The farm...I updated the pics

Sorry to all my friends who prob think we've fallen off the face of the map!  Life's been a bit crazy, but that's nothing new to most of ya'll....WE'VE been a bit crazy for awhile now!  Lol...

This update is gonna be rather lengthy, I'm afraid...so grab a cup of coffee!  But I'll try to post some pics so you can appreciate it some of it visually! :)

Pallets being delivered!

Well, E. did get laid off...we finally got the official paperwork yesterday. So for the last 3 weeks, he's been home every day. He has totally needed the time to mentally recoup from the last 6 months working where he's been. So it's been fun having him home all the time...weird, but fun! Please be praying because though I believe that verse that I posted above, it's awfully hard to LIVE like I believe it when things are like this.

Before we knew he was getting laid off, we started our little "farm". We got 10 chickens and two dwarf goats...the female is prego. So we've been busy building a coop and a mini 'barn' for them...all with free pallets our neighbor got delivered to our house. :)

The frame...don't we look red-neck!

Almost all done!

Billy (The Kid)

Girlfriend, Bessie

Two of the attractive hens...we have 4 pretty ones and....

6 ultra-ugly ones!  Who knew that cou-nu translated
into "naked necks"??!!  :( Let's just say,
if they end up as dinner, oh well...

Side view of "barn"...Still in "red-neck" stage!

Goat "Barn"...in progress

Got tons of corn for the goats to munch on all winter!

We gleaned!  Felt like Ruth & Naomi!

That's been our one highlight throughout all this. The relationships we've made with all of our neighbors has been astounding. Pretty much all of our neighbors have contributed in some way or other to our little "farm".  Most are just "city-folk" who don't know quite what to do with us.  But they are a bit enamored and not a day goes by without talking to them over the fence line watching the animals...

One neighbor is a little old lady who is just so cute. She gave us her plot of yard to use. So we built her a clothesline for her to use on it and we want to build an area that she can come out and sit with her grandkids....she brings them out to feed the animals pretty much every afternoon. Then the family to our right has 5 kids...and they all LOVE working with E., helping to build the coop, learn car stuff, whatever...they're there...working away at whatever E. will teach them.  The husband also loves E. and looks for him to come out so he can also work along side him. He's helped build the coop and the "barn" as well as gave us half of their plot of ground too!  So now we have commandeered 3/4 of the land...lol...somehow we'll use that illustration at Thanksgiving! (The American's come, we take land, you eat with us...) His wife is so very sweet....very, very ambitious, but very sweet.  We end up eating together as families 2-4 times a week! She has become a very dear friend...I am praying for ways to share my hope so please pray for those opportunities. Another neighbor is V; He is 20 and lives with his dad. V. has been trying to speak to me in English because I taught him some tongue twisters. The other day, he asked me if it is hard cause I can't participate much in the conversations around me...and I said "Yeah, it's been hard...today I cried about how hard it is." He was really shocked and now he is always asking me if my day's been hard or easier. :) Also, we visited a pastor and his wife who live way out in the country. E. told V. about it and said, "I bet it's way cheaper to live out there." V. said, "No, you don't need to look for something else! You need to stay here!" We are going to have an American Thanksgiving on Nov. 19...and all the neighbors (plus some others, I think.) are planning on coming.  I'm excited to see what dialogue it opens up.

So in spite of how stinking hard it is right now, I go to bed every night knowing that we are exactly where we are supposed to be. And when I can't sleep at night cause of this blasted insomnia, I've started praying for them. That we will be there when they start to have needs that we can help to meet and to hear about our hope...and the fact that we moved to France because of them.

Jennifer

Wow...a year has flown by!

Haha...no, we haven't been here that long yet...but it has been almost exactly one year since we got back last summer from the camp here that we helped with...the impetus behind our decision to move here! Crazy! Last year, about now, we were discussing it as a family (talking to B. over the phone about it, cause he was still in France), praying TONS and finally coming to a decision to sell our house and see what God does. Wow...it's been a crazy year!

At the end of July, we will have been here for 4 months. It seems to have gone by so fast in some ways, and so slow in others!

