Welcome to Miami

We made it!!!

We are here, moved in and trying to establish a new normal. 

Moving is a hard thing….it takes a while to re-center from the jolt of your world being turned upside down. Living out of boxes and suitcases for weeks makes for an unsettled feeling….its been nice to get put back together again; and yet it's just such a huge shift- that it really does take some time. 

Here is an update of our lives in the last two weeks through a few photos.........

Home Sweet Home

We found a place! Something with enough space that we can afford and were able to get into fast.

 Yet we have this tension…..we are further from Miami Springs where the church plant will be happening. Not hours-realistically minutes and 10 miles further than the most ideal location, however this is a major part of Justin's role. We have felt torn about this for so long as we were looking for a place. Justin's other main role is at the main Campus working on leadership development….which we are only about 7 minutes away from; and so a tension lies of wanting to be so much closer to the community we are about to serve, and not being able to afford to live there and having all the doors shut. The catch 22 is if we move closer, it's a flip flop on being further from Justin's other location and more traffic, more time in the car sitting. To say the least-there is not a perfect scenario here.

So here we are, living in the tension…but at peace knowing God has us here and waiting to see His handiwork. 

Where is here?….Well, for those who want to look at a map and check out our proximity….we are in Cutler Bay. We are south.....way south. Palmetto Bay is where the main Campus is and Miami Springs is where the church plant will be…if you have just looked this up, you'll understand my previous statement…yeah, its far. But not too far, just far enough to be annoying because Miami traffic makes everything that much farther!!!

Justin has jumped in full throttle since he arrived and its exciting to think about his new role and the ministry opportunities this new season is going to afford us. But at the same time, its an adjustment. Its a step outside of our comfort zones, and its a stretch on many fronts.

People….let me be real here….Miami doesn't really have beaches like the beaches you keep asking me about. YES- South Beach, we do have that…..we are about 40 minutes in traffic away from that, and ill be honest……thats a train wreck of congestion and crazy that I doubt I will deal with very often. We are on the coast, but so far south that there are not many beaches, there is water to be seen….just not too many long wide deep stretches of beach that you tend to think of if you think of Florida. BUMMER, yes…I know.

We did go to Key Biscayne this past week. It is a stretch of beach about 45 minutes ( with traffic ) away from us. It has a beautiful view of the city and it was really nice to just unplug for the morning. Lola was in heaven, she loved it! 

Enjoy the few Pictures below, and we will be in touch soon! Love and miss you all.

I learned not to feed the ducks around us. Here I thought it would be this great wildlife experience for Lola to feed the ducks by our pond each day....yeah not so much. They are not so nice- and we fed one, and 13 showed up in the yard here...I didn't get a shot but SOOO wished I had!  (they look like demons, you cant tell in this pic, but their heads are red and creepy looking)... These things will come knocking on your window for bread days later, somehow they know where you live.

Breaking in the kitchen

 

Lola's first fresh squeezed Florida orange juice:)