Summer Begins

Nathan is back in Georgia and finished with residency! YEA!

As of last week we are officially ready to begin our life with Mission to the World. We spent some time signing wills and finalized a few last details at the MTW office.

Last week we took off on yet another trip: this time to Florida. We got the opportunity to meet with some wonderful new friends (Sam and Julie) and their family in Ponte Vedra. It is always exciting to hear how the Lord works in people's hearts to bring them to faith and to order their lives in a way that exhibits a real Kingdom focus.

We also had the chance to hang out with some of our good friends (the Paauw's) in West Palm Beach. They introduced us to the newest member of the Paauw family: Nathaniel.  That boy is going to be a linebacker! He is such a cute baby, and very fun.  It was nice being in Florida, but boy was it HOT! I tried running one day, and that was a mistake. It felt like I was going to die.

Today we leave for Uruguay to attend the International CMDA World Congress in Montevideo, Uruguay. We will be meeting with physicians from Peru to discuss strategic partnerships for outreach to medical students. Please pray that God would use this time to open doors and that divine appointments would result in opportunities that we may not have even thought of.

We're off to pack some more clothes as it is supposed to be in the 40s with wind/rain while we're there. Looks like we're bringing out the whole wardrobe this summer!

We'll be in touch when we get back in the northern hemisphere!

At Gymboree for Music Class

We want to keep him

Nathaniel and Nathanael

Great week.....

These past few weeks have been really great in the southest, despite the heat and humidity! Two weeks ago, Nathan and I were in NC for a conference called "Living in Grace." The title was exactly what the conference was about. It was a wonderful week to be reminded of God's love for His children and the amazing gift of His grace. One of my favorite quotes from the week was from a great forefather, Martin Luther. When asked what we can do to contribute to our salvation, this was his response.

         "[The only thing we contribute to salvation] is sin and resistance! The good news of the gospel is not [only] that we have personal relationship with God. The good news is that He has actually saved and liberated you, and that He is your Savior."                                 

What a great reminder about how much our Father loves us and that it is He who saves us! Nathan and I also enjoyed getting to know the people with Mission to the World (MTW) better, since we will be interacting with them quite a bit over the next few years.

Nathan left last Sunday to return to Texas to finish his last week of residency. It is really hard to believe that all his training is coming to a close! He will return to Georgia for good this Tuesday. I am really excited for him to be back home with me.

This past week I was able to travel around Georgia and Alabama visiting sweet friends from many different seasons of life. I had great time visiting with friends from childhood, college, and residency. The Lord used this time to remind me that it is He who has sustained these relationships over the years. This was good to think on as we are preparing to leave for a time. The Lord is faithful and will continue to grow our relationships, even though we are separated by distance.

This week we will be meeting with MTW for the last time to finalize all of our paperwork in preparation to leave in August. How exciting that it is finally here! The end of the week, Nathan and I will be flying to Florida to visit with friends and supporters. Pray with us that this is a great time to connect with friends as well as good time for Nathan and I to spend together.

Hope you all have had a great week. Again, we cannot thank you enough for desiring to be a part of this process with us. We are all in this together!

Goodbye Texas....Hello Georgia

       On Friday we left Temple TX and began our journey back to Georgia. We have sold both of our cars so we rode back in a Uhaul truck. It was a long night, but we finally made it to GA on Saturday morning. We were able to get everything unpacked and are starting to feel somewhat settled here. We had such a wonderful, but very sad last week in Temple. We have been blessed more than we could have ever imagined with the sweet friends and community that we found there. I think back to when we moved there and I really disliked Temple, and now I cry daily wanting to be back! Once again I am reminded of how faithful our Lord is, in that He provided friends, church and support for us there. I have no doubt that He will do that again in Peru. Temple will forever serve as a remembrance of His faithfulness to me. 

     

       So today we find ourselves near Asheville, NC at a conference through our mission organization called Living in Grace. We pray that this is a week of rest, refreshment, and joy in being in our Father's presence. We are excited to learn and be encouraged by the Mission to the World staff this week. We will be here until Friday afternoon and will spend the weekend with Nathan's family before he returns to Texas on Sunday for his final week of residency. 

       The Lord reminded me of this truth from His word today. Psalm 73:25-26 "Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

     I will try to keep the blog posted this summer of our travels and plans prior to leaving for language school in August! Hope you all have a blessed day!