Hello! We are still here and we are still doing stuff! So sorry for being out of touch for a couple of days. We've spent good time together as a family to keep in step with all the good and busy things going on around us. There are three themes to the last week: School, Biltmore, and Boot Camp and a billion other things. Here's more...
Kiddos in School
Autumn is in the air and the school year has officially started for our family in London. Perry is in Year Two (first grade back in The States) and Shepherd is in Nursery. We are so thankful we were able to get places for both of them at the primary school right around the corner from our house. We walk to and from school everyday, and it takes less than five minutes together there. All of the kids at their school wear uniforms and it makes getting ready in the morning so easy! Perry is at school for the full day and Shepherd attends Nursery every morning.
In addition to school the kiddos have gotten into a few other routine events. Perry has started ballet and Shepherd will start football (soccer) soon. Perry is learning cursive handwriting and multiplication this year! Being in a steady routine has been great for all of us. Thank you for praying for our whole family this school year!
Biltmore Came Through
Biltmore Church in Asheville, NC is one of anchor partners here in London. We had the privilege of welcoming the Franks and Crawfords to London. These couples encouraged and loved on us so much while they were here. They spent lots of time in our neighbourhood with us, praying and dreaming about what the Lord can do in London. Both couples were gracious sounding boards for ministry life, marriage and parenting. We created some very special memories with them over just a few days.
Thomas first connected with Scott Crawford a year ago. Shared convictions, ministry vision, and aspirations led to a quick and easy working relationship. Biltmore Church hosted us for a very gracious weekend last Spring and our family has been uniquely indebted to them ever sense. We now look forward to partnering with Biltmore for years to come and working together. Our family is grateful to be linked with these amazing people and church. We are excited to host teams from Biltmore in the future.
Co-Mission Boot Camp
The third and final update from this last week is on the church start-up front. Thomas and Daniel spent the week at London City Mission headquarters in meetings with Co-Mission Network. The "boot camp" provided a solid week of teaching, training, and discussions. Co-Mission has a proven track record of starting new churches in London. Thomas first connected with Co-Mission two years ago and we are thankful for our growing relationship with them.
Through the week, we were able to get a better grasp on the dynamics of starting a new church in London. Especially helpful were the first class presenters who shared from their experiences of planting in London. We are thankful to partner with such an incredible network of people.
What’s More?
We had our first "Launch Team Meeting" in the Park two weeks ago. The Launch Team is a group of people who are coming together to launch the weekly gatherings of a new local church. Nine adults and 10 kiddos came together to start praying and planning for the journey ahead. You can learn more about the work of the church at RedeemerQP.com and also by following along on social at @RedeemerQP.
We hosted a few friends from the States over the last two weeks. We are thankful for people who care about us and want to keep up with us as we move to London to get stuck in to something new.
Queen's Park Day was so much fun! Thousands of people flocked to the neighbourhood for an end-of-summer fair sort of experience. There were vegetable carving stations, dog shows, rides for the kiddos, food, fun, and new friends. We are thankful to have met some really cool people during our time in the Park. We absolutely love our diverse community and are thankful for the friends we're making.
Our friends, the Browns, just made the move from Raleigh. David is opening a co-working space in the community as a new business - more about this in a future post. We love the Browns and are thankful for them.
Like anything new, time will help settle things down and prove things out. We are looking forward to getting to the end of another week of school for the kiddos and discerning where we are and how we're doing.
Additionally, we're hosting a few friends from Providence in the week ahead. It will be nice to visit with friends and spend some time together.
Thomas and Daniel are working on a new project that will be a winsome resource for the Church in London and throughout Western culture - we realise that's a lot to say. Check out The Public Truth to have a look, subscribe for updates, and stay tuned for the new podcast. More to come.
The sun is setting earlier and we're having cooler days more often - the seasons are changing in more ways than one.
We realise this is more of a buckshot fire of updates and not a whole lot of thinking things through and highlighting what God is doing in it all. We are mindful of God's provision and sense Him at work in our midst. We're simply trying to share a little about these busy two weeks so you can know where we are. We trust you're able to discern the prayer points and adjustments we need to make through it all. Thank you for being on this journey with us. We are thankful for you.