Rolling With The Punches

The ability to be flexible is one of the most important lessons God has taught us over these last two years. It’s not hard to find times when Paul had to be flexible to extreme degrees during his missionary journeys, and though we’re certainly thankful we’ve never been put in prison for our beliefs, or because of our visa issues (!), we’ve learned a great deal about what it means to roll with the punches, as Paul had to do so often.

Overall, we’re doing well. Staying here for 4 months wasn’t the ideal plan, but because we began to imagine this very possibility since before we even left Vienna back in May, settling in and adjusting to Plan B has been much, much easier than we anticipated. The lack of news we’ve received has not been a shock, and the fact that we’re way past my fly date no longer feels devastating. And the more we take a step back and reflect for a moment on the positives of being here versus the positives of our plan, the more we’re able to see that, yet again and as always, God’s plan was better. It is better; and we’re ready to put His plan into action.

Our latest apartment decoration thanks to The Chalet Woodshop.

To begin with, we’ve moved out of Will’s parents’ house and into a lovely little apartment on Oklahoma Christian University’s campus. Some of you may know our particular complex as Tealridge Assisted Living which is still home to many precious seniors, and more recently several other young married couples who either work for or attend the university. The apartment came completely unfurnished which at first was a little daunting since we sold all of our own furniture before we even made the move to Vienna 2 years ago. Plus, we spent several weeks in July selling other possessions that we didn’t want to take to Vienna with us like our kitchen utensils and home decor. We sold most everything at our garage sale, which was awesome, but we quickly realized how nice it would’ve been to have those same items back… Ah, the irony. But so many good friends and family came to our aid and provided us with exactly what we needed from shower rings to a couch to a stroller. We feel very at home, and I was even able to create a nice little nursery for Elliott – something I had been waiting to do since the day we found out about him.

Our view from Tealridge. Not too shabby.

After we got ourselves moved into our temporary home, we began looking for ways to work. We recently Skyped with the Haskews and had a fantastic team meeting about things Will and I can be doing from here in order to benefit the work there, as well as unburden the Haskews as much as possible. Our programs in Vienna will slow down a bit, and some will even pause for the fall semester, but these changes, as far as we can see, are in no way harmful to the work, and the Haskews are strong people who are ready to take on the challenge. From here, Will can continue to serve the team by designing advertisements for programs, staying on top of website upkeep, and communicating to supporters through social media and newsletters while I write the curriculum for English Kids Club 2015, blog, serve as a project manager when needed, and moderate OC’s missions involvement with the team. Will has also been working at Memorial Road during the week, specifically on all things fundraising.

We’ve also been looking for ways to get fully plugged into various ministries taking place right here in Edmond. On Sundays we’ll attend MRCC’s International Class and will lead table discussions each time, and on Wednesdays we will read with any international students who are interested in learning English. We also hope to be as involved with any class preparation as possible – providing food, helping with tasks, organizing events, etc. Our first big involvement took place last Sunday as we, along with the current class members, welcomed at least 30 international students who flew in from different parts of the world, such as Burundi, Kenya, Japan, China, and Rwanda to attend Oklahoma Christian University. It was a great event that we all hope blessed the new students immensely. On Sunday evenings, we’ll be QGroup hopping which we began last Sunday as well. We hope to stop by yours!

Setting up for International Class.

Full room!

And last but not least, we’re preparing for Elliott’s arrival. We’ve got less than 5 weeks before he gets here! The time feels like it’s going by so fast yet so slowly at the same time. We’re so excited for him to get here and a little nervous, too. But I think we’ve got all the things we need to make him comfortable, and we’re definitely surrounded by the love of our friends, family and church family. He’s going to be one loved little guy.

Preparing for baby Elliott…

That pretty much sums up what are hopes are for the fall and what we’re currently working on or toward. As we said in our last post, we’d love to get a meal or coffee with you during our stay, so please don’t hesitate to contact us if that’s something you’d like to do. If you have any questions relating to our work here, the work in Vienna, fundraising, or something else about our ministries, please let us know.