To infinity...AND BEYOND!!!

"To infinity...AND BEYOND!!" is Malachi's new favorite phrase in life. He grabs his little Buzz Lightyear figurine, runs full force to Steve or I, and throws his arms up in sheer excitement for us to say, "To infinity...AND BEYOND!!!"

Seeing the pure delight on his face when we say such a simple (and silly) phrase just makes us giggle! He knows that Buzz is connected to that phrase. He knows that Buzz will always go to infinity and beyond. We have claimed such a promise in our amazing Lord recently. He has promised to "generously provide all we need" and will give us "everything we need and plenty left over to share with others" (2 Corinthians 9:8). We have clung to that promise since October of last year when we stopped receiving paychecks from OM:G. I can't tell you how hard it is, as a parent, to not know where your next few bucks are coming from. It's absolutely a wild ride!! But we serve a God who will ALWAYS go to infinity and beyond for His children. And He has. Thanks to the incredible provision of our Father and His gentle leading of some of you to help us along financially in our journey, we are still kickin'! We're still stickin' it to Satan on the island! We're still pressing on to rebuild the homes and hearts of so many "forgotten" after the storm.

So, again, from the bottoms and tops of our hearts, we THANK YOU for your support!!

Spring Break brought over 300 volunteers to the island!! Steve and the rest of the staff (including some week-long interns) did an AMAZING job at lovin' on homeowners as well as the volunteers! We got the incredible privilege of having three of our former students, Jacy, Austin, and Blake, come intern for the week! It was a "proud parent" moment that Steve and I had seeing them live out their faith in such a way...alongside of us! After the week was done, we invited the three of them to our house for lunch so we could catch up and just enjoy each other's company. They are incredible witnesses of the taste they've had of our Lord (Psalm 34:8)!!

We could go on forever about the work that was done this month, but here are a few highlights: 2 of our newest homeowners (newest to our database) fell in love with Jesus, three volunteers met Jesus during Spring Break and were baptized in the ocean, lots molded sheetrock was torn out (imagine living with that for over two years), new sheetrock and frames were built, indoor plumbing was installed, tile was donated and installed beautifully, painting, painting, and more painting was done, and most importantly, Christ was definitely glorified!!! We are in awe!!

Please continue to pray that we can go to infinity and beyond these next two weeks!! (After April 9th, there aren't any volunteers until mid-May so we will get some time as a family before the crazy busy season is in full swing.)

In Him.
Steve, Molly, Malachi, and Zeek

**please also pray for Zeek right now. He's fighting some upper respiratory virus. Poor baby!! Also, Malachi returns to the ENT on April 8th for a new hearing test and evaluation. Thank you!!!!!!

God is God. we are not.

First of all, let me update you a bit on what's going on with OM:G...

God is God. We are not.

Wow. The OM:G "base of operations" (where we house, feed, shower, etc. volunteers) is in the basement of a local church here in Galveston. As part of being there, OM:G has basically remodeled the entire basement to make it suitable for people to stay in. The pastor told Pete and Steve this past week that they had 24 hours to get liability insurance re-instated or else they had to get out on the spot. Wow!!! (Back story: OM:G did have liability insurance through December, then funds ran out and we didn't have any volunteers anyways so it wasn't a big concern.) While it didn't make Steve sweat a drop, it reminded us all of how fleeting things can be...especially the promises of man. We, thankfully, stand firm on the Word of God and on the foundation He lays for us...and He has promised us provision. After a pricey premium payment, OM:G was able to get the insurance we needed to appease the people in charge of the building we're currently in. Keep in mind, this all happened two days before over 300 volunteers were scheduled to come! AHH!! But, like I said, God is God. We are not.

Steve, along with the other OM:G staffers, has been working like a dog for a few weeks now. While we (me and the boys) don't get to see him nearly as much as we would like to, our prayer is that our boys grow up seeing their Daddy simply loving people...and that it will become so natural for them to do the same. He got to spend a lazy Sunday morning with us today before heading off to prepare for the 300+ volunteers. Yay for a day of rest (or even a half-day)!! :)  Please be in prayer for the OM:G staff members, the 300+ volunteers, the homeowners whose lives will be rocked, the pseudo-interns coming to help for the week, and for the families of the staffers as we keep the peace at home and cover our husbands in massive prayer!
(If you want to pray for the staffers by name: Sam (girl), Sean, Pete, Steve...and various weekly interns)

Now on to family updates...

Malachi is rockin' the mo-hawk again! And this time it's thicker! :)





Which is which?!?!
(Zeek with a picture of Malachi...WEIRD, huh?!?!)



We got to take the boys to the Mardi Gras Parade a couple of weeks ago!!
Malachi LOVED catching the beads and throwing them back! Haha.

Zeeky enjoyed eating the beads...and his fingers. :)

Check back after Spring Break as we anticipate some incredible updates on the work being done this week!!!

Unworthy,

the Milillo fam

Was blind, but now we see...

A simple thought occurred to me this morning as I was walking/singing my Zeeky to sleep. I was singing "Amazing Grace" in his sweet little ear and could just feel his body relax. While the words "Was blind but now I see" came along, I glanced up to my wall where we have a piece of wall art that says "FAITH"...man oh man...FAITH!!!

