We are still alive!!!!

We have made it to India safe and sound and are now officially registered with the government. We are thanking God for all He has done to provide for our arrival. We have settled in to our new apartment and love our new place. They did a great job preparing it for us. The people at the mission have been so great in helping us adjust to the Indian culture. Rob and I now wear official Indian garb. I wear a Salwar Suit which is a long tunic with real baggy pants. Rob wears a long, colorful tunic to preach in.
I have seen my doctor here and she says everything sounds good. She is a great doctor and I am excited about having this baby this month coming up. I see her again tommorow for an ultrasound which will be good. The Indian people have always been concerned for my health and are constantly trying to get me to "take rest." I get more rest here than I did in the states:)
We had a welcome party today with all of the pastors and families in attendance. It was also a farewell party for Earl and Martha who have been here for ten years. They are leaving next month so it was good to celebrate them.
We have not acctually started school yet. Supposedly we start sometime on Monday... It seems that they were waiting for us to acctually get here to decide if they were acctually going to have class. Now that we have arrived they found two other students to join us and we will start soon. The professor has been very nice and helpful.
God is good to us all the time and we are grateful for your prayers. We will have more access to the internet in the next weeks so we will be able to update more often.

Hanging out

Today is Monday, August 6th and this day was dedicated to hanging out and finishing up some of the responsibilities for the church family. Yesterday we said goodbye to the Sparta family and that was hard!!!! We will see most of the people when we return in a few years yet we know that it will never be the same. This has been a very special seven years in Sparta....hard to say goodbye. I also said goodbye to the gang at Beech Tree, this is the retirement group that I would go and serve communion and share in a monthly worship service. These friends are very special and have taught me more than they realize! Last night I tried to meet up with an old friend but my lack of communication skills killed that. Yet we had a good conversation today by phone. Today my dad is in a lot of pain, please pray for him. Also my friends Heather and Jackie should have arrived home from Liberia with Princess and Matthew. I know that Patrick, the dad, will be very very very excited to meet his new children...You will continue to be a great dad Patrick!!! Tonight I hung out with my parents and called some old friends to catch up. Either way this week will be slow because it is focused on tying up loose ends and saying goodbye...I was greatly inspired today by reading of the early Moravian missionaries. Praise the LORD for the faithful who have gone before me. Have a good night.

Friday August 3rd

At 10:45 am the FedEx guy showed up and delivered our dreams...a five year student visa with multiple entries!!!! This little document is what we have been praying for (about eight months). Jesus is so good to us!!!! We prepare to say goodbye. Sunday we say goodbye to our church family in Sparta and I will spend the week with my family and Lindsey will be in Westerville with her folks. On Saturday night we will have a little time with Lindsey's family. Next Sunday we are going to worship at Northside, Lindsey's home church, and then off to the airport for our 1:40 flight to Charlotte. We will spend Monday in Charlotte for our time of field orientation discussing some details of the work in India. On Monday night at 7:00 we begin our journey to India. We fly to Washington DC first. Then at 10:55 we leave DC for Qatar (a country in the middle east). From Qatar we fly to Chennai (our new home). We land in Chennai at 2:45 am (overall travel of 23 hours and 45 minutes). Pray for Lindsey as she is 32 weeks pregnant. We are asking the Father in Heaven that she would not have the baby on the airplane or in the airport!!!!! Join us in this way and please pray for us....

Thursday August 2nd

We have the letter's of acceptance!!!!! PRAISE THE LORD:) Yesterday we sent out all of our paperwork along with our passports to apply for our student visas. If our paperwork is received by 10:30 today then they will be processed today, if not then tomorrow. Either way we will know yes or no by Monday and it could be as early as tomorrow. PLEASE PRAY TODAY and TOMORROW. ALso pray for our friends, Tim, Gene, and Tammy as they are in China; also Heather and Jackie are still in Liberia so please pray for this great trip. Today we are waiting in New Philadelphia and tomorrow will be in Westerville/Sparta for a wedding and to see Lindsey's family. I also have to preach at the Sparta church on Sunday. The message this week will be on Matthew 17:20-27. It is very possible that when our paperwork arrives to us, my mom will have to read us the news by phone. Either way, we trust the LORD for His Glory to be exulted.