happy new year!

I've been gone since November, and while I apologize, we've had a lot of life happen these past few months!  

But, I'll start your news years off with one of my favorite stories - 

Jamie and I are a part of a church in Buckhead that we love, appropriately named Buckhead Church.  From the time we committed to making this place our church home, we were well informed of their vision for members - Connect. Serve. Give. Invite.

Today's story comes from the Serve aspect.

Because of really great experiences that Jamie and I both had with our own college ministries, we decided to invest our energy and resources into the college ministry at BC.  And our lives will never be the same.

Three and a half years ago, we became adult leaders (ha! makes me feel old!) for a small group of freshman college students who would gather at our house once a week and attempt to learn more about Jesus and grow in their faith.  While we've seen some of those students come and go, there are a few who have stuck with us and we've had the privilege to watch them grow, mature, wrestle through some serious stuff, and become somewhat like our surrogate children.  Thankfully, we have at least a year left with most of them, but...

Two of those boys were Lucas + Victor, international student athletes at Georgia State.  They both came from Brazil and played tennis for four years.  Both of their stories were different, but the two became like brothers, and partly because they were so far from home we became their American parents.  

We've had the huge honor of seeing incredible life change happen in them over the years.  Victor made the decision to give his life to Jesus and got baptized (you should check out his video here!), they won countless tennis matches and even got to go to the NCAA tennis championship as doubles partners (and made it to the round of 16!), invested and changed the lives of all those that knew them, and brought such fun, hysterical laughter, and life!  

Victor and Lucas graduated from Georgia State University this past December, graciously spent the Christmas season with us, and then headed back to Brazil to begin their post-graduate lives at home with their families.  We are so excited to see what's to come for them, and yet sad to see them leave.  

Victor & Lucas, we consider you a part of our family (Hammond already misses his big brothers!), and can't wait to come visit soon!  

And here's an awesome video they put together for us just the other day!

Baptism

February 24th was one of those days that I added to my short bullet point list of things I will never forget.  

I got baptized.

You can hear my story in a nutshell in the video below.  When I accepted Jesus, when I started pursuing a personal relationship with Him, and when I realized I needed to be baptized.  

Molly Hargather from Buckhead Church Baptisms on Vimeo.

this is the picture of my wonderful and enormous family

that they accidentally left out of the video :)

I'll never be able to put into words how grateful I am that God changed the heart of a stubborn, rebellious teenager.  He has changed my life in so many more ways than I could have imagined.  He gives me hope in a world that is often hopeless.  He gives me joy when I'm not feeling it.  And He offers peace when the storms are raging.  He is the only source of true life, and that life is irreplaceable.  

But what overwhelmed me the morning of my baptism most specifically was the community of people who have come into my life because He saved me.  Most of my closest friends from college thru today are a part of my life because we share our love for Jesus. And my husband and I chose each other because of our love for Jesus. 
(I certainly can't imagine my life without him (or sweet little Hammond)!)

I understand that some of you don't know Jesus and some of you don't care to.  But, based on my relationship with Him, I really do pray that one day you'll know Him the way that I do.  

Waumba Land

Today we took Hammond to Waumba Land for the first time ever.  As in, we registered, signed in, and dropped our 10 1/2 week baby boy off and went to church without him!

Now, we love our church and it's only possible for us to do this knowing that he will be taken great care of and in the hands of amazing believers who have a desire to see our son grow to know God.  But it was a range of emotions for the dad and I.  

I love our little man, but I didn't struggle with being away from him for an hour.  What got me all emotional was thinking about how these unique ministries at our church are going to have a part in Hammond growing to know Jesus.  The primary responsibility is on J and I, but we LOVE that our church partners with us in such amazing, creative, and intriguing ways.  And today was just the start of many years, environments, and opportunities that Hammond is going to have.  

I happen to think that Buckhead has some of the greatest children's' ministries around, but I am still nostalgic about my home church and my time spent there as a youth.  I'm so looking forward to watching Hammond grow and learn and enjoy his time on Sundays!

a blurry capture of a big moment :)

mom, dad, and uncle rich

ILMC

I. Love. My. Church.

I do.  Jamie and I have been attending Buckhead Church since before we were together.  While we did a little church hopping at one point in our relationship, we have definitely come to realize that BC is home for us.  The College Ministry.  Andy's teaching.  Our community there.  Their ministries for kids (baby H is going to LOVE them all!).  And the Be Rich campaign.  

Every year our church launches an initiative to be the church to our local community.  Lots of money is raised, countless hours are served, and hearts of people in our city are moved. None of this comes back to our church in any way, except in the feeling of gratitude when its people are blessed with opportunities to give and serve.  I am reminded that this is how Jesus moved.  This is how He lived.  

If you're interested in doing something for your community this year (or at least our community, if Atlanta's not your place of residence), you can visit the Be Rich website at this link.  There are opportunities to give and opportunities to serve.  

[Also, I might have heard a little rumor that in one Sunday, the $500,000 goal was already met.  However, don't let that deter you!  We are reaching further than that with a goal of $1,000,000 raised for an even greater opportunity to reach our community.]

I'm grateful Buckhead give us countless opportunities to be the church.  

the God of this city

I know I've mentioned this song before, but a news article that I just read made it all the more real to me. A church in Woodstock, GA opened its doors early this morning to provide free dental work to anyone who would show up. Turns out hundreds of people did (see below picture). Some even camped out on the concrete last night to ensure that they were seen today.

It's amazing how many of us often see mission work as something to be done in a city, country, or continent that is foreign to us. Well, it can be. But it's amazing the great need that is right in our backyard. On our streets. And in our city. Praying that I can be aware of that more often. And grateful to this church for opening its doors to such a need.