We're still trying to dig ourselves out from under a sea of boxes here on Argyle Road, and we still don’t have an internet connection hooked up at the house! But in addition to all of the unpacking and settling in, there have been significant milestones for us nearly every day since our arrival here in London two weeks ago today. Shanna has kept busy trying to make our house a home, and Dawson has started getting his feet wet with some basic ministry responsibilities with the church as we continue to learn about and explore our new ministry context. 

Today’s milestone, and probably one of the biggest so far, is that Joshua (16) started school as a year eleven at The Fulham Boys School! To say that school dress codes in the U.K. are a bit *ahem* -different- from what we’re used to back in Texas might be a bit of an understatement, but Joshua seems pretty proud of his school uniform (coat and tie is the standard uniform for boys at just about every school in the U.K.), and strutted around the house like a peacock with it on Saturday night when he tried it all on together for the first time!

Please pray for school placements for our younger two, Caleb (14) and Mary Elisabeth (12). Unfortunately, Fulham Boys was completely full for Caleb’s year but he is at the top of their waitlist and we are hoping a placement may open up for him there soon. In the U.S., we would simply show up at the local school with a utility bill in hand to prove our address and the schools pretty much have to take them on, but in the U.K., school placements are not quite so simple. We have applied at several area schools for Caleb and Mary Elisabeth, and are still waiting for a placement. In the meantime, they have no complaints whatsoever about enjoying a really long extended Christmas holiday while they wait.

Wow! Wow! Wow!

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I just have to share about the great faithfulness and kindness the Lord has shown us over the last few weeks. Again and again, He has shown up and made a way where there seemed to be no way. And we are ecstatic to report that we have made it to London in the Lord’s perfect timing.

But before I recount just some of the ways that we have seen the Lord show up,

I HAVE TO EXPRESS HOW GRATEFUL WE ARE FOR EACH OF YOU FOR SENDING US. We know that we would not be arriving in London if it were not for the generous and sacrificial support of many of you. THANK YOU FOR PRAYING AND GIVING GENEROUSLY so that we can take the gospel to the nations that the Lord has gathered here in London. We are so humbled to get to be on this journey and to get to share with you how the Lord is at work. Your prayers and sacrificial giving are just as important to us and to the Lord as us being willing to Go and serve- one would not be possible without the other. So Thank you for being part of God’s provision which allows us to Go and serve Him.

As I took some time to journal on the plane during our long flight here, the thought that kept coming to mind is that "christianity is just one beggar sharing with another beggar where they found bread". We are all hungry and searching for something that can satisfy our deepest longings, and we are so grateful that we have the privilege of sharing with people about the Bread of life (Jesus Himself). So THANK YOU FOR SENDING US TO SHARE WITH OTHERS ABOUT OUR GREAT GOD.

The last couple of weeks we have been in awe of the Lord’s abundant provision and the kindness He has shown in caring for the details that were completely out of our control. We could do our part (pack the bags, apply for the visa, search for housing on the internet), but for so many of the details we were dependent on the Lord to show up and provide.  Again and again we have seen Him part the Red sea and take care of the obstacles that stood in the way of us getting to London. These are just a few of the ways we have the seen the Lord show up and provide for us as only He can:

• Provided a great school for our oldest son Joshua to go to. Finding the right grade and school placement for Joshua was difficult because he is coming in during the midst of their big exam year. But amazingly the Lord has provided a school that is willing to work with him and help him prepare to succeed at Sixth form next year. (We’re still waiting for school placements for Caleb and Mary Elisabeth, but we’re hopeful that the Lord will get them right where they need be).
• Blessed us with a really kind gate agent who patiently checked in all of our checked bags (and there were a Lot) and allowed us to move items around so that none of our bags were over weight (costing us extra fees). We prayed specifically for this one, and we were amazed at her kindness and patience.
• Getting our visas in His perfect timing (even though they were delayed). It seems the Lord had a plan in all the waiting. We thought having to change our trip and re-book our plane tickets would add a big expense, but instead the Lord used the delay so that we could travel on the day the UK lifted expensive covid testing and self-isolation requirements (saving us hundreds of dollars). And He somehow managed to get us on an even cheaper flight then our original bargain price humanitarian flight.
• Got our dog on the same flight that we were on to London. So many details and mishaps went in to this one. We tried to fly him several dates before our actual arrival because traveling with pets is super complicated because of Covid restrictions, but we are so thankful the Lord somehow got our little dog on the same flight as us (which we were told would be impossible). But the Lord made a way.
• Our shipping container arrived at our new home the day after we landed which is nothing short of a miracle. When we loaded the container in mid November (just before Thanksgiving) they told us not to expect to see it again until February or possibly March (because of all the shipping delays caused by Covid). So we were quite surprised and thankful to be able to unpack all of our stuff our first few days so that we can begin to settle into our new home & life here in London.
• Provided a great little house for us to rent  that is close to the church and community we will be serving in. We are grateful to be living in the Burrough/ neighborhood of Ealing, which is one of the three most diverse areas in all of London.

And this is just to name a few of the huge ways we have seen the Lord show up in the last couple of weeks. I wish we could sit down with each of you and share so many more details of all the Big and small ways we have seen the Lord at work on our behalf.  Thank You for being part of His provision by praying with us for all the details that go with moving our family of five overseas to serve the Lord.

We're Here!

Good morning everyone, we arrived in London yesterday! Sorry to keep you all on the dark- I tried posting about our departure on Sunday from the airport, but apparently the post didn’t go through.