Our Calling to Uganda

Dear friends and family,

God has called us to go on a mission trip to Uganda, Africa. This is something we have been in constant prayer about for a while now. It's something very dear to our hearts, and we hope it is to yours too. We are planning to go spring or fall of 2015. The trip is looking to cost about $3,000 per person ($6,000 total for both of us to go). We are opening a savings account solely for this trip. Until then, if you would like to support us you can mail either of us a donation. Both of or addresses will be at the bottom. Anything helps us go. If you decide to sponsor us, please put in the memo or in a note, "Uganda Missions". We ask that you would be in constant prayer with and for us as we plan to go share the love of Christ with the people of Uganda and help with the Helping Hands Foreign Mission. The Helping Hands Foreign Mission is a ministry to help the orphans and the widows. As some of you may know we are planning to adopt in the far future; but as for now, this is our calling to help with the orphans of Uganda.

     Thank you in advance for all of the prayers and support.

   With love,
       The future Matthew and Kelli Steele.

http://helpinghandsmissions.org/

Matthew Steele
135 Dowrick Dr
Martinsburg PA, 16662

Kelli Shadrix(Steele)
157 Laurel Creek Court
Carrollton, GA 30117

Patience, Learning, and God

I normally say "Patience is a virtue, a virtue I don't have." That statement is true in a sense, but at the same time I know that I have some. I was not born with this patience, oh, NO, NO, NO...I prayed for patience... I advise you to never do that unless you are ready for the challenges and mountains that God has in store for you. When you do pray for the patience, just remember that it is a Fruit of The Spirit!  When I first prayed for God to "give" it to me, He probably was like "Oh my beautiful daughter, you don't know what you have asked for."  (side note: I truly believe God talks like that, and I also believe He calls all of His Children beautiful.) Well, He first gave me the challenge of leaving all of my "friends" at Bremen, which was a lot harder than I ever expected, I found that I really only had about 3 true friends there. That challenge made me realize that I could do anything, but I HAD to have God in the center of my life to overcome the heartaches of life.  Then, He gave me the highest mountain I've had to face yet... My Fiance lives about 800 miles away from me! That's where MOST of my patience has come from. It has taught me that life moves fast! For me, at this time, that is GOOD news! It means I am one day closer to marrying my best friend! This is a very hard journey for me, it very often test my patience, and test my endurance but God is on my side and it makes everything a LOT better. As time moves on I find myself thinking about this wonderful challenge, and the gift of time God has granted Me. I always end up rambling... Back to patience. This incredible Journey in my life is the main source of my patience, and I would not trade it for the world. The learning part of this blog is that I can't let the little things in life bother me like I normally do. It's not worth it. I can't let someone take my joy just because they copy me, say something that I don't agree with, or do something I have no control over. I have learned to "let things roll"... which to me means not let people know when something bothers me, now I just have to learn to not let it bother me... I know that I can do that, but it's one of my weakest points, but I know that I can do it! I have an awesome best friend who always encourages me, and I have a God that has the highest POWER, and knows the weak points He has to get you through, because He is ALWAYS carrying me. 

  

     With that, I just need to take a moment to brag on my King. He is the King of Kings. He loves like no one could ever comprehend. He lives IN ME!  He Knows the UNKNOWN! I believe that, is the amazing thing... HE knows what I am going to do before I EVER do it! It amazes me the GRACE He gave us!  His grace is deeper than ANY ocean! His love is higher than the sky, and His power can not be tamed! He CREATED the STARS for us to see, and SUNSETS for us to watch!  His beauty is far out of this universe!  THAT IS MY GOD! please check out this link!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffzB_HK9sNU&feature=youtu.be 

  

      Until later, 

           KSS

Blessings From Above

This is a long one, but it's only because I am so blessed! Once you read it the pictures are mainly at the end!        
     As my dad always says, "I have to be God's favorite."  Well, he is WRONG,  I know because I AM God's favorite. God has blessed me in so many ways, has given me such a wonderful life, and has put people in my life that I am so thankful for. I could thank God everyday, every hour, every second, and it still wouldn't be enough to show how truly thankful I actually am.
       
