WERE MOVING WEST!!

Almost 3 weeks ago Kathy and I flew to a church for an interview praying that God would give us a great opportunity to serve. We got off the plane and for the next four days discovered that we had finally found what we had been waiting so long for. So to make a long story short, we are moving. Where to? Well, you will never guess. Ok I’ll tell you. As I write this email I am sitting in my new office and new church family home at Prescott Christian Church in Prescott, Arizona! Why Arizona? I don’t know, ask God. All I know is that as soon as Kathy and I arrived here and visited the area,the church and the staff we knew right away after many weeks of praying that this was God’s plan as he made it abundantly clear. As of today I have already finished my first week here in my new position as Worship Arts pastor. I had no idea where God would send me but to my surprise here I am. Prescott Christian is a growing and contemporary church of about 700, located 90 minutes north of Phoenix, 6 hours from the west coast and 2 hours south of the Grand Canyon.

Prescott is one of the fastest growing areas in the country as it has literally boomed from 13,000 to over 100,000 in the tri-city area in the past 15 years. On top of that the scenery is absolutely beautiful. It is located in the mountains so the weather is 70-85 or so for a majority of the year and not the 110 degrees down in Phoenix. The area is surrounded by mountains, canyons and lakes and you can’t help but feel even closer to our awesome creator just by being here alone.
In less than three weeks we went through the interview process and the visit here and were offered the position. Everything we had prayed for and wanted we found at PCC. God’s plan was written all over this decision as we have never felt so good about an opportunity like this.

The past month has flown by fast and in the midst of all the transition I decided to come out ahead of the family to get started, find and a home and make plans. On July 2nd and 4th we celebrate Corey and my birthdays and finish packing, on July 8th the moving company is coming and loading everything up and then on the 9th our family will be boarding the plane from Chicago to fly out to our new home. Everything we have planned came together miraculously and we are extremely blessed.

We are overwhelmed with excitement about it all and continue to pray in this huge transition. Ethan and Corey have been praying about the transition for some time and have everyday asked God to give daddy a new worship ministry. God definitely answered their prayer as we were offered the job at Prescott and happily accepted. They also prayed that God would give us a new house. Of course we would have to have a new place to live in but God took their request literally as after one day of being here I was able to get not just a house but a beautiful home overlooking the mountains and lakes that is brand new! There seems to be a lot of power in the prayer of a child.

Yes the transition will be a difficult one in many ways as many friends and family live in Michigan and we are further away than ever. But when answering God’s call and following His plan there is extreme peace and happiness. We will miss everyone but have no intention on letting our relationships fall behind. Please email or call and keep in touch. The way we see it we are one huge family of God and serving in all different areas. It is also a great opportunity to be able to serve in a position like this in a whole different area of the country. We will keep you posted on a new address and phones as soon as we get that taken care of. Please pray for us in this transition and feel free to visit my website to see upcoming pictures and info in the journal link. We would have loved to send an email out sooner to announce this but it has all happened extremely fast and we have been swamped. God is awesome and we thank you so much for praying for us. We will all be home the week of July 2nd until the 9th and my cell phone number will be the same for another week or so if you try calling. Again we thank you all so much and will keep you informed. Also just to let you know if you are ever in the area at all for any reason make sure you get in touch with us. We would love to see you!

Whats new?
Can you believe it's 98 and humid in the great state of Michigan! Even though its hot and humid here there are some pretty cool things happening for us and we are excited about God's awesome plans. New postings will be happening on the journal page soon so stay tuned as we will make a big official announcement here probably within the next couple weeks. Until then.................

Ethan & his pet elephant 

Ethan & the Elephant
Ok you guessed it the Elephant is me. The truth is out. Someone had to do it and I look pretty good with a long curly nose anyway. We had our Memorial day parade Monday and built a float for our VBS program. It was alot of fun as the kids walked along with us and the float through town promoting our program. Later I made an idiot of myself and wore the suit around after the parade and getting my moneys worth for the rental. It's not everyday you get a chance to do something like that.

Everybody Loves Raymond
I watched the last episode of Everybody loves Raymond from the E. R. ironically as Raymonds family was hanging in the ER on the screen. Just like the show we too had a big scare as Kathy had a miscarriage a couple days before. To our suprise after two seperate visits to the same place she still was experiencing many problems so we were there four nights in a row. After surgery, a blood transfusion and alot of rest two weeks later now she is back to normal. God healed her and she is well. I have enjoyed Everybody loves Raymond for many years and it was one of the few family shows that was left on TV. I remember many episodes and have favorites but will remember that last one not only because it was the last one but also because of the experience I had that night. Life and family is a good thing no matter how you look at it. Everybody loves Raymond illustrated that on their show all the time. In real life we actually get to live it everyday!