Marry.

Ready to go down the rabbit hole!

My last update was about the engaging which took place between Abbie Mitchell and I on Canadian Thanksgiving of 2013. Well, now it is 2014. Abbie and I have come back to the U.S., celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years together, met brothers, sisters, nephews, and nieces, and most importantly...the parents. As far as I know [though I'm willing to be corrected ;)], I have full approval from the Louisianan family, and on my side of the family everyone of course loves Abbie.

As we have been living nomadically, battling reverse culture shock, planning a wedding, and doing new thing after new thing after new thing, we have had conversations about 'home'. What is home? Kenya? America? Louisiana? Texas? Neither of us feel that sense of home. That's what being overseas does to you culturally. The other day we were sitting around with blank stares of being overwhelmed by American culture and Christmas and I pulled up a youtube video of rural Ethiopians dancing and singing. It was so oddly refreshing to us. Also I found that the cure to reverse culture shock is going shopping at Goodwill. Huh? That's right. Goodwill. A bunch of old and abandoned second hand crazy junk that is for sale at cheap prices for those who will appreciate it. It's counter-cultural...but feels right at home for Kenya.

Found this excellent rasta banana at Goodwill!

Home will be something different for us, yet the same as many people. Spouses find their home in each other, but they also have a sense of home in country, state, culture, neighborhood, house, etc. For Abbie and I, we will just have each other. "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother [his home] and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh" - Matthew 19:5-6. Wow. Talk about a loss of identity, a death to self. I am no longer just myself. I am no longer an individual, but instead half an individual. The other half is Abbie. My home.

We are extremely grateful to be so soon reaching our wedding day. It's only about 10 days away now and we have been so blessed by many people who have volunteered their help, given freely their services, 'showered' us with gifts and cash to help set up our home in Kenya. God answered our prayers for a rent-free house in Argyle next door to some dear friends of ours, the Sanders family. God is so good to us, and we are grateful.

What's next?
Well, we are still figuring that out. But we will be staying in Argyle, involved in church ministry, learning to be married, working on a few projects for Serve Kenya, and very soon seeking to meet one another's supporters and personally update each one about how the ministry is doing in Kenya and where we are headed in the near future.

I am excited about many of you getting the chance to meet Abbie and getting to know, love, and appreciate her as I do.

Blessings to you! And pray for us as we are nearing the day of Covenant Making!

My number while in the states is 318-514-9118. Feel free to contact me, but I probably won't hang out until after the wedding :-)