Sending you Love

Big Hugs from your friends, Matt and Wendy

Valentines Pancake Breakfast at Joshua Station

We had a great time at the Pancake breakfast with our friends at Joshua Station. Most of the families came to our party to eat some yummy food that you provided us! Here are some of our friends with a special message for you!







Here are some pictures so you can feel like you were there with us.

Setting up a party for our friends

















You shared the love to some very special people in Denver, Colorado!
Thank you!!!

What's been going on with us...

As many of you read in the January Newsletter, we got back to Denver safely after the holiday journey in Texas. A few weeks later we found out that Matt's mom, Denise Caddell, went back in to the hospital with 85% leukemia in her bone marrow. Denise has been fighting cancer since 2004. With the Lord and Chemo, she has recovered from leukemia two times. Her body is weaker now because of all the Chemo in the past several years. With this information, we flew standby for a weekend and spent time at the hospital with her. Currently, Denise is in ICU being monitored more closely with a fever. Please be in prayer for Denise and our family during this season.

About one week after we got back from being in Texas with Denise, we got a call that Matt's dad Allan Martin, was being driven to the hospital with chest pains. Shortly after, we were told he was having a heart attack. Eight years ago, Allan had double by pass surgery so the thought of him going back to the hospital with a heart attack scared us. As fast as we could, we got a standby flight and headed back to Texas. When we arrived we were relieved to see him doing ok and the doctors said his heart had actually created four new arteries to pump his blood (Praise God!). These arteries were too small to do all the work needed so they put him on medication to expand those arteries. No surgery, just medication. He was out of the hospital in five days and is now recovering and taking it slow.

So, needless to say, we have been on a roller coaster of emotions. The start of 2010 has been challenging, but we know that God is in control. We all must go through the valleys to reach the mountain tops. The Lord never said this journey would be easy, but He did promise He would be there with us through it all. He is faithful and we are blessed.

Right now, we are training a potential teacher for our part-time preschool fitness business so we can drive to Texas to be with our family. Please pray the transition goes well.

As for Joshua Station, new families are moving in and many families are applying for section8 housing. The community is doing well and it is a blessing to have the opportunity to serve there. We have planned a Martin Missions event here in Denver at Joshua Station this Saturday. We are going to be serving a Valentines Pancake Breakfast. I am excited! We will be making red pancakes with red strawberries for Valentines Day weekend. I will be sure to take pictures so you can see how you, as Martin Missions supporters are affecting families!


We love you and thank you for your prayers and support!

In Christ's love,
Matthew and Wendy Martin

The Christmas Store!!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!!
This morning we had the opportunity to be apart of Mile High Ministries Christmas Store. Mile High has been doing the Christmas Store for 19 years now. The way the store works is families in need of a little extra help during the holidays are able to come purchase really nice toys for 75% off the regular store price. Mile High has a motto that they like to to stand on that we give the community a hand up, not a hand out. The parents don't walk away with free stuff, they walk away from the store with dignity that they were able to provide nice presents for their children for Christmas. There were tons of volunteers that came to be apart of this special day!


Here is a video of all the volunteers before the Christmas store shoppers arrived...





Let the shopping Begin!


Cashiers are ready for some shoppers...


Toys are ready to be taken home!


We all listened to Christmas music as the shopping took place


We were the toy stockers for kiddos ages 4-7


Helping the parents find the perfect gifts was so much fun!


How about this one?


What a blessing to so many parents and their children


After the toys were purchased, the community sat and enjoyed the music, coffee, and yummy home-made treats while their gifts were wrapped by volunteers



What a great day! I look forward to Martin Missions being able to host a yearly event like the Christmas store! So many smiles, so many lives changed by volunteers joining together to serve.. wow, just gives me goosebumps!

We love being His hands and His feet among His people! We have never been so fulfilled in life as we are right now. When God calls, we encourage you to go, step out, or just do what He says, the reward is great and the impact you can make will change your life and the lives around you for eternity!

Thankful in 2009

Our Thanksgiving was wonderful this year! First we started off our festivities at Joshua Station on Wednesday night. The community came together to give thanks for all that we have been given. Matt and I cooked alot of potatoes and boy did they go fast! Here are some pictures and a video from our fun night at Joshua Station.














Volunteers from a local church came to decorate and serve us turkey, dressing, and gravy! Here they are in the community kitchen preparing the meal.




















Having fun together, giving thanks.














We are blessed to have the opportunity to be apart of such a life changing place.



Thursday, Thanksgiving Day with our friends, the Franson's


Jessie and Wendy


It was such a beautiful day, we decided to go play at the park





We hope you had a very Happy Thanksgiving. We are thankful for all the Lord has blessed us with this year. We are thankful for your love, prayers, and support!

October Blessings

Martin Missions hosted a pumpkin painting "Family Pumpkin Picnic" at Linda Spurlock Park in North Richland Hills. Even though the weather was rainy (Unexpected), we still had fun painting pumpkins, feeding the duckies, and spending time together.


Make a Smilebox scrapbook

October was a month of some expected and some unexpected blessings for Matt and I. We were prepared to leave for Matt's sister's wedding the first week of October when the Monday before we left we got an unexpected call from our renters back in Texas at 5am that our house (which we just finished remodeling in March) was flooded. The renters woke up to several inches of water under their feet because of a busted line under the sink in the kitchen. We left right away as we made phone calls to clean up the mess the water had created. We are blessed to have insurance! For the rest of the month we scheduled help to RE remodel our home. It was sad to see all the hard work ruined, but we were able to make the house even nicer for our renters and it also raised our resale value. The house got new paint, carpet, base boards, all new tile flooring (that looks like wood) in the living areas, kitchen cabinets, countertops, backsplash, and lighting.

(Unexpected)


Thank you to James and Abby Crowley, Eva Martin, Danny and Heidi Cox, and Barbra Elder for allowing us to stay in your home! Also, a Huge thank you to all our friends that provided meals for us during our stay, your company and food was wonderful!
We are blessed to have such wonderful friends and family.

While we were in Texas we were able to be apart of some fun times! Check out what we were able to be apart of while remodeling our home...

My Sister in law, Melissa's Tea before her wedding (Expected)~

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Aaron and Melissa's Fun Wedding (Expected)~

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Family Fall Festival Martin Style at Michael's school(Expected)~

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

And last but not least.. Early Thanksgiving and Big Announcement with Granddaddy(Unexpected)~

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

And to all our supporters who receive our newsletter, October was a crazy month, sorry we were unable to send you an update. You will be getting an update in the mail soon! If you are not on our list and would like to be, email us or message us on facebook with your address. Thanks!

"You Did It Mommy!"

Today was Town Hall meeting at Joshua Station. Town Hall is held the first Thursday of every month after community dinner. During this meeting, residents are informed of changes, announcements are made, and best of all those who have completed the program are announced. This is a story that melted my heart and brought me to tears. One of the residents had completed the program and moved into stable housing so this was the night that the staff was to announce the graduation. Her family advocate stood up with her in the front of the room and began telling us all the struggles and accomplishments that had taken place over the past year she had been a resident. The resident had also brought her four year old son who had walked this journey with his mom. He sat patiently and quietly as the family advocate wrapped up the congrats and gave his mom the framed graduation certificate. Everyone clapped and as the room then got quiet her son made this precious statement, "Mommy you did it!" Four years old, I can not imagine how proud he was of his mommy. This right here is good news my friends. Lives are being changed forever. Everyday we learn more and more stories that make us thankful to be apart of this incredible adventure and drive us to help families. Thank you for reading my story. This is what we love to do.