs. Coon...ahhhhhhhh

Kansas here we come...

In a couple days we head to Kansas for a mini vacation of sorts.

We will have the privilege of witnessing some dear friends join together in marriage.

Sam and Grace have been such an encouragement to us and it has been amazing to watch God work in their lives and their love for one another.

We also will be visiting some friends who are a part of World Impact in Wichita. We will get to see their ministry and the mission ministry to the urban poor. We are so excited to see how God is at work. We will also be giving our testimonies at one of the church plants. We have a busy few days planned, but we know that we will be blessed because of it.

Mimi was here!

We had the pleasure of spending 16 days with Salyna's mom at the end of June. We really enjoyed the time God allowed for us to share with her. And the kids were pretty happy too!

We also celebrated Father's Day while she was here. After church and lunch we went to Gulches of Fun in Deadwood with the intentions of some mini golf, well the weather didn't allow that so we stayed inside and played games. The kids still had a blast and so did "daddy".

Just some thoughts...

I have continued doing a study on faith after taking a short break to be involved with a group study at church and my heart has really been challenged. How does my life and my choices reflect my faith?
James 2:17 tells us that faith by itself, without works, is dead. Is my faith alive and growing? What would God say? What can I do better? What can I do more of?

God's grace, mercy, love, just His whole character is so incomprehensible. I pray that everyday I would strive to make choices that relect my faith. My faith in Jesus Christ dying to reconcile me to himself. My faith in believing God's Word, the Bible. My faith that God will keep the promises in His Word. Even the smallest of tests and trials are opportunities to express our faith and receive the blessings for doing so.
~Salyna

What a joyous Mother's Day!
My day began at church with the kids up on stage singing to all the moms. It was rather emotional but not only because my oldest babies were proudly singing to me. As I glanced around a largely crowded church of people I didn't hardly know I was overcome with joy. How wonderful it is to be surrounded by God's children! How awesome it is to have brothers and sisters no matter where you visit or move.

I give thanks to the Lord for all He gives to me. On Mother's Day of course, it was my children and husband that were at the forefront of my thoughts.

AWANA Awards!!!

May 2nd was awards night for AWANA. For those of you not familiar, AWANA is a church program that Sydni and Davis attend every Wednesday night. They memorize Bible verses, play games, and just have fun. They have specific age groups and books for that age with a certain number of verses and they have a vest which they earn patches for by memorizing Bible verses.

Well, Sydni finished her second book and has a vest full of patches and she'll be moving on to the next age group after the summer break. Davis finished his first year and first book, earning his first award from AWANA. They got to go up in front of the church and receive they're awards. (Those pics didn't turn out very well, but this one was taken afterwards)

It's been pretty amazing to watch them both learn so much and having the desire to learn is pretty great too! Praise the Lord!

We were messing around with the site and deleted our profile picture and can't get another one posted because the size is too big.....SO....here is a family picture and some of the kids. This beautiful area is only 20 minutes from home. We are so blessed to able to live in an area where we can stop and breath in the fresh air and look upon the amazing things God has created.

Again?!

Yes, we made it through another move... again.

That was one week ago. We are unpacked but still getting used to the house, neighborhood, community, not to mention getting used to Miles' work schedule, and being prayerfully optomistic about getting involved in the church we are attending.

'Nuff said for now.

As always, we are thankful for your prayers!

So it's been awhile...

Sorry it has been so long since our last post. In some ways we have been really busy and in other ways we feel like we haven't been busy at all...
Okay....let me explain.
After all the kids had the chickenpox it seemed like they just continued to be sick. And then we were sick as well with flu like stuff and food poisoning. And Salyna has not been feeling very well with her Lupus or whatever it is (she still has not gotten a diagnosis). So it seems those things take up a lot of time.
On the other hand we HAVE been doing things. Miles has been teaching Sunday School again and the kids have finally been well enough to get back into there Sunday Schools and AWANA program. Our living situation in Hot Springs had been on both our hearts for quite some time and the Lord finally started opening doors and closing others in order for us to move again. Since Miles going to school didn't seem like it would ever work out we decided to be open to what God wanted us to do. Quite frankly it's been hard living on part time wages for the last 2 years, but the Lord has continued to provide. We prayed that wherever God wanted us He would provide everything... a better paying job and/or more hours, a more effectient place to live, and a church if we moved. Well, his job being full time here was not a reality and there were no other places for rent in Hot Springs. So we started looking elsewhere. We started praying about Spearfish (about 110 miles northwest of Hot Springs). Then one thing after another has fallen into place, the company Miles works for is located in Spearfish and they offered him full time there, we will be renting (and praying about buying) a mobile home in Spearfish from some good Christian friends we made here in Hot Springs, and we may have already found a church (the kids attended AWANA there last week and their doctrinal statement looks good, we have yet to attend a Sunday service). As well as doors opening, there has been some shut; one mainly being the end of a monthly carpet job that Miles used to do with Salyna's dad, which was part of our monthly income.
One thing we originally struggled with was the ministries at church and the other people's lives we have become to be a part of. Well, there have been several people raised up to help with youth group and other people's situations are changing just like ours. So we now have a peace about leaving Calvary and moving on to another church that may need more workers. Please keep us in prayer over these moving details and finding another church to call home where we will be able to serve our Saviour. Our move is planned for April 21st.
Other Stuff:
Sydni is no longer in pre-school. She wasn't being challenged enough and ended up picking up more bad behavior than learning anything. So she will go to Kindergarten next fall. Andrew is growing up SO fast. He now fights to be able to "feed" himself and even plays at the park now, with no fear even! He is trying to talk SO much everyday, it's been great. Davis is still struggling with his allergies and has an appointment with the specialist in April. Despite being the size of a small 3 yr old he is very smart and is the sensitive one of the bunch.
We are so thankful that our God is a faithful God. He continues to allow us to grow and see the truths of His Word. Our marriage seems to blossom over and over again when we discover something new together. Miles is a great teacher for the family, him doing devotionals with the kids and challenging Salyna enables the whole family to grow. Even during our times of trials we have the peace that surpasses all understanding, the peace only God can supply.

