A New Adventure - Michelle & Shawn Carnes

It all started about one year ago, a soft whisper preparing us for the future. A small voice we ignored for a long time. It was a call to head east. To do what? Where? What about Shawn's tile business? What about my daughter Hailey living with us? And so we went on ignoring it.

The voice grew louder over time and so we began entertaining the idea. As my current work with Young Life continued to take me all over Washington and Montana, we would pray and consider each location I was working in.

Kalispell Young Life has become a favorite project of mine! Our recent restart, led by recruited committee and leaders, is off to a great start. We're gearing up for a fundraiser on June 8th, aiming for $50,000. I'm thrilled to announce Casey Wolleat as the new Area Director, pending successful fundraising, starting August 1st. Once Casey takes over, I'll be moving on.

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Deer Park WyldLife has grown to nearly 40 kids as leaders continue outreaching to teens. The area is putting on a BINGO fundraiser on May 18th! I have developed a fondness for the people there, and thankfully I get to continue to serve the area.

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Even though these areas have become near and dear to my heart, God continued to call us east. But where????

Another Young Life area that I have had the pleasure of overseeing is Chelan Valley Young Life. Over the last year and a half, I got to know the dedicated volunteers who serve kids. This area is unique because when most people think of the Chelan area, they think of summer, boats, ice cream, and swimming! For the volunteers who serve the teens here, they think of the middle and high school students who live here all year. Of the 12,000+ residents of Chelan, Manson, Orondo, and Entiat, many are part of farming communities. The Young Life area has been in transition after losing its Area Director in July of 2022. A volunteer team, whom I have grown very fond of, has continued to keep things going. Most recently, God began to change our hearts with the potential to move to the area, but we were still skeptical of God's plans which had not been revealed yet.

At the end of 2023 we decided to get our house ready to sell, as a few things had to be done. In February 2024 we knew it was time to move towards selling our home with NO IDEA where we were going. We continued to pray about North Bend to Montana! I don't even think we fully landed on a location until the very last minute. Looking back now, God had a plan and He wanted us to reach the very end of our rope before revealing it. This would be a giant leap of faith!

It was right where God wanted us. Fully dependent on His plans and not our own, what happened next was extraordinary. After a stressful time of decluttering and purging our home of 18 years, ya know - the kind of purge of unearthing forgotten relics like sippy cups tucked away in cupboards, we were ready for the final stages of going to market. And then life happened. No need to get into all the long details, but it involves a short-term mission trip Shawn was on in Honduras and learning of his dad's unexpected passing while there. It was a lot to take in as Shawn was navigating a lot. Are we still moving? It was clear, yes we are.

As we went to market, we traveled to visit Chelan to see what could potentially be possible. Here is what happened:

• April 3 - we travel to Chelan, WA for 4 days. (thanks to a friend - you know who you are!)

• April 4 - house goes to market. We met with a realtor to look at some homes, but nothing seemed to fit.

• April 5 - we looked at a couple of rentals, which were very disappointing. We then considered if we were not supposed to go to Chelan. We prayed....

"God, if you want this, you've got to make 2 HUGE things happen -

find us a place to live and sell our house!

• April 6 - I posted on a local 'Chelan Strong' Facebook page. A family photo, why we would like to move, and our housing needs. We ended up getting a HUGE response from the community. It received 191 likes to the post and 87 comments! Wow, so much love from this community!

• April 7 - A gentleman got in touch with us. He said he had a house available for us to rent. He was a Young Life leader back in Seattle in the 90's - loves the mission. We zipped up to take a look - views are well, EPIC! But, it was clearly not a home we could afford! He said he wanted to sell in a year and a 'month to month' lease would be great until we find our long-term home. Then, he asked "how much can you afford?" and gave us just that. Miracle #1 - CHECK!

• April 8 - We returned home, reviewed offers on our home, and signed with a set close date in 1 month. Miracle #2 - CHECK!

HE DID IT ALL IN 2 DAYS!

Over the next month, we packed, donated, cleaned, and prepared to say goodbye to our home. Then... we were LAVISHED ON by our Snoqualmie community!

Snoqualmie Valley Young Life gave us a SURPRISE GOING AWAY PARTY! These are some of the best people who have supported me for over a decade when I was the Area Director and have continued to love us well. Thankfully, this is only goodbye for now as we are all still friends. And of course, I have to mention Baly Botten (pictured), who was one of Snoqualmie Valley Young Life's first YL Kids - now married, baby in tow, and pastor of SVA Church in Snoqualmie. Man oh man, what a joy!

