We’re Here!
I know many of you have been eagerly awaiting an update from our family, and here it is. We made it! We arrived in Scotland on July 12th, and there is a lot to share!
We asked you to pray with us for all the final details of our move, and God answered those prayers! We said goodbye to family on July 11th and took off to Scotland. Our flights were great, and, despite a six hour layover in Chicago, we had no issues.
Our first order of business after arriving was to get the keys to our home. Finding housing in the UK can sometimes be quite difficult, but God provided in an amazing way. We had been searching for a house to rent online for a couple of months before we moved, and one had come up that seemed interesting, but it was out of our budget. While we continued looking at other places, we noticed the price had been lowered. However, it was still just a little out of our budget. Then, while praying and looking elsewhere, it was lowered again! We contacted the agent, and they were not able to do any kind of “virtual viewing” to show us the property. We decided to put in an application anyway. Our application was successful, and all we needed to do was pick up the keys when we arrived. This was our first stop after our plane landed. We are right in the centre of Dunfermline, just a 5 minute walk to the high street and a 10 minute walk to the boys’ school.
The next order of business was getting our vehicle. Once again, God worked this out in advance. We had found a great deal on the car we were looking for on eBay listed down in England. We were able to negotiate having the car delivered to our house up in Scotland on the same day we landed. So around 5:00 PM, our car was dropped off, and we were able to pick up mattresses to sleep on that night.
The next week was very busy, getting all the necessities we needed to live in the house, things like beds, sofas, dressers, everything for our kitchen, etc. We were able to find almost everything we needed on Facebook marketplace or in local charity shops. We are very thankful for how God provided here as well. Tim’s parents were able to make the trip up to help us with a few things, and it was great to see them again. The next week we made the trip down to Portsmouth to see the rest of Tim’s family, and Tim was able to preach at Bethel Evangelical Church that Sunday.
The next few weeks were filled with getting our house organised, setting up a bank account, and other details like that. Our shipping palette arrived, and we unpacked all of our books, toys, and clothes, which helps our home feel like home. We have been able to visit a couple of churches in this area, and we hope to find one that is in close agreement with us doctrinally and that will be a good place for some Christian fellowship for us and our kids. We have had a chance to meet a few of our neighbours, and they have all been very lovely and kind.
Lincoln with his Haggis pizza!
Looking ahead, there is a lot we’d ask you to pray for. Lincoln and Oliver start school this week! Please join us in praying that this goes well - that they make good friends and have a positive experience. Pray for us as we endeavour to build relationships here in the community. That is really the first step for us in ministry - to meet people, become a part of the community, and develop friendships. Pray that God goes ahead of us and gives us many opportunities to do this. Pray for our partners, Trevor and Amelia, as they move up from England. We are excited to have them nearby. Lincoln, Oliver, and Elowen are especially excited to have their cousins around again!
We really want to express how thankful we are for each one of you reading this and praying for us. God has continued to guide us and provide for us in ways we never expected, and we believe it is largely because of your prayers. Thank you! We also love to hear from you. If you want to ask us a question, or just let us know you’re praying, we always appreciate a reply to our updates!
