From our home in Il Villaggio December 2020
December 16, 2020
Dear
Friends,
Merry Christmas! I had been thinking it was time for me to send out an email, and was prompted by a faithful prayer warrior or two who are asking for updates, but I was a bit surprised when I realized that it has been 2.5 months since I last wrote - and a lot has happened since then!
I
write to you from our lovely duplex apartment across the street
from a pond where egrets, ibis, ducks, cormorants, cranes and
hawks can often be seen. We lived in a furnished
apartment in Il Villaggio for 1 month and then signed a lease
and moved on November 1 into an unfurnished apartment where we
can live indefinitely. God amazingly provided furniture
and decorations - some for free and some for very cheap prices,
as the only furniture we brought from Colorado is a
recliner. We are now fully set up and ready for company -
and my parents will be here for Christmas December
22-29 :)
If
you need a place to escape the winter cold and brown, come see
us! We live 30 minutes from some of the most beautiful
beaches on Anna Maria Island, Siesta Key, Longboat Key with
sugar white sand. It's 70 degrees right now - goes down
to 59 at night. I have flowers blooming outside my
window, green grass and trees have leaves - ah - my spirit
loves this!
Scott
too is enjoying the beauty and warmth of Florida. He has
completed 2.5 months of his sabbatical and is feeling much more
refueled. We don't know where he will work beginning in
January as he has tried not to think much about that during
this sabbatical time. However, an Evangelical Free church
nearby is looking for a pastor and it is possible
that Scott will do some fill-in preaching for them starting in
January. Also, we have begun attending
Christ Presbytetrian Church and met with their pastor
today. He is open to having Scott do some fill-in
preaching there as well. He invited Scott and I to give
our testimonies during the Christmas Eve service, and also
asked us to consider leading the Adult Sunday
School class for the month of February - possibly
on the Biblical basis of missions. We'll be thinking and
praying about whether we would like to do
that.
Meanwhile,
I have continued to work for OMF, gradually finishing out all
of my member care work and child safety work for OMF US.
A woman has agreed to take on the US Child Safety Officer role
from me, and has been doing a great job taking on my
responsibilities there. A couple will be stepping into
the Director for Personnel role in January and I have passed on
most of my member care work to them. A wonderful gift has
been that Christ Presbyterian Church has allowed me to set up
an office (without charging me rent!) in one of their
children's ministry rooms so I can "go to work" (just 5 minutes
from home) three days per week. I like to separate my
work life from my home life.
During
this time, I've also had more opportunities to
receive training in Missionary Kid/Third Culture Kid
ministry. I attended a three day workshop (which is
usually held in person, but this year was provided on Zoom) on
MK Caregiving - very helpful. And I've also been
learning about "unstacking the high grief tower" that many MKs
carry in their hearts. If you are interested, this
article explains more about that from a great TCK Trainer
- https://www.alifeoverseas.com/caring-for-tcks-during-covid/
I
have been working on Partnership Development - sharing a 30
minute presentation on how God is leading me into this new role
(international advocate for the 855 MKs of OMF as International
Facilitator for TCK Services) with a number of people.
Some new folks have committed to pray for me and others have
committed to increasing or starting financial
support. I now need only $200/month to reach
financial clearance - to have enough financial support to reach
my budget for 2021.
If you have not yet heard my presentation and would like to
connect with me on Zoom, please let me know. I'd be
delighted to share it with you and invite you into partnership
if God would have you do that.
Our
kids are all doing well. By God's grace, all 7 of us were
together in Shelton, Washington at an Airbnb for Thanksgiving
and we also celebrated Christmas together at that
time. Traveling from 4 states (IA, NC, FL and OK) to a
5th state (because Joshua is in the Navy in WA and they
wouldn't let him leave the state due to Covid) - so grateful
for how God worked that out. It was precious to share how
God has been working in our lives, our dreams for 2021, and to
pray for each other. I loved "feeling" baby Graham move
in Rachel's belly - he's due in January - can't wait to meet
our first grandchild!
Alysha
has settled into North Carolina very well. She has
connected with a church family that have embraced her with open
arms. I was able to visit her for a few days in November,
and was encouraged by how many people told me they love our
daughter. Alysha has also met many people in her
apartment neighborhood through walking her dog Lady. She
has built some relationships and shared Jesus with
people. Alysha regularly prays outside a Planned
Parenthood, is mentoring a teenage girl and has connected with
a local Equine therapy place where she is hoping to volunteer
and gain skills in this area. The only big
frustration (and prayer request) is that Alysha has not found
consistent work. Because of an asthmatic
condition, she can't wear a mask. She has applied for
several nanny jobs that haven't ended up hiring her.
Currently, she is applying for a couple of OMF administrative
jobs that she can do remotely. Please pray for
Alysha. I can sense that she is growing a great deal in
character, perseverance and trust in the Lord in this hard
season. However, sometimes Alysha feels
homesick and stressed.
Joshua
is excited that in January he will be transitioning into a role
as Training Coordinator for his Navy crew. This will be a
9-5 job, and enable him to get out of going on 24 hour duty
shifts every 4 days. He hopes at that point
to get more involved in a local church and small
group. The Navy Shipyard continues to do
repairs on his submarine and he doesn't expect to be deployed
again until the latter half of 2021.
Nathan
is dating a lovely woman named Katelyn. He introduced
Scott and I to her on Zoom. Nathan will be spending
Christmas with Katelyn and her family in Ohio. Meanwhile,
he continues to work for John Deere from home due to covid
restrictions. Nathan has been a contractor
with John Deere, and plans to apply for an internal job in this
next month or so. He recently found a new church
home which he is enjoying.
Matthew
and Rachel are excitedly anticipating the birth of their son
Graham in January. Though he is due February
7, Rachel has high blood pressure so the doctors
are closely monitoring her and expecting to induce the baby
earlier, depending on how Rachel and Graham are
doing. Meanwhile, Rachel as a real estate agent closed on
6 houses in the last few weeks. She is looking forward to
a rest over Christmas and into January. Matthew is
working between office and home for Express Employment in his
job as corporate trainer. He misses traveling around the
country doing training, but is learning a lot about training
virtually. He has completed 9 out of 11
courses for his MBA with a concentration in IT -
amazing!
I
think that catches you up on us pretty well. Would love
to hear from you with a brief or long update, and let us know
how to pray for you.
Thanks
so much for your care and prayers for us. Merry
Christmas!
Jennifer
and Scott
"For to us a
child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall
be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful
Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
Isaiah
9:6