California Vacation

Approximately 3200 miles in 12 days...lots of wonderful time spent with family, a surprise visit to a dear Auntie, catching up with an awesome friend, playing in the California sunshine including one bay cruise, four different family Christmas celebrations, taking the kids to the beach for the first time, a trip to the aquarium, tracking down ancestors at the zoo, and a birthday party for the boys.....only one word can describe such a vacation...

WOW!

What a way to spend Christmas Eve... wasn't it snowing or something in Kansas?

Four Generations



Birch Aquarium at Scripps with Mimi




Monkeying around at the zoo with Grandpa


First time the kids had been to the beach, La Jolla (Andrew slept)



Happy Birthday... 2 and 5... can you believe it?!

Along the way to California we also got to spend some time with a longtime friend of Salyna's and her family as well as another family who are missionaries. It was great to catch up, watch our kids play together, and witness the burdens of another's ministry. The Lord is doing amazing work on such a personal level that we can actually see and so much more we're never aware of.

Our kids with Elisha and Keira Kontz. (Paul & Sarah's kids)

Davis and Andrew getting a lesson from the "Sheriff" Brian

What an amazing gift!

Isaiah 7:14 says: "Therefore the LORD Himself will give you a sign; Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel."

What an amazing gift was given to us so many years ago, such a divine gift, humbly wrapped in swaddling clothes in a lowly manger. Blessed be HIS name!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Christmas came early...

We were able to celebrate this past Saturday while Salyna's dad and stepmom were here before we head west to spend Christmas in San Diego. Just the thought of being there makes us smile. We are all pretty excited. We are even planning on seeing some dear friends along the way. The last couple of weeks have been very busy, but we have constantly been reminded of how good the Lord is to us and just how undeserving we are.

Have a wonderful Christmas,

Love,

Miles, Salyna, Sydni, Davis, & Andrew

All is well.

We made it through the ice storm with only a couple flickers of the lights, we never lost power. Some on the other side of the city lost power and most of the damage around us was a little farther north of Wichita. So we really fared well compared to most of the rest of the midwest. Amen!
All of the ice on the trees really is pretty!

Winter?

YES, it is really here! Yesterday we got over the feeling of being spoiled about the lack of winter here in Kansas. If anyone has the weather channel they know about the ice storm. Well, we are next in line for it. We made a trip to Walmart today, stored up some extra water, and now officially know where our flashlight is and with new batteries. Everyone here is anticipating a pretty bad storm comparable to one that hit 3yrs ago and left the city a mess with downed trees and no power for a couple days.

And we were worried about tornados?! Someone forgot to tell us about the ice or maybe we just forgot?! I have to say that it is strange do have a downpour of rain when it's only 31 degrees!

We pray that this storm makes it's way through without inconveniencing our lives too bad and that Salyna's dad & stepmom will still make it down later this week. Then...maybe winter will be over by the end of next week when we get ready to head out ourselves....HA!

House

I was reminded today that we still had not yet posted a picture of our "house"-townhome- well, our home!

This is a duplex with the common walls on the opposite side of the garage. I should have taken a picture down the street....anyway, imagine an entire street, a long street, with about 25 of these duplex buildings all on one side of the street. Lining the other side of the street are driveways with 4 one car garages on each side of the driveway which belong to the corresponding apartments. Oh yeah, they all are painted the same too. Every time someone comes over they always call and say "what number is your house again", it's so funny. We haven't counted how many units that would make, but all the units are either 3 or 4 bedrooms so there is a family with children in each unit. That is A LOT of people on ONE street!! This is a happin' place on Friday and Saturday nights!!

We are really encouraged with how many kids and teens live so close. We are excited to think of the possibilities that God might have in store for us. We are praying about ways to meet these kids and get a Bible club going. Since winter is finally here this will probably not happen until Spring.

Thank You Lord!

We can hardly believe it's been a month since we've posted something. The time goes by so fast.

This Thanksgiving we have so many things to be thankful for. We thank our friends who support us and bear our burdens with us. We thank our family for staying in touch across so many miles. We thank those of you who have faithfully supported us, no matter what! Of course, none of those people or things mentioned would be possible without a loving God who cares for us. We give thanks to our Lord and Savior. If we could have chosen anywhere to spend this holiday it would have been a tough choice to make, so we are also thankful we were able just to be home with our own little family, eating turkey and sweet potatoes and watching a little football.

Connection Letter copy

Psalm 70:4
“Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; And let those who love Your salvation say continually,
‘Let God be magnified!’”