        My first blessing He gave to me was my biological family. He has blessed me with the most loving, compassionate family. My family may be a little crazy, and hard to handle sometimes, but I wouldn't trade them for the whole world. He gave me a Dad, a Mom, and a Jakey Boy.
        My dad: He is the most Godly man I have ever met. He is totally on fire for the Lord. He has centered his life around spreading the Word of God, and his desire is for the whole world to know his God! When ever I think about a song that would be a song that would describe my dad I always think of the song by Britt Nicole, Set The World On Fire, it is such a wonderful song. My dad is the first man I have always loved. God gave him a special gift to love the unlovable, and help the helpless. That's what he strives to do! Love is something that my daddy, and my momma sure have been good at showing me. That takes me to the next person in my family.
        My sweet sweet momma: She is the most loving, and giving lady you will ever meet. She gives of her time, money, and love. I have such a special love for my mom. We may fight, but it's only because we are so much alike. I always hope that one day I can be a lady just like her. She enjoys the little things in this life, and also loves the Lord. She has been a wonderful help mate to my daddy. She has had to sacrifice so much of the things she would love to do for the things that The Lord has called my daddy to do. I hope to be able to encourage my husband the way she does my dad. Her love for me never ceases to amaze me. No matter how bad I really mess up she is always going to love me!
         My Jakey Boy:  He is one of a kind. We have come along way in our relationship. We have a good  6 years between us, so it was hard getting along when we were young, but as we have matured and gotten older he has become my best friend. I know that if I ever needed him, he would be there for me! He is a very strong willed man!  He can do whatever he puts his mind to! I have just recently in the past few months met someone who is almost just like him(except the girl version) and her name is Emily, You will hear about her later! My brother, loves the Lord, and has such a caring heart for his loved ones! You are such a big blessing to me! I love you my Jakey Boy!
                                      My family has encouraged me so much and I know that if it weren't for them I wouldn't be who I am today, and I would not be able to do the things I do! Ex. Be in the relationship that I am in. Which leads me to what I like to say is almost my biggest blessing.

