It's Official

At the Covenant Annual meeting, we were officially commissioned as missionaries. They had "old" and new missionaries carry flags representing the countries in which there are Covenant missionaries. Karyn got to carry the Guamanian flag! :) As we walked down the isle of the auditorium waving the flags to the Latin beat of a song, it was quite a thrill. As we stood before the hundreds of witnesses publicly proclaiming our calling and commitment to serve God around the world, Karyn experienced her first wave of loss of her homeland and her family. The imminence of our departure hit her full in the face. The idea of saying goodbye to our son and her mother, in particular, brought tears of sadness and loss. It gave a new respect for the many missionaries who have gone before us and the cost they were willing to pay. It reminded us of how important it is to pray for those out in the field and their families here at home. It's not just the missionaries making the sacrifices--it is family and friends who also sacrifice a priceless relationship with a loved one for God's glory.

From Clayton to Castro Valley to Portland

Well folks, we did it. We've actually moved from our Clayton home and into our temporary quarters in Castro Valley. We've moved from 2500 square feet to about 700. Needless to say, we've downsized. What did we do with all our stuff? Let's just say this: you should see the inside of this little house; in fact, you should see the outside! We still have a bit of work cut out for us. Thanks for your continued prayers.

Today we're off to Portland for the annual meeting of the Evangelical Covenant Church. Tomorrow night we will be officially commissioned as Project Missionaries! It will be a wonderful experience to be "set aside" for this worthy task. Hopefully it will give new meaning to lingering backaches and sleepiness resulting from our marathon move.

We cherish your on-going prayers. A prayer of thanksgiving for our move and for our newest partner church, Central Peninsula Church in Foster City, CA. Continued prayers for fundraising efforts and the need to continue to go through all our stuff and determine what goes to Guam and what to do with the rest. Speaking of rest, that too.

Welcome!

So, we've stepped into the techno sphere. Some might say it's about time. Others might be impressed. Actually, the blog thing has been a lot easier than we thought, so here we are.

You may notice that we're calling our blog Musings from Micronesia. The operative word here is "from." Right now these musings aren't really from Micronesia at all, unless closeness in mind counts for actually being there. "From" is a statement of faith projecting forward into the fall. It really won't be long before we are, in fact, writing from Micronesia.

I suppose the big news is that the "from" begins for Eric and Christian on July 31. Yes, Eric bought the cheapest one way tickets he could find, and so dad and son are booked to fly! It's not that Karyn decided not to go after all; it's just that Christian's school starts August 6 (!), but the PIBC semester doesn't begin until September 3. Since we still don't know where we are going to live, Eric and Christian will head to the Western Pacific and "set up shop" while Karyn wraps up all the details back home. Karyn and the girls will arrive in Guam at the beginning of September.

For now, we are buzzing with house-evacuation. We must be out this Sunday, June 17, and we've got a lot to do. The house has all that scattered stuff laying around that always boggles the mind after the big stuff is removed. All of us are burning the candle at both ends trying to get everything settled. We have a great family of three renting our house for a three-year lease. That is our first prayer request: getting out of here with our sanity and relationships intact. Second, please pray as we continue to work through all the items we are uncertain about bringing or not bringing. Since we don't know our accommodations yet, it makes deciding what to bring and not to bring rather challenging. Finally, please continue to pray for our fundraising. We are at about 65% after the last official adjustments. We praise God for his provision, and trust him for the remaining 35%. Thanks to all of you who have joined with us in our Mission to Micronesia!

Again, welcome to our blog. There's a lot more to come.