2 Weeks ago...

The past couple of weeks have been a real whirlwind. I have gone from The Hague to Madrid, Madrid to The Hague, then to Manchester, then back to The Hague, now to Kirchheim (Hessen) Germany. Wow, That is a full two weeks, and I loved every minute of it...well, most minutes.

Madrid was a great trip. Neither Cecily nor I had ever been there and I have wanted to go for a long time. We stayed with my friend Amy (http://www.christianassociates.org/Our-Staff/amy-swacina.html)who works with Oasis Madrid (http://www.christianassociates.org/Europe/oasis-madrid.html) a CA church plant. We also met up with April and Kelly Crull who work with (http://www.spaindad.com/) another CA church plant. We had a great time with all of them and we enjoyed touring around Madrid for a couple days as well. For me it is always helpful to see our church planters in their context, with my job it helps me understand their challenges better and helps me to get an image of how I can support them from my desk. Also, they are just great people and I love hanging out with them and swapping stories.

When we returned to The Hague, I had a sermon to preach(http://www.crossroadschurch.nl/messages). I had been working on it, but the next couple of days were dedicated to this effort. I spoke on Psalm 23 and enjoyed the talk very much, which may sound conceded, but its not. I felt as though God spoke to me through the words of David and in this time of my life where there are so many changes and uncertainties. The words of Psalm 23 have been a real comfort to me. Also, I feel as though my comfort with public speaking is growing, I still get incredibly nervous and anxious, but less so that when I started a year ago.

After I spoke on Sunday, Cecily and I went shopping for a suit for our wedding. I am hoping to buy a nice European black suit to strut down the isle in. This way it will be less like beauty and beast and more like beauty and the well dressed beast. After that I got on Skype to talk with my cousin Andy and his fiancee Jill. The week after I return from Germany I am heading off to Minnesota where I will have the pleasure of officiating Andy and Jill's wedding. I am so excited to do this I can't wait. But it did make for a very full Sunday.

Manchester England was a trip to connect with two people, Richard and Nick. Nick is one of our European Board members and Richard is a data protection Lawyer who is going to be helping us out with some legal advice, not counsel, advice, so then we can't sue anyone...haha, just kidding. Unfortunately, Richard had an emergency at work so didn't get to spend the days with us, but we all managed to make it down to the local pub for Quiz night, where we promptly won the losers trophy and were recognized as “the americans who have come to save us.” It was all in good fun and we had a great time.

The other highlights from England were our trips to the Lake district and a day in Wales. Wales was a beautiful drive, we saw an old half finished castle and then went to a very strange place. I forget the name, but it was a Mediterranean type city right in the middle of wales, it was kitsch and it was so weird. The Lake district on the other hand was simply Brilliant (as the english say). We climbed a 1200 foot mountain and over looked valleys, lakes, waterfalls and amazing green and brown pastures it was a truly spectacular hike.

When we got back from the hike, Cecily and I got on Skype and talked with a very nice man who agreed to rent his apartment to us for one year. We were both amazing and very relieved, in our own ways. Cecily shows this by bouncing all over the room, smiling, telling everyone, laughing, kissing, hugging, expressing joy wherever she goes. I usually say, “this is great.” smile once, maybe twice then move on to the next issue. We are a great couple!!

This was a big deal, our budget for an apartment in Arlington, VA was $1,000 per month, which most people laughed at us. When I started looking at apartments I realized why they laughed. We were looking at 1 bedrooms and studio apartments for $1200 - $1500. This was just too much for our budget and both of us were getting pretty nervous, but we just prayed and as Cecily's parents graciously kept look at apartment after apartment for us, they found this place. We got a 2 bedroom, kitchen, living room, full-bathroom, located ¾ mile from Cecily's school (so we don't have to use the car and save some $$$), we got all this for $975.00 a month!! It was a real miracle and both of us knew it. We had been looking for apartments for 2 months, Cecily's parents had been looking for 2 months, there are no apartments in Arlington for $975.00 per month, certainly not any 2 bedrooms, but sure enough Cecily will be moving into one on August 26th. Praise God.

This past month has been really special. We have been able to travel a lot and we will always cherish those memories and the friends we have. Yesterday we said good bye to our time in The Hague together. Cecily is moving back to D.C. To start school and I will be in The Hague till mid November. This chapter in our life is coming to a close and a new chapter is rapidly approaching. As quickly as you can turn a page we will be married and living in D.C. I can't wait!

Blessings to you all,
Jason

Psalm 23

Here is a link to my last sermon on Psalm 23. This is a reflection on Psalm 23 and is meant to help people learn how to pray through the Psalms. In this Sermon I try to unpack the depth of Psalm 23 and allow space for God to speak to us today through David's words.

I would love to hear feedback and interaction about this sermon or other Psalm experiences.

Thanks,
Jason