Back by popular demand.......

OK, as promised the blog is back!!!! Somehow it didn't seem right to be writing a blog entitled 'Letter from America' when I was clearly not there but as we are about to return to the US for at least 2 years, I guess it's time to start it up again.............

For those of you who are out of the loop, D has been given a 2 year contract back in Chicago and we are very excited to be going out in advance of the Newfrontiers church to be planted in the spring. It has been amazing really how God has changed my heart towards this move - many readers of this blog may be surprised at my enthusiasm given the many frustrations I have voiced here about our 3 months in the US earlier this year. To be fair, I think we just were not sure what God's plan was for us and we didn't want to commit to such a big move just for the sake of job security (if that exists in the financial sector at the moment). Coming home actually really helped us to view things more objectively (thanks, Dave Holden for your wise counsel!) and we were surprised at just how much we missed the rawness of Fusion. Returning to a large, well-established church it would be so easy just to settle into our seats and relax but we missed the glimpse of church-planting we had seen. And it was the icing on the cake when we heard about the Sweetmans' plans to come and plant in 2009.

The next piece of the jigsaw puzzle was the school. I had been worried about how it would affect our 4 year-old middle child spending the next 2 years in the American school system as the early years' education is so different, but God had that one sorted, too and we were quite miraculously offered 2 places at the British School of Chicago just the same week we had to make a final decision work-wise. The whole ex-pat thing is not really my scene but I had been very impressed by the school when I visited it and the split is actually 85% American v 15% foreign nationals so it's actually a great mix and,hopefully a ready-made community for us to get involved in. Added to this, the provision of a wonderful house (not that I've seen it yet - but I've seen the photos and trust my husband's judgement!) just 15 mins walk from the school and walking distance from the lake. I'm really excited about being downtown and closer to the action of the city - suburban life was just a little bit boring for me when such a great city was not far away!

So, we are now camping in our house and waiting for the off. The furniture went 2 weeks' ago and we leave on Mon 8th Dec. Thus begins a 3-week cycle of goodbyes which will be a bit of an emotional roller-coaster I expect. But though it will be hard, I do want to say goodbye so that we leave without unfinished business here at home. Whilst this is a 2 year contract I want to focus this time more on being in Chicago and seeking God's plan for me there rather than counting the days, weeks, months until we come home.

Please pray for us to find tenants for house and for the children to settle into their new school and make friends. This is a big adventure for all of us and I will try and post regular info to keep you all up to speed with our news - or alternatively you could just come and visit!