*** CURRENT - 2020 - If your interested we're making some REALLY TERRIBLE videos based around food and family over at tyronebcookin.com . Our plan is to get better as we do more. LOL!***
[JULY 2019] THANK YOU for following our journey these last two years as our family served with Mercy Ships! We appreciate your prayers, encouragment, financial support...We are so grateful for you partnering with us! -- We are now back in Alabama trying to transition back into our community. ~ The Barton Family

Sunday, July 28, 2019

The end is just the beginning!

Thank you! You have prayed, gave, encouraged, and/or showed your support by being there to listen.

For the last two years, we have been with Mercy Ships serving in West Africa as a family! A  year before that we prayed, made plans, completed tons of paperwork, and had several medical appointments (and shots). You made that possible.

We are thankful that we were able to complete our original commitment. But we know that our time is over with Mercy Ships for this season of life. We shared (earlier this year) Ezra needs some educational help beyond what the academy can provide.

Transitions are hard. We came back to Alabama in June sad that we could not continue but in some ways happy the decision was clear. Continue to pray for us! We struggle with all the changes in returning to the states and all the changes still coming. Our family was living in a community with a 500 square foot cabin. Eating meals together in the dining room, bumping into each other in the halls, at work, fighting for a spot on the list in the laundry room...But now, we are struggling to find a good balance again. Thank the Lord for family & friends!

God has answered prayer BIG! That's something we continue to learn. Because our minds are limited, we often limit what we think is possible with God. That's a mistake.

Remember the last newsletter list of prayer requests? Every one of those ANSWERED, and WOW were they answered.


We would like to describe a few answers to prayer:
  • Securing employment - The jobs we secured? Wow, great timing and seem a great fit for us.
  • Finding Residence - We are so happy to be skipping the apartment and going straight to a house. Why? It removes another transition which is healthier for all of us.
  • Buy a vehicle - Truth is, we didn't actually buy a vehicle. A family gave us one for free!
Once again, thank y'all for partnering with us! Continue to pray for our family as the transitions are very hard on our boys and we are feeling the struggle as well. Big feelings, big emotions, uncertainty...nothing is "for sure" to them anymore. BUT having family, friends, and returning to a place they used to live for most of their young lives helps. We all process in different ways.

Please feel free to ask us any questions and/or share your feelings with us! We would love to hear from you! - There are future plans being made for a few local "shares" as soon as we can stabilize our lives a bit and find some routine.

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2020 UPDATE: We are back at tyronebcookin.com doing cooking posts on our blog and our Youtube channel Youtube.com/tyronebcookin.