Thankful for a great Thanksgiving

It's now that time- that time where we all have to start thinking about going back to work after having a lovely holiday. Michael and I had a great time with my family in Ohio. It's the first time in many, many years that my mom, sister, and I have had Thanksgiving together. My grandparents came over from Indiana and it was just a really nice time with everyone there. My parents leave for Africa on Tuesday for a 3 week mission trip. Any prayers you remember to offer up will be much appreciated.
Michael went back to Florida yesterday afternoon. His flight wasn't delayed but they lost his luggage again. I wonder what the stats are on having your luggage lost both times. (They delivered it today.)
I am still working on everything have a place and knowing what that place is in the house. I went grocery shopping today so the kitchen is now set. The cabinets have a weird, musty odor that I'm trying to get rid of. I've tried vinegar, baking soda, and now I've got damp rid and newspapers sprayed with Arm & Hammer spray. If you have any other suggestions, please let me know!

Hannibal, MO- I love the city for the name

If only plans came together in real life like they did for Hannibal on the A-Team. Friday night in picking Michael up from the airport was a big mess. To get to the DCA airport from Baltimore you take I-95 South and then go north on Route 1. So off I go to DCA and get about halfway there when I see a sign that says there has been an accident and I-95 South is closed up ahead, all lanes, expect major delays. Since I know of no other way to get to DCA I take an exit that says Route 1 and figure I'll just go south on Route 1 to get to the airport. I called Michael's parents for confirmation this would work and through a series of events that had me frustrated to tears, I ended up in Virginia. Thanks to the miracle of internet maps, they followed me on the map until I reached the airport. But the fun had only just begun. Michael's luggage did not arrive on his flight so they said it would probably be on the next flight arriving from Atlanta and that was getting in approximately 20 minutes from then. No problem- I parked the car and went inside to wait with him. Well, of course more than 20 minutes goes by but the other flight finally arrived but alas, still no luggage. Our first case of missing luggage- yuck. We filled out the paperwork and they said it would probably arrive the next day and they would bring it to us. Great. On the way back home a car flew past us going some sort of crazy high speed. I was going 70 mph and this car completely flew past us like we were on a Sunday drive. I saw it up ahead try and change lanes and next thing we know it was spinning across the interstate and landed off of the right hand side of the road. It didn't appear to be as serious as it looked like it could have been so we called 911 and continued on our way home arriving there around 2:30am. Needless to say we did not attend the conference the next day but stayed home relaxing and waiting for the luggage that never showed. We did get an answer to our phone call that it had arrived at DCA but it actually wasn't delivered until today (Sunday) at 11:20am. No luggage meant no church appropriate clothes so we did not attend church this AM as we had also planned on doing. But since the luggage arrived things have been better. The flight to St. Louis went off no problem and we're now in Hannibal where the college is at. I've got a king size bed to myself and the room temperature on as high of heat as I want- it's going to be a good night. :-)

Friday!

Well the brochures are made, the interest forms printed, the pens collected and it's off to St. Louis on Sunday. We are recuiting specifically at Hannibal LaGrange college for coming in May but if you know of any college student interested in being a summer or semester missionary through NAMB please direct them to www.answerthecall.net. We're interested in them coming to Baltimore!
Tomorrow Michael and I are attending a conference called Missing in America: Making an Eternal Difference in the World Next Door. It's one I saw my first day here and have been wanting to go. I'm glad Coach is a good sport and willing to go along. The probably won't even show the Bucs game here on Sunday and he came anyway!
Hope everyone has a great weekend like I am planning on having!

one week later

I am just amazed that it has been a week since I last wrote. That was certainly unintentional and I can't even believe that it has been that long. The CTV went very well, was very informative, and the need for people to partner with Baltimore is great. On Thursday we moved Dawn and Lily into their new house and so now the place is to myself. Friday was my first full day in the office. I finally feel like I am set up and ready to work. While I should've been unpacking and setting up the house on Saurday I opted instead for a minister's wives luncheon I was invited to and then I went to see Martian Child. I went to Streetlite Christian Fellowship on Sunday morning since they have a 10am service (most churches up here meet at 11am). We were leaving at 1pm to head to Ocean City, MD for the state convention so I had just enough time to finish packing and grab lunch before we left.
This is my first convention and all I am really doing is manning the Embrace Baltimore booth and meeting people but I am having a lot of fun. I have met a lot of people and, of course, picked up a lot of free stuff. :-) Tomorrow will be another full day of the convention and we'll get back home around 9pm.
One piece of exciting news (at least it is for me) is that we booked a flight for Michael to come up this Friday night and stay through the following Saturday. I will be traveling for a couple days to do college recruiting in St. Louis but it was cheaper for him to fly then and stay in Baltimore than to fly closer to Thanksgiving. I'm quite happy to be seeing him again so soon and am thankful that it should only be a few more weeks before I can see him over the Christmas holidays.
If you haven't done so yet, check out www.embracebaltimore.com!

