New Adventures

We have been one busy family.  It hardly feels like we've had much time in our new city.  We arrived a little over one month ago and have only had 3 weeks at "home". But it is amazing how quickly it has become just that - home.  We are settling in to a new house, new routines and new foods.  I'm amazed at how well our kids are adjusting.  I've never seen them so adventurous!  This is a huge answer to prayer - thank you!

There have definitely been moments of homesickness, however.  Connor has cried himself to sleep on several occasions - he misses his friends and grandparents desperately.  Logan and Hailey have joined in the tears a few times after seeing Connor mourn the loss. But most of the time the tears are at night when the events of the day have come to a close.  Upon waking Connor seems to be in a great mood ready for the adventures of the new day.  I've struggled a bit myself.  I've had 2 bad days.  One was right before our friends from Salem had arrived.  I had been harrassed in a grocery store and was tired of all the stares, heat, and having to cover every inch of skin!  It was my first and only "I want to go home moment" so far.  One of the things that helped get me through was knowing friends were coming soon. 

Thank you to all who sent notes, goodies and items we requested.  We felt so loved when those bags got here.  It was a real treat and really touched our hearts.

My 2nd hard day was the day our friends left.  I hadn't realized how much it helped with goodbyes stateside - knowing friends would be coming soon.  Now we were really gonna be left all alone - at least that's how it felt.  I felt stripped away from one more comfort.  I cried a good deal and slept off a good portion of the day.  It helped that I had Hailey's 5th birthday to get ready for so I had a little distraction.  I'm doing much better lately as I depend on God to give me strength. He is faithful!

We've also had many travel adventures since arriving.  Our first was a trip to Petra, which you saw pictures of in an earlier post.  The second was a week retreat in Egypt with our bigger team.  It was an amazing time of meeting new friends, hanging out with old friends, receiving training, and getting a break from the cultural differences. It was such a wonderful time. We got to swim in a variety of pools, snorkel in the Red Sea and just visit with friends - no cooking or cleaning!!! 

And most recently, we took a trip to a town four hours north of here.  We got to shop for home things and groceries that we can't find in our city,  reconnect with friends we had hung out with in Egypt, and go to an American restaurant and visited a citadel that Uriah the Hittite was killed at (Bathsheba's first husband)!

It's been fun to see a little of our new country now since school begins in 1.5 weeks and traveling will be over until Christmas Break.  The kids have enjoyed "coming home" and upon returning this last week they all mentioned how good it feels to be home. And from a parents persepctive we are grateful. 

We will write again when school starts if not sooner. Please be praying for this new transition.  We are all a little nervous.  Love to all.  Brandee

Friends and Places to see

Our friends from Salem arrived this week!  They have been hugely encouraging.  Yesterday we went with them to Petra. The pictures don't do it justice, but take a look anyway. The boys did great and thought the donkey rides up the mountain were the best part. 

  

getting settled

Hi Everyone,

We are 3 days in now and started to get settled in our new home.  Our teammates are making our transition very comfortable and helping with shopping trips, driving us around town, even picking up the last bit of luggage that arrived today.  Here are some quick pictures of our journey thus far.

Long Flight and Good Memories



Brandee and Logan on the last and shortest flight

The kids in front of our new home

This home came with a couple beds and a new friend for Hailey

Connor lounging on the couch



Our first family outing in Jordan with just the five of us.

 

Thanks for your prayer support this past week. We have felt covered and protected. I'll try to give a more detailed update soon.

Good Times & Goodbyes

Okay, Okay...I admit it, I'm not great about blogging yet.  But I PROMISE I'll be better once we are overseas.  It just feels like I keep saying the same thing right now - we are still getting ready to leave - packing, moving, saying goodbyes.  But I realize that there is more to the story, and there are those that are interested in knowing how we are doing.  Thank you for thinking and caring about our family.  This update is for you.

We leave a week from tomorrow.  July 21st is rapidly approaching.  We have moved out of our house and the renters are in. That was a surprisingly emotional transition for me (Brandee).  I'm not super sentimental about stuff like that.  I'm usually excited about whatever is coming next that I don't look back much.  But I found it really hard to leave our house.  Maybe part of it is I don't know for sure if we'll get to come back to it.  We don't know what God has planned for us after these 2 years in the ME, so I can't be certain.  The other part of it is that I love our home.  It's been a place of rest and healing for me after dealing with Connor's cancer.  So there was a little more grief than I was prepared for, but God walked me through it.

