Everything is still on track with our moving plans. We're expecting to be in Burlington sometime the week of June 3rd, so that is only a little more than seven weeks away. I'll do a better job communicating with you regularly between now and then.
One of the big deals for us this past month had to do with finding the best way to move from Florida to Washington. We started by getting estimates from several moving companies. The highest estimate came in at $12,500; the lowest a few dollars below $10,000. The church there had agreed to cover the cost of our move . . . that's standard operating procedure with preacher moves . . . but that was an awful burden for the Skagit Valley church to have to bear. I had several phone conversations with Jim & Ken . . . resulting in the elders and I agreeing that we needed to find a more economical alternative. After investigating U Haul and a couple of U-Load, We Drive outfits, we decided to go with a company called ABF. They will bring a 28' trailer to our house in Pensacola and give us several days to load it. Then they will come back and pick it up and deliver it to 1803 Cascade Vista in Burlington . . . where Trish and I will be mighty grateful for all the help we can get unloading. It's a little more labor on our part, but it will result in about a 40% savings for the church. Trish, Jared, and I are perfectly OK with this. With adequate time to load the trailer carefully, I'm confident we can get everything we need to bring packed on the trailer.
I've probably had more reason to keep up with the weather out there than you have had to pay attention to the Florida panhandle. However, we had a severe cold snap last weekend . . . temperatures around freezing with highs in the 40s. I checked on the Internet last Saturday and your temperature in Burlington was about 15 degrees warmer than we were in Pensacola. We drove to church last Sunday morning with sleet coming down. The valleys of roofs were filled with white stuff . . . not snow, but accumulation of ice particles. We seldom get that kind of weather in the dead of winter, and never before on Easter Sunday. The sun is shining brightly today and it is warm again . . . but we had several days of overcast skies and cool drizzle. I can only conclude that the Lord has been getting me ready for the Pacific Northwest!
Sunday will be an unusual day for me. After being the preacher for the Leonard Street church since 1991, I'll be sitting in the pews and listening as a guest preacher "tries out" for the minister's position here. I really hope it works out well. The elders and deacons here have done a thorough job investigating and evaluating all the resumes they received. They selected two finalists and scheduled them to visit. One of those men accepted another work before his scheduled time to visit us, so Leonard Street is left with only one candidate. If it does not work out with him, they will have to start the process over again, which will make it unlikely that a new preacher will be on board by the time we leave. Please keep Leonard Street in your prayers; there are really good and loving people here and this will be a good work for someone. The fact that I decided it was time for me to leave is no kind of bad reflection on this church. I am ready to move to a new work and a new area, but it is bittersweet for us as we get closer to the time we'll be leaving.
Still, in seven weeks we will be on the road crossing America on our way to our new home in the Skagit Valley. We're going to arrive with a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of ideas . . . but we will have to work together to accomplish what the Lord has in mind for all of us. Please be praying for us and be praying that our team can grow stronger day by day in the way we love one another and in the way we serve our risen Savior.
John & Trish
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