A Great Crowd of Missionaries

Here's a group picture of all of the new missionaries and counselors here at Training Camp. In total, there are 47 of us who are getting ready to go out into the mission field. We spend most of our day in a classroom setting, learning about the Wycliffe organization, how to deal with cultural differences, and staying spiritually strong while on assignment.

People we met along the way

The night before we left Charlotte, many of our friends came out to help us move. We are indebted to all of them (even those that didn't make it into the picture--sorry!).

We drove the U-Haul straight down to Alabama, where we dropped off our stuff with Ellen's folks, and saw Ellen's brother, David, whose new name is "Dragon Master".

Then we stopped in Pensacola, FL to see Dad, who is now telling people, "I'm doing great, considering that I was dead a few months ago!" As many of you know, he had a heart attack in April, and he will tell the story of his healing to anyone who will listen. (Just ask.)

Then we drove to Ft. Walton Beach, FL where we met up with Uncle John and Aunt Jennifer. He took us out on his boat, where Ellen spotted her first dolphin. My brother, Rob, let us stay at his condo while we were there. Thanks, Rob!

Then we drove down to Lake City, FL, where we feasted with my mother's family, who cooked up a pretty big dinner for all of us.

Now, we are down at Wycliffe's Headquarters in Orlando--and are doing great!

Road Trip to Orlando

After moving all of our stuff and visiting with Ellen's family in Alabama for a few days, we are now in Pensacola, FL, checking in with my Dad before we continue our journey down to Orlando. We have a few more stops planned along the way, where we will be seeing more relatives and taking a day off that won't require any packing or driving!

Chapter Two

On Friday, nine of our friends in Charlotte helped pack us into our Alabama-bound U-Haul. We are indebted to all of them. Jason, Mary, Tim, Craig, Steve, Andy, Julie, Jamie, Folli--Thanks!

After everyone said their good-byes, Ellen and I rolled out our sleeping bags in our empty apartment, and we talked about our excitement for the future, and that the next morning would be the beginning of a "new chapter" in our marriage. We simply named this time of our lives "Chapter Two", which to me meant that our lives were about to take a radical change, but our story together was still continuing.

Homefires Party

Homefires is our Sunday school class, which is for engaged and newly married couples. They have been a great support to us since we have gotten married. Through this class we have made many special friends, whom we will miss very much! This evening, they held a cookout party for us!

Goodbye, Mr. Novello

Part of being a missionary means having to say goodbye. Yesterday, we bid farewell to our pet hamster, Mr. Novello. He will continue his duties as Teacher's Assistant at Back Creek Christian Academy. We're gonna miss you, buddy.