Last week was a super hectic, busy week! The camp, Talk it Up, was very successful with 28 kids there...they had a blast! I was sad because my language classes had just begun and I wasn't able to participate like I had last year. E. did get to take off three days to help with it...the kids love him! Also, our kids all helped every day. It went by super fast and the kids who came were sad when it was over.

I've been in language classes now for exactly two weeks. It's been a hard adjustment to go back to school after so long! My head feels like it's going to explode most evenings! I have an exam on the 27th so please pray that I'll be able to somehow remember all I've learned for that! Also pray that I start to be able to use what I'm learning....it's hard without having a practical place to flesh out what I'm learning. Also pray for me as I go and come from the school each day. It takes about 45 mins each day to get there or back...on Wednesday, it was raining and I was walking determinedly to the metro stop I have to go to. The school is in kind of a bad part of downtown Lyon...I'm usually the only white non-Muslim woman walking thru the area when I'm there. As I was in that area, a huge (about 300+lbs) man, all dressed in this huge dress, came up to me and stood about 2 inches from my face and kept saying something to me in French. I kept trying to get around him but he kept blocking me. Finally I darted around him and he started laughing at me and then hit me hard twice in the back of my neck as I went by. Please pray that I'll find another student to walk with to this stop.... It kinda freaked me out!

An update on E.'s job situation. I can't remember if I updated on the blog about this a couple of weeks ago or not...here's a short summary. Basically, his boss 'fired' E. about two weeks ago. There's a long process here though when you fire someone...so E.'s still been going to work every day. However, on Wednesday, his boss called him in for a meeting and has basically now 'un-fired' him...giving him 'one more chance'. So poor E.; he still has a job but he has got to find something else soon...this man is verbally abusive and flips decisions faster than a light switch! So please be praying that he will be able to find something very soon and something that will provide better for our family.

G. is getting to go to an English camp tomorrow...mainly with other mk's. Someone here provided that for her and it was a
huge blessing! I think she'll have a blast! A. was also offered to go, but she didn't want to.

Please be in prayer too for the school situation for the kids, especially for A. The school she is going to go to is an international school and right now, she has been accepted for it...but in the European section. She has a huge day of testing at the end of August for the anglophone section. We are hesitating to have her take this test because even if she passes it, this section is too expensive for us. Please pray that the Lord would give us wisdom on why to do, in the event that she is accepted into this section.

B. is going to do a year of high school here starting in the fall, simply to work on his French. G. has been accepted into the school she went to for the last three weeks....so that's really cool for her. It's only 5 mins from our house!

Thanks so much for all of your prayers! You cannot know how very much we covet them!!! We all miss you all so much. Please remember that you can come visit us whenever! ;)
Jennifer

Sorry! It's been awhile!

Hello to those of you keeping up with us! Sorry it's been a little while since last posting. It's been a hard month and I've tried twice before to write an update, but both times, the program froze and I lost both posts. So I was thinking maybe I needed to not write whatever it was, in case the Lord was trying to tell me something!

I'm going to do my best to summarize the last month...been rather crazy so I'm sure I'll inadvertently leave something out!

One of the major things that has happened has been in regards to the girl's schooling. About three weeks ago, we went to a school that's closer to us than the one they would normally be assigned to go to. We met with the principal and she was very excited about the prospect of having G. go to her school next year. In fact, she wondered if she could maybe even start the following week so that she could get to know some people and how things basically work so that next fall, she'd feel more comfortable! At first, she wasn't crazy about the idea but when she realized she wouldn't be expected to do any of the work, just to sit & listen and get to know people, she had a great attitude about it and started that Monday...two weeks ago now. So basically, she just dove right in to a completely French public school! I was so proud of her! It was actually really funny, because she was an instant celebrity! In fact, on that first day, 55 students got notes sent home to their parents because they were in trouble for not respecting her space! You could always tell where she was because she constantly had a 'swarm' around her! One girl told her on Facebook that she wanted to meet her but she couldn't because she was constantly surrounded by 'her bodyguards'! I think it's died off somewhat by now, but they are all still enamored with her. Most of the teachers have also been very nice to her and are trying to help her adapt.

