Transition Update

Two weeks have passed so quickly, but I’m thrilled to report that I now have a lease and keys to a small 2 bedroom, 2 bath house in Pensacola! It’s within a mile of Interstate 10, adjacent to a major shopping mall, two miles from our oldest daughter’s home, and sits on nearly an acre of land (lots of room for our grandkids to play).

Tomorrow morning, I’m flying to Little Rock to load my second daughter’s household goods into a UHaul (for my British friends, it’s a “hired removal truck”) that I will drive back to Florida over the weekend. Friends and family will help us load and unload on both ends of the journey. I’m a little concerned about the weather, near freezing, in Little Rock and slippery roads on the way back. Thankfully, forecasts are projecting mid-50′s for Pensacola the next five to seven days. Please pray for safe travels as I drive the big truck and my daughter follows in her car with the three grandchildren.

Thanks for your prayers! The first step—finding a house—has been relatively painless; and I’m getting a few nibbles on my resumé that’s posted on several “job search” websites. A friend loaned me a spare vehicle for a few days, but it eventually developed a problem with the cooling system and I’ve had to rent a car for 10 days. I ended up with a pay-as-you-go mobile phone, since my daughter has an extra phone that I’ll be able to use beginning this weekend.

It’s been great to reconnect with numerous friends in the area, plus spend a little snuggle time with my 9-month-old grandson, Elijah. But I must admit the pace is frenetic and I feel myself getting sucked into the go-go-go mindset of typical middle-class suburbanites; and I sorely miss friends and family in Wales, even though I voice chat with someone nearly every day via Skype and I’ve also enjoyed a few text chats through Facebook and AIM.

Again, your prayers are greatly appreciated! Please continue to pray for us, as there are many unanswered questions in the timeline of our transition. Pray especially for someone to take over the bookshop from Sheri, a great burden right now for our Welsh evangelical friends in Pontypridd. And remember my plans to return on February 18th to continue my work with Temple Baptist Church, a place where we’ve developed some really good friends over the past two and a half years.