As I’ve shared with many of you during our recent huddles, this has been a season of significant challenges for my family in Brazil. My father’s recent heart attack, kidney failure, and ongoing health struggles have shifted my focus toward assisting my parents and supporting them through these health transitions.

I want to start by saying thank you! Your prayers, support, and words of encouragement have meant the world to me while I was in Brazil, and they continue to sustain me as I navigate the complexities of supporting my parents from another country.

After much prayer and seeking wise counsel, I have decided to step down from my role as Children’s Ministry Director at the end of July. While my role is changing, my heart for this church is not; I look forward to serving River City Church right alongside you in a volunteer capacity. I have no doubt that the Lord will provide the right person to continue to do His work in River City Kids.

A Seed for the Season

I’ve been reflecting on Psalm 126:6:

“Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.”

In this passage, the sowers were weeping because they were hungry and the work was hard—yet they chose to plant anyway because they believed in the harvest. A “sheaf” is a bundle of grain gathered after the harvest, representing the tangible reward of God’s abundant care.

This reminds me so much of our work in Kids Ministry. On the days when you are holding a crying baby, playing on the floor with a toddler, or navigating a tough conversation with a pre-teen, it can be easy to feel like you aren’t making a difference. Please believe that you are!

Just as a tiny seed eventually becomes a heavy sheaf of grain, the seeds we are planting today will multiply. I pray that as we continue to make sacrifices to sow into these young lives, the Lord will increase our love for them and help us trust Him to grow those seeds into “oaks of righteousness,” all for His glory.

It has been one of my greatest honors to serve the families of RCC alongside such a dedicated team. Let’s not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up!

With deep gratitude,

Danielle Owen