Last Sunday at Good Shepherd

January 27, 2013 was Jim's last Sunday as pastor of Good Shepherd.  While we were looking forward to what we had ahead of us, it was really hard saying goodbye to everyone.  

 The congregation threw a small party for us with lunch and cake.

 They asked me to cut the cake.

 Lena and Josh.

 We got some lovely gifts as well.

Like I said, it was really difficult saying goodbye to so many people who meant so much to us.  These people watched our girls grow from tiny babies into sweet little girls.  Really, they know our girls better than our own family because they see them every single week.  We had all been through a lot together in the last five and a half years.  We will definitely miss them.  I am so very thankful for Facebook and email so we can all keep in touch!

(Special thanks to Betty Holmes for these pictures as I left my camera at home that day.)

Big News!

We have big news: we are moving!  On December 9, 2012 Jim was extended a call to be pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church in Kenosha, Wisconsin.  After much prayer and deliberation and a trip out there to check it out, he announced on January 6 that he accepted the call.  While we are sad to leave all the wonderful friends we made here in Michigan, we are excited about this adventure.  The church is much bigger than Good Shepherd (avg weekly attendance is around 110, while we had a whopping 23 souls at Good Shepherd on Sunday!), and has a school.  Preschool through 8th grade.  They also have a very nice parsonage.

We are already somewhat familiar with the Kenosha area as our good friends, The Chrysts, live in Racine, about 11 miles north of Kenosha and we have been over to visit them several times.  In case you are unfamiliar, Kenosha is just about 50 miles north of Chicago, just across the Wisconsin border on the western shore of Lake Michigan.

I have put a few pics of the new church and house up on my Picasa page:

Picasa Web Albums: Kenosha Pics

Please keep us in your prayers during this transition time. This Sunday, January 27, is Jim's last Sunday at Good Shepherd and we will be leaving Michigan on Thursday, January 31. Jim's installation at Messiah will be Sunday, February 10 at 4 pm (CST).

I still need to post pics from Mom's 60th birthday in December and all of our Christmas pics, but that probably won't happen until we get settled in Kenosha.

Update: Got the post for Mom's birthday done: Mom's 60th Birthday
Update: Got Christmas pics done: Christmas 2012