Penny Lane

Hello world...please welcome us in introducing the newest addition to our family.... Penny Lane.

Penny is our third grand daughter in a series of extremely cute girls. Mother and baby (and dad) are all doing well.

To quote our daughter Aileen (aka new mom)...

Having a family is nice.
Mary and I look forward to seeing Penny in September.

Take a pebble

Last weekend I spent two days in the hospital, which gave me quite a bit of time to think about the road ahead. So in my typical fashion I started listing all the things we need to consider as we make this move into our new lives... when to sell the house, when to move, where do we move to, how to raise enough money, what do we take with us, what do we give away or sell, do we need a car when we get there, when do I let my employer know, can we get a visa, how do we get the word out about what we're doing, can we really be away from our families for 3 years, are we up to the challenge, would we get wet faster by running through the rain as opposed to walking, how will our children adapt to our absence, will our grand daughters remember us, should we send out a newsletter, what do we do with our wills, can we learn to take tea breaks, how do you parallel park when driving on the other side of the road, how can we best assist NLI, should I look into shooting weddings, can I teach Mary to drive a manual transmission car...on the other side of the road, is there Bass fishing...is there any fishing, how can I get Dr Pepper sent over, what happens if we get discouraged, will we decide to stay longer than 3 years, will we make through the first 3 years, can we adapt to the possibility of moving into some very foreign cultures, how many times can we really eat fish and chips or tandori chicken, and so on and so forth.
In the course of an hour or two I almost had myself believing there was no way this would ever work...to quote Charlie Brown..."We're doomed." I stacked all the possible problems and roadblocks , which in and of themselves were pebbles, and made a boulder, large enough to block my view.
So if I may....again...ask for your prayer support? Take any of the almost countless "pebbles" and pray we work through it.....whether it be about logistics.... money... health ....guidance.... happiness... visas... housing... family ...whatever......... we truly appreciate you prayers.

If I may be so bold...if you have read this and agree to pray for some facet of the journey, please leave a comment letting us know. We cannot do this on our own, and knowing who else is with us would be a great comfort. Thank you.

With a little help from my friends

Great news.
We've been able to make arrangements for how our donations are received, handled, and reported. Next Level Int'l has a USA office and they have offered to be our bookkeepers.

This means our donors can send checks to NLI and get receipts for their taxes....and it gives us an accountabilty partner (no pun intended.) We will need to submit a budget to NLI, once they approve it (acknowledging the funds are indeed being used for the purposes intended), NLI will transfer funds to us once a month. Of course we will not be using any donated funds until we actually arrive in Europe (January 2009).

In the meantime we are working on finding prayer and financial partners...Prayer partners to help us be prepared for the adventure ahead and for all that needs to come together between now and our departure. Financial partners so we can focus on the mission not the money. It is our hope to raise our first 12 to 18 months' support prior to our departure. Thus allowing us to hit the ground running.

Need more details??? feel free to contact either of us via email: mary@going4the1.com paul@going4the1.com

Shalom

Birthday

It is hard to believe a year has gone by since young Miss Emily came into our lives. Quite frankly I am truly enjoying this whole grandfather (aka Pop Pop) gig.

She arrived in the midst of one of the darkest moments in my life...a ray of light....a promise of hope....a gift of love.

Happy Birthday Emily!!!!

Come Together

In step with our upcoming life-shift, we'll be in Poland this coming October. This is when NLI holds their annual EuroSummit. This event incorporates all of NLI's European staff, and the alliance of missionary and church organizations with which NLI interacts in their many current (and future) endeavours.
The event is being held in Krakow, and from what we have heard, tis a beautiful, scenic place. But we're really looking forward to the opportunity to rub elbows with many of our future co-workers from across the continent.
And in a style that only God has, he has provided some weddings which will help cover the expense of the airfare and seminar.

Where do we go from here?

After more discussion and prayer, and more prayer, and many requests for prayer. We were resolved to make the transition from worldly normal to Godly normal.
There is still much to do....sell the house and most of its contents, leave our jobs, say good-bye to family and friends, raise support (we'll need about 40-45K US/year), wind down my photography business, find a new place to live, buy a car(?)....the list goes on. But nevertheless we will move on.

Right now we are still asking for prayer as we take each new step.
A few key prayer needs...
1)arranging for finances....we need a church to act as a funnel for donations, this way donors can get a tax receipt.
2)supporters and partners...we cannot do this on our own and we will need ongoing prayer and financial support.
3)patience...we want to be there NOW...but first need to build a sound foundation to support our intentions.

Thank you. Paul and Mary

Only the beginning....

Where did this all start??? Tough question.

The moment of realization came a few months ago as we were driving to a wedding in the southern part of Florida. We were discussing my recent restlessness and the feeling our time in Florida was drawing to a close. Our children are adults, and two of them parents of their own brood. Twas only a matter of time before we became "empty nesters".

One daughter already lives half-way across the country and another is thinking of moving north, whilst the third is now planning her wedding for early 2008. We'd have nothing to keep us in Florida....so the discussion turned to "Where would we move?" That was Saturday morning.



Fast forward to Sunday and the ride home. The discussion took a radical turn. We went from thinking of moving to Georgia or Colorado to moving to England and volunteering as missionaries.....the seed, planted long ago, had broken through the surface.