MERRY CHRISTMAS

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of our friends and family. We did not get any Christmas cards out this year, so we wanted to post some pictures of our time at Disney (thank you, Grandma and Grandpa Rood for such a nice vacation) and update you on what we've been doing this last month since we have been home from India.

2 weeks after returning from India to the YWAM base in Salem, Oregon, my (Jen's) parents gave us an early Christmas present... an all-expense paid trip to Disney World. The kids were estatic and couldn't wait to explore Disney with their Nana and Papa and the rest of the Brott Family (Jen's Mom's side of the family). We had a family reunion and a few birthday celebrations all in the week we were at Disney. It was definitely a trip to remember. Below are a few pictures from our trip.



Magic Kingdom Castle at night









Ayla and Alana with Jasmine and Aladdin



Some of the Brott Family waiting for the parade

Papa, Eli and Ayla in Mexico at Epcot



Ayla and her cousins with Cinderella



We are back in Michigan now living with my (Jen's) parents temporarily until we return to the YWAM Salem base in Salem, Oregon. We are actively trying to raise our monthly support so we can return as soon as possible. We will be staffing the Crossroads Discipleship Training School (the course we just graduated from) starting in June and will lead the outreach to a foreign country in the fall. We will also work in the training department on base and have a chance to work with each of the many ministries the YWAM Salem base has. We are SO excited for the journey God has our family on and we would love to have you partner with us as we head into missions fulltime. All of our financial support is now ran through the YWAM Salem base with tax deductible receipts being sent out on a monthly basis for your convenience. If you would like to support us financially or get on our newsletter list and stay better informed on what we're doing, please send me an email at sjdoylefamily@gmail.com 

We hope you all remember the reason for this season and have a very Merry Christmas. Thank you for your love and interest you have shown our family. We love you all and are so thankful for each and every one of you. HAPPY HOLIDAYS. 



Doyle Family Update

Greetings Friends and Family!

We have returned from our 2 month outreach to Southern India and are so excited to share with you what God has done in and through us! We would like to start by thanking you for your prayer and support for our family these past 5 months. It hasn’t always been easy, but God is good and He gave us the strength to continue moving forward when we were tired.

Our outreach began in the city of Trichy where it was hotter than blazes and the mosquitoes were constantly hungry. We were able to teach English to a local Christian university and we also tutored some children in a nearby slum. We were beginning to start new ministries when a call from a radical Hindu group threatened persecution to our team and the YWAM base in Trichy if we didn’t leave within 24hrs. After much prayer and consultation with local authorities and YWAM leaders, our group decided to flee Trichy and travel through the night to Bangalore, India.

We spent a good month in Bangalore doing a wide variety of ministries. Shane preached at a church in the slums and a youth event, I gave my testimony at a local Bible College, we both helped distribute food to children in the slums, Shane helped to tear down and rebuild a church in the slums, I spent time playing with children at an AIDS home, we both spent a day cleaning and gardening at a catholic home for the aged, and our whole family spent a week at a Christian orphanage playing and worshiping with the children. Our time in Bangalore was phenomenal.

Our last 2 weeks of outreach were spent in Chennai, India. Our ministries in Chennai mainly consisted of prayer walks and open air evangelism through Hindu & Muslim neighborhoods and villages. Open air evangelism is where you literally walk into the streets and begin sharing your testimony, preaching a message, and praying for people who want to be prayed over. We were able to share the Good News, witness healings, and lead a few Hindu’s to salvation thru Christ. It was amazing!

We returned on Nov. 6 to the YWAM Salem base where we graduated from our Crossroads Discipleship Training School (CDTS) and were commissioned as YWAM missionaries. We are now getting ready to head back to Michigan where we will begin to raise our support. We are feeling led to return to YWAM Salem for a period of time to apprentice under the leadership of the YWAM base and help staff the next CDTS class. We are still moving towards ministering overseas working with orphans, but we have felt that God is telling us that our next step in our incredible journey is to get more experience in leadership and in missions before heading to another country. We are excited to come back to YWAM Salem to train & equip staff and students, work in the CDTS Department, and help in other roles on base as needed.

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Wearing Indian Saree's

Team Worship & Intercession under the laundry on the roof of the place we were staying

Orphanage

Shane tutoring children from the slums in English & Math

Signing with the kids at the Orphanage. I love hearing their Indian accents in this song. We loved these kids!