A. would also normally be at the same school because here, 9th grade is still considered junior high. So the principal also offered for her to come too. She, of course, wasn't as gung ho as G.! But after a week, we finally talked her into finishing out the last two weeks there! So she started last week! She's had a slightly different experience than G. but it's not been too bad. I was just proud of her that she'd try. I know it's much harder for her to do. A funny thing that happened to her was that they went as a class to the library, and the teacher had her read to the class a book in English! She thought they were kidding at first, but they weren't! Afterwards, the class passed around the book and tried to read it themselves in English, laughing at each other's attempts. One sweet girl there even went to the trouble of trying to think of any phrase A. might use in school during the day, and wrote a list for her in French to help her!

So next year, G. will go to the same school as she's in now. Next year for A., we're still working on that but we did meet with the department of education and a very nice guy basically wrote some special code on some paperwork making her automatically admitted into the international school. She wouldn't be in the Anglophone section but in the European section. The Anglophone section is the part that costs so even though she won't take any of the classes in English or take any separate French classes, she will still have roughly 500 out of the 2000+ students who also speak English as their mother tongue. If the Lord provides, she could still do that section but honestly, this seems to be our best option so far. It's been amazing to see certain doors open up that don't 'normally' occur! 'Normally', French administration doesn't break their own rules, especially for a foreigner. 'Normally', French administration aren't known to be excited about an American coming in to their school and really could care less about accommodating them. All of the people we've dealt with so far have been very pleasant and very helpful...even totally willing to bend the rules so that A. & G. will benefit the most. I truly believe God has gone before us in all of these situations. Thank you for your many prayers!!

E.'s job has been very challenging this last month. He has really enjoyed getting to know these two young guys who work under him...he really feels that they are why he's there for right now. However, his boss is less than delightful! Quite frankly, I wouldn't have lasted 3 minutes much less than almost 3 months there! He has to constantly put up with being yelled at, called names, ridiculed and just general stress. The boss is never happy with his performance, no matter how many hours E. puts in to try to accommodate him. This past week was the finale of a huge project and he put in sometimes 6-8 hours extra on some days. Thankfully that is behind him. You all can pray specifically for him this next week...he needs to have a meeting with his boss to tell him that he will no longer put up with the stress that he continuously doles out. Pray that he will be able to do so firmly yet still reflecting Christ.

B.'s checking out his options for next year. He might go to the high school even though he'll technically be finished with his American diploma. It would be at least helpful for him in order to get his French more advanced. We're still praying about what options to pursue for him. His girlfriend is here visiting us for about two months, so he'll get to show her around. She's also going to help with the English camp (the one we came here to help with last year) along with all the other kids...that starts the 4th of July and lasts a week. Pray for good connections for all of them again this year!

The French government has recently changed the laws so that anyone coming here to live under a long-term stay visa, has to do a few mandatory things. One was to take a civics/history class on France, which I did several weeks ago. The other is to take French lessons...which, because they're now mandatory, they pay for! So something that would normally cost us about 4 or 5 thousand euros, has basically been just given to me! (I think maybe another God thing! Just maybe...lol!) The yucky part for me is that it is Mon-Frid, 3 hours each day, in downtown Lyon...ugh. So my new 'part-time job' starting the first of July until the end of August, will be quite time involved and I'm sure, mentally exhausting. You can pray that this old brain will catch on quickly. Thankfully, I tested out of the most basic class, so hopefully I'll really learn alot this summer. Along with taking the class, it also means that I have to take the metro every day to get there...I have discovered about myself that I don't like crowds...and combine crowds and underground.......

A couple of other specific ways y'all can pray...
1) Pray that if at all possible, E. could find another job...one that is less stressful and pays better. It is definitely hard to find the time and/or energy for ministry with the pace of this job and the stress of the environment.
2) Since we've been here, I've struggled with being sick feeling a good bit of the time. It's quite possibly allergies, but I'm not sure. I can't ever seem to get rid of this nagging cough...it's possible that there's something in the air here that I'm not used to. I never knew how exhausting a cough can be...it really zaps my energy. Pray that my body acclimates soon...
3) Pray for our homesickness...we miss all of our friends and sometimes it gets overwhelming. Anyone wanting to come to visit is MORE than welcome!! We'd LOVE it!! :)

