The queen of bubble wrap

Jaida the moving gypsy

Tucker House

As of August 15th this is the house we will be calling home. We are grateful for God’s provision.

Central Valley to the ATL

May 8. It all started about 2.5 months ago.  I had put a resume in for a job that combined two of my growing passions, urban and global missions.  One day, I got an email saying we would like to talk with you.  So, we talked.  The first conversation happened by phone and then by Skype.  Finally, the church, (North Avenue Presbyterian Church) and Lorna and I felt like a face-to-face visit would be in order.

May 30.  This was the date we flew to Atlanta to meet the team at NAPC and see what God may have in store.  Four packed days of meeting great people, being exposed to missional ministries, and talking about ministry philosophy flew by.  We left feeling excited, scared and prayerful.

June 15.  We had many conversations with God, mentors, close friends and the leadership at our home church Monte Vista Chapel.  All of these conversations confirmed what we were feeling in our hearts, a change was coming.

June 17.  On Fathers Day, I had the opportunity to share with my home church the journey that God had been orchestrating.  This was a tough day.  I love Monte Vista Chapel.  I started working here at the age of 26.  I was still wet behind the ears and the people and leadership here gave me the space and grace necessary to grow into the person I am today.  This church has been here for me in the middle of a dark night as I struggled through healing from childhood wounds.  It was hard to know that goodbyes would be coming.

June 18.  I signed a contract to become the director of mission and community outreach at NAPC.

July 13.  We made another trip to Atlanta.  This time we were on a mission to find a house.  God provided in a huge way.  We spent four hours house hunting and found the house.  It had not even been listed until that morning.  What a blessing.

July 16.  We fly back to Turlock, and while we are switching planes in Las Vegas, we find out that our application for the house in Atlanta (more specifically a suburb named Tucker) was accepted.  Not one minute later, I got a text from potential renters for our house in Turlock saying they felt ready to commit to a lease on our home.

July 23.  The packing begins.  We are busily sorting, packing, giving things away and deciding what really needs to be moved across the country.  We hope that you will join us as we continue to chronicle the adventures (and misadventures) of our cross-country move.

Matt/Lorna/Jaida & Brooklin