American Busy

I think it’s fair to say that while we have largely acclimated back to life here in the states, there are still some places that we are adjusting. A big space is the pace of life here. It feels like recently, especially we have been overwhelmed with busy-ness. Life does not slow down. And because of that we haven’t gotten to update you as much as we would like/have planned.

For that we are sorry. But we continue to be thankful beyond measure and explanation for each and every one of you. Thank you for reading these. Thank you for praying for us. Thank you for supporting us.

We are in the process of attempting to film a short video to explain better why we came back to the states and what these past 2 years have been for us. But, as you all probably already know, we are not the greatest at videos. (us, awkward?!) It’s also such a large subject for us to tackle, we have been struggling to do it well. So thank you for your incredible patience.

 In the meantime, some updates on what has been keeping us busy and what God has been teaching us.

Work:

With both of us working at headquarters now it’s nice to get to collaborate a little bit again. Daniel has been busy in his second year at headquarters and taking classes through Asbury. It has been a joy already for him to see how work in his classes is directly informing his work with OMS and vice versa. Right now he is working on a church multiplication conference coming late spring and some of the breakout sessions he will have the opportunity to facilitate, and things he is learning in class are shaping the way he forms them.

 Amanda has been acclimating to her new role and learning how to help missionary candidates as they prepare for the field. She is also enjoying overseeing the summer internship program, believe it or not it’s already in full-swing as she interviews college students for summer internships here at headquarters this summer.

We have also both been doing a bit of travel as well. Daniel attended the Missio Nexus conference in September, while Amanda got to visit Taylor and Huntington University as well. Amanda attended ICOM, another large missions conference, in November and got to talk to a lot of people interested in missions!

Another strange blessing to living on campus is getting to participate in our pre-field CROSS Training that is held here. Daniel and Chris presented in sessions and we were blessed to be able to host some of the missionary candidates for dinner on Tuesday evening.

Surgery:

Amanda’s surgery went incredibly well at the beginning of September. The doctors were both skilled and kind. Not only did they cut out all of the endometriosis that had grown, but they reassured us both before and after surgery and even held Amanda’s hand until she felt asleep in the operating room. Recovery was not the most fun thing for Amanda, but thankfully there were no complications and she is feeling much better now (and thankful to be able to pick Arlo up again after the 6-week lift restriction!)

Family Life:

We have so enjoyed living close to family again. Arlo is loving all the time with his grandparents and cousins. We were thankful as well to be able to do getaways with both Amanda’s side of the family and Daniel’s side.

Also, Arlo is TWO! (which he can also now tell you!) We really can’t believe it. He loves all things that “go”, especially tractors, and being outside. His joy is truly contagious and as hard as some parenting days can be we often find ourselves laughing at the silliness he brings to our family.

As always, we have to say THANK YOU! Thank you for your support, your kind words, and your prayers. Even when we don't know what to say, many of you have been obedient to the Holy Spirit and encouraged us just when we needed it. We pray we can do the same for you. Thank you!