Details

I've been asked a number of times over the last few days/weeks what we're doing and where in the world we are.  So here are some details...

We finished our time in Denver with a truly gifted counselor who is absolutely a God-gifted man that spoke prophetic words into our hearts, words we desperately needed to hear but didn't realize it at the time.  He connected us with a potential (a very strong potential) for a job but that will take a few months and a SERIOUS amount of God's leading and direction in the details of it all.  We came back from Denver in time for an engagement party for one of my dearest and oldest friends in the world.  It was such a great time of fellowship.  It was one of the few times we've gotten to "live life" with friends and family in a long time.  We've missed so many babies, so many weddings, so many funerals and so many birthdays, it was a true blessing to be there, be celebrating with the couple, be loving on them in a very real, very physical way.

The next day, Todd left for Haiti.  He was gone a little over a week on a short-term mission trip.  A former pastor and dear friend had a spot open up and he called Todd up to ask if he would join the team.  About 26 people went and Todd really enjoyed the time.  Time away from the kids to process our two weeks in Denver, time to remember what face-to-face service can look like, time to sort of get 'back to his roots' and all in the company of good friends, new and old.  He was due to come back in the middle of the night on a Tuesday.  The Saturday before, while he was still away, a good friend phoned me up at my parent's house.

I've known Bill and Connie for about as long as I can remember.  They have been mainstays in my childhood church and somewhere in my teens/early 20s, Connie and I became true friends.  A few years back, Todd and I might have hypothetically started a chain of events that would eventually lead to Bill and Connie spending nearly 8 months in Madagascar for some missionaries who were on furlough.  A few years later, they did it again.  That Saturday, Connie and Bill were furiously preparing for yet another trip to Madagascar, this time for 5 months.  They were due to leave Tuesday, just hours before Todd would get back. The phone call was because they thought it over and wanted to offer the Leslie Zoo their house while they were gone.  It took a bit to get connected with Todd but the decision was made to take the offer, rather than drive back to Pennsylvania (and all our stuff) because there really was no point.  We could be hunting for jobs out there, or hunting for jobs in Auburn, California with ease.

We're still reeling a bit from it all.  We came out West with a week's worth of clothing for each of us packed, because we had every intention of being back to our temporary 'base' in Pennsylvania by early March.  There's been a bit of scrambling, and still, to some degree, there is more to come of finding some temporary items.  But my fabulous cousin lent us a high chair and my mom lent us her pack-n-play.  Everyone seems to have an overflow of toys and books, so we never hurt for either.  The kids are all situated in beds and are truly loving Connie's soaking tub.  The four of them were a tight squeeze in a regular tub but they insisted on all being together, and at least for now, the problem seems to be solved.  Tonight at dinner, after an afternoon celebrating my second cousin's 8th birthday (can you follow that one?) 9 deer pranced across the front of the house.  It was one of those moments where you breath a heart-felt "thank you" heavenward.  We're still not 'settled', we still don't have a job per-say, still have no idea what the next year will hold, but for the moment, at least, we're here, trying to find some footing and doing the best we can to move forward in what feels like a very thick mud of waiting.

Some details we know.  We'll be in Auburn (barring a move to a permanent location) until about July.  That means we'll be around for 3 Leslie family birthdays, 5 family birthdays, and (hopefully) two second cousins' birth days.  Some details we still don't know... like a job or address or permanent housing or school to register Em for the upcoming school year.  For now at least, we're doing well.  We're trying to find a rhythm, trying to get back into the groove of being a family on our own terms.  We may not have our own things yet, but I brought my blue pot, I've got car seats in the mini van, and the rest, we can sort out as it comes I guess.

Thanks for asking.  Thanks for making us feel loved and cared for.  Thanks for not forgetting that this is seriously one of the hardest things we've ever done, each step being a massive step of faith.  Thanks also, for not expecting us to be "normal" or have things sorted and settled "by now."  This timing is not my idea, it's not my ideal, but we know we're doing this exactly as we should be, in His timing, and because of that, we have confidence.  So very often these days I find myself singing that song from The Sound of Music (the movie, not the musical because the musical version didn't originally include the song) when Maria has left the Abby and is going to the Von Trap family house and trying to convince herself she'll be wonderful, she'll do great, and above all, that she knows she's up to the task before her.  I take great comfort in the wisdom of the songwriter because she does do wonderfully, she is great, and she is more than adequate for the task at hand.

Oh, I must stop these doubts, all these worries
If I don't I just know I'll turn back
I must dream of the things I am seeking
I am seeking the courage I lack

The courage to serve them with reliance
Face my mistakes without defiance
Show them I'm worthy
And while I show them 
I'll show me

So, let them bring on all their problems
I'll do better than my best
I have confidence they'll put me to the test
But I'll make them see I have confidence in me

...
I have confidence in sunshine
I have confidence in rain
I have confidence that spring will come again
Besides which you see I have confidence in me

Strength doesn't lie in numbers
Strength doesn't lie in wealth
Strength lies in nights of peaceful slumbers
When you wake up -- Wake Up!

It tells me all I trust I lead my heart to
All I trust becomes my own
I have confidence in confidence alone