the vision is being caught

spent the morning looking at the staples website to order supplies. i'm still not sure exactly what all i need but it's weird starting from scratch. my first assignment is to make a database of church's that are doing events over the next few years. the catch the vision trip day 1 went very well. we met with 3 pastor's today and it was so great to hear their stories. they all had great vision of how they want to impact and reach baltimore. it was refreshing to hear from people who are willing to do whatever it takes to reach their communities. in the van some people were talking about pastors/churches who want everything to be the same it was years ago and are not currently being effective in reaching their communities because the community has changed dynamics. well, what happens to all the people that are now in the neighborhood but don't have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? they go unreached and will go to hell. it's a tough reality to have to hear but it just really struck me today that unless the christians are willing to do whatever it takes to give people the opportunity to receive christ, to be willing to adjust to the current population, to be willing to put themselves out there that these people are going to go to hell. why on earth would any church not want to adjust to the people that are now there? it's all about HIM and everything else just doesn't matter.
i'm looking forward to another day of getting to know the area pastor's. please pray for the people of baltimore that they would be open and receptive to hearing about Jesus. pray for the pastors that they receive vision of what God would have them to do to reach baltimore. pray for the embrace baltimore team as we seek ways to assist the churches in winning baltimore for christ.

work begins tomorrow

First off, I want to apologize and explain my lack of personal communication. Right now I am living in the living room of the house I am currently sharing with the other US/C2 girls. It's back to a dorm-style of life, which is fine, but is an adjustment to the married-style of life. There is one internet connection so I am not able to frequently communicate that way and my letter writing materials (aka stamps) are in a box somewhere that is not yet open. The girls are probably moving into their new place next weekend and then I will have to spend some time getting things set up here. So I appreciate your patience and will do my best to keep in touch.
Today I attended and was introduced at First Baptist Church Dundalk. I really enjoyed the service and the people were very friendly. FBCD is where the people who own the house I am going to be living in attend. FBCD has adopted it and furnished it with supplies for missionaries. Next week I'll go "shopping" in their food pantry for some basics to get me started.
Tomorrow is my first day in the office, but even then, I won't be in the office much. There is a Catch the Vision trip from Monday at noon through Wednesday afternoon where people from other churches (outside of Baltimore) come to see what is going on to "catch the vision". Since this will be my first day I will be catching the vision as an orientation so I can jump in with both feet running. And running definitely seems to be the key. Next week I'll spend a few days in Ocean City at the Maryland/Delaware state convention and the week after that will spend a few days recruiting college kids in Missouri. I'm so excited about what's going on and this opportunity and it hasn't really even started yet.
Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers. And a special hello to those who attended Adults on Misson at FBC Pinellas Park tonight to learn about Strategic Focus Cities!

finally in Baltimore

Norm and I left for Baltimore on Wednesday (October 31) morning. We made good time and stopped in Dunn, NC for the night. The next morning we continued on, took a leisurely lunch at Cracker Barrell, and arrived in Baltimore around 4pm. Total mileage was approx. 1000 miles. Whew! The house that I will be staying at is currently hosting two other US/C2 missionaries. They are awaiting an affirmative vote this Sunday from a church that has a parsonage. They will move into that house sometime next week and then I will unpack all of my stuff that is currently in their living room.
Yesterday, Friday, November 2, we returned the Budget truck in the morning and I took Norm to the airport. I then met up with Jennifer, the director's wife, and we spent the afternoon together. I went to the office and got to meet everyone, see where I'll be sitting, and get some paperwork done. It was good to start getting acclamated. I spent the night last night in a hotel to get my thoughts together but starting tonight I'll go live in the house.
One thing that is my biggest challenge so far- the weather. Of course, I knew this was going to be something I would be getting used to but it really is cold compared to Florida. Once I unpack and get to some of my long sleeve clothes, things should be a bit better. I think on the top of my list of things to do is finding some good winter clothes.