As I ponder the month of May, one quote stood out to me by Henry David Thoreau that I mentioned to my students at Bellaire:

“It is not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?”

I think this is an excellent question for us all to ponder. For our family, with the departure date closing in fast, moving for the final time in Houston, and High School quickly coming to an end (not fast enough, though, sigh.), what are we busy about?

We hope to be busy letting the Lord be glorified in how we handle this move. This month was filled with us checking off some big to-do list items. For one, we sold our first home. This was sobering as it was an eye-opener to how quickly time is flying. It was hard to say goodbye to our first home, but it was exciting to see how we completed this task before leaving the States. We moved in with our pastor (thank you for opening your home to us, brother) and will be there until we go. We are blessed and honored to have this be the last place we stay since our church is commissioning us on this journey. God has been providing all along this way, and this is another wondering part of this puzzle of our life that he has revealed.

Work for me ends June 8^th, 11 days before our departure. This is a bittersweet moment because the Lord has produced so much fruit at Bellaire, though there is more to go. From the impact that many of my students have reminded me I have had on their lives (asking for pictures, signing of yearbooks, letters) and the celebration of FCA, my heart is filled with thanksgiving for the Lord allowing me to work at my Alma Mater.

Another update is that we are close to finding a place to stay in Finland. We lived about 35 minutes from C3 in Missouri City, as many of you know. Though it was amazing, it was hard to be so far away from the church community. With that in mind, we are in the process of hopefully purchasing a place near the church I will be serving with. This location will be a 10-minute bike ride for me to church (yes, I will be biking to work).
We are looking forward to serving the community in part by being so close to the community.

This month also included me and Noah (my three-year-old) competing in our last Houston tournament for Jiu-Jitsu. This has been a hobby of mine over the previous three years. Though the result did not pan out the way I planned it, I am grateful for that community. They accepted my family with open arms and loved us well. It has been a great hobby for me to share with my son and develop a passion together.

A large portion of this month has been spent with you all. We have loved the many meals shared. You all have been incredibly gracious, kind, supportive, encouraging, and a genuine presence of the Body of Christ. We thank God that our last few months in America will be remembered with images of time spent with you all. This is a gift from Jesus himself, and we praise him for it. We are down to our last 21 DAYS in Houston. We look forward to the rest of our time spent with you all and our Houstonians. I want to remind you of the commission date (June 19^th) at Christ Community Church. The church will commission us on this journey during both services (9 am and 11 am). I want to invite each of you to attend. We would love nothing more. If we haven’t connected, let’s do it. Please get in touch with me ASAP. Lastly, if you consider supporting us financially, click on the “support” tab below to begin the process. God has been beyond faithful in this area of our journey. We are praying for $425 recurring (payments monthly) to put us at our goal!

Thank you, and God bless.