We hope this letter finds you well. As I write this letter, we have just come in from eating lunch in our sunny backyard. Today we have bright blue skies, low humidity and 75 degrees. We love the weather here! It does cool off here (30's some nights) and we have used our fireplace some, but the Fall offered beautiful weather and we don't miss scraping ice or shoveling snow!
2007 has been a full year filled with milestone events. We welcomed 2007 in St. Louis, MO with our dear friends Tim & Leslie Black at the Urbana missions conference. This was a great opportunity to hear about and explore what God is doing through missionaries in every part of the world, and to consider where we might fit in. It was also wonderful to spend time with the Tim, Leslie and other friends. It was there at Urbana that we felt God leading us to Texas for the next chapter in our lives.
The Spring semester was quite busy as Alan was finishing his final semester of course work and clinicals for his Associate degree in Nursing. While Alan had his nose in the books and was working, Eda was busy teaching and doing some long distance job hunting. The month of May was full as we traveled to Texas for Eda's job interview and Alan graduated. Yippee! Right after Alan's graduation, Alan ‘s appendix nearly burst and we spent a couple of weeks going back and forth to the hospital. Thankfully, he was able to take his NCLX exam right afterwards and pass on the first try!
By the time Alan had recovered and taken his exam, we had to move into high gear for finding a place to live in Texas. Eda was offered and accepted the job at Clear Brook High School in Friendswood, TX. We were simply amazed at God's favor when we came down on our home search in July. As we look back on it, we can see how He hand picked our first home for us. In a nutshell, we found what we had been praying for at the price, area and timing we needed. As if that wasn't gracious enough, the day before we left to return to VA, Alan attended a medical job fair which led to his current job placement!
The move went very smoothly, and we even had a week to get settled before our jobs began. Eda has "gone from darkness to light" as far as the teaching assignment is concerned. Clear Brook is large school (2,700 students), but things run smoothly and she has been blessed with her own classroom, 1 preparation and resources to teach with like books and paper! Alan has been working as a RN at a prison hospital within UTMB (University of Texas Medical Branch). We are so grateful for after 6 months, they will offer to completely pay for his continued education (tuition and books) as well as to pay him a full time salary in exchange for part time hours and taking classes. His job does require long hours (6:00Am to 6:30PM or later), and it is a 45 minute commute, but we believe its worth it.
We have been going to church at Calvary Chapel here in Friendswood. They have a strong missions mindset and Pastor Ron is almost finished teaching through the New Testament (He said its only taken about 12 years!). After visiting several churches in the area we were very thankful for a place where there is courageous expository teaching. In addition to solid teaching, we enjoy the musical worship team and the service they offer each week. Specific ministry opportunities have not arisen yet. If you think about it, please pray that the Lord will lead us to the specific ministry He would like us to invest this chapter of our lives into.
We have found homeownership to be fun, but it does require many trips to the local home improvement stores! We never knew how many gadgets you seem to need as a homeowner, such as lawn mowers, rakes, shovels, pruning saws, firewood, etc. In addition to acquiring a new home we have also adopted another Miniature Schnauzer. Her name is ¡Feliz! (which means happy), because her little nub of a tail is always wagging. You look at her and she is filled with joy as her little nub will testify. Pancho very much enjoys her company. They have a grand time chasing each other around the house and yard. In their spare time, they have become experts at emptying their toy box, stealing unattended food and taking their half out of the middle of our bed at night!
We would love to hear from you guys when you have a chance.