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that the last two attempts to post were not nearly as positive sounding...so probably it was the Lord's way of rebuking me...lol. Not that I think I have to be super positive all the time. Just reading a lot of the Psalms that have survived thousands of years assures me that He understands my 'realism' of our situations. But sometimes it does take me a few days (or weeks, in this case), to gain some objectivity and see the bigger picture. It truly is unreal when you see all that God has managed to accomplish in the just under three months that we've been here. (Isn't it crazy that it's already been almost three months!!??) Two things I've discovered so far about myself and about this life...1) Music is way more important to me than I've ever realized...God has used music in the last three months to comfort me and encourage me more than anything else so far. And 2)...being here has made me so much more aware that this earth is not my home. You feel that somewhat in your own country, as a Christian, but nothing like you feel it living somewhere as a foreigner. It is impossible to forget...and it's not something I WANT to forget. I don't ever want to get so comfortable here that I start to forget that. It makes the reality of heaven that much more constant. It's a good thing...hard sometimes, but good...

Love and miss y'all,
Jennifer

Lots to do!

Whew! The container finally arrived on Monday!! So surreal to see the exact thing we loaded up in Mansfield arrive at our front door here in France! Definitely felt like we were getting a giant Christmas present!

Now for all the work! It has pretty much wiped me out the last few days as we try to make something from the mess! It didn't feel like we were bringing a lot of stuff, especially compared to what we had already gotten rid of! Now, we're trying to figure out where it's all gonna go!! In a house less than half the size of our old one...phew!

Some ways you can be praying for us... E. needs supernatural strength and patience as he deals with his boss. He just found out the all of the many guys who had his position before him, were all fired. So we shall see. Honestly, this job pays so very little that if he could find a better paying one, that'd be great. As of right now, he really believes he's there to minister to the young guys under him. So until he's removed, his goal is to just glorify God there.

Pray for the kids and I as we try to get this house under some sort of control. We chisel a little bit at a time but still have so much to so.

Also pray for us to figure out our finances/budget here. It is difficult in several different ways but we mainly need to figure out (quickly) how to live on one paycheck a month and everything is automatically withdrawn for any bills...and some are bills we're just not sure how to estimate for yet. Next month will prob be easier but we have three weeks till the next one, and I'm not sure how far our gas will go, how high the utilities will be, for instance. So there will be a lot of home bound projects so we dont have to go out. Pray for contendness during this time.

Pray for me...I get waves of loneliness which come and go. I just miss so many people, things I used to do, speaking to people, feeling useful...when you think about us, please pray for us.

Ephesians 8:18-20....
With every prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, and to this end be alert, with all perseverance and requests for all the saints. Pray for me also, that I may be given the message when I begin to speak–that I may confidently make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may be able to speak boldly as I ought to speak.

We're so not even close to being in Paul's position here. But these language barriers and cultural differences feel a little like chains to me at times. We really, really covet your prayers!

Love all of you guys!
Here's a few pics of all the craziness!

Been a long week and a half

It's funny how some days/weeks just fly by then you have the longest week ever inserted in between. That was last week. Last week, we were pretty much all in some stage of sickness...still not sure what it was but it wasn't fun. I think we've mostly recovered now though.

Let me see....some of the 'highlights' since I last wrote. 1) Being basically pulled over by the police: So, I'm taking a van full of teenagers home to somewhere I've never been before & in the dark...we pull up to a red light and my son (about killed him!) decided to have a staring contest with the policeman who had pulled over another car. So all of a sudden, he walks up to me, is shining his flashlight into the van searching it, and motions for me to roll down the window. He asked me something and I just said 'Je ne parle pas franscais!' I was kinda freaking out and was like could someone please tell me what he's asking me??!! Basically, he wanted to know why no one was sitting next to me! So one of the teenagers told him 'because we all wanted to sit together!' He continued to flashlight us all for a few more seconds then told us to have a good night. It seriously felt like we were back in time to a WWII Nazi horror movie....at least that was my impression. The kids in the back were freaking out for an entirely different reason, unbeknownst to me. One of them didn't have his seatbelt on and they were all trying to hide him, because the fines here for that are astronomical. Ugh....never again...

