July was one of our busiest months — we hosted three separate teams in our home! We absolutely love hosting people and directing teams, but it was definitely exhausting. Some of the coordination became really challenging, especially because it feels like the ministry (and us) just can’t catch a break when it comes to vehicles.
The ministry van has been down since last year, and we were hosting a team of nine. I came up with backup plans that involved three drivers and multiple vehicles — but then our truck gave out, and another vehicle I thought was working ended up not being able to handle the longer trips.
As for our truck… we already knew the radiator was gone, and we had been praying hard it wasn’t the water pump, since that would be costly. But then we found out it was actually the head gasket — and this happened just days before our team of nine arrived. We told the mechanic, “Please just fix it. We’ll figure out the money later.” We had no other option.
Our mechanic friend fixed it, and then we got the call… it needs a new engine or an engine rebuild.
During all of this, Jay and I were really struggling with our sense of worth. It felt like we couldn’t do anything right because nothing was going right. The enemy was using people’s words to reinforce that lie. So when we got that call — I broke. We’ve put off $70 vehicle repairs for over a year because of financial struggles… how could we ever raise enough for an engine?
In that moment, I felt like I was supposed to make a post and just be honest: we are not okay. It wasn’t just the vehicle breaking down — emotionally, we were exhausted and desperately needed encouragement.
Very quickly, people began reaching out — encouraging us, donating toward the truck. Within a week, we had enough money to start the truck project. That has never happened for us before. God has always provided, but usually after months of waiting. We were in disbelief.
Then, just this past week, we got a call from someone who wanted to donate toward the truck — and now we have all the money needed. Praise God! We received the largest donations we’ve ever received through this.
And it didn’t stop there.
God continued to bless us in so many ways — through people’s messages of encouragement, a family vacation, financial gifts that meant the world to us, even friends covering our dinner. All these small acts were clear reminders that God has had us the whole time. We knew that, but when you feel so beaten down, it can be hard to see clearly.
God is so good.
But, he is so good even when he doesn’t answer immediately.
During this month, we also have had some crazy earthquakes. Within a week it was recorded that there was over 1000 earthquakes and aftershocks.
Ways to pray:
We are still struggling with discouragement in areas. Please be praying for us in that way.
If you feel led to give a one time gift or monthly, you can through these areas.
Venmo- Kelsie-wester
Paypal- kgwester@gmail.com
Our website- jaykelsie.com
Thank you for reading and praying with us!
Love,
Jay, Kelsie, and Logan
