Thanksgiving

There is so much I could say on this day of giving thanks. I am continually astounded by the Lord's faithfulness and care.

Today we celebrate Thanksgiving away from our family and our usual traditions. Though I miss spending Thanksgiving with extended family and seeing all my sweet cousins, I still find myself full of joy today.

When we came to Seminary, we had no idea that we would only be here for two years. Our experience could have been so different than it has been. It could have been very lonely. I know Seminary is lonely for a lot of people, and that sometimes it takes 1-2 years to begin to feel established. The Lord blessed us by allowing us to develop friendships quickly, and to get plugged into a church body within a few months. Come May, there will be so many people we are sad to leave. As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving with dear friends who are also away from home, I am so grateful for the way God has worked things out, for his fingerprints all over our time in St. Louis.

Psalm 100

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!

Serve the LORD with gladness!

Come into his presence with singing!

Know that the LORD, he is God!

It is he who made us, and we are his,

we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,

and his courts with praise!

Give thanks to him; bless his name!

For the LORD is good;

his steadfast love endures forever,

and his faithfulness to all generations.

Trip!!

Thanks so much to all of you who prayed for our trip! We really appreciate your prayers and are glad to report it was amazing!

We flew into Charlottesville on Friday and were able to celebrate my birthday a little early with my parents, and with Suzanne, Jeff, Evan, and Anna, who drove up to C'ville to surprise me. It was great having the whole family together and I was really touched that they thought of me and had been planning the whole thing for weeks.

On Saturday we drove to Harrisonburg to pick up Rob and Rebecca. After grabbing lunch at Jack Brown's, we piled into my mom's car and made our way to our hotel in Silver Spring, compliments of Suzanne. The hotel was lovely- we even had king beds in our rooms, which was a super fun surprise. It was close to the metro, so we were able to spend the evening in our nation's capital. We had an incredibly yummy dinner at Founding Farmers, a restaurant that uses fresh, local ingredients and is a favorite date spot for President and Mrs. Obama. I highly recommend it if you are ever in D.C.

After dinner we headed to what was supposed to be a free art show at House of Sweden (a.k.a. The Swedish embassy). Turns out it was not a free show at all, but an exclusive party with a list! What one could do for free was look at the picture display in the doorway, and gaze longingly inside at the swanky party. As tempting as that was, we decided to go make our fun elsewhere! We found a hip little cupcake and coffee bar called "baked and wired." I enjoyed an apple spice cupcake with cinnamon butter cream frosting. YUM! By the time we were done at baked and wired it was after 9:00 and we were cold from walking, so we made our way back to the hotel and spent some lovely time talking before bed.

Before meeting Dan on Sunday we went to visit my Granny. It had been almost two years since I had seen her, so some quality time was much overdue. We had brunch at the community where she lives and then went back to her apartment. I had not seen her new place, but was glad to see that it was decorated with many of the pictures and special touches I remember from childhood.

We left Granny's around 1:30 for our big meeting with Dan. We were all excited and a bit nervous- so much prayer, planning, and dreaming led up to this one day. We truly had a wonderful time with Dan! He did a great job guiding our time in a way that was comfortable and laid back, but purposeful. We spent at least two hours just all getting to know each other. He asked about what books and movies we like, how we met and got engaged to our spouses, and what God has been teaching us recently- and he also shared about all these things. We were able to be open with one another during this time, and prayed for each other afterwards. It felt like being with an old, dear friend.

We talked a bit about Camden Town, but it was getting close to dinner and we were all feeling a bit rushed. Dan solved this problem by graciously inviting us to a dinner at his in-laws' house where he would be sharing more with some people about Camden Town and what Lysan Church is doing there. We felt honored to be included in this time, and it was great to meet Somer's parents and some supporters of the Camden Team. The more we heard about Camden Town and the people there, the more excited we felt to be a part of what God is doing there. In so many ways it seems like a great fit for us and the Mussers, and we are ecstatic to continue to pursue this possibility. We are also glad to report that we heard from Dan a few days after our time together, and have all been invited to come to Camden Town for a field visit. We will likely be going mid-March and are so excited to see Camden Town in person and to meet the rest of the team!! I will give more details once I have them- just know that this is an important next step in the application process to be WHM missionaries.

Thanks again to all who have been praying for us. I really did feel God's hand in this trip, and his presence throughout, particularly in our time with Dan and the Mussers. We continue to be amazed at His goodness!

Update

I thought it might be nice to give an update. I posted a few weeks back about how difficult this semester has been for us. Thank you to all who have prayed and thought of us since then.

On the whole, we are doing much better. I feel like I turned a corner this week with my anxiety. I've felt more like myself emotionally than I have in a long time. I am beginning to regain my excitement for life, and have been reminded of God's goodness and care both through his Word and through the many who have loved us well during this time.

In terms of school, though still struggling with motivation, we are hanging in there. We certainly do need prayer from all of you and help from the Lord, as it is getting to be that stressful time of the semester when lots of things are due. One thing that has been tough is that I have been sick off and on all semester. I can't seem to stay healthy for more than two weeks at a time. I've actually just come down with another nasty cold. I am hoping it will go away quickly- normally these colds last me about two weeks.

The main reason I am hoping this cold will go away quickly is that we are taking a big trip next weekend! We will fly into Charlottesville and stay a night with my parents, and then drive to Harrisonburg to meet Rob and Becca. All four of us will drive together to Silver Spring, MD to stay in hotel rooms that have been graciously provided for us by Suzanne, Drew's Mom. We are planning to take the metro into D.C. on Saturday night to enjoy the city. Then on Sunday we will get to spend some time with Dan, the man who leads the World Harvest team we are all trying to join. This is an important next step, so we are very excited and hoping that this meeting will be an encouragement to all and will continue to provide clarity about where God is leading us.

Phantom Toilet Clogger

Warning: Angie, you may not like this post! Sorry!

I am convinced that there is a phantom toilet clogger who likes to use all the same stalls as me in the women's restroom. Yes, it is true, in several bathrooms on campus I have a particular stall that I prefer. Well, so does the phantom pooper. Seriously, at least once a week I find each of these stalls clogged. So, phantom pooper, whoever you are, please start carrying a plunger, or at least have the decency to let maintenance know when you wreak havoc in the women's restroom.