2) Semi-moving into the house. We still have no heat/hot water because the gas won't be turned on until tomorrow. As soon as the Internet got turned on here, the kids all moved in...and have been (bravely) taking cold showers...and boy, are they cold! E. & I finally got a bed and moved in two nights ago. Yesterday, I tried for an hour and a half to fill up the bathtub with this hot water kettle I have...very unsuccessful. Can't wait for it to be turned on tomorrow...there's basically a 'waiting list' for the bathtub tomorrow! Lol...

3) In France, it's just better not to have any set kind of agenda...you just finish the day feeling frustrated and overwhelmed. Not only does everyone take a two hour lunch break (the bank has a 3 hour one!), but on top of that, nothing is EVER simple here! Take my 'adventure' one day to try to buy a grill. Two hours later, I DID get the grill but I really regretted the process during it. (Setting the stage: I took my son and two of his French friends with me to 'help' me with the translating...BIG mistake # 1!) So, one of the boys tells the cashier we want to purchase this grill they have set up in the entrance outside. "Oh no...you can't buy that here...you have to buy that outside." Ok...so we traipse outside...."Oh no, you have to go buy that inside" (remember....I DID have translating help, so this wasn't even a language problem!) "Well, sir, they told us we had to go here"...."No, you have to go inside"....somehow we ended up buying this 40€ kit there but I still have no idea why...I thought I was buying the grill at that point! Traipse back inside...."no, you have to go around to the very back of the building". Drive to the back of the building and FINALLY find where they're talking about...go up to the pick up spot..."No, you can't buy that here...you have to go to the front of the building!" Finally at this point, some warehouse worker overhears us and tells the lady, "no, they have to buy that here!" FINALLY!! I'm sure you're even tired of the story...imagine how I felt BEING there!

There have been so many episodes like that this week that you'd never read this blog again if I wrote them all down. I've never felt more like a toddler in all my life (I imagine I didn't mind feeling like one when I actually was one). It's a terribly overwhelming feeling to not know the language, constantly get lost and in general, feel completely helpless. This has been a week that has made me want to come home. I know it will eventually get better but it has been hard to remember that this week.

Please pray for us specifically this week. Yesterday, E. had a terrible migraine and it is still lingering today. Pray that it will completely go away.
The container is supposed to arrive tomorrow...hopefully. Pray that our stuff is relatively unscathed and that we'll be able to get it unpacked rapidly as we have a two hour window in which to do so.
In general, just pray for all of our overall morale. We need a 'shot in the arm' emotionally and some rest. It's very difficult to have any reserves to try to study the language when we all feel like we do.
Love and miss everyone,
Jennifer

We have a house! :)

We found out yesterday afternoon that our 'dossier' (our paperwork) was accepted!!  I would have updated this yesterday, but I had a terrible migraine...sorry.  Thank you all sooo very much for your prayers!

We went to see the house again today so that we could take measurements, especially so that we can outfit the kitchen.  We basically have to add everything we want in it, except for the kitchen sink...lol...so the term "everything but the kitchen sink" really applies here.

At first, we weren't going to get the keys until next Tuesday.  Basically, though, since this weekend is Easter weekend, everyone has a long holiday; off for Easter Monday...ironic, huh?!  In a country that doesn't believe God exists...they still acknowledge a holiday celebrating Christ's resurrection!  So, since E.'s off, I was really hoping we'd be able to get in by at least Saturday, so we'd be able to do any painting and such to get it ready.  So I basically had him beg...I actually couldn't understand him, so I don't really know how much begging it took, but we are now getting in to it on Saturday morning!  Yay!!

You wouldn't believe the amount of things one has to sign here just to rent though!  It felt more like a closing on the sale of a house! Crazy.  However, for a good reason, I guess...here, if you go "belly-up" and don't pay, they basically can't kick you out of the house/apartment from like September to March.  Because it's in the middle of winter, and they can't legally kick you out!  So they go to great extents to be sure that they won't be put into that position.

We took all sorts of pics of the house...so I'm going to post some of them below.  Oh, our new town name? St. Pierre de Chandieu.  You can some pics of the town on this website....http://www.mairie-stpierredechandieu.com/.  Good luck with the French...  ;)

Oh, the coolest part of this town!  A couple of weeks ago, one of our coworkers, Cheryl, invited me to attend a craft club.  Clubs are big things here...there's pretty much a club for every kind of activity.  So the craft club meets in our little town!  Like a block from our new house! So I've already started getting to know some of the women from there!!  So cool! I've been to a quilting exhibition with some of them, and they've been very sweet to me.  It's really neat how the Lord orchestrated these relationships already...so cool! Now, I just have to learn how to speak to them!  Ugh....