And of course our beloved church, I-90 Community Church. The Carnes family along with a few other families helped start the church around 15 years ago. The church has been through many twists and turns, but this is the church where our kids grew up. This is where Shawn and I taught young kids on Sundays. As our kids grew, they never missed Youth group and later where Hailey served middle and high school kids for 4 years. The now pastor Trey Skinner and the whole I-90 family will remain very near and dear to us!

The day before moving, I slipped in one last fundraiser for Snoqualmie Valley and during that fundraiser, some of my favorite senior girls I was leading all year asked for ONE LAST SMALL GROUP TIME! "Ok, ok.... I got ONE HOUR!" We ran through highs and lows and I reminded them that Jesus loves them! (they so cute... I will miss their shenanigans!)

We prepared to say goodbye to our home of 18 years, 2 months, and 10 days. (who is counting anyways?) We planted that wisteria as a baby and every year it blooms on Mother's Day. Every year we took 'first day of school photos' on that porch, so we had the kids take a photo of us on our last day in the house. The house holds a lot of special memories for us, but now it's time for its new owners to enjoy and raise their kids in it!

(I wonder if someday they'll find the giant dragon Hailey painted behind the shiplap wall?)

A NEW ADVENTURE!

So why did the Carnes Family move to Chelan Valley? What are we doing?

The answer comes in TWO PARTS:

1. I will continue to serve Young Life Areas in Eastern Washington and Montana as part of my job. I can now drive 3 hours instead of 6 to visit my friends in Deer Park. WSU is in a restart with Ellie Berry in Palouse. Anaconda hopes to send kids to camp this summer. As for Kalispell, I still haven't figured out if a 7-hour drive to is better than a flight from Wenatchee => Seatac => Kalispell yet, but I will find out soon. As mentioned above, Kalispell will move forward with its new Area Director in August with regional oversight.
   

2. The second, new and exciting, part of my job is that I will be stepping into a Young Life Area Director role in Chelan Valley! I have had the pleasure of overseeing the area since November 2022. I quickly volunteered to oversee it when I found out the area had lost its Area Director that previous summer. It was never part of my plan to move here, but I think God was priming us. There are a lot of development opportunities here in Chelan. WyldLife has been going great with a strong team behind it, but the high school ministry needs a restart. Manson school district is another opportunity for growth along with several outlining areas. My prayer is that we don't get ahead of the Lord but move into His timing for it all.

Pictured here is the area Chelan Valley area committee with Shawn and I, passing the baton of leadership! I have been attending these meetings via Zoom since I began, so being here for 'realz' feels really great!

We are so grateful to a faithful and loving God who has brought us to this place.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN US?

Join us in praying?

Pray for our family who has transitioned to Chelan. Even though Grace is just here for the summer, she has moved a long way from friends. You'll find her at Vogue Coffee in downtown Chelan. Hailey has left her church family, friends, and a job she has grown to love on a farm and will be looking for work soon. I think this move was the hardest on Shawn. He hopes to restart his tile business here, but it will take some time. His van and tools are still in Snoqualmie as he still has projects to complete there.

Pray for my work here in Chelan Valley! 1,312 middle and high school students reside in the Chelan and Manson school districts. More than half of the students qualify for free/reduced lunch (56% in Chelan, 62% in Manson). In addition, this community is growing (almost 10% in Chelan and over 12% in Manson since 2010). The CDC has reported that the teen birth rate is 17.8 per 1,000 females aged 15–19. Young Lives is a ministry serving teen moms, there is a need here and the ministry is GROWING! I can't wait to give updates on how God is using this ministry here in Chelan Valley!

Pray we find a forever home! Our rental will only be for a year. In the meantime, we will be searching the valley for the perfect home.

Finally, pray that I can fundraise what is needed to continue my efforts across the region!

God is clearly doing something, would you like to support us with a financial gift?

As you know, Young Life staff raise everything they need from supplies to their own salary through local and personal support. My promise to you is that your 100% tax-deductible donation will be stewarded well. I always welcome questions, so don't be afraid to ask!

You can support my work in the Chelan Valley, or my continued work in the region growing new and existing areas by giving to the link below - Area Number WA458

OR CLICK HERE TO GIVE TO WA458

*Attention faithful current donors - You will need to update your donation:

FROM area WA456 - TO WA458 if you would like to continue with the work I am doing in Chelan Valley!

I am so grateful for the support - thank you for investing

in small towns across Washington and Montana!