After saying, “See you later,” to our family and friends in Mason City and the Chicago Suburbs, our church family gave us an encouraging farewell. We were really touched by the words of encouragement and prayer. We are very blessed with such a wonderful church family and will miss the community there; especially the amazing students of Amplify Youth. We will fondly remember them running after the van as we left. It helped us to realize even more how much we will miss them.When we left the Chicagoland area, we were on our way to Seattle with Julie’s brother, Jonathan, and sister-in-law, Joy. Jon and Joy moved so that Jon can attend Mars Hill to receive his Masters in Divinity. Please be in prayer for them as they adjust to life in Seattle, look for jobs, and build a community there.
Our road trip to Seattle was filled with amazing sites and memories. It started off rough with the car top carrier flying off the car on I-90 after the Belevidere Oasis. Luckily, no one was hurt and we successfully got the car top carrier on top of the car once again with help from bungee cords. The first night we stopped in Souix Falls, South Dakota. We got in late (3:00 AM) and in the morning were on the road again to Billings, Montana. On the way we stopped in the Badlands and were amazed by the beauty of the rocks. Our next stop was Yellowstone National Park. During the day we drove and hiked around the park to see the unique geothermal activity of Yellowstone as well as rolling hills and mountains. We were fortunate to see bison roam in the distance, an elk eat by the side of the road, and a grizzly bear strolling through the woods while we were safe in our car. We saw Old Faithful shoot up water around 70 feet and took two beautiful hikes. One hike was to Mystic Falls. Before getting to the trailhead we were able to see sapphire pools, spouting geysers, and sulfuric steam rise from the Earth. The other hike was along the Yellowstone Grand Canyon. Its yellow rock, cliffs, and rushing waterfalls made it breathtaking. When we were done exploring Yellowstone we tore down our camp and continued on our way to Seattle.
On Saturday, August 8th we reached our road trip destination. The yellow, Penske moving truck maneuvered through the streets of downtown Seattle and the unloading began. It took a few hours and help from a friendly Mars Hill student, but the truck was unloaded and Jon and Joy had moved into their new home.
We are so excited for Jon and Joy as they begin their life in Seattle. It is a place, even before dating, they each felt they would someday be and Mars Hill just happened to be there. As soon as you begin to walk along the streets of Seattle you understand its appeal. The fresh vibe is captivating and it is the perfect city to grow to understand yourself a little bit better.
On Tuesday night at 11:00 PM, Jon and Joy dropped us off at the Seattle-Tacoma Airport. It was the car ride there that it began to sink in that we are actually going to Thailand! Thoughts such as, “Am I ready for this?” or “Oh no, I should have spent more time learning the language!” or “Alright God, here we go!” were spinning around inside our minds. The first step out of the car was our first step to our new home for the next 11 months.
We are now in Taipei, Taiwan waiting to board the plane that will take us to Bangkok, Thailand. There we will board another plane to Chiangmai. Mark and Janie Durene will be there to greet us, but nervousness will still linger. We really do not know what to expect, but have faith and trust that all things work out for those called according to God’s purpose. So, here we go! We have cried out to God for him to send us, now we pray that we will discover what we can do to show God’s love to the people of Thailand.
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