Thanks again so much for your prayers!  Keep praying!  Especially for our language inability!! Lol...
Love, Jennifer (Enjoy the pics!...Well, you might not enjoy them as much as we do...we're pretty excited!)

Our street

Back Door

Front Door

"La cave" (basically just a tiled room)

Cute street lamp on the corner of our building

Spiral Staircase (with bathroom on left and closet on right)

See the middle section?  That's my "farm" ;)

Left door....ours

Kitchen...seriously

Front Door/Main Living Area

Next door

Our parking (See our van?)

Parking again...other angle

Pretty spiral staircase

Third floor (where all you visitors will sleep!)

3rd Floor again...from the opposite side of room

I just can't keep up with telling everyone what's happening!

I started writing this yesterday, and managed to lose it all, so I was rather perturbed.  Actually, I'm glad that it did, because there's more to the stories I was starting! :)

Ok...first thing...I think we found a house.  We still haven't heard back if we've been accepted or not, but it really is the perfect house! It is really classified as an apartment but it's actually a large 3 story house that has been divided into 3 homes.  Gotta back-track with a story, however...

Two Sunday's ago, one of the elders at the church told the congregation about how amazing it was that E. found a job within 48 hours of being here.  Then he told the church that they needed to pray that I could find a farm, since they all find the fact that I want chickens and a garden rather funny. So that's, in fact, how they've been praying.

So, back to the house...when we went to see it with the realtor, I was getting so excited as we were driving into the town where it is....it is just perfectly "French".  It is located on the outskirts of the town's center and simply adorable.  As the lady is telling us all about the property, she happened to tell us that it used to be an old farm that was renovated.  AND it comes with a plot for a garden which she said I could put chickens on, too, if I wanted.  :-D  So, if this works out, I will have my "farm".  :)

So we got the papers in to the office as soon as we could the next day. One of our main road blocks here for renting is that we have no history here. Even a normal renter here, though, is HIGHLY recommended to have a co-signer before they're allowed to rent.  We didn't have that. So we just gave them what we had.  The next day was Sunday and another of the elders at church told E. that he would be a co-signer for us!  The church here constantly amazes us at how excited they are to participate in what the Lord's doing in our lives.  We were very thankful.  So when the agency opened next on the following Tuesday, this elder actually called the manager of the agency and told them he was going to be our co-signer.  The manager basically said that our paperwork is very "thin"...not much to show for us.  He said it'd be much better if we had at least two co-signers.  :(  So when E. got home from work that evening, he got a call from this elder again, and he relayed all that had occurred.  Then he told E. that since the agency wants 2 co-signers, he was going to talk to the church elders and they were going to provide at least 4!  And he told us that he looked at the house and that it was perfect for us...and that he would spear-head the rest of it for us, and would let us know if he needed us to do anything else! So amazing!!!  We have been completely blown away.

I hesitate to keep writing because I know some of you are probably ready to be finished but there's just so much more to tell you so I'm going to risk it! :)  We have been waiting for E.'s bonus from his job in the US.  We thought we had plenty of money to get all set up here.  Long story short...the dollar being what it is, it was just enough to cover getting into the apartment (or will be) plus a little extra for a couple of appliances. The kitchens here do not come equipped.  And when I say equipped, I mean, they ONLY have a kitchen sink...nothing else...no cabinets much less any appliances. So we are going to have to get all of that ourselves. I had just been journaling the day before because I was pretty overwhelmed.  I'm going to write down my entry:
         "Lord, I am tired. And all I feel like doing today is crying. You know how overwhelming this whole process is, especially the money right now. I so know that you have provided every step of the way for us. I think I got my hopes misplaced by envisioning what this house could look like and how cute we could fix it up.  Thank you for providing enough. Please help me to be content with enough and not desire beyond what you have for us. Matt. 6:33-34..."But above all, pursue His kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. So then, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Today has enough trouble of its own."  (These things being food, clothing and shelter...not kitchen cabinets.)"

