Finally!!!!

Finally - I can access my blog! Since we moved into our own apartment, I had not been able to access some very important websites. Like this blog site, LogMeIn, and of course Facebook. We finally solved the issue tonight! OK, Facebook isn't critical, but it sure helps us peek into our Facebook friends' lives.

When we arrived back in BJ on January 14, we pretty much hit the ground running looking for our own place to live. Gracious friends of ours, Nate & Julia, let us stay with them until we found our own place. We spent a wonderful five days with them until they returned home for a 3 week vacation. We then had their place as long as we needed.

We benefited from the special time we had with Nate & Julia and their 4-month-old son Isaac Paul. What a joy to watch the new parents grow in gospel-centered parenting. Even though Isaac is so young, Nate & Julia have developed a vision on how to bring the gospel to their family, how to live in God-centered grace. Nate & Julia exemplified God's grace to us as we shared their 600 sf first floor apartment.

We found our apartment soon after arriving and spent several days negotiating, signing, cleaning, moving, and buying. We looked at several apartments before going home for Christmas so we knew a typical 'flat'. When we walked into our current apartment, the wonderful sunshine streaming through the southern exposure picture window attracted us. We could put up with a lot with terrific sunshine! We aimed for a furnished apartment but here 'furnished' means something different than in the States. When we rented a furnished apartment in TN for two months, we only had to bring our suitcases of clothes. Here, however, is a different story. The 2-bedroom apartment came with a clothes washer in the bathroom; beds, wardrobes, desks, one chair in the bedrooms; an entertainment center, coffee table, side table in the living area; kitchen table with 4 chairs, and a shoe cabinet. We have had to supply refrigerator and sofa (that comes off our rent so will stay with the apartment), all kitchen supplies, all bed & bath linens, microwave, dryer, desk chairs, etc. We still need a toaster oven (for baking) and a vacuum. Therefore, I made my only two trips ever to IKEA here in BJ.

We thank the L for his provision for a home. We hope to use it to serve and show hospitality. We already have monthly guests lined up through April. We look forward to restarting our monthly Guys' Nights of dinner and discipleship and having BBC friends over. The other day one young man even spent the night on our sofa before IKEA delivered the remaining bedding.

Now that I can access the blog, I will post pictures soon.