It has been FAITH that has kept us afloat since we stopped receiving income in October 2010. It has been FAITH that has shown us how to live an incredibly humbling (sometimes humiliating) life. It is FAITH that comforts this Mommy when she doesn't seem to have enough money to buy more diapers. It has been FAITH that sings me, Steve, Malachi, and Zeek to sleep each night. (Zeph. 3:17--The Lord's singing over us!) It is FAITH that has "ruined" our lives (in the world's eyes). It is FAITH leading incredible people to help support our family. It is FAITH bringing volunteers down to the island. It has been FAITH leading us and it is FAITH encouraging us as we pay each bill, buy each grocery item, and somehow clothe our ever-growing boys. But most of all, the thought that came to me this morning was...FAITH messes you up! :)

FAITH puts your own thoughts and desires completely out of the picture. It is not something seen, but unseen, that we are putting our hope in?! WHAT?! That sounds CRAZY!! Well, it is. We Christians should appear a little crazy to the world around us. We are to be different. We are to be "messed up". We are to have FAITH.

"Was blind but now I see..." Well, FAITH has made it's own line to the song. "Could see but now we're blind!" What I mean is that before we had embraced and enriched our FAITH in our amazing Lord, we were surrounded by what we could see and touch. The tangible life around us was all that we had. But now, we are "blind", meaning that we cannot see where money comes from every month, we can't see the immediate impact on a home owner's life, we can't see a lot of things...but I'm kinda liking being in the dark. It keeps us on our spiritual toes and you wouldn't believe the amount of humility that God is teaching us daily. HE is our strength and our song and we can't help but delight in the blindness He's letting us experience right now.

embrace amazing grace,
the milillo fam

Oh, the simple things...

A few simple updates for our fam...

We have an amazing group of men here this weekend from Midlothian, TX (outside of Dallas). They came just a few weeks ago, fell in love with the homeowners (J&D) that they helped that week, and quickly made time to come back to continue working on J&D's house. God's grace and compassion is seen in SO many ways with what we do! The volunteers usually come expecting to minister to and love on the homeowners, but this weekend's group has really struck a chord with me. They are a group of Godly men that gave up their weekend, lots of gas money, and energy to come down to Galveston and work on the home of two people that really need to be loved on. They've gone above and beyond by buying food that THEY can cook for themselves, us, and the homeowners (we normally shop and cook for all volunteer groups). They introduced Sam, our fellow staff member and Wisconsin native, to the concept of pickles and onions on a pulled pork sandwich. They've seen Malachi throw a temper tantrum that could rival the Hulk and still wanted his company at the dinner table. They expect nothing and receive everything graciously. This is what the hands and feet of Christ look like--dirty finger nails, a few wrinkles, and maybe even some saw dust too.

It's the simple things that amaze me sometimes. Like simply answering "YES!" to the call to "GO!"

Loving simplicity,
the Milillo fam

January Updates :)

One Mission: Galveston had two weeks of non-stop volunteers!! One of the groups was simply a group of students from NYU that just "wanted to come help". None of them were Christians (in fact, two were Muslim), but they got exposed to the power of Christ and the love He wants to show them. (And they LOVED Steve!!) In fact, one of the Muslim guys that Steve formed a relationship with (and is talking to on a daily basis) came to the realization that "something is missing". Steve asked, "Something missing in your experience at One Mission?" He responded by saying, "No, Steve, something is missing in my life."

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Two homeowners who were having to move into their uninhabitable house after running out of money for a hotel were able to get one room complete in their home so that they were able to keep warm through this cold weather!!! Praise God!!! More work continues to be done as well as more work piling up awaiting volunteers. Some of the groups even brought some donation money to OM:G so that some utility bills could be paid!!! PRAISE GOD AGAIN!!!

On to the fam...

Our crazy little Malachi is turning 2 YEARS OLD on the 27th!!!! AHHH!!!

Zeek is growing every day!!! He will be 3 months on the 25th!!!! AHHHH!!!!

Malachi still loves to eat his sand...mmmmm......

Our baby Zeek demonstrating his newest trick: playing with his tongue! :)

We met with the NAMB director for Texas (North American Mission Board) and have filled out the necessary paperwork to possibly get accepted into their "Adopt-A-Missionary" program. We are awaiting someone to come back from vacation and process our applications. Please pray for God's hand to move quickly in this! We know His timing is perfect...we would just "prefer" it to be quick. Haha.

Keep checking back on the blog for updates! It's getting harder and harder to update right now, but I'm trying! As soon as I change one poopy diaper and sit down to start typing, I hear another poopy diaper being created from across the room...oh, the joyous sounds of two boys!! :)

Living and loving the call,

the Milillo fam

2010 wrap-up

Well, friends, 2010 was an incredible year full of incredible things for the Milillo fam! Since the year's over now and a new one has begun, we wanted to give you all a brief wrap-up of the amazing things God did in our family over the course of 2010. Here goes!