Update from India

Greetings Friends and Family!!!
We are so sorry that this is our first update to our blog from India, but there hasn't been a lot of time or internet use. I don't have a way to upload any pictures right now, so once we return to Salem after outreach, I will  do a big post and show you a bunch of pictures from our time here in India.

We are currently ending the 5th week of our 8 week outreach. It's hard to believe we are in the home-stretch now. It's been an interesting outreach... I think that's the best way to describe it.  :-)  The first two weeks were spent in Trichy where it was unbelievably hot and humid. It was so hot it was miserable. One morning the leader in Trichy received a call with a warning for our team to leave within 24 hours or face persecution by a radical Hindu extremist group. At the time we were not sure how "real" the threat was, but we went into a time of prayer and seeking the Lord's guidance. Several calls were made to individuals higher up in our organization and word came that we must leave. We contacted all of the various ministries we were working at and let them know that we would no longer be able to serve them and then we packed all of our belongings up and boarded a bus at 11pm. We rode the bus through the night to a new location and have been at this new location for the past several weeks. Thankfully this new location has been much  cooler and much more acceptable of our white skin. We are planning to move again on Tuesday morning - not because of any problems, but simply because we are a good 6 hours away from the airport we need to fly out of when we return to Salem and we are able to work directly with our organization in the new city. I guess we're getting a good look at India!  ;-)

We have had some health issues with our team, a few hospital visits for various team members and stitches for our littlest team member. We have also been struggling with lice. Apparently this is a very common problem in India. Not fun.

We have worked in the slums, taught English to college students, worked at a few orphanages, worked at an HIV/AIDS home, cleaned at an nursing home type facility, etc. We are excited for the experiences and the opportunities that we have had so far and are thrilled about some of the opportunities that are coming up in our move. Please keep our team and our family in your prayers. God is doing some awesome things with our team and we know that the "attacks" we have felt from the enemy are simply because he is unhappy with what we are doing. So for that, we praise the Lord.

I must go for now, but will update when I can. We love you all!!!

Travel Itinerary

We would appreciate your prayers for our team as we have a LOT of travel in the next few days. Please pray for a safe flight, health for all team members, patience for parents and SLEEP FOR CHILDREN.  :-)

To India from USA

Portland, OR to Vancouver, Canada

Vancouver, Canada to Seoul, Korea

Seoul, Korea to Mumbai, India

Mumbai, India to Chennai, India



To USA from India

Chennai, India to Mumbai, India

Mumbai, India to Seoul, Korea

Seoul, Korea to Vancouver, Canada

Vancouver, Canada to Portland, OR

Pictures

Pictures are worth a million words, right!? We have been so busy lately with family visiting and training for outreach that I haven't had the chance to update our blog in a few weeks. We are all doing well and are getting really excited to leave for India. My parents are due to arrive on Thursday afternoon and we are SO excited to spend a long weekend with them. We've been busy trying to "pack" up our room as they are driving our vehicle home with all of our belongings EXCEPT what we are bringing to India. Below are some pictures from the beach day our base had (all of the staff and students went) at Pacific City and the other pictures are from this past Saturday when we spent a large part of the day on the ropes course here on campus. The ropes course teaches a lot of team building skills and involves a lot of fun! I will be getting a newsletter out after my parents leave. Until then... enjoy the pictures!

Pacific City, Oregon

Hannah, Ayla, Sierra & Alethia

My team working on a strategy

Eli is in the upper right corner getting ready to jump off the platform

Eli flying through the air on the "Giant Swing"

Look Mom... NO HANDS!!

Shane swinging upside down on the Giant Swing

Ayla and I swinging together and waving - our harnesses are hooked together

Ayla and Sierra Singing

New Hairdo

Mommy had to go away for a few hours and Daddy thought it would be a good time to give Elijah a haircut. Since Mommy didn't get home until the kiddos were asleep, Daddy decided it would be fun to "surprise" Mommy with the new haircut and not tell her about it until Elijah woke up in the morning. I'm sure you can imagine the surprise Mommy had when she saw Elijah.  :-)

Elijah's friend Ethan also got a haircut that night... Ethan's Mommy was present during the haircutting so she wasn't quite as shocked.  ;-)

Pictures Are Worth A Million Words

Some of these pictures are a few weeks old now (can you believe we have been in Salem for a month now!?) but I thought it would give you a good idea of some of the fun we have had as well as give you a look at our classmates. Before I forget - Ayla seems to be doing better. She only had a coughing fit a few times last night and has barely coughed today. I bought her some children's Mucinex and it seems to really be helping to break up the tightening in her chest. Thank you for ALL of your prayers. This past week was a rough one! On to the pictures....

