Our London Flat- UNDER CONSTRUCTION

On 30 November, we moved out of the church's basement and into our flat in London. Our 284sq ft flat is located a 10 minute walk from GraceLife London and right around the corner from Barbican tube stop. Living next to a tube stop is a huge blessing as any Londoner knows because it allows you to get around the city quicker. Being close to the church likewise is a blessing as Adam has been able to quickly get to the church for meetings and sermon prep work. Upon moving in, our rental company gave us this "house-warming" gift filled with mugs, candy and key rings. Now for the tour:


Because shipping is so expensive, we came over with just luggage. Through the kindness of Dana's sister, Jen, finding suitcases for us to pack along with Dr. Essex, Tom, Shawn and Elizabeth bringing suitcases with them on flights, we were able to get everything across the pond.

This is our wonderful living room window that we greatly love as it lets in a lot of light. However, we put blinds up shortly after arriving as we have office workers right across from us. :)

Here is part of our living room along with our dining room/bedroom. Yes it is a studio apartment which means one room for everything. Though it might seem small, the size has actually been a huge blessing in that it has made us downsize things we don't need as well as it only takes a couple of hours to clean the whole place.

This is Adam in our kitchen. We are so thankful for have tons of cabinet space and cute little cubbyholes to store our spices in. Adam's favorite part of the kitchen is showing people our microwave/oven. Yes it is a microwave and convection oven all in one.

Here is our bathroom. For my California friends, that silver thing on the wall is a towel warmer. Each of the bars heats up and gives you a nice warm towel. It is also great for drying clothing quickly.

Thank you for joining our flat tour and especially a big thank you to everyone who made our flat possible by your prayers and support! The flat is almost finished and we will post pictures when it is done.

Please continue to pray for us as we continue to transition to life in London. The Lord has blessed us beyond measure. We left the U.S. about seven weeks ago with around 35% of the support we needed for the year and the Lord has raised our support to over 65% of what we need for the year as of now. Our transition, as you can see above, has not been difficult but setting up a flat and getting to know a new city does take time. We continue to praise the Lord for all that He has done and continues to do for us. 

Family and Friends Along the Way

Even though we are in London now, it has been a blessing to look back and thank God for not only the churches and pastor friends we were able to visit but for the family and some seminary friends we were able to see too. 

The first stop was on our way out of southern California where we met my cousin, Emily, and her three kids, Brendhan, Kathleen and Patrick. We spent a wonderful time at lunch talking and watching the kids play.

The next stop was to see my cousin, Steph, her husband, Josh, and two (soon to be three) kids, Daniel and Lily, in Creston, CA. 

We were able to stay a bit in Houston with his brother, Lynwood, sister-in-law, Toyia, and two kids, Lyndon and Loryn. This stop included a stop at the pumpkin patch with big smiles all around.

After Houston, we stopped in Missouri to see Adam's oldest brother, CJ, wife, Lisa, and two daughters, Ava and Madison. We even got to help them plant a flower garden in their new house.

                                                       

In Louisville, I was able to see my friend and bridesmaid, Vanessa, and Adam was able to see one of his former classmates, Kyle.

We continued our journey to Richmond, VA where we saw his brother, Rob, and his nephew, Daniel, who recently surpassed Adam in height.

We wrapped up our family visits in North Carolina where we got to see my cousin, Leigh, in her first semester at college. 

Through the many stops along our trip, we thank God for his kindness in safe travels and the joy of seeing so many friends and family.