The Mayor And Me

Prayers For Our Friends
Leaving Coshocton, Ohio and moving to Graham, North Carolina has not unfolded without its emotional, physical, and spiritual challenges. But many of our dear friends, family members, prayer partners, and financial supporters are facing life situations and decisions far more challenging than anything we've experienced over the past month. Please know our prayers are with each one of you. We hope our renewed communication will be a source of encouragement in the midst of life in this less than perfect world.

Keith Meets The Mayor Of Graham
In one of Karen's and my trips "up town" we stopped in at the Graham Municipal Building to ask directions. One gentleman in particular was very helpful. He was casually dressed (T-shirt, blue jeans, tennis shoes, baseball cap) but went out of his way to provide the assistance we needed. He took me inside "behind the scenes" to provide the answers we sought, and even tracked down contact information for a person who could assist us with a specific need we shared. I was having a great time with this guy, totally having fun inside the municipal building, and carrying on like we owned the place. He was totally personable, very helpful, and was honestly interested in us as new residents of Graham. As I talked with one of the municipal staff members they mentioned that the guy I was hanging around and joking with was the Mayor!

No way! Yes, way! I immediately asked to have my picture taken with him. What could be cooler than that? He was somewhat reluctant and apologetic as he'd been outside working on a project and wasn't in his usual mayoral garb. But, for the fun of it, he relented. Here I am with The Mayor of Graham, Jerry Peterman.

The Mayor and Me

Over The Past Month

The Hultins came to visit.

(Bradon & Lydia also came to visit but we didn't take a picture!)

We received our NC drivers licenses and new plates for the cars.

Tucker and Tanner had their first NC baths...

...with gentle towel dry finish.

And we found a very dog-friendly bank!

Tanner makes a biscuit withdrawal from Community One Bank.

Ministry Update
Believe it or not, I'm in my second week of full-time service in the MAG office, Karen nearly has the house pulled-together, and there's a lot going on in Honduras and in Guatemala as we move into October! We look forward to adding in MAG news and field reports as the days go by.

Thanks for your continued interest and involvement in our lives and in our ministry. We couldn't be here doing what we're doing without you being there doing what you're doing. We can't do this by ourselves, nor do we wish to. We cherish each of you as precious participants on this journey as God transforms us through this new ministry and this new location.

We've Moved to North Carolina! We're Finally Here!

What an amazing 72 hours...Oh my. Thank you, each of you, who've prayed us through this transition and finally this most recent Load/Move/Unload experience. Wow! We've enjoyed too many blessings and tears to recount over these past three days. Karen and I can't remember ever experiencing a wider range of emotions over such a short time.

THANK YOU to our Moving-Out Team (from MMS Aviation and Fresno Bible Church). THANK YOU to our one-man Truck Driving Team (Bob Schwartz)! THANK YOU to our Moving-In Team (New Covenant Fellowship Church)!

We were blessed a hot and humid Loading Day in Coshocton, OH (no rain, snow, or ice), experienced some heavy rains on our (nine hour) Driving Day through Virginia and into North Carolina, and were blessed with a hot and humid Un-loading Day in Graham, NC. 

 MMS and FBC load our lives into a 26-foot truck: Coshocton, OH

 Our Loading Crew!

 Tanner rode with me. Tucker traveled with Karen.

Both dogs handled the move very well.

 My view for nine hours. I think Bob had the better view.

 New Covenant Fellowship unloads our lives in Graham, NC.

Our Unloading Crew

It may be a few days, weeks, or months before we dig our way out of all the boxes...but everything's in and ready to unpack.

We won't have internet or a home-phone until next week. Our cell phone numbers remain the same. We'll have our new address in our next newsletter, but our mail from Coshocton is being forwarded to our new place down here, so no worries.

The outpouring of love in our departure and in our arrival has truly been humbling and such a clear and tangible reminder of the Goodness and the Grace of God.

We'll have more to post once we are officially back on-line (we have many emails to respond to!) and I'm sure Tucker and Tanner will have plenty to say about this experience from their own, unique canine perspective.

Thanks again for all your prayers. They've been greatly appreciated and most definitely answered. We're excited to have each of you with us as part of what God's doing in Central America through our service with Missionary Air Group.

MOVING DAY!

As hard to believe as it is, and as suddenly as it came upon us after waiting for months...MOVING DAY IS HERE!

I pick the U-Haul truck up in an hour, the guys from MMS are showing up to move our house into the truck this morning, and then we'll be cleaning the house this afternoon once it's empty. Then we'll spend our last night here in the living room "camping" with Tucker and Tanner as everything but our camp chairs, futon mattress, and sleeping bags will be on the truck.

Tomorrow (Thursday) we'll make the drive to Graham, NC, spend the night at New Covenant Fellowship's missionary cottage and then Friday morning, Lord willing, close on our house down there and MOVE IN!

We'd greatly appreciate your thoughts and prayers over the next few days as we take leave Coshocton behind and embrace our new season of ministry with Missionary Air Group in North Carolina.

We love you and we thank you!

Keith & Karen, Tucker & Tanner

MOVING DAY APPROACHES!

LORD WILLING...TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY WE'LL BE MOVING TO NORTH CAROLINA!

"Okay, take a deep breath. Relax. God's in control--He has all the details covered. Remember to laugh. I'm so sad. I'm so excited. This hurts more than I ever imagined. Be thankful for the blessings of the last 16 years in Coshocton yet look forward to the blessings ahead in Burlington. Quit talking and PACK FASTER!"

Oh my. The thoughts and emotions, struggles and successes, the pains and joys of looking ahead while not wanting to let go of what's behind. We're in the whirlwind. At least the stresses and strains of buying and selling a house are (nearly) over.

We're good to go on our house down south and everything's ready to roll up here as soon as our buyer is approved for her financing. We should hear for sure on that next week. It will be good to be out of the "land in-between." To finally be somewhere after so many months of being neither here nor there. We'll pass our new address along as soon as we know our buyer's loan is approved!

Lord willing we'll close on our Coshocton house by August 21st and close on the house in Graham, NC on the 23rd.

Now it's just the "joys" of packing our lives, hopes, and dreams. I do so much better at "staying" than I do "going." But God has called us to GO!

August 21: close on our house up here and load the moving van.
August 22: drive the moving van and cars to Graham, NC.
August 23: close on our house down there and move in.

The U-Haul is reserved, loading and unloading crews are standing by, and I'm making repeated trips to the cardboard recycling dumpsters collecting sturdy boxes to fill.

Karen's sister, Brenda, is up from Virginia helping with the packing for a couple days.

Brenda & Karen work on packing the basement.

Tucker and Tanner are wondering what's going on. Their lives are about to dramatically change, but  then so are ours!

Thank you for each of your prayers and gifts enabling this move and our transition to service with Missionary Air Group in partnership with MMS Aviation. We eagerly seek your continued prayers and gifts as we finalize this transition and begin this new season of service in North Carolina.