SLEEPOVER WITH ETHAN AND SIERRA!!!!

FIREWORKS WITH AYLA AND HANNA AT YWAM WHILE THE OLDER KIDS WENT TO THE REAL FIREWORKS IN TOWN. THE VIDEO IS FUNNY ONLY BECAUSE WE WERE EXPECTING AN ACTUAL FIREWORK OR SOMETHING WITH A LITTLE MORE "BANG" THAN WHAT HAPPENED. YOU'LL JUST HAVE TO WATCH TO SEE.  :-)

BELOW ARE PICTURES OF ELIJAH AND HIS FRIENDS ETHAN AND AMOS "FISHING" IN THE CREEK THAT RUNS THROUGH CAMPUS. THEY ARE FISHING FOR CRAWDADS WITH A STICK, SOME YARN, AND A PIECE OF A HOTDOG. THEY WERE BEYOND EXCITED WHEN THEY CAUGHT TWO CRAWDADS THE OTHER NIGHT!

Our Room

This is a picture standing right inside our bedroom door. We have 2 dressers for all of our clothes and one small closet. To the left is a desk with our computer and a bunch of other junk. To the right is our queen bed. The blue tub in front of the bed is Shane's dresser. LOL.

In the corner of our room is this sink. We do not have a sink in our bathroom since we share it with another family.

Ayla is standing inside our door. Our bed is on the left side of the photo and our computer desk is on the right.

Another view of our "side" of the room

This is our shared toilet and bathtub. It has a constant "musty" smell to it. BUT - at least we get warm water.  :-)

The Flying Squirrel

This was a team building exercise that we did today. The children ages 6 and up were able to participate with us. Elijah was the very first person to go. He loved it! Shane had to be different and he wore a full body harness where the rope was attached in the back. Unfortunately, I do not have a video clip of myself to show, but I thought you'd enjoy seeing the boys.

Our first week

I have to start out by apologizing for not updating our blog sooner. Our only excuse is that we have been EXHAUSTED since our classes started. Our schedule is much more intense than I was prepared for and I'm finding it difficult to fit everything in. This update is probably very random and all over the place, but I'm tired. :-) We are truly happy that we are here and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is where the Lord wants us.

It is so exciting to be among like-minded people. They get it. They have either been in missions or are looking to go into missions. Our class is very multi-cultural and is a good size after you add up the adults and the children. Our children are LOVING their C.O.D. (Child Of Destiny) program and have made a ton of friends this past week. They love having so many kids around all the time (back home we didn't have many neighborhood kids to play with). Just today, Ayla thanked me for bringing her to Oregon. All I could do was smile. I am so thankful that our children are adjusting and are happy to be here.

This week we are doing a lot of team building exercises to help us get to know each other and to help us begin to think as "we" and not "I". It has been a lot of fun and has really helped break the ice with everyone. We were given the book, "Is that really You, God?" by Loren Cunningham (the man to started YWAM) and have to have it read by tomorrow. Shane was a little nervous about the reading requirements, but so far he's done great. We also were assigned to a small group (Shane is with a few other men and I am with a few other women) with other classmates and one staff member. We will meet with our small group once a week to share what's on our mind, or digest some of what we've been learning or we can talk about where God is working in our lives. We also have 1:1 time with a staff member once a week. This one on one time is meant for discipleship (mentoring), friendship, etc. They made it very clear to us that they, as a staff are here for us. They have been praying for us, by name, since we applied to the Salem YWAM. That is so exciting to us.

Our class time, which is from 9:30-1pm every day, we have lunch at 1pm and then we have work duties (Shane is on transportation and I have Dinner Prep) from 3-5pm. I'm trying to get my time switched as it is very difficult to spend any time with the children when we are both gone. Our small group time is scheduled from 1:45pm - 2:45pm once a week. It makes for a hectic day.

We seem to have some pretty cool staff members. Howard is the class leader. He's an older man (I'd put him in his mid to late 60's) who's a little quirky and beats to his own drummer. He loves to go off on rabbit trails and he claims to "do as the Spirit directs him". He opened class today asking all of us to raise our hands as he was about to pray for the Holy Spirit to dwell in the classroom and to bless our time together. While he was praying he randomly started praying for Shane. It was the coolest, unexpected prayer. I wished I remembered specifically what he said, but it moved Shane and I both to tears. He asked the Lord to use Shane in a mighty way and to bless him for his obedience. He said a few "prophetic" things (that I can't remember anymore) in his prayer and then prayed for 2 other people. It was really cool.

