Happy New Year

Jen and I here wishing you a happy new year! So much has happened in this past year; so much has changed. The future for 2007 looks awesome. I can't even begin to describe. Our goals for 2007 include (but are not limited to):
Find a sending church
Keep friends updated and connected at every new turn
Save up money to go to mission school
Go to mission school (MTC)

Ok that's a short list but our goals arent limited to those. Those are the biggies. Thanks to those of you who are a part of this new year with us.

What a week

What a week this has been indeed. Let me fill you in on some of the highlights:

Jon graduated as scheduled on December 16th. The service was great and we are truly excited.
That evening we had dinner with one of our best friends whom we affectionately call "Papa John". It was great to spend time with him on our last night at school
December 17th we left Jackson a little late (like after noon) but we got off to a great start. Rather than take the direct route to Jon's parent's house in Virginia, we decided to take the scenic route through Kentucky and West Virginia. Unfortunately by the time we got to Kentucky it wasn't scenic at all because the sun had already set and by that time we were one such a roll we drove straight on through and arrived at our destination at 8 in the morning.
From that point on we have just kind of been relaxing with family and just enjoying being done with school for a spell.

Christmas day was wonderful. We were able to be here as a family (Grandma and Grandpa Q., Mom and Dad Q., Jen and I, and baby sister Haley). We did the traditional Christmas Day thing, with the presents and meal and then we sat around and watched movies. By the end of the day we had done so little it felt so wrong but yet so good. Maybe you can relate. Anyway vacation is coming to an end as we now need to continue plans to move to GA hopefully in the next 2 weeks.

Things are wrapping up

Only one more day of classes like these and my two years at New Tribes Bible Institutes will be done. Seems like a just pulled up in my little blue chevy on that cold January day. Now here I am, married, poised to graduate and move on with our missionary aspirations. But the time isn't done yet. I can still learn, and have fun, and...stuff. By the way, the picture you see is my professor Butch Bennett who would probably say tongue in cheek that I haven't learned anything.

Jen will miss working with the little kids. They could really be a handful at times, but a blessing at the same time. And she says that she's learned alot about kids since she's been here, which is a good thing for when we have kids. It's kind of cool. She would learn about kids for a couple hours, and then send them home :) All in all things are wrapping up fast here and we are just trying to keep up.

Missionary Candidates!

Yesterday Jen and I receieved our "senior interview". This interview is just a closing interview as we leave Bible school so that the staff can remind us where we have been, how we have grown, and the areas that we still need to grow in. They also tell us whether or not we have been recommended on to New Tribes Mission's Missionary Training Center in Camdemton Missouri. We are both greatly thrilled to say that we have been recommended on! While many people are recommended on after Bible school, it is still a major step in our goal of establishing a healthy, functioning, New Testament church in a tribal setting. Actually, the close of Bible school, is the first step towards this goal. So it goes without saying that we are so excited that we can barely stand it!

Be in prayer for us as we hope to be in Missouri come August. We need to be in spiritual preparation as the time there will be intense. We need to be preparing partners with us in the gospel by establishing a sending church (no small task). We also need to be preparing financially since we will not be able to work during the next phase of training. To all of you who have been praying: thank you for partnering with us in expanding the reach of the gospel!