Molly Update

So in case you haven't heard, Molly departed for her mission trip this past Wednesday, September 23rd. She left out of San Francisco at 6 am (!) and arrived in McAllen, Texas later that day. AIM staff met participants at the airport and drove them across the border to their home for the next two months.

During the training portion of their trip, the entire Novas group will be living and working out The Gateway, AIM's mission base in Matamoros, Mexico. Molly is bunking with 26 girls in a giant room. She reports that it is beautiful and raining right now. The day after arriving, the participants began a two day period of solitude to focus on prayer and connecting with God. They were given reading and journaling assignments. Molly has found this time challenging, but valuable.

On December 1, Molly will be flying to Swaziland with her teammates Jessica, Lila, Katie, Bryan, and John. They will be working with orphans at the Nsoko care point through next May.

Here are a couple of team pics from their training camp last month:



You can follow along with Molly's journey at her blog by here: http://mollymcrae.myadventures.org/.

Also, here is an address where you can send letters while the team is in Mexico:

Molly McRae
C/O: Tag Thompson
Adventures in Missions
6000 Wellspring Trail
Gainesville, GA 30506

They will keep the letters there and as staff goes down to Mexico they will take any mail which comes in. Make sure to send a message of encouragement!

700 Pelican Way

Yep, that's going to be our new address! We're moving back to Sacramento this fall to be closer to Gary's seminary, where he will be studying full time for the next two years. After a looooong round of searching, we found this little house that will be perfect for the next chapter of our lives!


At this stage, we have made an offer, which has been accepted. We are hoping that escrow goes quickly, but right now it looks like we will probably be moving in early October. 700 Pelican Way is a two bed - two bath home in the Natomas area, off of Northgate. It's not huge, but it's got a lot of personality.

There's a huge fireplace in the living room, for those chilly winter evenings:


There's a gorgeous brick porch out back (complete with ceiling fan!), perfect for grilling when the weather's good!


There's also a little bay window in the kitchen, and a cedar lined closet in the master:

The second bedroom is cute, but slated for re-painting (sorry, mom & dad!):


The backyard is the perfect size for our little dog to run around in:



Oh, and have I mentioned the best part? Once we're moved in, you're invited! =)

Garden Variety

I've been continuing to enjoy my camera (Canon Rebel xsi), and have really appreciated the feedback and encouragement you've given on my past photo blogs. I never intentionally set out to do closeups, but these are the details that grab my attention and delight. I hope you enjoy the same intricate beauty that originally caught my eye. So (Brandon), here's round two!

A perfect heart:


Spiderweb with water droplets:


Translucent rose petals:


This little guy took off when he tired of having his picture taken!


Rainbow in my own backyard:


A little photo editing goes a long way:

Monochromatic Melancholy

Yesterday marked my first attempt to shoot monochrome with the new camera. I am extremely pleased with how these turned out. I hope you enjoy them as well.

The first is one of my favorites. I love the cascading effect of the petals going out of focus to the edges.


This next one is best at full-size. I found my eye wandering over the edge of each petal; for me it had the same entrancing feeling as watching ripples move across water, or waves on the ocean.


I don't believe I could have posed these four roses any more attractively:


This final pictures is Gary's favorite, a timeless rosebud.


I would greatly appreciate your feedback... do any of these pictures speak to you?

Chateau St. Jean Photo-Blog

Following our 4th of July parade and pancake breakfast, we meandered down the road to visit the Chateau St. Jean winery in Sonoma. This winery has one of the most stunningly beautiful grounds I've ever seen (a fact not unnoticed by others, as they were preparing to host a wedding reception during our visit). I couldn't help but keep snapping pictures... I'm sure you can see why!

4th of July Photo-Blog

This past 4th of July weekend, we were fortunate enough to spend the weekend camping out in Sonoma, and decided to drive into town for the Kenwood parade and pancake breakfast. It was small town Americana at its finest! Not only were the celebrations absolutely delightful, but I got to test drive my brand new D-SLR camera for the first time.

We started the morning with a pancake breakfast hosted at this beautifully traditional old church:


Apparently, they've been doing this for 20 years and have actually built their own gi-normous pancake cooker. It's amazing!


I love these guys!


Then, we headed to the end of the block for the smallest parade we've ever seen. There wasn't a single marching band!


But, we got to see every classic car in the county (like, all five of them):




Even George got into the action! He was so popular, kids IN the parade were pointing and shouting, "Look at the chihuahua!":


And oh yes, a little proof that I was actually there!


Happy Birthday, America!

The Novas Project

Molly will be leaving in just three months now for her upcoming mission trip. That's coming up quick, considering she's been preparing for almost a year! She will be leaving September 23 to participate in a group training in Matamoros, MX (this is the same location that Gary and I had our training for the World Race). Once the training segment concludes, teams will be dispersing to various ministry locations across the world. These include:

* Swaziland (This is where Molly feels God is calling her)
* South Africa
* Uganda
* Philippines
* Nicaragua
* England
* Ireland
* Romania
* Mexico
* Peru
* Philadelphia, PA

I can't look at this list of locations without getting a tingle and wishing I were going somewhere too! If you get that same excitement about being discipled while serving God on the mission field, it's not too late... there's about two more weeks left to apply. (and you better believe if I wasn't called to support my husband to finish seminary in Sacramento, I'd be on my way to Swaziland... or Uganda... or Nicaragua, Peru, Mexico, or London!)

Even if it's not for you at this time, you can check out what Molly will be doing at the Novas link here.

Enough

As it turns out, my return to the working world has not been conducive to my blogging routine (no surprise for any of you, I'm sure). Honestly, these past few months it's been good for me to step back, slow down, and focus on taking it one day at a time.

My new job has been going fantastically well. I've been there almost exactly three months, and I am experiencing more and more days in which I'm not popping into my co-worker's cubicles with multiple questions. I had thought that I would love being a case manager, and so far, I'm right. I just love that I get to help people every day, in such a positive work environment. The past several months, leading up to me starting this job, I had felt more and more restless, as if I were missing something. I feel that God was preparing me then for the big changes in store for us.

Don't get me wrong, I am not without my hard days. I'll have a couple of good weeks, then randomly get hit by a wave of grief and anger that lays me low for a day or so. I'm not a 'stuffer', so I cry it out and trust that healing will come. I have a lot of disappointments in 'church', and it will take me a while before I am ready to fully engage again. Despite all that, God's grace has been abundant, and I feel His presence now more fully than over the past two years. Through His grace, I can withstand whatever He allows to come my way.

It's a bit of a miracle to me to be aware that many changes are headed our direction, but being able to trust totally that He will lead in His own timing. This September, we will be moving, Molly will be headed off to the mission field, and Gary resumes full-time student status at seminary. It's useless to ponder too heavily on what we might be doing two years from now, because what our lives will look like in four months is still a mystery. I'm not saying we're not thinking and talking about what might be, but there's a heavy blanket of peace over the whole process. God knows what lies ahead, and He'll direct us when it's time.

Meanwhile, I'll appreciate the gift of living each day, one day at a time. I'll thank God for my family, my friends, and for the deliciousness of sun on my face cooled by the gentle breeze. I know He is with me, and that is enough.