Moving Out

The past few years have been a roller coaster of emotions- planning our move to the Land of Sand, getting there, coming back, having a son, going back, getting visas denied, having a daughter... and then waiting... and waiting... for something. Clarity? Renewed vision? For sure we wondered if we were supposed to push harder on some doors to get back into the country we had focused on for so long. And yet, we lacked peace.
The country was going through a major political and geographical shift- dividing North from South-- huge unrest. So, we waited. Waited for peace; waited for clarity.

And after much prayer, soul searching and God searching, we have finally found the clarity we were looking for. Eddy had always toyed with the idea of going back to school to finish his bachelors degree, which he started back in Brazil before launching out into missions. He had completed 3 years of a business degree. Now, with our eyes keenly focused on the unreached and an unquenchable desire to be "out there", we realize that by having Eddy finish his degree, we could more easily get into "closed" nations.

Eddy had tried finishing his degree online, but found it difficult to carve out time for studies with the kids, job, house, etc. We both agreed that physically going to a university would help him succeed. So we started the hunt for one that offered Physical Education/Coaching. As the last post suggested, we looked into schools in MN, FL, WY and OR; all the places where we have some sort of support system. And we ended up feeling more than certain that OR was the place to be.

Eddy was accepted into Western Oregon University and will start classes 4/2/2012. We went out early and researched housing options. Renting a house for our family in Salem, where we had lived before, would cost upwards of $1300/month (ouch!). So, we looked into buying a house- and found one! And all the expenses will put us well below the cost of a rental; crazy.

This is a bitter sweet transition for us. We have many friends here in MN- family, really- and leaving them will not be easy. But we know that God is moving us on and we trust in his guidance, as being in the center of his will, wherever he takes us, is the safest place to be.

Our official unofficial departure date is 3/1/2012; We have purchased a 4' x 5' trailer to haul all our belongings out West ... which has turned out to be a surprisingly small space for a family of four! We close on our house in Salem on 3/15 and we're fairly sure we have found renters for our home here in MN, which we will keep, for now.

Thank you to all our family and friends who have supported us through this time of transition. We'll keep you posted!

Pics: We've started to sell off our furniture- hence, lots of "floor time"... and Bath time- Tessa seems to be growing up so fast!