Six New Brits!!

July 2008 was when we applied for the children to become British citizens. This was supposed to take up to 5-6 months, but as of last week we were still waiting so I called to find out where their applications stood. The reply was that their applications were approved. So finally, after almost 10 months our children now hold British citizenship (as well as keeping their American citizenship).

We still have not received their paperwork ... I guess that will take a few more weeks to get here!!

Michelle

Do You Remember These?

Do you remember this picture? This was taken back in January of the 28 boxes that we shipped to England.

We were told we could expect them to arrive in 4-6 weeks. It has now been over 13 weeks since we have seen them and we still don't have a delivery date. We did find out last week that they are now in a port on the South coast of England and are waiting to get through customs, but customs is backed up due to the Easter holidays. Once they clear customs they will try to schedule a delivery date within 15 business days.

This is beginning to get a little frustrating as we are starting to need many of the things we packed, including summer clothes, Gary's tools and most of the children's school books and toys!!!!

I know the Lord is teaching us patience, but it's not a lesson I like to learn and I know I'm not learning it as graciously as I should!!!

Michelle

Nicholas is 8

Last week we celebrated Nicholas' 8th birthday.

I think he had a good day although it did not go quite as planned! He told us he wanted to go swimming. That sounded great until we realized that Deanna's swimsuit was still in the boxes we shipped. Not a problem, as we thought that she'd probably grown out of that one, so we went to buy a new one. We went to a shopping area which was near IKEA so we could take advantage of the free face painting they had that day.

We purchased a swimsuit for Deanna and looked around IKEA, then received a call from Gary saying his swimsuit was still in the shipping boxes too. So much for the swimming - as we couldn't justify spending the money on an extra swimsuit for Gary - so we promised the kids we will go as soon as the boxes arrive.

After we got home Nicholas said he wanted to take his new skateboard to the skate park. Not a problem - until we arrived and found the place crowded with teenagers smoking etc. So that had to wait for another day too.

He decided he wanted to go to McDonalds for his birthday meal. So we went. Currently they have the "Monopoly" game promotion running and Nicholas won an instant prize of fruit slices. He went to claim his prize only to find out they were out of fruit slices. Nothing seemed to be going right for him that day .... then they offered him a large ice cream instead and he was happy.

We returned home to cake and ice cream with promises of swimming and the skate park for another day!!!

Michelle

The Work at Springhead Park House

The reason the Lord brought us to England was for Gary to be the Maintenance Supervisor of the WEC property here in Rothwell. Please forgive us for not giving more updates on how the work is going.

Currently, this large property is completely surrounded by scaffolding. It has been for the past 6 weeks, while the roofs are being replaced. As we look out of our window it feels like we are surrounded by a giant spider web.

The work on the roofs should be completed by the end of May. Gary has been taking advantage of having the contractors on site by asking them many questions about construction in the UK. He has also been in contact with the maintenance man at our Headquarters in London to learn as much as he can from him.

As individual roofs are finished Gary will be able to start work on repairing the many years of water damage that has greatly destroyed parts of these buildings. That in itself, would be enough to keep him going for a long time, but we also have new Center Managers coming to live here at the end of June, so Gary also has to convert a workshop into a flat. Along with this there has been a blocked drain, broken water pipe and other items that needed attention over the last week. Thankfully he is not alone in all the work and does have a couple of helpers.

One of his biggest hindrances right now is finding the materials he needs. After living his whole life in America, he knew where to go to get the things he needed - this is a whole new challenge to him now, and at times can be very frustrating.

Michelle

Diesel Money

The family that have lent us the van needed it back for a couple of days over Easter. This worked out great, as we had train tickets to go to my parents and therefore didn't need it. We had purchased the tickets back in February because they are a lot cheaper if you purchase far in advance

Before they picked up the van I filled it up with diesel. Later that day Gary picked up the mail and there was an envelope with the words "Diesel Money" written on the front. There was enough money in there to cover what I had put in the tank.

The Lord knew what we needed and again He provided. We thank the generosity of the giver and our Lord who provided.

Michelle

Easter

I hope you all had wonderful Easter, celebrating our Lord's death and resurrection. We were very blessed to stay with my parents for 5 days and to have a family reunion. We had not all been together since my sister's wedding over 4 years ago.

There were several things which made this Easter special. We got to meet my nephew (my brother's child) for the first time. He is now 3, and is such a cutie. He and Daniel got a long really well. It was great to see Daniel take responsibility for him as Daniel often watched out for him and helped him if he needed something. We were also told of another niece or nephew that will be joining the family in October as my sister announced she that she is expecting her first child.

Another joy of the weekend was to visit with my grandmothers. Gran B (above) is 91 years old and recently hasn't been in very good health. We weren't sure if she would survive, so it was such a blessing to visit with her.

On the way back to my parent's home we stopped and visited my other grandmother who is now 97. Unfortunately, her mind is far from what it used to be. While she didn't recognize me when I first arrived, she did remember who I was. We introduced her to the children, but I think they scared her a little.

When I last saw my grandmothers (several years ago) I left them, doubting I would ever see them again. The Lord truly gave me a wonderful gift in allowing me to see them this Easter.

Michelle

Busy Times

Please forgive me for the lack of posts over the last 3 weeks. Life here has been extremely busy and I am now just starting to catch up on emails, blogging etc.

