life in CT at present

Hello friends - it has been a somewhat hectic yet exciting time during our first week in West Hartford. We arrived last Saturday staying primarily with the pastor and his wife, but also with some friends down in Groton, CT until Wednesday when we got into our house. The housing situation has been up and down with the culmination being Wednesday morning at 8:45 still unsure of whether we would be in our home that afternoon when the movers arived with all our stuff. Presently we are renting until the sale is approved by probate court. Our hearing is this Wednesday and they judge who will be presiding is picture to the right. Assuming all goes well we will close no later than Oct. 16th, but hopefully sooner.

Besides working on housing stuff I have been trying to figure out my job here with the church. I've had time with some of the volunteers and got to have coffee with one of the teens on Thursday. I went to presbytery (gathering of Presbyterian elders) on Friday/Saturday and enjoyed meeting many of the elders (guys who lead the church) in the southern New England area. Today I am catching up on various internet related items, at a friend's home - we aren't online yet at our house. I am also living the bachelor lifestyle of staying up late and missing meals since Hillary is in Buffalo, NY singing at a friend's wedding. She'll be back in town Monday afternoon and then we'll be in PA for a friend's wedding next weekend. Thanks for your prayers as we are trying to get settled here.

in town and somewhat settled

We arrived safely in West Hartford on Saturday afternoon and it is beginning to sink in that we are moving here. Our housing situation is coming together: it looks like we will be able to rent our home for the next month or so until we can close on it in mid-October. We are excited that it is all working out and very thankful for God's timing in bringing it all together. We'll update some more once we get a little more settled. Thanks to all of you who are praying for us.

on the move

It looks like we will be able to close on our home Monday Sept 17. This means that we have a little over one week left in St. Louis. Thus, on Sunday afternoon we are having an open house from 4 until whenever. Stop by for a few minutes or a while. We will have some snack type stuff and beverages but if there is something you'd like bring it along. Hope to see you then.

we are in

After meeting with a church last night and talking with some different folks this week we are at the needed support level to go through with the mortgage on our house and move to CT. It is difficult to communicate the joy, relief, and gratitude that we feel. In the last week God has been our provider and sustainer as the process of fundraising, moving, and home buying has taken us on a wild ride. All along it was him, at work and he is worthy of our trust. Thanks to the many of you who have prayed, listened, and cared for us in many ways. We are deeply indebted to you. Thanks for being the body of Christ.

wall paper central

My mom and I drove up from PA to Hartford, CT for our home inspection and it went well (our home is "above average" for its age, according to Tom King our stellar inspector).
It was a lot of fun to see the house and there is great potential. There is so much cool stuff we could potentially do with the house and my mind is kinda swimming in the various details. The one funny thing (or maybe not so funny) is the amount of wall paper we will need to take down. This stairwell, which goes from the 1st to 2nd floor gives you a good idea of the extent of the wallpapering. Fortunately it is not terriblly ugly or audacious.
The house my parents moved into when I was 5 had wall paper that was ~4 layers deep with exciting themes sucha as hunting dogs, shiny metal florals (don't even try to image it), and roses. A killer combination if you ask me.

"you got to pray just to make it today"

Thank you MC Hammer, for the thoughtful lyrics which describe our state of affairs. I hope this isn't super cheesy but as I sat here those words came to mind.
I (jarrett) really want things (housing especially, but also fundraisng and moving) to settle down and be done with. This is probably obvious but I feel stretched and struggling not to"check out" emotionally.
I tend to disengage when I begin to feel anxious and worried. While this may make for a more placid exterior and a more distant sense of fear, it is not a solution and avoids entrusting myself to God. So here we go...

Hebrews 4:14-16
Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

on the increase

Since we last posted it has been exciting to see how God has provided for us. Thursday night we were pretty discouraged and anxious about potentially losing the house. But after talking with the church on Friday and being in touch with different people our support is coming together. We are at ~50% right now and could potentially be between 58-65% by midweek. It looks like we will be able to go through with the mortgage and thus will be moving to Hartford sooner than we anticipated. (maybe 13th-14?). We are still working on the detials for the closing and talking with moving companies. With all this preparation to go to CT iwe have just begun to think through leaving St. Louis - which will be hard. Thanks to all of you who have prayed for us and encouraged us as we've been up and down a lot through this process.