Next week officially begins the lecture portion of our training. They are bringing a new speaker every week to cover various topics. I'm excited to see how the lectures go. I've been hearing that we have some of the best speakers out there!  :-)

I have some journaling (homework) to do and would like to get to bed at a decent time so it's time for me to sign off. I will try to update again as soon as I can. Updating will most likely occur on weekends.

Thank you all for the prayers and emails of encouragement you have sent us. While I may not have responded to them yet, we have read them and are so encouraged by them. Please keep our family in your prayers. We are out of our comfort zone (which we believe is right where God wants us) and we are ready to learn!

Catch Up

I'm trying to play catch up today... but it's going to be a little difficult because my darling hubby forgot our camera cord at home. He thought he had packed it, but I'm pretty sure I saw it sitting on the desk in the office at my parent's house. Therefore - this will be an update with NO pictures.  :(

On Sunday, June 13th we had a "Goodbye Open House" at my parent's house. It was a great way for us to see a lot of our friends and family in one place before we left. Unfortunately we felt that we did not get to chat very long with most people, and for that, we felt bad. There were SO many people... it was just hard to talk with anyone for too long. It meant a lot to us to see so many people come and encourage us with kind words and prayer. Thank you to everyone for coming and a special thank you to those of you who left us a card. Some cards were filled with encouragement and some were filled with gift cards and money to help with expenses. We were VERY touched by every card. I also want to thank all of my friends who so graciously brought food to the Open House. You are all so sweet. Thank You again to everyone for making our Open House so wonderful.

We got up early on Monday morning (3am to be exact) and were on the road by 4am. We traveled to Lincoln, NE to stay with our friends, Brian and Christi Berrier. We arrived at their home around 4pm on Monday and stayed with them till 4pm on Tuesday. We drove until 11pm on Tuesday night and stayed at a Motel 6 in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Today we went to a park to let the kids play, drove around downtown Cheyenne and then drove until 4pm. We are currently at the border of Wyoming and Utah. We decided end our driving early today as we wanted to get a hotel with an indoor pool and have some fun with the kids. We ordered some pizza, swam in the pool, let the kids drink some Sprite (for those who know me well - this was a big treat for my kiddos) and now both kids are sound asleep.

A & E have done extremely well with all the riding in the car. We have TONS of stuff for them to do (color, video games, DVD's, toys, etc) and we've tried to stop often to stretch and go potty. Tomorrow our goal is to get through Utah and most if not all of Idaho before getting a hotel tomorrow evening. Our plan is to arrive sometime on Friday... preferably early afternoon, but we'll just see how tomorrow goes.

I'm going to try to have my Mom send me my computer cord, so hopefully I can upload photos soon!

Prayer Request

Just a quick note to ask for your prayer for my (Jen) Dad. He has had a really bad headache since Sunday evening and was admitted to the hospital yesterday afternoon. His blood pressure was dangerously high and they were having a hard time getting it to come down. When the medication would start to work and bring his bp down, it would not stay down. They have given him morphine to help with the headache, but after some temporary relief it seems to come back with a vengeance. They have performed a cat scan to rule out bleeding in the brain and everything came back looking normal. They have performed some blood work to check for mini strokes and that too came back looking normal. A neurologist was supposed to come see him sometime this afternoon and they are planning to keep him overnight again as they cannot get his bp regulated (it's lower but still too high) or get his pain at a manageable level (on a scale of 1-10 he was a 20 this morning). Please keep my Dad (and Mom) in your prayers. This is not how any of us want to spend our last few days together before we leave. THANK YOU.

Welcome

Welcome to our NEW blog. As many of you know, I use to have a blog that I was horrible at updating, but now that we are leaving for 5 months, I thought this would be a great way to keep our friends and family up-to-date with our family adventures. We will still be sending out our monthly newsletters via email, but this blog will be an easier way to post pictures and videos and is a little more interactive.

In case you haven't noticed, we have a tab up above titled "Newsletters" that has all of our past newsletters so you can go back and catch up if needed. We will also be adding any new newsletters in the future.

Please feel free to share this link with anyone who might be interested in our journey!