About 3 weeks ago we had some friends come up to Leeds to visit us. I used to share a house with this friend almost 20 years ago, (wow - that makes me feel so old) before I left to live in America. She has since married and they have 2 beautiful children. It was great that they could come and spend the weekend as we had not seen them for 4 years.

 

We spent a lot of time exploring around Leeds. The picture above is taken about a mile or two from where we live, on top of Rothwell's colliery. In the distance you can see the city of Leeds. I imagine we must be at a fairly high elevation here because even the kids noticed that the clouds seemed really close. It was so beautiful to look in one direction and see Leeds, yet then to turn and view miles upon miles of rolling hills.

 

The following day we were able to drive to church in the van. It should have taken us 30 minutes, but it took an hour as we got lost several times!!! In the afternoon we visited Leeds Armoury. It is an incredible museum (and thankfully free of charge). The boys really enjoyed it and have already been back for a second visit.

 

Michelle

New Car

He may be too young to drive but Nicholas did enjoy pretending to drive our new car. We still have the loan of the van but this 5 seater works perfectly for running around Leeds (with just a few kids) when I get my shopping etc. Best of all, it is very fuel efficient.

The car is a family 'hand-me-down' - my sister gave it to my Mum about 4 years ago and now my Mum has passed it on to us. Thank you for your generosity.

Michelle

Hospitality

1Peter 4:9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.

The people here in West Yorkshire have been incredibly friendly toward us. We have now been here 2 months and in the last month we have been to people's homes for dinner on 3 occasions. Each time by people that really don't know us.

On the first Sunday we went to Leeds Reformed Baptist Church we were invited back the following week with an invitation to lunch. We had a great time with a South African born gentleman, his English wife and one of their 9 grown children. It was great to fellowship with these former missionaries and to share stories of God's goodness and faithfulness.

That same week we met a man on the bus who lent over and asked us if we were the new family at WEC. We told him we were, and the conversation led to a meal invitation with this Iranian man, his Swiss wife and their 3 children. Again we enjoyed a wonderful meal with great fellowship with other Christians.

The following week we were welcomed to the Pastor's home after church and enjoyed a great time there too.

We also have 3 more invitations for dinner coming up after Easter.

What amazes me is that these people are opening their homes to us. Obviously we are a large family, it is not easy to find room to seat us in these small English houses nor is cheap to feed us, but the hospitality of the local people is huge.

Michelle

We Have Wheels!!

 

The Lord has been so good to us. We moved here with no money left to be able to buy a vehicle. Thankfully we have been able to get around using our legs and buses, but it hasn't been easy. The buses aren't cheap when you have to transport 8 people and grocery shopping is a little challenging!! Carrying the food has been a work out for my back. So, we asked the Lord if it would please Him, could He give us a vehicle.

This week He did just that. We do not own this van, but we have been lent it for a period of probably 6 months. It is an 8 seater Toyota van. It is also a diesel vehicle which will help keep down the expenses of running it.

We took our first trip in it last night, and apart from getting lost, everything went well. The kids love it as you can turn the middle seat around so they can face each other. Jeremiah was so impressed he wanted to sleep in it last night!! They are so excited that we don't have to catch 2 buses to get to church anymore (well, at least for 6 months).

I am amazed at (and incredibly grateful for) the generosity of this family. They had never met us yet are willing to lend us their van and for such a long period of time.

The best part is that we never asked anyone but God for it. Like always we took our need to God, and God alone, and He generously answered our prayer.

He is faithful!!

Michelle

Raft Race

Last week the kids made rafts from sticks and string. We decided to take them to the river (well really a big creek!) that runs through the park at the back of our home

The kids let them go over the bridge ... the race was on!

Occasionally the rafts got stuck on debris in the river and there were a few brave, yet risky attempts to rescue them without getting wet. Naomi's raft floated the furthest, but she still got upset when it final dipped under some branches and was never seen again.

We also discovered a few great climbing trees which Nicholas and Elaina thoroughly enjoyed.

Michelle

My American Men!!!

 

John MacArthur on True Salvation

Jeremiah's Joy

Back in St Louis Jeremiah had a very special toy. It was a lion beanie baby that he called "Lion". He loved Lion and would take him just about everywhere. We have spent many an hour looking for Lion when it was bedtime or we were going out somewhere and the toy was missing!! So you get the idea, Lion was very special to Jeremiah.

Unfortunately Lion didn't make it in the suitcase and got left at our old home, then he was thrown away. We were hoping Jeremiah would forget about Lion and get attached to another toy, but on several occasions he would talk to me about how much he missed Lion. Then one morning he awoke and told me of his dream "Mom, Lion was crying because he was on his own and he misses me".

Jeremiah kept watching the mail, hoping Lion would arrive. I could never bring myself to tell him Lion was gone forever so there was nothing else this mother could do except for look for a new lion on ebay. Thankfully I found one.

 

He was so excited when he found Lion in a package yesterday. He screamed for joy and jumped up and down several times. Please forgive the quality of the picture but he was a foot off the ground, in mid jump when it was taken. I hope you can see the expression in his face.

 

That was the best 3 pound I have ever spent!!!! As you can imagine Jeremiah has not left Lion far from his sight since it arrived.

Michelle

John Piper