It has been a short week in Raleigh for us as a family of four. The kiddos are back in school, the bags were unpacked, and we had a lot of movement on the team-building front. Now, we're back on the road (literally, in the air and on the rails) this time without the kids for an important week in England.
This post tells a little about the lot that has happened over the last week.
Life In Raleigh
We are so glad to be back in North Carolina. We have missed our friends, routine, and home. Perry and Shepherd are back in school and doing a great job. Perry's kindergarten class had a surprise party for their teacher on Friday and Perry had a lot of fun celebrating Mrs. Streit. Thomas was busy with fundraising and team-building while Elizabeth knocked out a bunch of monogram orders that came in over our Christmas holiday. It was bittersweet to take down the Christmas tree and think about the next time we put ornaments on a tree we will be in London.
God Is Building The Team
The highlight of this last week for us was on Wednesday night. We had 30 people in our home to learn more about London, the vision of the church plant, and to pray about the costs involved in planting this church. The group shared about what they're learning as they seek to find pathways to London for jobs and ministry. Thomas taught on how to become the kind of person who can make wise decisions. We fellowshipped, prayed, and encouraged one another.
For the last four months we have shared the vision, conducted assessments and interviews, and helped people think through whether or not it is likely they could find a pathway to working in London. All of this work is culminating in what will happen in the next couple of weeks.
The next three weeks are very important for everyone who is considering moving with us. We are in the final stage of discernment for forming the Launch Team. In a few weeks we will move to weekly Launch Team meetings that will carry us from February through April. These gatherings will be crucial times of instilling our ministry DNA, growing together as family, and continuing to work out details for the impeding move to London. Please pray for those who are interested. The end of the month will be full of conversations as the team is assembled.
A Big Week In England
Tonight we fly over to London for what will be an important week for us. We are happy to have Papa and Susu (the Hart parents) in town to watch the kids while we're away for the week.
We're attending the Acts 29 Couples Assessment Conference in Manchester. It's widely held that A29 provides the most thorough assessment for church planting. Together, we completed an extensive written assessment which led to Thomas having an interview with Network leadership. Now we're heading over for a three-day assessment conference. This will help us identify our strengths, weaknesses, and blindspots when it comes to planting in London as Americans.
After the conference we will meet a group of 17 friends from Raleigh-Durham in London for a Vision Trip on Thursday and Friday. We will explore Queen's Park and surrounding neighborhoods, look into the schools, and take in a little of London city-center as well. We will continue exploring London over the weekend and fly back to Raleigh on Monday.
There are three ways you can pray for us in the week ahead...
First, please pray for favor with the assessment conference. We want to hear from God and learn from God's people over the next few days.
Second, please pray for our time in London with the Vision Trip and research as well. We want our friends to hear from God and develop a sense of whether they should join the Launch Team or not.
Third, please pray for our time in London. This will probably be our last time in London together before the move (Thomas has at least one more trip before then). We don't want to leave our kiddos but we do need to press in to the hard work of preparing for the new season of life.
What Else
You can join our prayer team by clicking this link. We will send you updates about our family and the status of the church plant as things continue to build.
We will share all about our journey through England via @TheWestLondonLife on Instagram so be sure to keep an eye out for that in the days ahead. Who knows, we might have a few giveaways and trivia for some legit London treats...
Thank you for joining us on this journey.
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Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.
Psalm 37:3-5