5 Minute Monthly: The First from the Field

We're here!

It's been nearly a month since we set foot in the UK, and already we're so thankful to see the Lord is working and why he's brought us here to Portsmouth. The church that we're a part of -- Cornerstone Church Portsmouth -- gave us such a warm welcome and has made us feel right at home. It's taken about this whole month to start to feel settled, but we're starting to get used to the roads around us and figure out how everyday life works in a foreign country. I once heard it said that America and England are "two cultures separated by a common language," and I'm starting to understand that. Simple things like going to the grocery store and expecting to know where the ketchup is, yet finding it in an isle I'd never expect. Or, it's walking down the street and instinctively knowing which direction I should look for oncoming traffic, yet I'm dead wrong, and almost walk into a moving vehicle! Yet, it's been really great to meet people here, and especially wonderful that we are privileged to talk comfortably with people in our mother tongue. Despite adjusting to a brand new life, we really have felt phenomenally blessed by the Lord in this first month and we're really excited to see how the Lord uses us in these next few years.

Life Update

This section that is normally sharing about our going-ons, family outings, and how we're doing as a whole seems a little... different for this month. Our lives have been flipped upside down and our "normal" doesn't exist yet. When we left Wisconsin in December, we packed our suitcases with everything we would be bringing to the UK and lived out of those bags until we got here. So for about six weeks we traveled with next to nothing, until we were finally able to move into our apartment in late January. Our initial stay in Portsmouth was at an AirBnB we found, but thankfully that was only about two weeks until we moved in. Our apartment came furnished, which has been a real blessing for us. There are some things-- like a coffee machine-- that were missing, but we didn't have to buy a bed, dressers, couches, a table, or even kitchenware.

Josiah is settling in nicely by now. He seemed a little sad and confused for our few weeks of travel, especially since he slept in so many different beds in so many places, but he's his happy joyful self again! He loves being able to walk around the apartment and play with all his toys, and he really likes to try and climb the steps when no one is looking! He's getting quite a vocabulary too, with words you might expect like "dada" and "mum," but he also likes the words "stuck," "ball-ball," and "yumyumyumyum" (which means he's hungry). He's really good at waving hello and goodbye, and has just recently started to say "night-night" when he's getting put down for bed. Our little boy is getting cuter by the day and we love the joy he brings into our lives!

Aleah and myself are starting to find some rhythms as well, which helps us start to feel settled. We have been going to a Monday toddlers group, and Aleah has been getting to know and spend time with many of the mothers in our area. It's also very easy to walk around the city, so she's had a lot of fun taking Josiah plenty of places. I have started to go to the church office to be with the pastors and work on different things, like wrapping my head around what bills I need to pay and how to pay them. In not too long, I'll be working on classwork and with the pastors on church things, but for now the main goal is to get settled and get to know people.

Ministry Update

It's all new, and we're slowly working out what the Lord would have us be doing! The primary goal for us has been to get to know people in the church and see how we can help meet needs. There's no fast-track to integration and no quick way to jump into the church, especially not in a trainee type of role that I have, so we really are just working on getting to know people within our community. The toddler group is really great for Aleah to meet other mothers, and she also helps with the bi-weekly English cafe. I've been accompanying the pastors to different events that they're going to, and am planning to be involved with youth & student ministries. We're also going through the partnership course to become partners with Cornerstone, and eventually that will lead to joining a small group during the week. But as for now, it's get-togethers and simple meet-ups that we're prioritizing.

In the first month of our arrival, I took a train to Liverpool for an AT3 Apprentice Gathering. While there, I got to meet in person so many people that I've only seen online, and that was really wonderful. It was a great time of learning together, having great conversation, and sharing stories about what life is like as Americans come over to the UK. It was also really helpful to get to ask questions and get some answers about transitioning into our new lives here. There is comfort in the fact that we're not the first ones to do this and that there are systems and helpful answers already in place to make adjusting to a new life much easier!

Pray with us

Celebrations:

• Safe arrival in mid-January

• No issues with visa/immigration

• A loving church community

Pray for:

• Getting settled in our new home

• Meeting new people and getting connected to community

• Figuring out the healthcare system

THANK YOU to everyone who has been with us this far. We are so blessed to have such loving and caring supporters who have brought us to where we are. If you would like to send us mail or hear more from us, please reach out to one of us! God bless!