The Last of the First

I'm sitting on the floor of the first apartment where Josh and I lived.  He moved into this apartment upon moving to Birmingham in 2009, and I moved in after our wedding in 2010.  I'm sitting on the floor because the apartment is completely empty except a few groceries that will be given away this afternoon and several empty boxes that we didn't use.

As Josh and I were going to bed for the last time in our first apartment, we began reminiscing about all that has happened while we've lived here.  It was an emotional time for us both as we talked and prayed, thanking God for His goodness to us.

For the last year and a half that we have been planning this move, I've wondered what my emotions would be when the time finally came to leave.  I'm quite proud (and honestly surprised) that my emotions have remained  consistent. (Well, consistent in regards to the move.  But this post isn't really about the other situations that have me on an emotional roller coaster right now!)  My primary emotion is excitement-- I'm ready to be there; ready to establish our home, our "command central" for our ministry; ready to meet our neighbors and start building relationships.  There is a small twinge of sadness about the loved ones we won't see as often, and lots of sentiment in recognizing that this is a major milestone in our lives.

But more than anything else, my heart is overflowing with gratitude to the Lord for His sovereign care for us.  Although we certainly haven't always understood what He was doing, we see how He has orchestrated every detail of this journey.  It hasn't happened in the time frame or way we once thought it would, but His ways have proven to be better than ours, and we are grateful that He didn't give us what we thought we wanted.  We are grateful that the Lord led our sending church to begin a church planting residency.  We are grateful for the trials that have refined our faith.  We are grateful for how the journey has strengthened our marriage.  We are grateful for a moving process that has gone smoothly so far.

Most of all, we are grateful for a faithful Father who delights to prove His faithfulness in a multitude of ways.

NYC Newsletter #7

This newsletter was originally sent December 1, 2011. "New Yorkers temperamentally do not crave comfort and convenience--if they did, they would live elsewhere." (E.B. White, Here is New York) Anyone who has spent much time in NYC will resonate with the above quotation from E.B. White.  The city is not built for convenience or comfort.  And yet, for some people it holds a magnetic attraction that inexorably draws them to it.  That is how we feel about this great city. Over the past month, we have been making intense preparations for our transition to NYC.  We survived our first foray into the NYC real estate market, and even in this process, God demonstrated that His wisdom was much higher than ours.  Little did we know that He was orchestrating something much bigger than just an apartment hunt.  We initially attempted to find an apartment on our own, without using a broker.  After a few hours of wandering through the streets of Astoria in the cold, driving rain, unable even to locate a rental property, we realized that this was an exercise in futility.  We begrudgingly decided to call the broker who had listed an apartment we had seen on Craigslist.  Our broker, a young woman from Ukraine named Oksana, showed us a wonderful apartment that we signed on the next day.  As we were leaving the real estate office, Oksana, somewhat timidly, asked when we were going to begin meeting as a church, and if she could attend our meetings.  Once we regained our composure, we assured her that she would be more than welcome to attend the Bible studies we would be holding and that we would contact her as soon as we moved in.  So, while we were focused on finding an apartment, God was providentially orchestrating a meeting between us and a young Ukrainian immigrant, who works at a real estate firm filled with Ukrainian immigrants, who was looking for a gospel-preaching church.  This was just a small reminder to us that God will glorify Himself, that Christ will build His church, that the Spirit is still sovereignly giving new life to sinners who were once dead in trespasses and sins. So, please pray for Oksana, and for the other employees at the agency where she works.  Pray that the Lord uses this relationship as a means to engage the Ukrainian community in Astoria with the gospel of Jesus Christ.  And pray that we would have wisdom to know how best to minister to that community. Other ways you can pray... Please also pray that we would be able to establish meaningful relationships with our neighbors in Astoria.  We plan to move into our new apartment on December 19, and are prayerfully considering ways to reach out to our new neighbors. In addition, please remember to pray for these ongoing requests: Pray for our personal holiness and faithfulness to the gospel Pray for the personal holiness and unity of our prospective team members Pray that God would assemble the team that He wants to send to NYC to advance the gospel Pray that God would provide jobs and other necessary resources to enable our team members to relocate to Astoria Pray that God would grant wisdom to those who are considering moving to NYC.  Pray that they would know whether this is, in fact, where God is leading them. Pray that we would have wisdom to know how to lead well   Pray that we would continue to develop Kingdom partnerships with churches and individual Christians in NYC Pray that God might open door for the gospel and that we might proclaim it boldly, as we ought (Col. 4:2-4) Pray that God would provide the necessary financial resources for our ministry expenses Some of you have already given generously, and others have asked about how you can partner with us financially. Currently, our sending church, The Church at Brook Hills, is handling all financial donations.  If God is leading you to give, you can do so by mailing your tax-deductible gift to:             The Church at Brook Hills             Attn: Jean Adams             3145 Brook Highland Parkway             Birmingham, AL 35242 Please make checks payable to The Church at Brook Hills and designate your gifts by writing“Northeast Church Plant” in the memo line.  If you would like to see our prospective budget, please contact us. Thank you for taking the time to read this e-mail.  We cannot express to you how valuable your prayers are to us.  We look forward to sending out next month's update from our new home in Astoria! Blessings in Christ, josh and traci "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, now and forever. Amen" (Eph. 3:20-21)