T-e-n-n-e-s-s-e-e

Hello dear friends and family!

What a whirlwind these past few weeks have been! We've been to/through 8 states, unloaded our trailer into our new apartment, visited two supporting congregations, attended a lectureship (at which Lee spoke), set up our house, found furniture on Craigslist, and now we have internet at our apartment!

On the Road to Tennessee!

 On our way from Oklahoma to Tennessee, we stopped and worshiped with the church in Belmont - a congregation that is supporting us. It was so nice to see our brethren there; both old friends and new! The Cozort family kindly let us stay with them in their home, and it was wonderful to spend time with them!

Almost to the Student Housing!

We arrived in Knoxville on Monday, July 25th, and unloaded our 5x10 trailer with the help of a couple of the deans from the school, Jody Apple and Edwin Jones; and a student, Jimmy Robinette. We were all unloaded in about half an hour. Unpacking is so much faster than packing is!

This land was donated by an elder and is home not only to the student housing, but also a camp and a children's home 

 The student housing is located on a hill, just a short drive from the school. We are in one of 8 apartments for married students, and just up the hill a bit is a building for single students. The apartments are very nice... two bedrooms, one and a half bathrooms, nice little kitchen and living room. The size suits us much better than the house we were renting in OK, actually! It will be a lot easier to keep the apartment clean! :)

Home Sweet Home!

Oven cleaner: smells bad, works great. :)

 On July 29th - 31st, we attended the Preachersfiles Lectureship in Courtland, AL. The theme for the lectureship was "Modern Problems, Biblical Solutions" and Lee did a wonderful job speaking on the topic of "The Roles of Men and Women." The lectureship was so uplifting and we're thankful that we were able to go and be a part of it!

On the Road Again!

 This past weekend, we drove to the Greenville area in South Carolina and met some wonderful brethren who are supporting us there. We already knew the preacher and his family, and it was great to see them again. What a treat to meet the rest of the congregation as well! We received such a warm welcome and the elders went out of their way to let us know that they were behind us 100%.

 We left SC early Monday morning and arrived home in time to have a technician come and set up our internet for us! Hooray! Now that we have internet at our apartment, we'll try to get on a regular blog-posting schedule. :)

Coming home to 8551!

 The last few weeks have been a little crazy, but we're getting settled in nicely and are looking forward to starting school! Orientation is on Friday, the 12th, and school officially starts on the 16th. Thank you to everyone who is making it possible for us to be here! We continue to ask for your prayers as we start this new journey!

Preparing for Departure

Well friends, the time for our departure from Oklahoma is approaching very, very rapidly! Our plan is to leave tomorrow (Thursday) at about 5am. We've been spending the last couple of weeks either packing, selling, or giving away things! We're on the home stretch now and are cleaning out the house we've been renting for the past year.

This Saturday marks our one year anniversary - it's been a wonderful year! We have loved living here together in Rush Springs and getting to know so many great people. The brethren here at Rush and the surrounding communities will always hold a very special place in our hearts. We're so thankful for all the love and support they've given us - especially as we prepare to leave for East Tennessee.

 We've had some hot, dry weather here in OK. The temperature has been 100˚ or above for the past month, and hasn't been below 95 since May 31st! Crazy stuff! You definitely need to keep some water nearby when you're working! We also haven't had much rain to speak of almost all year, so the fire-danger is VERY high and the farmers are all being hit hard. Please pray for the people of this area as they deal with all of this!

We also would be grateful if you would keep us in your prayers as we make our trip to Tennessee. We will be stopping in Mississippi to visit one of our supporting congregations and some friends along the way, so we are planning to arrive in TN on Monday. We'll be pulling a trailer with our belongings and hauling a bunch of frozen beef that was a gift from Lee's parents with us, so we have quite a load of blessings! A big "thank you" to our brother-in-law Scott for making this snazzy bed-cover for our truck!

 Of course we have mixed feelings about leaving... On one hand, we're sad to be leaving family and friends, and it will be hard to say goodbye to them. We'll miss you all terribly!

How we feel about saying goodbye :(

 But on the other hand, we are so happy and excited about this opportunity we have to go to school together and learn more about God's amazing Word! Thank you to each of our supporters for making this possible.

How we feel about going to school together! :)

 We look forward to meeting a lot of new friends and learning some truly valuable lessons during our time in Tennessee and we feel confident that our loving God will continue to bless us as He already has SO abundantly! What a wonderful Father we have! 

May you all have a wonderful day in His service!

Packing!

Today marks 6 weeks and 2 days from our scheduled departure date! Lately, I've been sorting through our things and trying to decide what we need to throw away, what we need to sell, and what we need to keep and pack! 

You'd think that with us being married for just under a year, we wouldn't have much extra stuff to get rid of, but it's surprising how small things can really add up! So many wonderful people have given and loaned us things while we've lived here and it's been great! But we need to pare things down a bit for our move. :)

We've been able to get some banana boxes from Walmart for our packing, which has been really nice. Nothing like free packing supplies!

 We are really starting to get more and more excited as our time to leave draws closer. We have been so blessed to live here in Oklahoma for our first year of marriage. I've loved getting to be close to Lee's family and getting to know them. The brethren here have been so good to us and we are sad to say goodbye, on one hand. On the other hand, though, we have so many wonderful opportunities stretching out before us and we know that this time spent at school will help us grow in many, many ways.

Please keep us in your prayers as we prepare for our move and wrap things up here. We'll try to keep things up to date here on our blog as events come and go!

In Him,

Julia

Blessed Beyond Measure (A Look at God's Providence in My Life)

As the time for our departure draws ever closer (T-Minus 64 days until Operation Move officially commences) I am reminded of how great our God truly is. For many years I have prayed that I might be a more effective worker for God. Now that He has opened this great and wide door (1 Corinthians 16:9), I look back at how He has prepared me for this new adventure. 

In November of 2006, I was approached by a kind older lady about preaching the gospel at this small congregation about 12 miles south of where I lived. I agreed, thinking that this was only to be a "part-time and temporary" arrangement. On January 7, 2007 I delivered my first sermon to the Midway church of Christ. They asked me back the next Sunday, and the following Sunday after that. Eventually I figured out that they meant to keep me. I have been there ever since. God truly blessed me by allowing me this opportunity to grow and learn. 

During this time I became very involved in online study and outreach efforts. I eventually came to serve as an administrator to two interactive study forums: The Preacher's Files, and the Bible Truth Forums (now thechurchofChrist.ws). Through these forums the gospel is taught to thousands of people all over the world, plus swords are sharpened through discussion with fellow Christians and debate with unbelievers. My sword started out rather dull, but it sure has been sharpened (Proverbs 27:17). 

While praying for opportunities to serve, I was also praying for a partner to walk with me in this life; God provided. I met Julia first through her mother, Joy, and she found me through the Bible Truth Forums. Joy got to know me through my writing and through direct discussion with me. The forum also served as the first line of communication between Julia and myself. While we would eventually find other means of communication, the forum provided an essential link between a girl in Africa and a boy in Oklahoma.

Now we flash forward, preparing to enter an intense two year training, and of course our God has blessed us in this regard. Our fundraising went remarkably well, and we have now reached our goal! This is a truly wonderful feeling. While the spiritual aspect is the most important, we do need to eat, to sleep, and to cover ourselves. It is a calm and peaceful feeling knowing that these needs will be met.

Needless to say, my God has been mindful of me! His wonderful providence is seen clearly, and if this much is visible to me now, I can't wait to see what else He has in store for us. 

-Lee