2nd Transition Update...

This is the second transition update email I sent out on January 22, 2009:

"It's a huge blessing to see how God is already working out the details for our transition to California! We recieved an email this morning from Pastor Rushing in Martinez, saying that someone has offered to give our family a 2001 Cadillac, which would free up the money we had allocated for purchasing a car upon our arrival...How great is our God! I know that this isn't the end of the journey by far, but it's incredible to witness how easily things come together when God is in control, as opposed to our trying to handle everything single-handedly.

In regards to my finding a job in a local Christian school, the principals from both Walnut Creek Christian Academy and Berean Christian High School have replied to my most recent emails, and both stated that they still don't have any specific positions open for next year, but that they would keep me in mind. We already knew that this was the case in both schools, so it isn't new information for us, but it gives us a better target area for our prayers. BCHS sends out contract renewals to its teachers in March, and WCCA sends them in February. So, they will have a better idea in those respective months. Please pray that God will provide a teaching job in a Christian school, so that we will be able to afford providing our kids with a Christian education. I am going to be contacting a few Christian schools in the area this weekend, too.

Something that I didn't include in our last email is the area of insurance. Our insurance with NICS terminates on June 30th, which means we need to have insurance and be covered by July 1st. We are going to be looking into both medical and life insurance. We have a few leads from Pastor Rushing that we are going to be running down, but any information any of you could afford would most certainly be appreciated. Please pray that God will provide and guide us to the best, most affordable insurance available.

Pastor Rushing also said that rent/housing payments would run in the $1500-$1800/mo. neighborhood, and that they already had a few possibilities in mind. He also said that it would be difficult to really solidify anything until it got closer to the time of our arrival. Please continue to pray that God will provide the best, most affordable house for our family. Because we have three children, we need at the very least a 3-bedroom, 1.5-bath facility. As I have told Pastor Rushing, square-footage is not our primary concern as we have been living in smaller places for the past 7 years here in Korea (some of our apartments have been smaller than most hotel rooms in the US), but the number of rooms and bathrooms is important. I hope that information helps you in your prayers for us. We already knew about the amount of rent/housing payments from research I had done before even agreeing to visit the area. So, we are aware of the cost of living, but we are also confident that our God owns the cattle on a thousand hills (and, apparently, a Cadillac, too!). So, $1500-$1800/mo. is peanuts to Him! Just continue to pray!

That's about all the new-ish information that I have for y'all right now. I'll continue to update you all as new developments occur. I have one of the ladies in our school office calling Korean shipping companies for information on that front, and one of our teachers said that they have some information about a US-based company that helps missionaries relocate inexpensively. So, PLEASE PRAY! God is working, but there are still many things that must come together. He is able...more than able!"