Reality Sets In

My family left the Wednesday after we moved out to Gloucester and shockingly enough so did we...for a wedding. 

I officiated a wedding ceremony back in Michigan for a former student that I had the privilege of discipling during his time in high school and beyond. It was an honor to be a part their special day. Beth and I were very thankful to them and his parents for making it possible. 

When the wedding weekend was over Beth, myself, and our dog Edgar set out for our second cross country drive in a week. It's an even longer drive when you stop every couple hours to let your dog out! But we made it and Edgar loves his new home! 

We are still working on 'come.' 

We arrived back in Gloucester and reality began to hit. Beth still needed a job. I needed to adjust to being back in school. The house had(has) a few projects left. Oh...and we just moved 1,000(998 to be exact) miles away from our friends and family. 

God provides. 

Beth has been looking at jobs for months. Hours and hours of submitting resumes, searching jobs websites, and corresponding with different connections people gave us. Nothing. We would have been more frustrated but we realized that there are millions of people in need of jobs and we had only been looking for a few months. 

As I mentioned before two of our good friends Bryce and Elyse moved out to Boston as well to attend a different seminary (traitors). Elyse looked into getting a nanny job and was blessed with one right away. In talking to her, Beth became excited about the possibility of a nanny job...it all depended on finding the right family. 

Well two families responded to Beth quickly after she posted her profile on Care.com. The first family turned out to be a little creepy. The second family has turned out to be God's incredible provision in our lives. All three of their kids are potty trained (yes, that was priority #1 for both of us...not #2), they are well parented, and the oldest is a girl which was something Beth was hoping for. 

Beth went through a phone interview, an in-person interview, and a job shadowing. It came down to her and one other person (who had ten years of nanny experience) and they picked Beth! They said her personality was a 10x better fit for their family. Beth and I are very humbled by and thankful for the blessing of this job. 

Oh yeah, seminary!

Orientation week was a good time of getting familiar with buildings, a few classmates, and the routine of academic life (or so I thought). The first week of classes was a doozy. My class load this semester is Greek I, Spiritual Formation, Church History to the Reformation, and Old Testament Survey. The first week I spent 8-10 hours doing homework for the latter three classes and about 25 hours doing homework for Greek! But, I love it! It is a fascinating language and I have already begun translating little sections of scripture. I know I will write more about that experience in updates to come. 

I know I've written a lot here and maybe you've just skipped down to this paragraph. But overall, God is good. He has provided time and time again. He is so faithful and wonderful to us. 

Beth and I would also like to thank all of you for your amazing support. We are blown away by your generosity and your obvious love for us and the Kingdom of God. Keep praying for us...we will be praying for you. 

To God be the glory

ps...here's how I took my student ID photo http://instagram.com/p/d4ol-0tBQ4/

The Move and a Little Exploring

On Aug. 23, 2013, Beth, my parents, two of my siblings Caleb and Lydia, Brandon Lundberg and his cousin Caleb, Reina Wicklund, and two of our friends who are headed to another seminary in Boston left Kalamazoo on a 2-day trek out east. 

The trip out was more encouraging and life giving than we ever could have hoped. Brandon had equipped each vehicle with walkie-talkie's and call signs. Needless to say, the conversations that ensued passed the time quickly and were frequently filled with laughter. 

We arrived at 353 Concord St. Gloucester, MA (our address) the following day and the fun of unpacking, hanging curtains, and figuring out which way the couch fit best ensued! 

We often refer to this home as our Sanctuary in the woods. Our goal heading off to seminary was not just to come back with more knowledge about God, but to develop and deeper love for Him and His Word. This peaceful home, we believe, will be a pivotal aspect of that journey. Once again, God has provided! (ps...if you or your family would ever like to visit New England, we have a place you crash!)

Our family and friends were able to stay in Boston for a few days before they headed back home and we used that time to explore the city along with some of the local beaches. 

The beauty of God's creation, the rich history, and the energy of the city combined together forms an atmosphere of awe and wonder that can only be traced back to an amazing God. 

Since We've Been Gone

Χαιρετίσματα από τη Βοστώνη!

Greetings from Boston!

Δόξα στον Κύριο και Σωτήρα μας Ιησού Χριστού!

Praise be to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Ok...so I used Google translate for that one. I am loving my Greek class so far though! Let me step back and give you an update on our lives over the past few months. 

Our goodbye party at gracespring was the last time we saw many of you. We miss you dearly and we thank God for you. After our goodbye party, packing and anxiety kicked into high gear. We moved out of our house on Brook Dr. on August 9 to allow our renters to move in the following weekend. Where did we put all of our stuff you ask? Brandon Lundberg (student formally from gracespring) and his family offered to store our belonging in their trailer as well as drive it out to Boston for us. Beth and I are so thankful for the Lundberg's generosity and for Brandon's mad driving skills. This not only saved us a lot of money, but it allowed us to spend quality time with Brandon and his cousin Caleb who made the drive too. Thank you Father for Your blessing and provision! 

Beth's mother, Betty, graciously allowed us(Edgar included!) to live with her until we left for Boston. As the days counted down and the time grew nearer for us to leave, Beth and I were both filled with a lot of emotions. The sadness of leaving our families, friends, and community was more overwhelming than we had anticipated. What was strange though was the excitement for our pending adventure was equally surprising in a positive direction. God knew we needed to experience both to have closure leaving Kalamazoo. 

Then, the day came, August 23, 2013.