Anyway, on our last night at home with the fam, we sat on the deck and reminisced together.  We laughed, cried, talked about the upcoming transitions, named some of the things we were sad and scared about, sang worship songs and did some crazy dancing.  It was a great last night in a home we love.

Travis' parents have graciously allowed us to live with them until our departure. We spent a week with them while both Travis and I finished up work and then headed to Eugene to spend a week with my parents.  We made some great memories going to a rodeo on 4th of July and watching fireworks, hanging out at Camp Harlow for an afternoon, swimming and rafting at Dorena Lake, celebrating birthdays, sleeping in a tent in the backyard, going to a baseball game and having good talks.

Our kids with their 2 Eugene cousins - Tayvan and Jezzi

Nana with Hailey and Jezzi on the Bumper Boats @ Camp Harlow

Logan and Connor on the go-carts @ Camp Harlow

Quality Time with my Dad

Now we are back in Salem, wrapping up a week of errands, paperwork and time with friends.   At the moment we are all doing well.  The same might not have been said yesterday as we were madly trying to find misplaced important documents, but God showed Himself faithful in that situation by helping us find "a needle in a haystack".  As I told family yesterday, there's nothing like a minor catastrophe to put things in perspective.  Now the things that seemed overwhelming - the packing of the 10 infamous bags - seems much less daunting. 

Grandpa, Cousin Grant, Connor, Logan and Grandma at a Volcanoes Game

Hailey and her beloved cousin, Cole

Travis with his big bro, Mitch

Story time with Grandpa

Mother-Daughter Tea Party for Hailey's "birthday" (August 17th)

Mothers and Daughters

Hard Goodbyes

We are seeking to keep our eyes on Him who is worthy of our trust as we wrap things up here in the US.  Next time I write will probably be from across the ocean.  We'd love your prayers for safe travel!! Blessings! 

Pictures from Trip

Our new home in a few months

Tom at the Red Sea

Visiting with teammates

On a walk to the Life Center

                                         

Hanging out at the Life Center

quick trip

Last week I returned home from a week long adventure to Jordan with Brandee’s Dad.  The trip answered some questions for us and being there in person will help me prepare my family for arrival the last week of July.

A couple observations:

§         The team we will work with is amazing.  The work they do is diverse and complex, yet remains goal oriented in placing themselves in positions of influence to have interaction and conversations in relational settings. I look forward to working with them and helping in any way I can.

§         Fear motivates the culture. I caught a quick glimpse into the fear and know a little bit about the pressure they face.  We know true hope, but ask for your prayer as there will be some difficult days.

§         Housing will be determined later.  We looked at a couple apartments, but it’s too early to commit. So we trust the team to find something before we arrive.

§         Schooling for the kids will be much different than public schools here in the states. The biggest difference will be expectations for students and strict guidelines. The international school facility is absolutely amazing and beautiful. Please remember to pray for our kids as this will be a difficult transition.

While I was away Brandee met and gave some new friends a tour of our home and it looks like they will be renting it from us beginning late June or early July. So, once again we are thanking God for his provision and timing.  He is good! 

Many Blessings

Wow!  So many things have been happening these last few weeks.  Here are some of the biggies:

• Our van sold! YEAH!!
• We had a garage sale that was VERY successful.  We sold quite a bit of furniture and other household things that we didn't want to take with us or store for the next 2 years.  Thank you to all who came, bought, helped me setup/teardown and donated!  You blessed me beyond words!
• Travis is leaving on the 25th with Brandee's Dad to go visit our new home in the Middle East for a week.  It will be FABULOUS for one of us to actually know something of where we will be living.  Hopefully many of our questions will be answered and we will know better what to bring and where to go when the whole family arrives.  We'd love your prayers for this trip.
• And the funds are coming in - thanks to many of you!  How blessed and encouraged we are with each and every gift. We will get there!  If any of you are so inclined, our friends are putting on a fundraising event for us.  It will be on Tuesday, April 19th from 7-9pm at Broadway Commons in Salem on Broadway Street.  There will be a silent auction, dessert and a chance to hear our story.  Any and all are welcome.  If you want more info, just send us an email and we can give you a flyer.

Our hearts are overflowing with gratitude as we watch God move in the hearts of people on our behalf.  Your prayers, your time, your finances, your words of encouragement and support have been a huge blessing to us.  Not only that, but it confirms that we are where God wants us to be.  And it has really helped my faith and trust in Him grow.  There are no limits to God.  I'm witness to His work everyday - and I'm constantly amazed.  Thanks for being His hands and feet. ~Brandee