We made it out to Iowa safely this past Thursday evening. We made good time and thankfully avoided the worst of the thunderstorms that rolled through as we traveled. We had quite a group of people show up to welcome us to the area, and we had to go to Pizza Ranch for dinner with a few of the council families (for those of you who don't know, Pizza Ranch is THE place to eat around here:).
After dinner, we split up to different church members' homes (Bryan, Steph, and the sisters to one house and Mom to another) to sleep for the night. It was wonderful to get a good night's rest in a real bed! After a homemade breakfast Friday morning, it was back to the parsonage to unload the truck. We had a group of deacons and elders come unload the truck for us, and they finished in about 45 minutes. The rest of Friday was spent unpacking the boxes and trying to fill up our 4 bedroom house. We found that most of our furniture could fit in the front sitting room, so most of the rooms look a bit sparse right now. Oh well, we are gradually trying to work on that.
Saturday was a relaxing kinda day. We did a bit of shopping for those household items you don't know you need until you get a house. We also stopped at Casey's Bakery for a treat (it's the best bakery in town). Friday afternoon, Bryan worked on his service while Steph, Mom, and the sisters went out to visit Sherri and Aaron. We got a tour of their house and barns and had a good time catching up with each other. For dinner that night, we took the family out to Hardee's (another local eatery) for dinner.
Sunday morning was Bryan's first service at First. It went very well and the congregation was very affirming and welcoming. After church, we went to a couple's house for dinner. We had a great time getting to know their family and eating delicious food. The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing/napping before heading back to church for the evening service. After church the elders and deacons and their families came over to our house for a bonfire/hot dog roast. This was a great time to get to know some of the church families a little better. (It is easier to learn names that way too :) Steph sat next to a wonderful woman who kept quizzing her and helping her learn everyone's names and how they were connected. Thanks Judy for all your help!
Today, Steph went into Sioux Center for her meeting with the child care. She got a tour of the building and then went to the hospital to get a debrief of the benefits and fill out paperwork to get a background check done. They hope to let her know later this week if she gets the job. We are slowly unpacking and finding places for the items in the last boxes. We just need to decide where to put all the picture frames and knick-knack type things.
Anyway, that is the update from our end. Hopefully we will be able to update more regularly. Our internet was not working until yesterday night.
3 comments:
Hey Bryan and Stephanie! Glad to hear you're off to a great start out there!
Over here, Summer Camp is in full swing once again. I've been thinking about you guys lately and about the really amazing job you did here last summer. I'm really grateful for your time here and hope you come back to visit sometime. The good (and crazy) times are still rolling at New City. :)
Take care! Grace and peace,
-Deborah. :)
We're so glad to hear you made it to Iowa safely! Sorry we haven't called you back yet...things were a bit crazy with getting ready to go to Mexico and this is the first chance we've had for Internet since last week Thursday. We'll give you a call soon and hope that things are continuing to go well!
Brian & Beth
I almost got a little homesick feeling reading about Pizza Ranch, Casey's Bakery and Hardees. LOL!! These were all places we frequented while at Dordt - I mean a lot! What a great place to live, I miss it. Glad you're getting settled!
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