A Year To Review, A Year To Hope For

 As of January 1st, we have been itinerating for 1 year.  We've driven 34,441 miles, and visited 88 churches in 6 states.

We have raised 52% of our monthly budget.

All of these numbers are encouraging, but of course, we are longing to finally make Slovenia our home.  We are praying, hoping and planning on leaving for Slovenia by the end of June.

January is a month to look both forward and backward.  Backward, to remember all the blessings and special moments that happened, and forward with expectation.

So, we would like to share with you our top 3 itineration moments from 2016, and the top three that we are praying for, for 2017.

2016 Top 3

1. Candidate Missionary Commissioning Ceremony

In June of this year, we got to experience one of those once-in-a-lifetime moments.  We were commissioned as Assemblies of God World Missionaries.  All of our leadership was there and prayed over us.

Our Europe regional directors the Trementozzis, and our Central Europe area directors the Sabellas were there, as well as our district superintendent Terry Raburn, and district  missions director Tom Manning.  We received a Slovenian Bible, and the blessing of our leaders.  It was a moment we both have been looking forward to, for as long as we can remember.

2. Visiting the Slovenian Embassy in Washington D.C.

We were fortunate enough to be able to visit the Slovenian Embassy in Washington D.C. in November.  You may not know this, but the land an embassy sits on is considered that country's soil.  This means that technically, we actually visited Slovenia!

We spent time praying for Slovenia; their government, their people, the spiritual climate there, as well as our transition to moving there.  It was a very special time that stood out in our minds as an ordained moment.

3. Many, Many Itinerating Car Selfies

We have spent countless hours in the car together - it's a good thing we all like each other and shower regularly! Thankfully, Aidan is a terrific traveler; he LOVES hotels, snacks, sleeping in his own "big boy" bed, and watching Paw Patrol in the back seat.  We have great talks on the long drives, listen to music or even audio books.  We've been able to see some amazing and spectacular things along the way; Ocala National Forest, the Southernmost point of the US, a sunrise in Miami, orange groves and manatees at the Tampa zoo, to name a few.  We have met so many kind and generous people along the way.  Countless people have partnered with us on this itineration journey, and are making it possible for us to be moving forward towards moving to Slovenia. 

2017 Top Three

1. Getting the All Clear

We cannot wait to use these passports to board a big plane, with all our earthly possessions, and move to the country God has called us to!  We are ready to go!  The moment we hit that "magical" 100 mark, we will be on our way to the next adventure!

2. Meeting Our Slovenian Brothers and Sisters

We are so excited to meet our Slovenian brothers and sisters in Christ.  The Slovenian Pentecostal fellowship has invited us to come, and we cannot wait to be there, worshipping and working alongside them.  Please be praying for them with us!

3. Start Learning Slovene

 One of the questions we get asked most at churches is if we've started learning the language yet.  We would love to!  The challenge is that Slovene is not a widely spoken language, so there are only a couple options for taking classes here in the States, and none of them are near us.  So we will be spending the first year (at least) in full-time language school.  We are both very much looking forward to learning Slovene!