"Whale, here we go...."

Well, I leave for Wales tomorrow and I continue to be amazed at the barrage of bad jokes I've received.  "Have a whale of a time...", "Look out for whales...", "Whale be seeing you....", "Greet the Whalians for us...", etc.  However, it is "WALES" people, not "WHALES"!  As far as I know, there are no large, seafaring mammals inhabiting this region of the United Kingdom.  Your kindness is noted, but your spelling and sense of humor is highly questionable....

In all seriousness, I have been so blessed by the encouragement, support, and financial donations I have received as I prepare to leave for Wales.  It has been almost a year since I started fundraising, and longer than that since I began praying about how I could be used with the Newport Church of Christ.  God has brought me a LONG way and I am so thankful and amazed at His work in all of this.  Yet, I still am not entirely sure where this will go.  I trust that God will lead and provide according to His good pleasure as He has already done.

I want to also offer a special thank you to three congregations: North Raleigh Church of Christ, Brooks Avenue Church of Christ, and West-Ark Church of Christ.  The financial support you have provided has been essential in getting me to this point.  But even more so, I am thankful to you for how you are sending me out in the name of Jesus Christ for the sake of the Gospel.  I wish I knew all of what that meant, but what I do know is that your prayer and "ordination" for this work is so important.  Thank you!  It means more to me even than your financial gifts.

I will try to keep this blog updated as often as I can.  Hopefully, I will be able to let you know how things are going here in the next week or so.  Please pray for my long journey and "finding my feet" when I get there.  I love and appreciate all of you!