Save the Date

So we’ve got big news: We have chosen a moving date! 

July 26, 2014

This may not seem like a big deal, but it is for us. Choosing a specific moving date allows us to plan much more concretely. We can work backwards from that date and fill in our calendars with other, smaller deadlines we need to meet. There is still quite a lot to do:

• Find a place to live
• Arrange health insurance of some kind
• Downsize our house and belongings
• Raise the remainder of our financial support

We have already begun basic Internet searches for apartments in the general section of New York near Priority 1’s current apartment and the school where Ginny will attend. It’s fun to look around, to see what is available and where. To picture living on that particular block and seeing how much we could walk to or how long it would take to get to the subway.

We have also noticed that many apartments require proof of a certain level of income, a fact that reinforces to us that we need to bring in as much support as possible. Currently, we have raised approximately 60% of our monthly needs – we’re very pleased with that! But of course, we still need more. We are planning in faith that we can raise what we need in time.

So please pray about coming on our support team. Please don’t feel as though you don’t have enough to give – even $5 or $10 a month would help! Of course, more than that would help even more :), but we’re searching not so much for a certain amount as we are for people who will join us on our journey. It’s about people, not money.

Too, please keep praying for us! There is much to do, and we can’t do it on our own.

“There is never enough time to do or say all the things that we would wish; the thing is to do as much as you can in the time that you have.” – Charles Dickens

In a Bronx stairwell

Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!

In our last post, we spoke about the possibility of delaying our departure to the Bronx. Well, let’s have it out:

We are postponing our departure to the Bronx.

You may have guessed this already, what with the ominous hints in our "Crunch Time!" post. Yep, it’s disappointing – we’ll be honest about that. We’ve known for a month or so that delaying was not just possible, it was probable, but since we saw it coming it didn’t devastate us. As of this writing, we have raised 50% of our required monthly support, and that’s simply not enough to be able to make the move. Priority 1 Ministries is a small organization and does not have large reserves we can draw from. Thus, if we’ll need it, we have to raise it.

Looking back, it was rather an ambitious goal to raise what we needed to raise in the time we had. Now, because we’re postponing, we can spread the word even more, get more people involved and on our team, and do a better job preparing for the task we believe God is holding for us.

In fact, there are a number of significant advantages to postponing:

• Ginny can attend 1^st grade at her current school, and has a whole year to prepare mentally and emotionally for switching schools
• We can gradually get rid of our excess stuff (Amazing how it accumulates, isn’t it?)
• We can gradually replace what needs to be replaced or purchase what needs to be purchased
• We don’t have to clean our house just yet :)
• Juliet will be a year older and we won't need to keep all the baby clothes we have
• We can visit more churches, Sunday School classes, small groups, etc.
• We can prepare spiritually for the job and life awaiting us in the Bronx – when there’s a specific goal, preparations and practices that often become rote take on new meaning and urgency
• We can give more to the people in our lives right here, right now

So now the plan is to move in the summer of 2014, probably in June. Since we have more time to prepare, we can plan to move at the beginning of the summer instead of the end, and we’ll be able to work with the youth groups who come up to run Bible Clubs. The school we found for Ginny said that they would hold our deposit for next year – which is a real blessing, because we didn’t know how that would work out.

To those of you who have pledged regular support: If you would like to wait to continue your giving until we get closer to our departure date, that’s completely fine with us – we understand entirely. If you would like to continue to give, while we plan and prepare here in Pennsylvania, you are absolutely welcome to do that as well. We only ask that if you choose to hold off on your giving, please send us a quick note, so that we can keep track of our pledges more accurately. Either way, THANK YOU for your generous support! We are truly grateful!

Escape from Nemo

It was the quickest trip we ever made to New York City.

Ginny, our 6 year-old, had a placement test scheduled at a Christian school we’re looking into. When we took a tour of the place we really liked it and could easily envision Ginny scampering around with the kids we encountered, and so we decided to go ahead and put in an application. All new students must take a placement test to determine their academic levels and knowledge, and it needed to be done soon. Hey, let’s make a family fun time out of it! we thought. That may take some of the sting out of it for Ginny. (We hoped to make it as fun as possible for our daughters, especially Ginny, who thoroughly enjoys New York City itself, but who wells up with tears when she thinks about the possibility of leaving her current elementary school.)

Ever heard the expression, “We plan, and God laughs”? Well, plans changed.

A major snowstorm was forecast for the entire northeast, and New York City was going to get about a foot of snow (or more – every time we checked the weather updates, the totals went up two more inches). We almost canceled the trip, because though it might be possible to make the appointment, we would have to turn right around and come home to avoid getting snowed in.

Ultimately, after praying about it and asking several others to pray, we decided to keep our appointment. We left our house just before 4:30pm on Thursday and arrived a bit after 10pm at Priority 1’s apartment in the Bronx (the drive is that long only because of dinner, gasoline, and potty stops – one could make it in less than four hours if one were less, um, encumbered). We got the girls to bed as quickly as we could, though now they were wired and hyper.

At 7am Friday morning Ginny awoke, much earlier than her parents desired, but hey, it’s better than having to drag her out of bed. Upon looking out the window, we found, to our dismay and alarm, that snow was already falling, and had covered the sidewalks and cars. The streets looked OK, though – one nice thing about winter weather in big cities is the fact that constant traffic flow keeps the roads passable for longer. We called the school and politely asked if there was any way we could come early – the appointment was at 11am – because we were somewhat anxious about getting out of town. They said that we could come in whenever we could get there, and that they would work around our schedule.

Needless to say, we quickened our steps.

We got to the school about 10:30, half an hour before her actual appointment, and they took Ginny back after just a couple of minutes. I (Greg) had just enough time to repark the van – apparently I was in danger of being towed away where I’d parked – and come back inside the school to dry my snow-soaked head, when Ginny hops out of the room where she’d had her test, about 20 minutes after she went in. She looked happy, and the woman who gave her the test said she’d done just fine.

Well then. After a couple of questions for the admin director, we skedaddled. It was just after 11am, when Ginny’s test was originally supposed to begin. Whew!

Roads were fine, just wet really, though there was a slippery spot or two in New Jersey. To make up for not doing anything fun in the city, we let the girls get a donut on the way home, and we even stopped at Cabela’s to look at the dead animals. Ginny liked the moose the best. We got home at about 5pm, just over 24 hours after we left.

On Monday, Bethany got a call from the school. They would love to have Ginny attend there and when we pay the registration fee, her spot will be reserved for her.

We hadn’t expected such a quick response. We suddenly find ourselves having to commit to an actual date on the calendar, which doesn’t seem that difficult, except we hardly have any financial support raised yet. Do we step out in faith that God will provide what we need in time, or is it more prudent to wait until we’re on more secure financial footing? If we wait, the spot at the school may disappear; we have to decide soon.

Pray for us! We need more wisdom and discernment and faith and trust and love every day.