The Times, They Are A Changin'

Well, it's been three weeks now, so I guess it's time to fill you in...

We've packed our goods and headed north! That's right, we're Hoosiers! (Don't ask me what that means, because I can't find anyone who really knows.) Anyway, we have moved to Indiana and are working with NAMB as church planters in Indianapolis! This move has been a long time coming, so we're pumped to get this show on the road. In October of 2013 (I told you!^^^), Matt attended a church planting boot camp as part of his position as Missions and Lifegroups Pastor at Lifepoint. Matt came home after the second day of the conference and dropped a bomb on me- "I met this NAMB rep from Indianapolis, and he told me all these stats about how unchurched Indianapolis is, and ..... I just can't shake it." I confess, I probably wasn't the most supportive initially. In fact, I think I laughed. This southern girl wasn't interested in moving to the arctic tundra, otherwise known as "up north". Little did I know, just over a year later I'd be headed due north following a big, yellow, Penske truck for 8 hours only to be greeted by the season's first snowfall! Ha! 

After tons of prayer, multiple visits to Indy, seeking wise counsel, and a rigorous NAMB church planting assessment, we realized that God was giving us nothing but green lights on this whole thing. Everything was falling into place perfectly, and there was no denying that He was sending us to Indy. Even better, he wasn't sending us alone! God had been leading our friends Landon and Christina Anderson toward something new and when they heard about our decision, they realized that church planting with us was what God had been preparing them for! We are so thankful to have them on the team!!

It's been a wild month with packing, unpacking, traveling back to MS for Thanksgiving, then heading back to Indy and trying to get our bearings here. Good-byes are never fun either, but the kids have been great through all of the transition. 

-Side story: The first morning in or new place, Gideon was eating breakfast at the table when he stopped suddenly. When I asked him what he was doing, as serious as a four year old can be he said, "I just felt Mimi's love fly into my heart! That was so sweet of her!" I mean, really. In one of their favorite children's books, the phrase, "My love will find you wherever you are..." and apparently, that stuck in his head. It was the absolute sweetest thing ever.

We have done lots of exploring and have found tons to do and be involved in here already. Some of our outings during our first week in Indy include breakfast at Rosie's Place (YUM!) and story time at The Wild bookstore on the square in Noblesville! We also found a park and nature trail not far from our house. We even had our first Restoration Church gathering at the Andersons, and we had visitors our first week! (Sure, they were Christina's parents and sister who were in town for Thanksgiving, but that still counts, right? :) ) Stay tuned, folks. This wild ride is just getting started!