So last night, before going to bed, I checked our account with the mission...someone has given us an anonymous gift of $5000. Usually you are able to withdraw funds in order to set up your household so I am hoping they will let us use some of it for that!  I am simply amazed at how these details continue to be unfolding around us, all in His timing.  However, I do want to say...if we don't get to use that or if it hadn't even been given, I think I am slowly but surely learning to be content.  With much or with little, as Paul said.  I am trying...and I'm overwhelmed at God's graciousness to me/us as He provides...not just monetarily but just in my soul.

We love and miss everyone!  (By the way....this house has a HUGE area for those of you how want to come stay with us!  But we will have to share the one bathroom!  Lol...)
Jennifer

When 11 days feels like 1 year.....

Wow.  It's really hard to believe we've only been here for a total of 11 days.  It feels like so much longer than that!  In one sense, we've gotten a lot accomplished...but on the other hand, it feels like there is still SOOO much left to do!

I'll start with our list of accomplishments!  (That will at least make ME feel better about the rest of my day!) :)

1. Hubby found a job...we were literally here not even 24 hours and he had a job!  Now...whether or not he will want to KEEP said job is another thing!  First of all, after looking at how expensive life here is, he is not really making enough money.  Second of all, the boss is a very difficult man to work for.  He is very impatient and demanding. Pray for E. to not be discouraged, because it is currently very hard for him to desire to get up to go every day.

2. As of tonight, we will own two vehicles!  Last week, we got E. a car for work for only 750€ (which is roughly about $1000). It is a 1993 Renault 5...a pic is below of one similar...just think really bad gray paint job tho (I'd take a pic, but he's at work.).  Tonight we will pick up an equally old minivan....which we paid only 2000€ for.  It is called a Renault Espace....1993 also. Actual pic is below of that one... So both vehicles are older than all the kids....lol... But both run well and will be paid for so we won't have that hanging over us financially.

3. We have made several trips to set up a bank account, insurance for the cars, social security cards, etc.  It is very funny...our first week, the bank was closed on Monday (always closed then), the post office was on strike on Tuesday, and the social security office was closed on Friday afternoons.  It is so very different than in the states.  One has to be very flexible here as far as getting things accomplished!

Ok...on to the list of "to do's"...

1. FIND A HOUSE!!  Very hard to do, on the income we have... We are looking for something to rent.  Please pray for us to find a large enough place, preferably a house with some sort of yard.  I am having a hard time adjusting to the amount of concrete in the city!  It is a rather suffocating feeling and it would be so much better to have some place that we can have a small garden and some green!  I realize that this is more of a 'dream' but it sure would make it easier to breathe.

2. Keep looking for a job for E.  For now though, pray that he will be able to somehow minister to the young guys he's working with...they are all straight out of school and don't know any better than to accept what the boss hands out.

3. Finish up all the myriad of appointments we still have to do...  Still have to go to another aspect of the social security to set up some other stuff.  Then I have to go to the consulat to register myself since I'm only here on a Visa.  Plus, back to the bank and the insurance...it never ends....

Please be praying for us.  We struggle with moments of intense discouragement.  It is very difficult to not have your own place with your own routine.  I especially crave my own routine to become established again.  Pray for the kids as they also really miss friends and their own space.  Pray too for B. because he's still struggling to get over mono...add mono to jet lag = no fun!  Pray for our ability to learn French...we haven't really had that many opportunities to practice since we are living with an American family.  G. is trying really hard...she learned about 85 words of vocabulary yesterday!  Oh...also, tonight when we pick up the van, the man we're purchasing it from invited us to dinner!  He is an interesting fellow...told E. that he has a 29 yr. old daughter (and grandkids) and a 4 yr. daughter...because "he's committed adultery many times....you can translate that for your wife...."!! So tonight should be fun!  It is VERY unusual that he would invite us to dinner so we shall see how this goes!  It will give us the opportunity to invite him in return, as that is the norm. So hopefully, our first opportunity to minister here.

We miss all of our friends!  You all who want to come visit us...pray extra hard for a large enough house!  ;)
Love,
Jennifer

More prayer requests

It's coming down to the wire! As of today, the 1st of March, we have exactly 25 more days here in the States...crazy!  We keep trying to wrap our minds around this whole thing and it's hard!

