We Are Almost There
Happy New Year
Hello dear
friends and family,
We are bringing lots of updates your way! First off,
Happy New Year! We pray the holiday season was festive, restful, and
reflective. Our family delighted in all the elements of Adelaide’s first
Christmas. She is at a wonderful age where presents are exciting, twinkle
lights are intriguing, and family time brings so much joy!
We took an intentional pause on support raising efforts
to engage in the precious moments. And to our surprise, many of you newer to
our team reached out during this time to encourage us and jump on board. It was
amazing! The Holy Spirit was working on our behalf and brought new partnerships
our way. Thank you for being receptive to His prompting and joining us on this
journey.
And the journey is only ramping up! In the next
month or two we will launch to Germany. We have not purchased our plane
tickets yet…but…we have reached 90% monthly support, Prasie God!
Per our sending agency, One Challenge, we can buy our tickets once we reach
100%. We are so close! In the meantime, so much work is taking place behind the
scenes to make this move possible. Zach is faithfully taking care of the
little, monotonous tasks such as: refining our mailing list, donor information
and updates, creating a website, phone calls, messaging, virtual and in-person
meetings, German phone plans, apartment coordination, banking, job setup,
driving lessons, navigating insurance options, language learning, utility set
up, passports/visas, and so much more!
He also is getting in
some stick shift driving practice because all the BFA vehicles are stick shift
(and most vehicles in Germany).
Our packing process is
underway. The goal is 10 duffels bags and 2 storage bins. Fun fact: Zach and I
love to minimize and organize! Rather than being a painful process, packing is
exhilarating.
A family member is
purchasing our car.
Another family member is
acquiring our furniture.
And perhaps most exciting
of all: we signed an apartment lease for when we arrive! Here is our address
for the first 6-months living in Germany: Hammersteiner Str. 18, 79400 Kandern,
Germany.
This
apartment building is 3 levels and we will live on the second floor. It is
furnished, and we will sublease from a current BFA staff family who will be
away for 6-months. Mutually beneficial, this arrangement will alleviate the immediate
stress of finding our own apartment and setting it up. We are delighted! Even
better, this home is a 3-minute walk from BFA and directly across the street
from the grocery store. Again, another provision from God! We can take our time
finding a family vehicle because immediate needs are within walking distance.
The view from both angles of our apartment.
Final Training and Blessings
This month we also drove to Colorado Springs for a day
spent at the One Challenge headquarters. In the morning we attended chapel
where we were prayed over. A year ago we stood in the same spot and were
commissioned by the One Challenge leadership team. It was a blessing to have
prayer warriors back us and send us onto the mission field! We then spent the
day engaging with an in-house training called LifeWorkx. We talked about
transition, third-culture-kid (TCK) care, and discussed unity between Zach and
I. As you can imagine, moving internationally, with a baby, as new
missionaries, and after nearly two years of thought and preparation…we want to
be strong in our marriage and clinging to Jesus! The training was a place where
we could dialogue about our styles and moving anxieties. Zach and I are
hand-in-hand and unified in our commitment to the Lord’s calling.
Adelaide's Addition
Adelaide is almost a year old! She turns 1 on January
30th. She has two little teeth, loves to play on the bed and
“wrestle,” and she is walking (with assistance) all over the house. She isn’t
ready to walk on her own, but holding on to our hands or her little push cart
she practically runs! She makes everyone feel special. Our little girl is
chatty and waves all the time. She has learned to blow kisses, but actually
prefers just coming in for a kiss right on the lips.
Prayer Requests
Pray for us to
intentionally commune with the Lord. Stop, rest, and engage with His Word.
There are a million things to “do” but nothing more important than being with
Jesus.
Pray for our sweet
daughter in the transition. For deep sleep, good routines, and friendships
awaiting her in Kandern.
Please pray for 100%
monthly support. Over the last year we have watched you, our support family
faithfully and consistently give. Thank you!
Pray
that Zach and I approach goodbyes with thought and care. No matter how much
excitement we feel, this move takes us away from close proximity to those we
love.
With much love and gratitude,
Zachary & Emma
If you would prayerfully consider joining us by supporting the mission please hit this link:
www.OneChallenge.org/give and find us in the drop down menu: Sanford, Zach
& Emma 110405.