Busy Lives

It took me about three hours to figure out how to make a new post for this blog. I'm not sure why technology is so hard for me sometimes. Maybe I'd be better if I spent more quality time with this computer and the Internet, since practice makes perfect.

Anyways, an update on plans for this summer. Elizabeth and I have moved everything out of Elkhart, and now are officially homeless. It's a little inaccurate to say we've moved everything out of Elkhart, since many of our things are in her aunt and uncle's attic. We no longer have an apartment there, however, and are preparing ourselves mentally for the transition from life in Elkhart to life in Shickley, Nebraska. Yes, it's true, somehow I've managed to convince Elizabeth it's a good idea to move to Shickley...far from all hills and trees. Elizabeth is from Pennsylvania, which is a completely different landscape than southeast Nebraska, as many of you know.

After Seeds of the Kingdom disbands at the end of September, Elizabeth and I will move to Shickley. Yes, we have a place to live. No, we don't have jobs yet. We'll see how things go. At this point, we plan to be there for three years living and working in Shickley, getting involved with Salem Mennonite Church, hanging out with my family, and doing some follow-up work with Central Plains Conference. We're not completely sure what form that will take, but Elizabeth and I anticipate we'll visit some of the same churches we visit this summer, continue building relationships, and keep encouraging churches to live out the gospel of peace. Elizabeth is also looking at Masters programs in Social Work within driving distance of Shickley, so she may start graduate school as well. After three years, we hope to have discerned more of our calling as Christians and what steps we should take to be better followers of Jesus. This could be graduate school, seminary, service with Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) or Mennonite Mission Network.

Eh, who knows. We'll make those decisions when the time comes. For now, we are busy planning for the summer (we still have a lot of things to do yet!), but we have a trip to Europe with Elizabeth's family first. Her dad received a grant for his sabbatical from University Mennonite Church (State College, PA), and part of the grant funded a trip to Europe for him and the entire family to study Mennonite History. We'll be gone June 10-24, and immediately after we return to the States we drive out to Kalona, Iowa and start our summer. Should be fun, and more than a little crazy.

As an added note, check out the June 23, 2008 edition of the Mennonite Weekly Review. Rumor is there will be an article about Seeds of the Kingdom...