Greetings from Tampa, Florida!
Dear Friends and Family,
You must have been praying for us - I felt God's grace as we traveled 1923 miles and drove for 30 hours from Louviers, Colorado to Tampa. Thank you! Scott and I do not enjoy long distance driving so it wasn't easy, but it was manageable. On September 16, we spent a lovely evening in Lamar (where Alysha attended Community College) at a pretty bed and breakfast. My parents, Nathan and Alysha joined us as my parents helped us by driving a car to Edmond, OK that Alysha was selling to her brother Matthew. On the 17th, we all felt God's grace as we traveled through the Oklahoma panhandle to Edmond where Matthew and Rachel live.
We really enjoyed our 3 day visit with them and squeezed a lot in - a family graduation ceremony for Matthew who completed his Bachelor's in Business Management online (so proud of him! Matthew is currently working on his MBA), Matthew and Nathan ran a half marathon that they had been training for, a visit to lovely Botanic Gardens, baby gifts for Graham, frisbee and tennis, walks, sharing, worship and prayer. Precious! Nathan flew home to Dubuque, IA and my parents flew home to Colorado Springs on Saturday.
On Monday, we traveled on in 3 cars (Scott, Alysha, me) to Memphis, TN. We spent Tuesday in Memphis and enjoyed a 4500 acre park where Alysha and I rode on electric scooters and Scott walked. Lady enjoyed a dog park. We also saw Beale Street, Bass Pro Shop Pyramid and Millionaire Row. On Wednesday we drove to Atlanta, GA. On Thursday morning we said goodbye to Alysha and she drove to Wilmington while we drove to Tampa. It was great to have everyone arrive safely on the evening of Sept 24 - thanks be to God!
Alysha enjoyed meeting her prospective future housemate on Friday and they agreed that it would work out well for them to share an apartment. She moves in on October 1. On Sunday she attended New Hanover Community Church and got connected with some young people who invited her to ultimate frisbee, an apologetics Bible study and a picnic this week. We're thankful for how God is providing community for her. Please pray that God will lead her to the right job. Alysha wants to work with at-risk youth.
Scott and I visited Il Villaggio homes https://ilvillaggiohomes.com/ on Sept 25. Originally built for missionaries on Home Assignment by Tropicana founder Anthony Rossi, these 238 homes are now rented to retired missionaries, pastors, Christian workers as well as missionaries on Home Assignment. This looks like a great place for us to live in a furnished apartment during Scott's sabbatical. So we made application and yesterday heard that we were approved. We hope to move in by October 1 and live there for 2-3 months. I too feel in the need of some rest and refueling. We are thankful for God's provision.
Meanwhile, we've been staying in a cute airbnb in Tampa. On Sunday, we attended Oakwood Community Church and appreciated a wonderful sermon, encouraging worship and very friendly people. So good to receive from the Lord! I've continued to work a few hours per day for OMF as I gradually pass on my member care and child safety responsibilities. By January 1, I will fully take on my new role as IFTS.
I'm also taking a 6 week course on how to respond to allegations of child maltreatment, and doing some other work that will lead toward my new role as Int'l Facilitator for TCK Services. For this new role, I am working on partnership development. I've created a presentation that explains how God has led me to this and what being an IFTS is about. I am inviting people to partner with me in prayer, financial support or in other ways as God leads. Please let me know if I can set up a time to share this half hour presentation with you. (I will be contacting those who have already said they'd like to hear my presentation in the next few days.)
Thanks again for all of your prayers for us in this time of great transition. At times, I feel quite lonely as we've said goodbye to family, friends, our church, the OMF office, our community. It feels a bit like when we first left for Thailand. And yes, we are enjoying the beautiful green, flowers, warmth and humidity (though it's a bit of an adjustment from the semi-arid desert of Colorado).
Please let us know how to pray for you!
Jennifer and Scott