BLOG MAKEOVER!

This blog has had a serious lull and needs a face lift. So here's to new beginnings. Since we are back in the states and settling in I figured a new name would be appropriate...


Simple. Natural. Love. 

Be patient as I rearrange and design a few things :) 

Eat Ham, No Thank You Mam!

Ok bacon lovers don't freak out yet... 

While in New Zealand we lived next to a pig farmer or rather a cattle farmer who had pigs. One way that we partnered with him was by putting all of our food scraps into buckets that Farmer Dave would collect every day or two. 

After weeks of sending stinky, gross and sometimes moldy buckets of scraps I started to think about the ham, bacon and pork we were eating. If the pigs were eating that ^ then do I really want to put that into my body let alone the amount of fat and salt often found in pig meat. 

So my family is going off of pig!! Don't get me wrong I will make an occasional exception like when at people's houses, but for now we are sticking to healthier meats. 

A long awaited update.

As some of you know Rich and I are back in the States. 


Our time in New Zealand was amazing but was not short of complications and hardships. We came home after feeling as if we could not stay under the leadership that we had been working with. Our visions for the ministry at the Oakridge base were vastly different. As we tried and hoped to merge those visions over the past four  months we found that is was a constant and uphill battle, so we have gone our separate ways. 


 We greatly thank all of you who have walked along side us and supported us as we have reached for our dreams. We have made lasting relationships with the students and know that we went for a purpose and reason. If you have any further questions for Rich or I feel free to email us. 


As for right now  we are in Portland and trying to adjust to life back in America. We are soaking in time with family and friends as we put together the pieces of what we have learned. 

New Zealand Here We Come!!

What a whirlwind the last couple weeks have been!! 

We are so excited that we got our first set of support letters out!!

We sent them. I prayed over each one. 

Now we wait and anticipate how God is going to provide for us. 

For those of you who aren't aware of our exciting journey let me catch you up. Rich and I have been accepted as YWAM staff at their Oakridge New Zealand base. They are in huge need of staff right now so we are moving quickly. We hope to arrive no later than February 1st! 

Rich and I have been talking and dreaming of this together since we were engaged, but missions was on our hearts well before that. We are so excited to see how God will meet our needs as we obey His call for us. Rich will be working more closely with the schools and students and I will be more on the side of support staff- hospitality/kitchen stuff. We aren't exactly sure specifics of what we will be doing just yet. Once we arrive they will pray and put us in where we fit best. We are confident that God has this for us and we are thrilled to be a part in investing in so many people as a part of YWAM. I had been doubting the importance of our ministry the other day and was reminded that YWAM is all about investing in people so they can in serve, love and invest in others. So in our being a part of it we will be  investing in so many young people as they discover more about our Creator as they prepare to go on their outreach and serve Him! Their lives will be forever different and we get to be a part of that time in their lives! So awesome! 

Right now we are in a whirlwind of paperwork but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We have sent off Benjamin's passport and should get it back in just about three weeks. In the next three weeks we are working on finishing up all existing paperwork for the visa applications. We have scheduled our doctor appointments for the medical portion. Our goal is to have everything ready to send in by the time we get Benjamin's passport back. Then once we turn in our visa stuff it should take about three weeks to hear back! We should have no problem getting visas this time since I am not pregnant. So we have a busy month ahead of us! 

We are trying to raise support in two ways. We have an initial one time amount and then a monthly support need. Our initial amount is $7000 which will cover airline tickets for the three of us, set up costs when we arrive( buying a crib... etc.), medical visa costs since the forms are quite extensive, and then the first couple months of monthly staff fees. Then we have a monthly support need which for our family is about US$175 per week which equals roughly US$700 per month. This will cover our staff fees, housing, internet, laundry, food, and most living expenses. 

If you want a support letter sent to you please email your mailing address or if you just want more information email meganrflamm@gmail.com. We are confident God will provide! 

Heartache to Hope...

This month has been incredibly stretching and difficult. Through a series of miscommunications and sad situations Rich is no longer working at the Portland Rescue Mission. It has caused us such pain and brought us once again to our knees. We find ourselves asking that familiar question of why? We are so glad we have had family and close friends around that have encouraged and affirmed who we are in Christ. This month we have had times of sorrow and times of laughter. We are determined to stay strong and not let the enemy win, though we have those days were we just want to curl up in a corner. Benjamin continues to bring light into even the darkest days. It never fails that right when i am at my wits end he will start cooing and give me his trademark huge smile! Through this time we are learning so much about forgiveness and the process of healing.

We have felt incredibly blessed as God continues to provide for us above and beyond our expectations. We have been given so much. We have been able to nanny a bit, which is helping to meet our needs as Rich looks for work. Despite the lack of a consistent job, we were able to go to the beach for his birthday weekend.

