How we are Doing

We've been in Rock Hill for three weeks now.  We miss our Ohio friends and family like crazy, but are definitely transitioning well.  We love the city....there's so much to do and so many friendly people.  You can get into a conversation with just about anybody.  In fact, the first night we were here, as we were pulling into our parking space with the moving truck, we got into a conversation with a neighbor named Arnold and told him we'd have him over for dinner once we got settled.  Well, this past Monday night we unpacked the last box and hung the last picture on the wall... so Tuesday night, we had Arnold and his wife and baby over for dinner.  When they left, we just had silly grins on our faces.  If this is church planting, we love it.  :)   On Sunday, we have another set of neighbors coming for dinner.  

Funny side note: after Arnold and Juanita left, we googled "how to open a wine bottle."  Juanita had brought us a bottle of wine as a hostess gift.  (I forgot about that fancy little custom.  It made me glad I changed out of my sweatpants at the last minute... although as we talked over dinner, I told Juanita that next time, we're all allowed to wear sweats.)  So I apologized that we had given our wine glasses away before we moved ,which we had.  (They had sat in our cupboard for 10 years and were never used.   But I kept them because they were pretty. :)  As Ben sat at the table with them, I tried to motion to him that I had no idea how to open a wine bottle.  (Anyone seen "The Emperor's New Groove"?  I felt like Isma telling Cronk to "hit him on the head!")  After some subtle attempts, I realized I probably needed a corkscrew, which I thought I had attached to a kitchen gadget somewhere but couldn't find.  We finally blamed it on my unpacking skills and stashed the wine in the fridge for another day.  After my post-dinner You Tube tutorial, and upon locating a corkscrew, we got the wine open.  Which is good because I know the lady coming on Sunday with her boyfriend is into wine.  I may have to practice taking a sip without showing my instinctual gag reflex.  How anyone has ever acquired a taste for something with such a strong resemblance to cough syrup on steroids is beyond me!

Ben has been focusing a lot on trying to find a part-time job to start in late December or early January.  He has been applying for a lot, and even has a couple interviews lined up, but so far there hasn't been an overly positive response... nor have we found the "perfect job" - you know, one that pays well enough to keep us afloat, has hours that are during the day (as opposed to the evening when we would be trying to have people over and do lots of "social stuff"), and that allows Ben to interact with people.  If things don't start "lining" up before Thanksgiving, Ben's going to start applying for full-time jobs too.  We cannot emphasize what a blessing this two-month sabbatical is to us.  We would have been in big trouble if we had gotten here and needed a job ASAP or if Ben would have had to jump headfirst into a new job while we simultaneously had to work on unpacking and getting to know our surroundings. 

We're also searching for better ways to get to know folks.  Beyond our neighbors (and beyond the people Ben might get to know through his job) there's not a whole lot of "sure fire" free ways to build relationships.  Ben and I have both gotten into some conversations at the playground or Chic-Fila (which, incase I haven't mentioned it, Rock Hill has TWO Chic-Filas!!).  We're hoping Ben can help coach a kids' soccer team through the Y at the beginning of the year, and I've talked to the librarian about possibly volunteering during a Saturday morning storytime.  If Ben gets a job that pays enough for us to have some "wiggle room" we might get a membership to the local children's museum or join some clubs at the Y where we would see the same people on a regular basis.  It is absolutely amazing when we think about our relationships in Springfield... about 90% of them were built through the church, and another 7% were through some other "Christian group" like a homeschool co-op.  This (sadly) feels like a new world to us, trying to figure out how to build relationships through "non-Christian" groups.  We've been praying a lot for divine appointments.

As you pray for us, please also pray for our teammates.  Seth and Amanda Hanford received the devastating news last week that Amanda's mom has stage 4 cancer.  Obviously, this is incredibly difficult for them to be so far away from her parents.  The Hanfords have also been going through the process of being able to adopt a child, and that same week, they found out that they have been chosen by a birth mother to adopt her baby.  The baby is due in January, so needless to say, Seth and Amanda have a LOT on their plates right now.  

We're also praying for Karl and Lindsey Bucher as Karl continues to search for a permanent full-time job.  They have been here since October 1, and the Lord has provided plenty of short-term construction projects for Karl, but no full-time employment has worked out yet.  It looks like there might be some opportunities right up Karl's alley at the beginning of the year, and we're hopeful for something to work out there, but in the meantime, they are living 45 minutes away in Waxhaw, NC.  They are staying in a less-than-ideal one bedroom apartment, but since it is a temporary arrangement, they can't stay there too much longer.  And without full-time employment, they are having a hard time finding a place that will rent to them in Rock Hill.

We definitely covet your prayers... for us, for our teammates, for our neighbors and those we will be in contact with.  This is a battle, and it's only just beginning.

-Janelle

P.S.- here are some pictures from our last month

Micah helping with move:

About to hit the road:

New play room for the kids:

Reunited with good friends: