Well hello, GRIFFINews Readers!
I hope you weren't holding your breath waiting for our next post! Memphis is keeping us busy! :) Truthfully, the University of Tennessee Dental School and Bellevue Baptist's Christian Mobile Dental Clinic are the culprits...more on that in a minute. I hope this message finds you well!
Kent is sailing through school...into the 2nd half of his third year already! The sailing is not always smooth; the waves can seem huge at times or the wind gusts can be a little strong for our liking, but God has remained faithful in providing the time, skill, and wisdom Kent needs each day to succeed and learn his wonderful trade- dentistry! He is officially a "Student Dr" now. He has his own patients in clinic at school, and he loves performing dentistry now on real teeth- on living, breathing (biting) people! Kent has really seen God's favor at work in his life, confirming the work of his hands- literally(!)- with so many of his professors and patients alike praising him and his talent in clinic. Everybody seems to love him, not just me! Just a small, but fun example: at Christmas, one of Kent's sweet patients brought him TWO Christmas tins of homemade chocolate chip cookies, a Christmas card with a sweet handwritten note and family picture inside, and two gift cards to Starbucks and Subway! I'm already reaping the benefits of being a dentist's wife...lots of goodies at Christmas! Hehe. Not only is he a dentist in training, but he is also co-leading a discipleship group of guys his age. He is a co-outreach leader (with me!) for our Lifegroup at church, and he just recently started a class with some of the other leadership guys in our Lifegroup called "Teach the Teacher". He is learning to break down Scripture and teach others in "Sunday school lesson" or almost sermon-like form. He has already taught two lessons (5 min. and 8 min. accordingly) and done really well! I wish I could be a fly on the wall to hear him teach, but I have a feeling I will get to learn from his Biblical teaching for many years to come as God leads him to lead. I am so proud of my hard-working husband; he is truly gifted by God to do good works, prepared in advance for him to do (Ephesians 2:10).
As of July 24, 2012, I (Kelly) became the Director of the Christian Mobile Dental Clinic (CMDC), a ministry of Bellevue Baptist Church here in Memphis. What a journey God has walked me through to prepare me to take on this role! The experience I gained working for Dr. Jerry & Dr. Clay Midyett's dental office, along with my inner-city ministry experience at the Neighborhood Christian Center helped equip me for this wonderful ministry. Please visit our website to learn more about the CMDC at www.bellevue.org/dental. I had so many questions for God as to why I struggled so much with working at the dental office and then the inner-city ministry, but now I can clearly see how God was molding me and preparing me to be ready for the CMDC! Without both the ministry and dental experience, I would not have a clue or have been qualified to lead a dental ministry. As of Thursday, January 31, I have the privilege of co-leading a group of college girls through Bellevue's college ministry called The Vue. We have met twice (we will meet each Thursday), and I look forward to having the opportunity to pour my life into girls a few years younger than me as we are called to do in Titus 2:1-4. Bellevue
Baptist Church is an incredible church, and we are so grateful that God has us here "for such a time as this" (Esther 4:14) to serve others, worship Him, and be taught by some incredible leaders. We have amazing friends that we would not have otherwise made, thanks to our Lifegroup
(Sunday School) class at Bellevue
.
We are excited about all God is teaching us (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
, how/where He is leading us (Proverbs 3:5-6), and the hope and the future He has planned for us (Jeremiah 29:11). Thank you for the role you play in our lives. We are so grateful for your prayers, love, and support. ~Kent and Kelly Griffin
See the pictures below for an "Image Recap"
of the past couple of years for us...It's amazing how much has happened and how much God has taught us in just over two years. We are so blessed and thankful! We have had fun! :)
CRUISE TO BAHAMAS WITH THE FAM- SUMMER 2011
SISTERS
BACK AT PORT IN MIAMI...OR FT. LAUDERDALE?- SUMMER 2011
TRIP TO VISIT ROB AND KENDAHL IN WASHINGTON! JANUARY 2012
SWEET PUPPIES (OLIVE & VADER) AND MUCH-NEEDED FAMILY TIME!
PICNIC ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER BEFORE WE MOVED...2012
KENT ON A DENTAL MISSION TRIP IN QUITO, ECUADOR, SUMMER 2012
KELLY INSIDE ONE OF THE CAPSULES THAT TAKE YOU UP INTO THE ST. LOUIS ARCH
VISIT WITH THE STEWART BOYS (LANDON AND BENNETT) IN GOODLETTSVILLE AT GRAMMY'S HOUSE- 2012
KENT AND MOM
CHRISTMAS 2012 AT THE GRIFFINS!
BEING SILLY AT OPRYLAND HOTEL- CHRISTMAS 2012
KELLY WITH THE CHRISTIAN MOBILE DENTAL CLINIC AND HER TEAM
DR. GRIFFIN AND STUDENT DR. GRIFFIN SERVING TOGETHER ON THE CMDC- DEC. 2012
PAM AND KELLY SERVING TOGETHER ON THE CMDC- DECEMBER 2012
KELLY- OFFICIALLY A REGISTERED DENTAL ASSISTANT IN THE STATE OF TENNESSEE!
KENT AND KELLY ICE SKATING AT MID-SOUTH ICE HOUSE IN OLIVE BRANCH, MISSISSIPPI, JANUARY 2013
Thanks for reading GRIFFINews! Hope to report to you again soon...sooner than two years I hope! :)
GRIFFINews Upcoming Dates 2013:
February 14- Valentine's Day
March 23-30-Spring Break-- Daytona, FL???
May 30- End of Spring semester/D3 year!
May 31-July 4- Summer Break for Kent
June 9-15- Ecuador Mission Trip- for both of us!
June 30- Kent's 26th Birthday
July 5- D4 Fall Semester begins- graduation here we come!
July 10- Our FOURTH Anniversary!
WOW!
July 24- Kelly's 1st Anniversary with the CMDC!
______________________________________________________________________
"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins."
______________________________________________________________________
