In A Word…

Since we announced we were returning to the states, it has been nothing but a whirlwind for us. It has been all we could do just to hang on. So many people have emailed us to ask us how we are doing and how they could pray for us, but honestly, we have been so overwhelmed with things that need to be done, we just haven’t had the time to respond. So, I want to let you know, in a word, we’re doing…”fine.”

The week the packers came to pack up our house, I had to go away and do some training in Garmisch. That meant Tina and the boys had to organize and oversee the packers. When everything was gone we moved into a hotel on post, and then 4 days later we left Germany. On one hand it broke our hearts to leave, to say good bye to dear friends, yet on the other hand we were looking forward with a certain degree of excitement to see what God was going to do for us as we started a new chapter in life.

We flew out of Frankfurt with two dogs, one cat and a whole lot of baggage. We were scheduled to fly out at 10:15 AM but our flight was delayed. We ended up taking of at 11:30 Am. The flight was very comfortable. We flew in an Airbus 380-800. It is a gigantic double decker aircraft. It was very nice and it made the 10 hour flight really enjoyable. We landed in San Francisco just a few minutes behind our original scheduled landing time. Since the Army was paying for our flight they wanted to fly us into Las Vegas, the nearest airport to Fort Irwin. Since we were not sure that the animals could get on the connecting flight with us from San Francisco to Las Vegas, we chose to just fly to San Francisco and get a rental car and drive to Southern California

My sister and brother-in-law live in Orange County California. They went to Oregon to have Christmas with my mom and they offered their house to us to stay in while they were gone.

In a word, Christmas for us was….”Wonderful.” Kids make Christmas fun because of their excitement. Gunter had the hardest time waiting for Christmas. We caught him often trying to find the presents with his name on them. Ashley and Elijah were able to drive down from Washington and spend Christmas with us. It was the first time we were all together for Christmas in 3 years. It’s so much fun when Ashley and the boys get together. There is a lot of laughing and fooling around. It’s nothing but fun. We also got a chance to have one of Tina’s brothers over for Christmas eve dinner. It was very nice to see Mark again. Christmas day we went to Calvary Chapel Saving Grace, our sending church. What a blessing it was to hear Pastor Trent lay out a vision for 2017 and encourage the body to live for Jesus like never before.

After Christmas, I moved into a hotel in Victorville while Tina and the boys stayed back to enjoy Ashley and Elijah as much as they could before they had to take off and head back to Washington.

A really good friend of ours loaned me a car so I could save some money on a rental car. In a word, it has been a…”Blessing.” I started my new job on December 27. I now work at the Weed Community Army Hospital in Fort Irwin. Fort Irwin is the Army’s National Training center. It’s the size of Rhode Island. For the first two weeks I have been in processing, going form office to office to get my badge, security clearance, to give them account numbers to get paid, do some training, meet the commanders of the hospital and just get to know how the new physical therapy clinic runs.

Fort Irwin is in the middle of the Mojave Desert. It has been pretty cold and rainy the last few days. It’s crazy because there are Coyotes and wild Donkeys roaming around. This guy had lunch with me the other day. He sat about 3 meters in front of my car and just waited for a handout. I shared with him some of my Speckulose Christmas cookies we brought from Germany. He gobbled them down and waited for more. Every time I feed a wild animal, a stray dog, or put out bird seed for the birds in our back yard, I think about Matthew 6:26, “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” I love to think that God can to use me to feed His creation, and it reminds me that we are more valuable to Him then we could ever know.

This last weekend, Tina, the boys and I, took some time and went to Calico Ghost Town. When I was a kid our family used to go there and camp, ride motorcycles and just explore the area. It was, well in a word…”Over developed.” (I know that’s two words, but if you say it really fast it sounds like it’s just one.) When I was there as a kid there was nothing there. Now it’s a California State Park and you have to pay to go there. More than half the buildings weren’t there when I was a kid, and the street wasn’t paved. I think it’s a metaphor for Southern California. There are so many people here. It’s just over developed. The traffic on the freeway is incredible. I think I was safer driving on a two lane autobahn traveling 125 MPH than I am on a six lane freeway traveling at 25 MPH here in California.

It’s a different place were living in now. Tina and I were in a grocery store yesterday and were surprised when we turned down an isle and saw a 100 foot long isle of just potato chips. It’s going to take some getting used too.

The biggest challenge we’re facing right now is just finding a place to live. Please pray that the Lord would bless us with a house soon. The Army is paying for our hotel now, but we will be at the end of that allowance soon. We would like to get a place in Apple Valley close to the college so the boys could get there easily since we only have one car.

Thank you for your prayers. We are looking forward to what the Lord has for us, at work, in our new neighborhood and our new church. We’re looking forward to a time of healing, refreshing, renewing and revival. Please pray that the Lord would draw us close and show us His heart for the people we will be meeting here. We would very much be a reflection of Him.

That’s it for now. If you have written, forgive me for not writing back. I’m sure we’ll be getting back to normal soon. Until then, don’t stop emailing. We’re also on Whatsapp and Voxer. It might be a fast way to communicate with us now.

God bless,

Gary and Tina

 

 

 


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