Sunday on our First Visit (by Julie)

When I got married 18 years ago, I married a man who worked at his family's almost 100 year old business. I really expected him to work there until he retired, so I thought that I would probably live in Ohio the rest of my life. I don't think it ever occurred to Mark that he would ever live anywhere else either.

So when God moved us to Georgia, I thought, well, I guess I will live in Georgia the rest of my life.

And now God is moving us to Indiana...Is the lesson here that I am a pilgrim and I have no continuing city...?

(I have a friend in our homeschool co-op that has moved 21 times in her life. She is a person who holds possessions loosely and while she has a nice home, to her, it is just a place to live--possibly until she moves somewhere else. I feel like maybe I am beginning to understand her mindset just a tiny bit.)

So on to Sunday...We drove 11 hours to a town we had never visited to a church we had never been in, to Gateway Woods campus that we had never seen. Neither Mark nor I had ever been to the sale either. So as we drove into Leo, it was a curious feeling--This is home. I wonder what it's like?

We stayed with Zach and Jenny Bertsch as I mentioned. Even though Jenny grew up in Smithville, and we knew her family, we didn't really know her. (Just a side note: Her little sister, Joy, was in first grade at Heritage when I taught there.) And though we didn't know Zach either, we had just become friends with his sister, Cassie, who is at the preschool in Athens. So even though we didn't know them, we felt like we did!

Leo is certainly not a big church, but it doesn't take much to be big next to Atlanta! It was a three day weekend, with the Martin Luther King holiday, so a lot of people were gone, but it was still overwhelming. Lots more people to get to know than in Atlanta. We have learned to love going to our small church and it is going to be an adjustment, but one that will be fun as we get to know people and make new friends.

Or make old friends! I had had Joy Kilgus send me a Leo church book, and was happy to find out that Lorelei (Broquard) Gutwein goes to Leo church. She sat right in front of me in church and then we sat at lunch together. It was really nice to be able to connect with her again.

As I said though, there were a lot of people gone, so the next time we go, we will be able to see some that we missed this time, like Jason and Joy Kilgus, Jeff and Tina Schumacher, and a few others I can't think of right now. (Jeff is admin at the home who hired Mark.)

In afternoon church, we got to stand up and be introduced! Ed Graf, who is a relative of Mark's, announced our names and our children's names and ages and the fact that Mark was just hired at Gateway as Business Manager and that we were in the process of moving. The girls weren't too sure about standing up and having all eyes on us, but it was only for a moment, and we did feel special and welcomed!

A couple more things about church: We had chili for lunch. I think there might be more children than adults in Leo church. The singing was beautiful!

We read Psalm 27 in the morning which really spoke to my heart as we wait for the house to sell and for things to settle down. The minister asked the congregation if we have any particular stress right now in our lives--Consider that stress, now picture yourself in Haiti--how important or stressful does it seem now? I had to think, yes, I am driving back to GA without my husband, but my children will be clothed and fed, and we aren't in danger of our lives. We have many many things to be thankful for.

Sunday evening, Zach and Jenny had invited Alex and Lorelei Gutwein, Tim and Krista Wiegand, and Kurt and Kristin Slagel. Old friends and new! We got to know Tim and Krista as new friends (Tim oversees the Gateway school), and got to know Lorelei's husband. Kurt and Kristin felt like old friends because Kurt's parents and mine have been close friends for forever. Kurt's sister, Sara, and I are the same age and went to school together, as well as Sara's husband, Kerwin Edelman. Kerwin and Sara are in Athens and they are very special to us. So it was neat to have Kurt and Kristin there too. We look forward to being with them more in the future.

At one point, I said to Kurt, It sure is good that you guys are here, for more than one reason. We get to know you better, but also your mom and dad will come visit.

He smiled and said, "Yours too!"

Most of the kids that evening were little ones, but in church, Miranda got to know Allison Rager, who recently moved there from Chicago. Luke said he made a friend in Sunday School, Graham Schrock. Reed made a friend in Sunday School too, the boy with the orange shirt and spiky hair. Rachel enjoyed getting to take care of Zach and Jenny's baby girl, Mariah--with her big blue eyes, red hair and Cassie's smile! :)

Monday morning, Mark went to Gateway for his first day of work there, and we left around 11 to drive home. Actually, Mark had the great idea of us driving to Athens instead of Atlanta, thus cutting four hours off of the trip. So I called Kerwin and Sara and they said it would be fine. We arrived there at about 7 pm on Monday evening, and got to spend time with them, as well as Sarah Hodel and Cassie Bertsch, and Mark and Becca Klaus.

We left Athens Tuesday morning about 9. On the way home, we just happened to pass a Bass Pro Shop and couldn't pass up the opportunity to stop. Luke had seen a remote control monster truck in a Bass Pro Shop magazine and wanted to see if they had one. Well, they did have some, but they were all pink...

Reed found a hunting playset with a truck and tent and accessories, and a fishing playset with a sweet boat that he couldn't resist.

Tuesday evening, we cleaned church and were going to play some games in the evening, but I'll let Miranda write from here!