The Wilkes Team

The attacks on the family will only increase with the passing of time. Praise the Lord that He is raising a mighty generation to stand in the ever widening gap within our land. He is preserving a remnant – oh may we as families be sober, vigilant, and having done all to stand.

One of the purposes behind the Family Encouragement Weekend is to encourage families to work together, impact their local communities for Christ, and to leave a Godly legacy for the generations to come. Each FEW Conference contains rich seasons of prayer, exhortation, and fellowship with families whose desire is to live according to the Word of God.

What a blessed weekend this was! We walked away from this conference so encouraged, inspired, uplifted, and ready to continue on in the small corner of the world that God has placed us!

There are several other meaningful reports on this past weekend:

- From the Neely Team – From the Girotti Family

- From the Hynes Family

We also look forward to having a copy of the messages uploaded to: www.FEWconference.com. This will be provided shortly.

5 Comments » | posted in Ministry Reports

Oh the magnificent displays of God’s character to splendidly declared in the world of nature around us. Yet how often do we rush past these little tributes to God’s glory. What a blessing to have siblings who are alert to the beauty of God at work around them, especially in the world of nature.

During a recent dinner hour and while Kenan was walking into the kitchen, he suddenly exclaimed with joy and wonder, the spectacular setting sun. Amidst the shades of vivid pink, red, and orange, we marveled over the bold rays of sunlight emitting from behind the mountains. The wonder was magnificent to behold and a timely reminder to take the time to notice the hand of our loving Creator throughout His creation.

1 Comment » | posted in Outdoor Adventures, Photography

When a recent opportunity arose for Mom, Jennifer, and Sarah to attend a special course that amounted to 9 days of travel, Hannah was placed in the position of ‘lady of the Wilkes Team house.’ This came as a new experience to her but one for which she had been prepared by the loving and caring direction of our wonderful mother.

Through her faithfulness, joy, and submission, Hannah graciously stepped into the new role. All 7 young men in our home were blessed immensely by her diligence, organization, and scrum-dilly-licious meals. She was a true support and blessing to all seven of us! Thank you Mom, Jennifer, and Sarah for your beautiful examples and excellent job training Hannah. We were 7 blessed young men.

5 Comments » | posted in Family News

The family is the building block of society. Undermine the family and society will grow unstable. Stability in family life comes from purposeful decisions to maintain relationships.

Grandpa and Grandma have long been an example of loyalty and faithfulness. They have helped to impart to their children the building blocks of strong, Biblical families.

We always enjoy the opportunity to be together with our extended family. Dad’s siblings have younger families. Watching them grow up and seeing their love for God grow is a blessing and truly a testimony to the grace of God and the faithful prayers of Grandma.

For the June birthdays, we had one large celebration here at the farmhouse. Two of Dad’s siblings with their families and Grandpa and Grandma made it out.

Our time together was truly precious. Just before opening gifts, there was a meaningful time of remembering God’s grace upon the Wilkes family in preserving Grandma from cancer. Through a series of miraculous events in 1991, the Lord halted the inevitable death that stage four cancer would have resulted. Now almost 20 years later (next year), the cancer has not returned. Grandma has lived a vibrant life these past 19 years, has had the joy of seeing the birth of her 20th grandchild, and abundantly blessed the lives of untold hundreds through her loving and servant’s heart.

As we counted our many blessings this year and celebrated the births of Grandma, Aunt Summer, Sarah, Kenan, and Joshua, there was also much joy over the preservation of Grandma’s life.

2 Comments » | posted in Family News

The majority of the move was now complete. Thanks to our first class team of movers, the majority of our belongings now resided in Culpeper. And so as we looked towards turning our home over to the new owners and the dust began to settle, we realized that a significant cleaning operation was looming on the horizon. How could this be overcome? The answer – 12 Blessings from North Carolina. Though they had to of been wearied after a week of intense work in service to their Grandmother living in upstate New York, the Neely Team offered to invest themselves into our family. Furthermore, our home was lacking furniture and other usual comforts of hospitality but this did not bother the Neely Team. They arrived with gracious, energy giving spirits and hearts ready to serve.

Following a scrum-dilly-licious breakfast Saturday morning, vacuums roared to life, spray bottles began to discharge, paper towels scrubbed, and dust began to disappear. Dirty nooks and crannies from top to bottom were identified, attacked, and eliminated. Windows began to sparkle, trim to glisten, and bathrooms to squeak. A task of ponderous proportions was promptly performed with an overflowing abundance of joy, laughter, and fellowship.

After much diligence, the two teams rallied to the vans for a trip to Culpeper and a tour of the construction sight and our temporary housing.

Grandpa and Grandma along with a couple cousins, blessed us with their presence later on that evening when we had a birthday celebration for Kathryn, Jessica, Grandma, Joshua, Kenan, and Sarah.

The day came to a fitting close as everyone sang and praised our Lord and Savior around the pianos.

Thank you Neely Team for blessing our home!

Click here for the Neely Team’s report & more pictures

1 Comment » | posted in Family News

The long awaited day arrived all of a sudden – the time had come for our family to leave once and for all our home of 21 years.  This has been the Lord’s doing and it is marvelous in our eyes (Ps. 118:23). He has laid before us enough light for the next step which we are seeking to walk in by faith.

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were full days of packing up our home. Wednesday evening the moving truck arrived along with a team of energy giving Halbach family members and Tim Hynes. Ready to help, ready to serve – even if it involved matching socks .

Members from three of four more families graciously arrived the following day. And though the move has been potentially stressful, we have found much peace and joy stemming from the love and support of the body of Christ.

Thank you to each and every precious family – Grandpa, the Thrashes, Halbachs, Hynes, Potters, & Butlers -  who gave up time to invest into our family! We are overwhelmed by the giving hearts which have abounded toward us.

See the Hynes family blog for another report & more pictures!

5 Comments » | posted in Family News

Much joy was had in all the labor (Eccl. 2:10) of the weekend. Our time camping together culminated with a blessed day of fellowship with almost all the families from church.

There is something special about singing songs like ‘How Great thou Art’ while standing beneath the whispering sounds of blowing leaves, the friendly chirps of the birds, and the babbling creek.

Our hearts were drawn closer to the Savior while sitting on rows of hay bales beneath the welcomed shade of the trees. The day further emphasized the fact that church is not the building but rather the body of Christ gathered together for worship before our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

5 Comments » | posted in Family News, Outdoor Adventures