A BitterSweet Trip

We are back from our trip to ATL, the Tenessee, then back to ATL and now home. It was truly an amazing trip. God always shows up the most in the midst of sorrow. Jonate's funeral - man the Lord breathed ALLL over that place! There was tears of release, tears of sadness, tears of praise, tears of joy in the Lord...there were strong words of encouragement, hilarious stories, and songs of worship like no other. It was very encouraging to see the peace that Brandy and Jonate's parents had. Kind of unbelievable. Yet not really, because that is the God we serve. One that promises to give a peace the surpasses all understanding (Phil 4:7)...One that is closest to those who are broken-hearted (Psalms 34:18, Psalms 147:3). Thank you Lord. And as we all said our final farewell around the grave site, the softest rain drops began to fall. I can't explain it, but Father you were certainly standing amongst us all.
The rest of the trip was seriously amazing as well. Just being able to spend time with our good friends Eian and Des and David, seeing some very familiar faces, giving some much needed hugs. The line up: Ivana, Natasha, Carine, George, Lynette, Ryan, Mimose, Jessica. Wow. And of course there was Soleil and her beautiful face. Ahhh...cutest face ever! What a trip indeed. We laughed our deepest laugh, and shed our deepest tears all in one weekend. I think Jonate would of had it no other way. :-)

Rest Peacefully...

This week was a rough one for us. We lost a dear friend and a brother in Christ. And will be traveling to Tennessee for his home-going this Friday.   Jonate Scales, we will all miss you. But we know that although many of us grieve your loss, you have gone home to be with the Lord. And what better place can there be than that? We will miss your friendship, your anointed voice that always challenged us to worship the Lord with everything we have and much more. For those of you reading we ask for prayers for Jonate's family including his wife Brandy and daughter Madison. To Brandy and the Scales family, we love you all and with earnest hearts we will continue to pray for strength, the peace that surpasses human understanding, and joy in the midst of sorrow.

With all our love,
The Woods

The adorable Photobooth pics from our wedding :-)