2010

January--Our precious Malachi turned one and his daddy turned 28! Malachi's walking steps quickly turned into running ones. He gave up nursing and fell in love with a warm bottle of "moo juice".

February--We found out we had another little monkey on the way!! (Happy Valentine's Day to us!) We were ecstatic after finding out we were pregnant and in disbelief that it happened so soon! God is good!

March--After an inexperienced driver ran a stop sign, Molly, Malachi, and "the speck" were in a bad wreck, totalling Molly's car. Praise the Lord we were ALL safe and "the speck" checked out fine! Molly went down to Galveston with Steve to meet Pete and Lorie DeWorken (the founders/operators of One Mission: Galveston).

April--By God's provision, the insurance companies settled the wreck fiasco and it worked out for us to get a much more accomodating car for our family: a Mercury Mountaineer. After MUCH prayer, we made the decision to join the One Mission staff and both gave our resignations. Malachi's new favorite word is "Ball!"

May--After 7 months of constant ear infections, Malachi got tubes put in! Success! Malachi gave up the bottle, we celebrated five years of marriage, and Steve moved to Galveston on May 1st to begin working while Molly, Malachi, and "the speck" stayed to finish the school year and pack up the house.

June--IT'S A BOY!!! Molly goes on the annual family vacation to North Carolina but had to go without Steve this year. Boo! Upon returning, it's packing time! Steve found the perfect rental house for our needs! On June 25th we are back in ONE house as a family after two months of craziness! Welcome to the island!

July--Time to unpack! Steve was working practically non-stop at this point, running constant groups of hundreds of volunteers every week. Malachi began cutting his molars...AHHH!!! Molly and Malachi spent a lot of time on the beach!

 (Malachi eating a tar ball after the oil spill)

 

August--The summer rush ended and we drove to Virginia to meet the One Misson Board and to spend some quality time as a family and with Pete and Lorie (they are from there). On our way back, we stop in North Carolina for a few days of absolute NOTHING (woo hoo!) and relax as a family. Upon returning to Galveston, we were greeted with enormous health insurance bills. Boo! Malachi discovered movies during this month! Disney Pixar...thank you!!

September--We painted Zeek's room and got it all set-up for him and finished getting things ready for his upcoming arrival. Molly had the unfortunate experience of a root canal this month. Malachi's all-time favorite word continues to be "ball!"

October--Ezekiel Kaleb Milillo arrives on the 25th!! 7lbs 7oz and a healthy 21 inches long! We bid farewell to income this month as did the rest of the One Mission staff. Malachi becomes a big brother and our family of four is complete (for now, at least).

November--Turkey time! Thanksgiving was a bit different this year: our families came to the island and we had one big Thanksgiving at the Mission! Molly had to sit out from her usual Black Friday shopping this year, but we received the news this month that we were approved for a new private health insurance plan that was less than half of what we had to pay for just Molly and the boys!! Wahoo!!

December--Malachi was approved for Medicaid!!! After getting his approval letter, we applied for Newborn Medicaid for Zeek. Our first Christmas on the island was truly impactful and amazing! Some incredible people (most of whom we haven't even met) blessed our family tremendously by providing not only needs for us, but they even fulfilled our wants!! Wow!!!!!! Molly celebrated her 26th birthday and Malachi's favorite word remains to be "BALL!"

The incredible outpouring of love from the Hastings Bible Study class at Bear Creek!

(taken at my mom's house before we brought it all down to Galveston)

So that's our 2010 wrap-up! Sorry it took us until the middle of January to get it done, but things have been nuts in the Milillo household! We will keep you updated with the happenings of 2011!!!

Keep checking back!

Living and loving the call,
the Milillo fam



Merry (early) Christmas!

God is continuing to do amazing things here on the island! Steve and Sam (our amazing intern) are hosting two different groups: one today and the other Sunday through Wednesday. We really hope that the homeowners they will be working with really feel loved on! We still have hundreds waiting to be "adopted" so if you feel so led, check out our homeowner profiles on theonemissioninitiative.org!

Here's what we've been up to: Malachi got approved for Medicaid (which means Zeek will too...they just have to add him to the policy)!!!! WAHOOO!!!!!! Also, Santa Claus decided to come to the Strand last weekend so we got to go visit him! Malachi was NOT a fan and I'm pretty sure Zeek pooped while Santa was holding him...but it was a fun time! It was nice to go to the Strand and just hang out and have some family time! Malachi, of course, terrorized the poor life-size chess set...hahahaha! He knocked every single piece down over and over again! Good times!

Christmas is a week away and I'm excited for Steve to have some time off to just relax before the busy Winter Break season starts up in January...and then hundreds of volunteers are set to come in March over Spring Breaks. Woohoo!!!

Molly's birthday is Sunday (the 19th) and since Steve will be busy with a group, she will head to Katy on Monday for a night or so. Her mom is recovering from a knee replacement surgery so it will be nice to see her. :)

Here are some recent pictures of our crazy fam...



unworthy,

the milillo fam

**if anyone is in need of any photography needs, please contact Molly!!
(I put myself on photography "maternity" leave...now I'm ready for some shoots!!)