I'm Here! My Inauguration Into Life In Florida

Friends, I just wanted to let you know that I've arrived safely and am now all moved in! I am one of three missionaries living in my house, though up to four more will move in for the COAT training program at the end of January. They'll be here until the end of March-ish and then the next group will arrive for training at the end of May.

Right now things are quiet and lovely in my house. One of my roommates, Renee, worked in Ukraine for five years and is in her late 30's/early 40's. She loves art and also works in the Publication Division (affectionately known as "The PUB" here), which is where I will start working tomorrow. Helen is in her late 20's, just a few years older than me, and was a missionary in Kenya for a few years. Helen was a part of my COAT training group this summer and is very wise and insightful. Both of them are very good cooks and very sweet! Renee worked in the office during the time I was in COAT this summer, so I already knew both of them before moving down to Florida. That was just a really nice thing for God to arrange for me to have them as roommates. It was a very welcoming feeling to hang out with them last night.

Did I mention that I'm in Florida now?!?!?! I am! Right now, at this very second, I'm in Florida! WOW! I've worked a long time to get here and now I'M HERE! When I was leaving the Florida airport and climbing into the car to drive to my new abode, the Switchfoot song "Dare You to Move" was playing on the radio. I thought that was ironic, even though the song is obviously not talking about packing your belongings to relocate to another state. It was kind of like God was reminding me that He asked me to do something big and I did it! The next year is sure to be an adventure in trusting Him!

Today Helen and I did some typically Floridian things:

1. We went to the beach. Yes, it is January and technically winter, but the temperature was in the low 80's today and it was sweaty and warm and relaxing and wonderful, just like beaches should be!

2. We went to church a Hispanic church...so the whole service was in Spanish. That was SO FUN! We understood most of the praise and worship part and were struck by the attitude of celebration, joy, unity, and excitement there! They seemed so much happier than the English speaking churches I've attended! The sermon was harder to understand, especially when the pastor got excited and passionate and talked faster and smooshed some of the words together (which he did often). We learned some new words and were reminded that resolutions for the new year shouldn't be empty promises. Let us resolve to trust God in 2009!

3. We ate a really good orange. This sounds insignificant, but it was incredibly juicy and delicious---probably the best orange I've ever eaten in my life! I didn't even think about that being a Floridian thing to do until we were actually eating it, but Florida is known for it's oranges. It might have had a fun name like "tangelo," too. (So maybe it technically wasn't an "orange"? All I know is that it was wonderful.)

So there you have it, my inauguration into life in Florida. I'd love to hear from you! I have the same e-mail and phone number. I included my new address in my previous post.