           My relationship with my fiance. Matthew is my rock. God truly always knows what He is doing. He blessed me with a man far beyond my dreams. Matthew is a gentle, loving, caring man. He loves me so good. It is a love that I have never felt before in my whole life. It's a love that I can feel. Well, the only down side of this whole relationship is, the fact that for now he lives 800 miles away from me. Man, it's a killer, somedays are a lot harder than others, but everyday is hard.  I honestly don't think I would change anything about it though. We have been together for a while now, and this past December he got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife! Well, obviously I couldn't say no to that!
So, here I am engaged and ready to be married! Matthew, is my rock, he is my sunshine on the cloudy days, he is the only man I want to be with for the rest of my life. I love this man with all of my heart. I always tell him that I do not know what I would do without him, and man, is that true! He helps me, encourages me, loves me far more than I ever thought possible. He is my best friend and I can not wait to spend the rest of my life with him!    We have big plans for our future together. Our special day is August 1, 2015, so we have a while but I wouldn't want it any other way. In the future, we plan to adopt, we don't know where God wants us to adopt from but we both know that He is faithful and will show us where exactly he wants us to! We know that God already has our precious baby picked out for us! We pray for our child every night together and it is so awesome to be able to have a man that will pray with you! SO, we have a life full of adventure, learning, and loving ahead of us!
 And now it is time for my Non-biological family. Just because they are not my blood family does NOT mean I love them ANY less than my biological family!  Well, Matthew's family is quite larger than mine. We have two brothers and two sisters! Well, now 3 sisters! Also the Mom and Dad!
  Well the Rents. They are just such loving and caring people. They have truly from day one accepted me as there own child. They love me so good, and care for me so much!
        Mr.Mitch, he is one of a kind. The man has jokes, for sure!  He is so good to me! I have been there for 2 Valentines days in a row, and I have woken up with a present! I have never seen someone work so hard to provide for their family like he does. He works long days so that his kids can have their momma at home. I admire him far more than I could ever tell him!
         Mother: Also known as Mrs. Cherie.... But we call her mother! She is just incredible. She encourages Matthew and I so much! She loves me as if I were her own(which I am, obviously) She is always willing to listen to any problem and help the best that she can! Her hugs, they are incredible, I could just hug her all day long! She has taught me to love even when it's the hardest, and that family is the most important! She has also taught me to look past the little things people may do because we each have our own "little things" that we do! She is such a wonderful mother to us! She loves us so good. I am so proud to be able to call her mother! I am so ready for her to only live about 4 hours away from me, that way I can see her ALL the time! I love you so much mother!
           Mitchell: The oldest of us kids! He is so talented in so many ways! He is part of a worship band at Crosspoint, in Nashville, TN. He moved down to Nashville this past August to go to school at Belmont. He one busy man. He juggles so many things at once and I have no idea how he does it! He is so good at what he does and puts forth such wonderful effort at all of it. This past October, he and I drove all the way to Pennsylvania together. It was a long car ride, but we made the best of it! We bonded on that trip, and I know that he is such a good man that loves the Lord. It is such a blessing to me that he lives so close, partly because I can drive up to see him when I want(or he can come see me), and also because HE MET EMILY!
             Emily: She is such a blessing to me, for sure! She is the newest member of our wonderful family! She was very intimidating at first because of her outgoing personality, but honestly she doesn't know it but she is teaching me that it IS okay to be loud sometimes, and it IS okay to always just be you, NO MATTER WHAT!  Her and Mitchell just got engaged this past Sunday, and it was the cutest thing in the world!
I am so happy that she is "going to be my sister for real now!" That's what she told me on my voicemail when Mitchell popped the big question! Emily is such a wonderful lady, and honestly I don't know think I could have asked for a better sister or friend! She is just a woman that loves the Lord, and is listening to what He wants to do! I am so proud for Mitchell to have a woman like Emily! I love you SISTER!
        Now, we have Christian: Christian..... Well, he is my friend! That is honestly one of the best ways to describe him! He is so neat! There is honestly NEVER a dull moment when we are all hanging out together! Christian can make a joke out of any situation! I love Christian SO much! He is so fun to hang out with and I would not change a single thing about our relationship that we have! I know that the Lord is going to use Christian in such a mighty way! He is already using him! Christian is the master of swag for sure! I don;t know what I would have done without him these past times that I have been up there and Matthew has had to work! I love you Chrish!
           Gracie Lou! Well, she is her own person, and is very dependable. I know at first she was sorta scared to open up to me because of what other girls or people had done. But, I think I finally won her over! I love Gracie far more than she will ever comprehend. She is more that just a little sister,she is my friend. She is such a goofy kid!  I miss her more each day! I am so ready for her to come stay with me! I am so blessed to be able to have her there to paint our nails, have candle pow-wows, and just be our weird selves together! I love her so much!
            Last, but not least, Faith: The life of the party!  She is a miniature, Chinese version of Emily! They are so much a like! Faith, is such a blessing to not only me, but to anyone who meets her. She lights up a whole room. She is so funny, and is always getting into some sort of mess! I do not know if I would be able to know the things I do now, about whether God would have me to adopt if it hadn't of been for her!  My favorite part of the day is when I get to put her to bed when I am there and hear this precious child say her prayers at night. She is the most caring 7 year old you will ever meet! My life would be so different without her!    
                                 Now that all those blessings are out of the way... My BIGGEST blessing is
 GOD'S LOVE FOR ME!
He never cease to amaze me with the love that he has for me!
Now that you have read all of that, here are some wonderful pictures of all these wonderful people in my life!
                             Well, I was just kidding.... Speaking of blessings, tonight I had such a wonderful surprise from TWO of these incredible blessings! Mitchell and Emily were on the way home from Florida to Nashville... and well, what did they do? They stopped to see ME! I was at work, just doing my thing and I look up from making drinks and there they stand. It didn't occur to me it was them, and so I looked back over and let out a HUGE, SUPER high-pitched "OMGGGG!!!!" They were standing in Giovanni's! I ran over to hug them both so tight! And might I add Emily, your hugs are SO good! I got off work 30 minutes early and I took them to the bar... the SteakNShake bar! We had the best time! I was so happy to see them! I am planning a trip to go see them soon, hopefully when Matthew is down!  That was my biggest blessing for today!

       Okay, Now you can have pictures!



Those are tonights pictures of Mitchell, Emily, and I



























Well, for now keep on loving.
-Kelli Bell