All of this has made us look forward and think about the timing of things. New Zealand has never left our hearts and YWAM Oakridge still welcomes us to come on as staff. We have emailed back and forth to find that they are still eager and ready for us to come. After weeks of praying we are moving forward on a new and epic journey. We have started working on visa paperwork and we are constantly praying for wisdom and guidance through every step of the process! We definitely could use your love and support through this whole exciting process.

We will be sharing more details as they come together, but for now we are trusting and moving forward toward a dream He placed in us over a year ago.

A new journey begins!

Dreadhead No More

Haircut! 

We're home with little man

He did great on the car ride home!

Benjamin has had lots of visitors....

Benjamin even got to meet his great great grama!!

Five days old and already loves going on walks!

Ten Day old pictures by Rae Snyder

May Happenings...

May has been a busy month for us! We have had so many exciting things to celebrate!

My cousin Nate came home for two weeks from Iraq and we were so glad to be able to see him safe and sound! We also got to meet his sweet new fiance, Samantha. They are adorable together and so in love. I already am praying for the next few months of waiting, cause engagement is hard and put thousands of miles between and it just escalates! So if you are thinking about it, pray for Nate and Samantha.

We also celebrated my dad's big 5-0! We had such a great time as the fam all went down to Mint Restaurant in North Portland and enjoyed deep fried risotto balls and kobi burgers. Then we headed to Nick and Andrea's house for the most intense chocolate dessert I have ever eaten and some very serious Wii competition! 

All dressed up for a night out! 

The boys and their drinks 

All the girls

Avery is a little doll! 

Chocolate Fudge Cake! Benjamin was kicking for hours after this! 

Fifty and still young! 

Yesterday, I had my baby shower and what an event! My friend Janine planned it and my mom did an amazing job with the food! The whole fam helped in the process of making cheesecake pops- beautiful and delicious!! My mom had elephants all over the place and Benjamin scored all kinds of adorable things!! 

My mom made this adorable elephant! 

Elephant garland

We had Arnold Palmer!( iced tea lemonade) So delicious!

The amazing spread! Complete with mini eclairs, cheesecake pops, veggies, fruit kabobs and candy! 

PRAISE GOD RICH GOT A NEW JOB!! He started this last week at Portland Rescue Mission and it has already proved to be a wonderful fit for him! Thank you everyone who has been praying!

So a month of celebrations and many more in the coming months! 

A new home....

Wow it has been a while since I have blogged so this will kinda be a catch up...

Two weeks ago Rich and I moved into our new place. We love the apartment complex. It is quiet and we are in the building the furtherest from the road. Signing a lease and knowing this will be home for our growing family has been wonderful. My heart continues to be blessed by being able to invest time into building home and knowing that I won't have to pack up in a month or two. We are loving getting to know our neighbors and we even moved across the street from my cousins Sam and Rae and their baby girl!  We are officially Greshamites again and welcome visitors!! :)

My emotions have been all over the place as  I am in full blown nesting. I have been organizing everything. Can't wait to finish some projects I have started and then I will post pictures!

Rich and I are still adjusting to being here for a while. Our hearts still desire to be working actively for His Kingdom. We are looking for ways in our new home and community to connect and really love on people. Looking for purpose. After having been a part of things in Swaziland and Rich having been with YWAM, we are learning that maybe making home and preparing for parenthood is exactly what He has for us. But find ourselves wanting more... wanting to be part of a bigger movement. Please pray as we continue to pray for wisdom and guidance about how and where to invest ourselves.

I have been feeling SO much better! We are so glad that things have settled a bit. I have had more energy the last few days and I cannot believe that next week will be the start of my last trimester!! We announced the name of our little man- Benjamin Silas Flamm! We love it! He is so active and moving like crazy! He is getting bigger and stronger too! I love him so much already and cannot wait to see his sweet little face!

Well I will try to get pictures up soon, but I guess that is all for now.

On Hold...

        As many of you know we have been in the process of applying for visas with the country of New Zealand. We have been anxiously awaiting hearing from them and this last week we finally got a letter.  Allow me to briefly summarize the two page letter-- 

-- When considering an applicant the country of New Zealand looks at many things one of which is health care ( since they have universal healthcare). There are many things that factor into their "acceptable standard of health" (demand of healthcare- hospitals, prescriptions...etc and costs for NZ citizens). Pregnancy is not seen as an acceptable standard of health -- 

         We are allowed to send in a letter of comments or explaining my "health condition" since the consulate has not technically made their decision. We will be sending in a letter but have decided that by the time we would find out their decision, even if they were to change their minds and say yes, it would be too close to my due date to get everything in order to fly and set up home in NZ before little man Flamm comes. 

          We still feel God has a call on our lives and that we have been obedient to what He wanted us to do. We are praying over and will continue to pursue staffing in New Zealand after the baby arrives. There are so many bittersweet emotions involved in all of this and with great disappointment in not going right now we do feel a great peace and excitement with being closer and around family with the arrival of our first baby. 

          Please be praying for a more stable job, a new apartment, and for our hearts as they adjust to staying in Portland.