I think that our regular newsletter will give more details of our move to the Alsace region of France (to the town of Soultz). What I'd like to concentrate on here in our prayer newsletter is the gracious way in which God answered your prayers for us this last month.
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Finances - God's hand was in the "difficulty" of receiving funds from the US for our house. We found a way that worked finally. The exchange rate concerned our US bank so we wired extra funds. In fact, however, the exchange rate spiked in our favor a small amount and we gained money in the process! We also received an unexpected gift in Valence that helped with the moving costs.
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Timing - God's timing was and is perfect. We had hoped to move the first full week of July. We were in temporary lodging that was available until the 9th of July...no problem...or so I thought. I called the lady from whom we were to buy the house to find out what day exactly we could sign and move in. She told me that she couldn't get movers until the 20th of July...problem!...or so I thought. So, in asking God what we should do, we saw that some of the extra money that came from the exchange rate blessing should be used to visit our dear friends and team in England for 10 days or so. We did so and found abundant blessing simply in their presence, as well as specific blessing in a prayer time with the whole team there. We all feel that there is to be a continued connection with the team in England and for that we rejoice. Are hearts are knit with them and that is especially important to us as we transition into Alsace at this time where we know few people.
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Health - In God's timing, He gave us time to recover after moving out of Oasis before we had to make the big move. Also, though we are working hard at the moving/unpacking/arranging, etc. I certainly feel more strength in this climate than farther south in France where it is hotter and drier.
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Moving Teams - God definitely arranged the help we needed!!! On the Valence/Montéléger side we had incredible help loading the truck, with people staying until nearly midnight to help us get as much as possible into the truck. If they had not been there, we could not have gotten as much in and then I could not have fit the rest into the last trip I made with our mini-van. They have also helped us deal with the few things we had to leave behind. On the Alsace/Soultz side we had people we didn't know or just barely knew coming and helping and sharing fellowship and encouragement with us. Again, it would not have been possible without them. In between, we had a friend from our language school class drive the moving truck for us. What a gracious gift!!!
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Logistics - They were complex but God led us step-by-step and that is important as we feel that will be the order of the day during this next season.
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Friends - We've started to make them already. Notably there is a lady who has been available to help Angela find her bearings with various stores, etc. and Olivia has already made some friends with the daughter of the baker's family down the street. They took her to the pool yesterday. A real blessing for the most social member of our family.
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Driver's License - Angela finally got her French driver's license (an exchange from her Colorado license) after a wait of about 5 months! Nice to have that behind us!