Leaving

To pack up one's family for 3 (or more) years to head overseas, leaving a place you've been for a decade is quite the emotional process.  It's tough to know "how" to say goodbye to people.  Do I act like "Oh I'll see just see you soon"?  Or is it "I may never see you again"?  Or "Wow, we've shared a lot of life together"? Or... or... or...

Some farewells were more tearful than others.  Some we just pretended it was another day.   Some we didn't get to do at all.

We were blessed to be able to get to see almost everyone "one last time" over the course of July and August.  Our travels took us to Louisiana (above) to Tennessee and to as far as Columbia, Missouri to see all our our family members. Friends threw us get-togethers in Thomasville, at church, and even two in Atlanta the weekend we were leaving.  And we even got to eat our last meal in T-ville at our favorite place with some of our favorite people.



God has used this process to reveal to me how gracious he has been in our lives.  We have been blessed with countless dear friends and family members, about whom there isn't enough room on this blog to write about.  It's been humbling to hear from these folks how much they love us, appreciate us, and will miss us.  It's almost kinda shocking, actually.

It's a great picture of what the body of Christ is about.  He has showered his unconditional love and grace upon us, welcomed us in, and made us a part.  We don't deserve it, we can only be amazed at what we've received and live in thankfulness out of it.  In a similar way, we don't deserve the family and friends we've received, but as we go forward - even though we may not get to see them as often - we know we are a part of their lives and are thankful for them. 

Go Time

We're cleared to go!  We've bought our one-way tickets to England and leave September 15th!  The next two weeks will be busy with packing, sorting, getting an international moving company, saying goodbyes, and much more.  We will be in Thomasville until the 13th, then head to Atlanta for the weekend, and fly out Sunday night, arriving Monday morning....   Here we go!

August Happenings

Eli started kindergarten, and being the social kid he is, was pretty excited about it.  He'll only get about a month and a half of U.S. school before heading to England and being in "Year One" as they call it, but it's been great for him!   Liam is going to preschool at First Baptist during the mornings.  It's been a good window of time for Ginger to get things done for the move!

Our family made the week-long marathon trip from Georgia to Tennessee to Missouri and back to see (and say goodbye to) family!  We covered a lot of physical ground, but also got to see both my parents, both Ginger's parents, her sister & brother-in-law, ten aunts/uncles/cousins/grandma on her mom's side of the family, and almost everyone on her dad's side of the family!   It was great to see everyone, and we pretty much just tried not to think about "this is the last time we're going to see you for a looong time...".

I worked on wrapping up everything with Young Life in Thomasville, which was hard to do after a decade here!  But had some great moments too, include Nathan's farewell/graduation party (left) and continuing our Campaigners (Bible study) group with the high school guys.  My last official day as Area Director was Aug. 15, and I'm now on the international YL Military payroll!

  And in the "Is That Really You?" category, there's the picture to the right.  I was invited to come to the march last Sunday for the 50th anniversary of MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech  so Young Life was represented (which was an honor!)  The flyer said to wear a t-shirt of your representing organization, and I did.  What it *didn't* say is that all ministers and leaders would be coming up front to lead the march.  Can you spot me in the picture?...  (Hint: I'm wearing light blue).  Though I was quite under-dressed, the good news is that I was totally welcomed, and Jeremy (the minister in charge) insisted that it didn't matter what I was wearing.  It was great to be a part of supporting the community on that day.

Transitioning

One of the big things talked about in our cross-cultural training to get ready for the move is how difficult "transitioning" is.  This is the straight-forward term for the phase of physically and emotionally preparing to leave before moving and adjusting to your new culture.

Though we're still (probably) two months from leaving, I've discovered transitioning can indeed be challenging.  It's life filled with perpetual questions - sometimes easy, sometimes hard - that daily we're having to try to answer.  

How much smaller will our new house be? 
  Where do I get so many cardboard boxes? 
     Where should we store our stuff?  Who should I give this other stuff to? 
       When can we see all our family "one last time" before leaving?
How is there enough time to see friends "one last time" before leaving?
    How do I sort through "sad I'm leaving" with "happy about the new excitement ahead"?
       Am I going to ever see this person again?  How should I act about that?
           How do I answer all my kids' questions?
               How do I answer all MY questions?

You get the idea.  But as I was sorting through this the other day, praying about it all, trying to give it to God (and not take it back), I was struck with this question and realization: 

What if I had to do all of this every two or three years?...  
                                          That is exactly what military kids go through.

It really brought perspective on what we're going through, but more so, what we're going to go do.  Military kids don't think about transitioning as much, simply because it's a way of life for them.  These big questions and big emotions they just have to cope with.  Maybe someone will help them deal with it, maybe they won't.  

My prayer is that all that God teaches me through this process, he will use to help me empathize with these teenagers, and love them well through it.

Return of the Jedi

We have big news!  It is with great joy that we recently found out of all the places we could be deployed in Europe, we've been assigned to RAF Alconbury in Cambridgeshire, England when we head overseas. This is the same base where I lived when I was Eli and Liam's age while my dad served there for three years . What a privilege to come full circle and be able to do ministry where I lived as a boy! It will be exciting to see my boys making memories on the same base I did.

I have a lot of fun memories from there: walking to kindergarten and having my cats follow me to school... getting stuck in a bentwood rocking chair.... a bird flying in our house and causing my mom to freak out.... But one memory in particular stands out...

In 1977, my dad took me as an almost 5 yr old to see a movie that captured my imagination.... Star Wars.  I remember sitting through what felt like HOURS of bad British commercials and film shorts before finally being transported to a universe with light sabers, talking droids, and Obi Wan Kenobi. Throughout my childhood (and yes, admittedly, adulthood), I was a huge fan of the Star Wars story and characters, and to some extent, became a part of who I was. 

Now as a parent, it's been fun to see my boys be captured by the same story, playing with the same toy figures I had as a kid. With Disney promising to resurrect the Star Wars franchise with new movies in the theater starting in 2015, I can't wait to take my boys to see their first Star Wars movie in a theater, overseas, the same place I did over three decades ago. 

Returning to this same base is poetic for me, and I can't help but think it's not coincidence.  God has a way of providing in big and small ways, and in this case, a pretty cool way.  Keep us in your prayers as we begin preparations for the "return" to Alconbury!

Abiding

The last couple of weeks my stress level started creeping up.  How are we going to fundraise this amount? How are we going to see all the family we want to before we leave? How are we going to finish all these house projects to get it ready to sell?  How do we decide what to sell, give away, store, and pack to take with us?  The to-do list can be overwhelming, and time is not slowing down.

And with that, this Tuesday I went to a Bible study where the teacher (a fellow youth minister friend of mine) spoke on John 15: Abiding in Christ.  It's something I've taught and even preached on, and yet God used it afresh to remind me: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser."  He is in control, provides, and nurtures; there's no need for me to worry.  "Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing."  Pretty straightforward: if I'm trying to do all of these things in my own wisdom and strength, it's going to be pretty discouraging.

In his commentary on John, Dale Bruner expounds upon "abiding in Christ" in chapter 15 as "making our home in Christ."  Resting in him.  Feeling comfortable and restored by him.   As we are in the process of uprooting one home and starting to establish another, I am reminded that my part is simply to make my home in him, and he will provide.

More Celebration!

As Chris returns from a wonderful week at camp with our Thomas County kids, I am excited to see before me a growing (and more organized) garage sale pile and all four family passports in my hands!  Praise God!

As for our fundraising progress, I am updating the charts at the right every few days...