Sorry this is so long and we plan on posting more once we are settled. We will be sending emails with new contact info.

Frigid Cold, Birthdays, & Chickenpox?

Well, that sums up the last few weeks.
We had a small party for Davis' 4th and Andrew's 1st birthdays on Dec. 30th. Davis got the dinosaur and a guitar, what he really wanted. We made him a cake with chocolate cookies and rice ice cream. And Andrew actually ate his cake and made a little mess.


As you may know it has been COLD here. We survived the frigid temps and even faired a lot better than the rest of the country. We didn't have any problems with power or ice, just very, very cold.

And then there are the chickenpox, yes chickenpox! Two days after returning to school from the break Sydni got the spots. We still aren't sure where she got them, but being the nice sister she is, she shared with Davis and Andrew. Syd is no longer contagious but is healing the pox. And the boys just broke out with the blisters yesterday, so we still have a long week or two ahead of us.

This New Year...Psalms 145:17

Psalms 145:17 says "The LORD is righteous in all His ways, Gracious in all His works."

2006 went just as fast as it came. And the Lord has been faithful and gracious to us through it all. This last year brought many experiences for us; testing and trials, rejoicing and new friends, lessons learned and taught. Many physical changes in our place in this world and even more spiritual changes as we grow in Christ.

Why do people make "resolutions"? Do they need the motivation? Do they need something to look forward to? Do they do it because that is what everyone else does? Webster's definition that applies here for the term "resolution" is the quality of having a fixed purpose; determination; firmness. It seems silly to need to make resolutions every new year. As I see it, God had one big resolution in the beginning and it has never changed... to be "righteous in all His ways, Gracious in all His works". And He had this determination of this fixed purpose for a dying world, for you, and for me; and we have done nothing to deserve it. So here is a "new year's" resolution... to have the determination; firmness; fixed purpose to serve my Lord and love Him who first loved me; to make every effort to learn and grow in my knowledge of who He wants me to be; not just this year, but always.

Christmas Pics

Here are a few pics...

Merry CHRISTmas

What a wonderful time of the year; to be able to celebrate the birth of our Saviour. We are so blessed to be living in a country where we are free to worship the Lord Jesus Christ.















We had a great Christmas. We also had too many toys! We spent the 23rd in Newcastle with Salyna's family, where Davis finally got his cowboy boots! Christmas Eve was spent going to church in the morning, Rapid City to eat, and then back to church for the evening service. Then we got to webcam with the Kennedy's that night. Christmas morning we got to webcam with Salyna's mom, stepdad, and grandma; no more waiting to get pictures in the mail. Technology is pretty amazing; the grandparents got to watch the kids open presents live. Salyna's dad and stepmom came down and we made them breakfast. It was an exhausting, joyous day!

"Gospel Bells, Gospel Bells..."

On December 10 the kids sang at church with their Sunday School class during the Christmas program. They sang Gospel Bells (tune of Jingle Bells) and Jesus Loves Me. It was SOOOO CUTE!
Davis was pretty embarrassed, but he did a good job even though you can't see him in this pic.
We are also including other pics from the program. A quartet of guys from Cornerstone and some of our CREW kids.

What are you doing for Christmas?

Well, Christmas with the Kennedys in Las Vegas has fallen through. So we decided to put up our tree. This year was Davis' turn to put the top on. After having problems with the pre-lit tree not being so "lit" and running out of garland, we finally got it done!



Our church usually has a childrens Christmas program but this year many families will not be in town, so they got creative. They got all the little kids together, dressed up, and posing for pictures which they will put together in a power point presentation....Here are a couple pictures from that day. Sydni was Mary and Davis was a Shepherd.

More Andrew??!!!!

He's trying to walk....all by himself, he's up to 5 to 6 steps!

Picture of Mom and Dad

It's time to end the questions....where is a picture of Miles and Salyna?
So here it is. This was taken before a wedding we went to.

Andrew

It seems this poor boy never gets enough attention...ha ha!
Here are some recent pictures. Enjoy!

The Lord at work again...

Well, the Lord never stops working in our lives whether we understand what's going on or particularly like it. But since God is sovereign, all we can do is trust in Him.

Miles had to get another job in addition to working with Salyna's dad. The job was an answer to prayer, finacially; but unfortunately it interfered with his classses and one of Salyna's. To make a long story short, neither one of us are still attending classes.

The Lord is good! He continues to bless us in our studies of His Word. And of course we are still involved with the ministries at church. Please pray with us that we will understand what God has in store for our education in the future!

School... here we come!

Sydni started school today, Sept. 5th!
For those of you who didn't know, she is in pre-school not kindergarten because the lovely state of South Dakota requires kids to be 5 by Sept. 1st; so we missed it by a couple days.
But she was very excited! As Salyna was going to leave Sydni got a little emotional and said "I'm going to miss you mom", then she noticed one little girl that she knows was crying and didn't want her mom to leave. So Sydni went over to her and said "It's okay, my mom's leaving too." and they held hands and walked in. It was such a bitter sweet moment.
We pray the Lord will protect her and use her in this public school setting.

The princess of the family turns five!!

Sydni turned 5 on Sept. 4th.
We celebrated her birthday at a place called Reptile Gardens...snakes, crocidiles, bugs, birds ...and cake!