the BIG move

Having spent seven amazing weeks with family and friends in Michigan…we are off to Scotland!We stayed at a cottage on Head Lake with Tammy’s family from Kalamazoo – all us of! Its a real testament to the health of our family that nobody killed each other and all the kids played together without any major conflicts. I was referring to the little kids not the grown kids of course:) We will look back on this time as one of the sweetest memories of our summer and surely something we will try and do next summer when we return to West Michigan, Lord willing.Kent’s parents live on Duck Lake just a mile from Lake Michigan and we enjoyed several wonderful weeks with them as well – playing in the water with Hannah, boating, building a kayak with Dad, and watching Hannah play with her grandma and great grandma. Our heart’s were refreshed in deep ways through our time there.

While staying with my parents we reconnected with a few life-long friends like the Clausings, pictured here, and the Hidalgos – Sorry Mike and Beth but we forgot to take a picture. Tammy also had the opportunity to reconnect with some girlfriends from high school and college while Kent was privileged to visit the classroom of one of his mentors, “Red” Heeres. Seeing him teach made Kent wonder if the seed of his teaching passion wasn’t planted in high school long before he ever realized it.

In addition to some fun reconnecting with old friends, Kent preached in both the church he grew up in, Whitehall Evangelical Church, and his Father in-law’s church in Kalamazoo, Westwood Christian Reformed. God was at work on both occasions and Kent feels privileged to have had the opportunities.

As our time here draws to a close, we find ourselves both anxious to go and a bit apprehensive about what lies ahead. In the midst of the apprehension, God has brought Ps 40 to our attention as a “courage builder” for us both: “He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God (40:2 NLT)”

We will arrive in Aberdeen on September 12 to begin an entirely new season of life in the “granite city.” Once we get settled we will send you a link to another update where we will post some pictures and a short description of our new surroundings.

Prayer Requests: A spirit of teamwork and self-giving love in our marriage / For Hannah’s quick adjustment to new surroundings and health as she fights off a nasty chest cough / For the ability to see God’s blessings in unexpected places and praise him for them

Talk to you soon.