A City Life For Me

Something that we have been working toward for a while is Ben’s Ordination.  We knew that it would need to happen before we could start the church in the Bronx.  But how do you study for ordination while you’re traveling full time through 44 states over three years with five kids? Where do you find quiet when everyone is living in one hotel room space?  The Lord provided for that need when our family separated for the month of July this year.  The kids and I stayed with my parents in Colorado and Ben took some meetings in California on his own.  He spent a couple of weeks living in the library on university campuses.  I remember calling him one day during that time.  He said, “Except for the librarian, you’re the only person who has talked to me all day.  And the silence is  wonderful.”  {I was a little jealous!} Ben had to write a paper on the major doctrines of our faith, backing each statement up with Scripture.  He proofed th...

Playing some catch-up here… On Saturday, September 5, 2015, we moved out of New York City.  It seems like a move backwards, but it is to our advantage at this point.  We are booked nearly solid from now until the end of March, 2016 with deputation meetings.  We are hoping to be at or close to 100% by that time, but we won’t be home between now and then.  It doesn’t make financial sense to pay $1400 per month on an apartment which will sit empty. An opportunity came up for us to put everything into storage and pay much less on a furnished apartment in Mountainville, NY.  It is owned by a church who is hoping to use their second property as a conference center and to be a blessing to missionaries.  So we are basically just paying utilities on this apartment, to give us a place to call home should it be needed before deputation is finished.  It also allows us to apartment shop in the Bronx next spring without being tied to a lease. Here are some shot...

On August 7, we were blessed by a friend to be invited along on a sailboat ride.  She is a volunteer on the Pioneer , a restored 1885 sailboat that is part of the South Street Seaport Museum.  We joined the Friday evening ride, and it was a PERFECT night to be on a boat!  (I was a little nervous about motion sickness, but I didn’t have any problems).  We got to see the Statue of Liberty, several NYC bridges, and the Manhattan skyline – in the sunlight, sunset, and night skies.  It was beautiful!  Thanks Liz for an amazing experience! {Be prepared for picture overload} Preparing to board the Pioneer Girls Boys Brooklyn Bridge // Manhattan Bridge I had fun just watching the sails and ropes against a beautifully blue sky.  So naturally, I took lots of pictures of them! Liz let Nolan help hoist one of the sails Elaine // Nolan // Nehemiah // Liberty // Statue of Liberty The twins discovered what the “Statue of Liberty” is on this trip, and they s...