Boy oh Boy

We have now been in Oxford for a full year, and boy oh boy do our lives look completely different!

For starters, we have now been parents for almost 11 weeks! Patrick is getting so big, or in Jonathan's words "fat." Patrick has been more than gracious with his new mommy and daddy. We thankfully don't have any crazy first child stories (at least not yet). Jonathan loves making Patrick fly and is making sure that Patrick is prepared for the rough world of being a boy. Thankfully our boy was born tough. Jonathan thinks Patrick takes after me in that he hates being bored. Anytime he is left alone, he gets upset. Thankfully, Patrick takes after both of us and loves the outdoors. Any amount of crying is quickly resolved by a walk around our yard. Yeah for a future hiker! Maybe we'll be able to hike the AT after all. Patrick started smiling at 6 weeks, and we have been greatly blessed by his new ability to connect. It definitely makes changing dirty diapers much better when you have a cute smile on the other end. We'll that's enough about Patrick for now.

In our year in Oxford, Ohio we've struggled with being content with serving the Lord here. He's thankfully helped us realize how to serve Him here, and we love helping Jonathan's grandmother whenever we get the chance. However, deep, deep, deep in our hearts we've been itching to serve God overseas. He's been telling us wait for so long, that when we finally heard a go it took us both off guard. There is an opportunity to be Youth Group Leaders in Costa Rica with Reach Global. We've only just begun the long process. Right now we are both working on our theological questionnaires. This is so much fun because it reminds us of our time at Bible School. Thank you Dr. Zuber and Dr. Weber for making us write our doctrinal position papers-- they've been the biggest help. The application process is really long, which is our biggest discouragement considering our eagerness. We won't find out if we're accepted into the mission until the first week in October. Once we're accepted we'll start the even longer process of support raising. Lord give us patience!

One of the many great things about this position in Costa Rica is that we would be ministering to MKs (missionary kids). The group is near the language school that most missionaries to Spanish speaking countries study, so we'll have youth getting ready to serve with their families all over Latin and South America. It's a bilingual youth group, so I'm excited to be able to minister to students as I'm learning the language. This position is exactly what Jonathan and I've been praying for. We both want some ministry experience before going to grad school, and we've been blown away with how this position perfectly fits all of our God-given talents. Right now it seems almost too good to be true, but we're trusting that God wants us to glorify Him by using all of our gifts.

Well my mommy time is almost over (I'm writing from a coffee shop and enjoying that Patrick is at home with Jonathan). I'll end with some ways you can be praying for our family:

• our adjustment as parents
• finding a place to rent for the fall
• completing the application process with Reach Global
• making connections with those in Costa Rica to see if we're a good fit
• Jonathan's grandmother as she continues to recover from a mini-stroke
• ministering to our co-workers and others here in Oxford
• Maggie's new mom connection-- that it will open doors for presenting the Gospel

Also, Jonathan spends a lot of time sitting (he's a life guard), and I spend 5 hours a day nursing. All this to say we have the time and the desire to pray for you. Please let us know how we can pray for you!