I can't tell you how many times a day I get this rolling feeling in my stomach of nerves...it comes on when I least expect it and for the dumbest reasons. Today at the store, I was looking for stuff I needed and got it when I realized how few English words I'm about to start seeing at stores from now on! Sometimes, I'll just get this sick feeling when I think about saying good-bye to people.  I think my husband felt it today when he officially handed in his notice...his text to me, "well, I've officially jumped out of the plane...hope the parachute opens!" Ultimately, we know the Lord will be our strength and our provider...just so hard to keep that at the forefront of our minds at times.

Here are a few ways to specifically pray for us. We leave (without kiddos) on Saturday till next Tuesday for Kansas City.  We'll meet with our mission organization and get some things clarified.  We are both (our family and CrossWorld) kinda pioneering a new way to do missions, and there's been a lot of scrambling to figure out where we fit, especially as the time gets so close.  Please pray for a sweet time there, as we see old friends and a productive time as we figure out all of this.  I've attached a letter from CrossWorld below...they'll also be mailing them out for us, but I figured this might reach people quicker, since we're down to the wire.

Please continue to pray for peace.  It's not a peaceful process, moving your family and life overseas. It's very hard to find a time for quiet and peace during all of this. The Lord just keeps bringing to mind two verses...one is Isaiah 26:3, "You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!" and the other is 2 Timothy 1:7, "For God did not give us a Spirit of fear but of power and love and a sound mind."  


Pray that we will be able to raise the required support.  We have about half of the minimum amount coming in at this moment.  We do desire to go thru CrossWorld, but if not, we will still be leaving on March 26th, no matter what.  Pray that the Lord will get all the glory in whatever we do.


Pray for our kids as they say goodbye to friends...it is going to be a very emotional time for all of us, but especially for them.  We are so thankful for technology like Skype so they will be able to keep up so much easier than any other time in history.


Pray for the shipping container arrangements to all come to fruition on the 22nd.  So much goes into packing that, and we're doing it ourselves to save the money...pray we do a good job so we don't get over there with a bunch of broken stuff! :)


We are really excited, but very nervous.  I really can't wait to see how God works all of these seemingly crazy details all out to His glory...only He could do that!


Here's the Letter from CrossWorld

Wow...we have a date!

Well, it's official!  We have purchased non-round trip tickets!  It has become that much more real!  We fly out of Dallas on March 26th...very exciting!

Please pray for us as we finalize details.  This next week, I will be finalizing our shipping container arrangements, so I'm looking for the best rate possible.  If anyone has connections in this arena, shoot me a comment/email.

You can pray also that we'd continue to have good health.  So far, we've managed to escape all the flu and yuckiness everyone else has been getting.  Would REALLY not be fun to fly to Europe sick...

Also, we have to go to Kansas City for a long weekend here soon to meet with our mission's organization.  You all can pray for an efficient use of our time there and encouragement from the organization sending us.

Small update/Clarification and Correction

Just wanted to give you all a small update on where we are. We are currently living with a good friend since closing on our house the 31st of December. As of right now, it looks as though we will be leaving sometime in March...probably toward the end, but could be sooner.

Some things you can be in prayer for: Time...it feels that we have an insurmountable list of things to get done before we leave. Knowing what to prioritize is also hard. Pray that we will have wisdom in knowing what needs to be accomplished first and what we might can do later. Peace...We need to be able to continue to realize the importance of first prioritizing our prayer times as a family. It is very hard with all the is going on and with kid's schedules, to keep that as a priority, but we are especially feeling the need for that right now. Pray that we would keep that need at the forefront of our minds so that we can maintain peace in this stressful time.

There is so much more swirling around in my mind that I could have you pray for, but I can't seem to get them verbalized. Those two are definitely the things though that we would covet your prayers most about.

Also, just to clarify why I did the newsletter the way I did (to embed it in a different location). We didn't want our full names on this blog, so that it can't be searched via google. That way, when looking for a job, our names and plans are not out there for anyone to stumble across. Just in case you were wondering....

The correction: the account number I put on the back of the pdf newsletter is wrong...and our hard drive crashed with the original on there so I can't edit it. I am going to post our letter we sent out with the correct info...

Letter