We have been in Wichita, Kansas for over a month already! We can hardly believe it. We are really enjoying this part of the country, and “no” we haven’t seen any tornados. There is a lot to do here with parks, museums, farmers markets, biking trails, and rivers. We haven’t done a whole lot yet, but we are looking forward to the time we will spend here, however long the Lord allows. We apologize for taking so long in getting an update letter out. We wanted to have some things to update on.
Family Happenings
Davis started Kindergarten (with some modifications). Sydni started 1st grade. Andrew stopped taking morning naps. Miles is working like crazy. Salyna’s hair is falling out. Not really! Everyone is doing very well. Homeschooling has been an adjustment to our family life, but a decision that we feel good about. We plan on taking it year by year, child by child. Sydni had exciting news with the loss of her first tooth. Davis is still struggling with his allergies. Salyna is getting used to living with stairs, but overall is still doing well. Can you believe the boys will be 2 and 5 years old in December?
We moved into our new place on Oct. 19th, a four bedroom/two bathroom town home. We live just short of a mile from World Impact. It is a lower income neighborhood with a large number of people in a small area. Opportunities to be a shining light abound here. It has been amazing to be working for the Lord and wholly giving our lives for Him. We are blessed with many loving people from WI. We are blessed to have brothers and sisters in Christ that share our burdens. We can always get mail at the World Impact address but if you prefer, our new home address is: 1206 N. Williamsburg St., Wichita, KS 67208. We still have the same cell phone numbers.
In the midst of moving, working, and schooling we have made some time to spend getting familiar with the city. With a population of about 350,000 it is a nice size for us, somewhere in between the chaos of southern California and the remoteness of South Dakota. We have found several nice parks, walked along the river, and even found our way out of a corn maze. The kids are adjusting and seem to really like it here. They have been attending AWANA at a church that we are considering making our home church.
More Than A Job
We only imagined how awesome it would be to have a job that required you to help hurting people and also be able to share not only the love of Jesus, but the gospel. We could only imagine what our minds could think up and we didn’t even come close. Miles recently wrote to some friends, “I thought I would be unprepared for ministry. I found out that I am not the concern and am reminded that the Holy Spirit is in control. The spiritual warfare is real and in your face. Satan is truly stripping the hope from people who have little to start with. I thought I would be fearful of the crime, but I am only more aware of the need of the oppressed. I can’t say that I drive the clinic into nice beautiful neighborhoods. In reality, I go where there are bars on windows and for good reason.”
The World Impact ministries reach way beyond the medical clinic, and they ARE reaching the poor and the oppressed. People, and in a lot of cases, families are being led to Christ. Families are being healed. The Bible is being taught to those who cannot attend formal institutions. Churches and Bible Clubs are being started right in their own neighborhoods.
PASSION-Something we can only describe in human terms because of the passion we have previously felt about something. Falling in love, a newborn baby, starting a new ministry, traveling to a foreign land and witnessing their way of life-then wanting to bring them hope, the good news of everlasting life. While several of our friends have passion for the unchurched people in another country. We have that same passion for the unchurched in the cities of our own country. May we all do this work, for His glory, not our own.
Praises & Prayers
* We had a safe trip! We are healthy! The Lord is graciously leading us!
° Please pray for safety and wisdom for Miles.
° Please pray for Salyna’s health to remain good and patience with school.
° Please pray for the people we minister to, that they would see Jesus’ love in us.


3701 E. 13th. St. N, Wichita,KS, 67208 · Miles 605-890-9646 · Salyna 605-890-9489

Just some fun pics

Along the river

Lost in a corn maze

Silly Kids!

Sharing my heart

I feel like I have been a little out of touch since we've moved. I don't have a whole lot of extra time so I wanted to take the time now to connect a little bit. I apologize that I haven't been able to send out a lot of personal emails, but it is a wonderful way to keep in touch!

Anyway... I have been overwhelmed with all my responsibilities of wife, mother, teacher, maid but I have also been overwhelmed deep down in my heart by the things I've seen here in Wichita and things I have been reminded of. We were all given the same great commission to go into all the world and preach the gospel and something occured to me this week that I had not really embraced. "The world" also happens to be "my world" right here where I am. I think I became comfortable in small town America in my own little world and cirlce of family and friends, that I forgot about the world across the street or next door. I look back at all the opportunities I missed to share the gospel with a neighbor, not to mention the numbers of people I came into contact with out in town. Of course I cannot go back and change any of that, I can only learn from it.

My heart is heavy for the amount of "world" God has given to me here. The amount of love that the Lord has filled me with is amazing, it's definitely something I could not do on my own (especially driving in the city...haha). In all seriousness, how can we witness to our neighbors and the world without first loving them. God has a purpose and a plan for them just as much as He does for me and you. They have issues of life occuring behind closed doors just like I do. They have health issues, money worries, family strains, etc.... Essentially they are human, just like me.

If they don't have Jesus, where does their hope come from? They don't have any hope. Many of them have never even heard of the hope they could have in the Lord and many of them are running from the truth they have heard. How am I to know what they hope in? I can't. But I can love them and pray that they will see Jesus' love through me.

I serve a truly amazing God. A God of love, of peace, of joy; the kind only He can fill me with. It's only by Him that I seek to see the people around me not as mere strangers, neighbors, or aquaintances but as people that the Lord loves and has a plan for too.
~Salyna

Just a quick update...
We are still trying to get adjusted to life here in Wichita. Salyna started homeschooling last Monday and really enjoys it. Sydni, of course, is absolutely loving school and never wants to stop. She also wants to be on the go like her mom. They both enjoy going out and exploring this new area. The boys...well, they are boys! Davis wants to do school but is a little opinionated as to exactly how it should go. Andrew is still taking a nap in the morning so that helps a lot!

Also, we are still very overwhelmed with the work God is doing here. Not only do we see His work with the MMC but with the other ministries that WI has here. It's so amazing the amount of people we (society) classify as "poor and needy" that seem to have nothing and have never heard of the hope we find in Jesus Christ. Just an example of what Miles' sees and does: He was able to pray with a homeless man who expressed that the only reason he was alive was because of the MMC and the heart medicine he was able to get. And there was a teenage boy that was working instead of going to school because his dad lost his job; this boy got sick and needed to see a doctor.
It just breaks our hearts to see these people dealing with the stresses of everyday life without having anything to hope for. We have done it in the past and it was not fun. For us, that was a truly sad and depressing time in our lives, something we would never wish anyone else go through. We pray the Lord will use us not only in the ministry Miles does for a job, but also through our home and family.

Speaking of home... Praise the Lord! We have found a place. It is in a poorer, more racially diverse part of Wichita and close to WI. We plan to make the move there on or around Oct. 19th.

We are so thankful for the prayers, emails, and just the love we continue to receive. We only seek to see our Savior glorified.

Pics of the MMC (Mobile Medical Clinic)

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
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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