New Road, New Beginnings

For those who haven't heard...it's official, we're moving to Oregon - Corvallis, Oregon, to be exact! See it there in the background, pt. E? 1.5 hr. south of Portland, right smack in between the Coastal Range and the Cascade Mountains! For you Michiganders: we've been quickly taught that it's pronounced or-i-gun not or-a-gon. And that we are to root for the OSU Beavers not the OU Ducks. So... Go Beavers!  Josh is already seeing season tickets in our family's future for the football games.

The Details:
We accepted the call to begin work on a church plant in Corvallis, OR on February 28, 2011. We'll pack up and move on May 2. In the meantime we're working on housing, fundraising, planning and saying good-byes. Emotions run the gamut! Excitement, sadness, anticipation, and completely freaking out sometimes. The kids will be entering school in Corvallis for the last 6 weeks or so in order to meet a few new kids and maybe get a feel for the community before summer starts. They're also a mish-mash of emotion.  Noah's doing a lot of internal processing, but generally excited about the move; Abby is glad we're moving to a place that has lots of trees and grass (mostly b/c she likes to reenact the Warriors books); Esther's bumming that she'll have to leave the new friends she's made in 1st grade; and Levi just imitates what Esther's doing.

The housing market in Oregon is...well, in the boom their housing prices went soooo sky-high that even now in this depressed economy, the cost for a home is still significantly higher than here in MI. So given the increased cost in housing, we're really leaning on God to find a home that fits and suits our family. The plan is that we'll find a rental for up to a year and then purchase a home. This gives us time to learn about the city, the schools, let the church develop - all that good stuff, before settling on a permanent residence.  Another option is to find an investor that will assist with the down payment on purchasing a home. Either way, we need a roof over our heads. So housing is a prayer request.

Another request is for the soon-to-be church. Technically, it's a restart from remnants of Knollbrook CRC which hasn't been meeting for about 1.5 yr. What will become will be drastically different from what it was and from what currently (seems) to exist within the city. Yup, Josh is gonna try out all his crazy ideas! Technology-driven Reformed theology. Already we've seen God moving in the hearts of the people there, Josh has a good lead on two people that might come along with us to run his crazy ideas, and now all we need is money to do it - a common necessity for all church plants. The budget is set, but it is based in part on fundraising. Bottom line: please pray not only for the physical/spiritual creation of this new church and its community, but also consider how you can partner with us financially.

On a personal level, I (Amanda), in reading over what I just posted, am keenly aware of the fact that our largest requests are for finances. In some ways, it feels like such a worldly concern for which we ask - and it totally IS. On the other hand, it gives me reassurance that those are such minor needs to be asking God about! Ya, it's important to have a place to reside and food to eat and money to run the ministry, but God is so much bigger than those things. Sounds a little trite, but I have no doubts that God will bring what we need. Now, if He's nudging you to offer us a home... pick up that phone!! Let God move in you - Mama needs a home!  :)