1st Transition Update...

This is the first transition update email that I sent out to a list of our familyand friends back on January 20, 2009:

"As some of you may not already know, Sam has been called to be the Associate Pastor of Bethany Baptist Church in Martinez, California, a suburban town about 30 minutes east of San Francisco. We have accepted the call, and will begin transitioning from our ministry here in South Korea to the new ministry God has for us in California immediately. We must first finish our contract with International Christian School-Uijongbu, which ends on June 30, 2009. We have already purchased our plane tickets for June 30th, as God provided an unbelieveable price of $2400 for our entire family! Our school administration allowed us to get a pay advance from Sam's summer month's pay in order to take advantage of the low airfare. So, the first hurdle in our transition to California has been cleared, praise the Lord!

As I'm sure you know, there are many other preparations that must fall into place before we actually leave South Korea and set foot in California, and these other preparations are the reasons for which I am writing to you all today. Bethany Baptist Church has generously seen fit to provide us with $4000 for moving expenses. What we are looking at doing with that money is to have the church find us a home into which we can move as soon as we arrive in California. Any money that is left after paying any security deposits and/or first- and last-month payments will be sent to us here in Korea to begin to help off-set any shipping charges that we will have accrued. We anticipate that these initial payments will take most, if not all, of the $4000, but we figure that having a home to move into when we arrive is of paramount importance. Please pray that God will provide the absolute best housing arrangements possible, and that all the details, both financial and logistical, will be able to be worked out easily.

As a result of living in South Korea for the past 7 years, we have accumulated a decent amount of possessions, some of which we would like to take with us across the Pacific. The idea behind doing so is quite simply to cut down on initial replacement costs upon arrival in California. We realize that shipping costs sooner rather than replacement costs later doesn't really seem that different. But really, the things we wish to take with us are things that can be quite expensive. So, the cost of shipping things back sooner would quite possibly be cheaper than paying to replace them in California later. One method many missionaries have opted for in the past is renting a shipping container. This can be a rather expensive endeavor, as a smaller container can cost as much as $5000. We are looking into the possibility of renting half a container, or something comparable, in order to cut the cost a bit. We don't have a tremendous amount of belongings that we want to ship back, but it also isn't a meager amount. So, as we begin to research this facet of our transition, please pray that we will have wisdom in determining what size container we will need, and that God will provide the finances necessary to ship our things to our new home.

Another preparation that needs to be completed is that Sam finds a teaching job at one of the area's Christian schools. The schools with which Sam is currently speaking are Walnut Creek Christian Academy (WCCA) and Berean Christian High School (BCHS). While Sam was in California over the holidays, he was able to have an interview with the principal of WCCA, which went well. And he has since been able to establish contact with the principal of BCHS. He is also looking at contacting a few other Christian schools in the area. Please pray that God will provide a job for Sam at one of the Christian schools in the area. It is important for us to have our children brought up in a strong Christian environment, and the school they attend is part of that environment. Unfortunately, private Christian schools aren't cheap. With Sam being hired at one of these schools, tuition for the kids would be very close to, if not absolutely, free.

This letter's main purpose is to simply provide you all with a summary of where we are in preparing for this monumental transition. We most certainly covet your prayers, and truly hope that you will see fit to join us in petitioning God's divine providence in these matters. Should God lay it upon your heart to help financially, we would also appreciate that. As we research and begin to get a better grasp on how much this transition is going to cost, we will relay that information to you all in as timely a manner as possible. We know that this is God's will for our family, and as such, He will provide the means necessary to complete it.