800 Miles!

We are moving! There...that's our BIG news. We are moving. (It's still very wierd to hear those three words come out of my mouth.)

We are moving approximately 800 miles away from Daytona Beach to Alexandria, Virginia. If you are familiar with the area - you can practically say that we are moving to Washington, D.C.

In January Ray and I sort-of came to a fork in the road and began to pray about where God was leading us. After two months of prayer and seeking God's vision for our lives, and meetings with our pastor - Pastor David Stine, our decision to move to Alexandria is final. We are part of a "launch team" who will be moving to Alexandria, VA over the next 1-3 months to plant a church on the outskirts of Washington, D.C. Pastor David is currently a pastor at our home church, Celebration Church in Jacksonville, FL. Pastor David and his wife, Taryn, have been praying for the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area and laying the foundation for this church plant for over 8 years.

Ray and I will be moving around June/July. We are finishing up the school year with our classes. We will be done on May 25th. We are looking for and believing for teaching jobs in Alexandria, VA for the next school year, which begins in September. I am flying up April 25th-29th for a Job Fair on April 28th. I will have numerous interviews with numerous school and I am praying for my "dream job" with the public school system of Alexandria City Public Schools. Ray will be applying for jobs from afar; however, we are believing for favor for Ray to land a job at the one high school in the area or at a middle school. The one high school in the area is T.C. Williams High School (which is the school from the movie Remember the Titans and I think it would be neat to say that my husband works there).

We are also planning to buy a townhouse or condo in Alexandria. Although our pay will increase significantly with our teaching jobs in Virginia, the cost of living also increases significantly. So our eyes are open and we are waiting for a fantastic deal on a place to buy and call 'HOME'.

The name of the church is DC Metro Church. As of right now, there are 11 members of the launch team (Pastor David & Taryn, John & Julie, Matt & Andy, Ray & I, Jasenn, Lorraine, & David). Please keep us in your prayers as each of us is looking for jobs and places to live.

We are about 75% sure of a facility that we will be using for our services. Our launch date, meaning the day we will publicily open to the community is set for September 23, 2007.

There will be much more information on this and the progress that Ray and I are making with packing, jobs, housing, and the BIG move. I have already begun packing. It's a weird feeling putting all of your stuff in boxes, labeling it and taping it up.

We are very excited and are looking forward to the great things God is doing and is going to do in the Washington, D.C. area. The website is up and running for the church. It's a simple outline right now, more information on the vision and details will be coming very soon.

If you can partner with us in prayer, please pray for the following things:

• Pray for our launch team (Pastor David, Taryn & their son Issac; John & Julie; Matt, Andy & their two daughters; Jasenn; Lorraine; David; and Ray & I). Please pray for unity, protection, housing in DC, future employment in the DC area, and our launch meetings with these incredible people.
• Pray for the Job Fair that I am going to on April 28th. That I would have favor with every person that interview's me. That I would land my "dream job" (even though I don't quite know what my "dream job" is yet - God will reveal it in due time).
• Pray for Ray to have favor as he applies for jobs from afar. We are believing for a High School Math position at T.C. Williams High School.
• Pray for our finances that God will continue to bless and multiply it, that as we prepare to find housing that we would find the right home for us to live in and how to afford it (God has always provided above and beyond for us! Phil. 4:19).
• Pray for the Regal Cinemas Potamac Yards 16. This is the facility we are believing for - for our services beginning in September.
• Pray for the D.C. Metropolitan Area - the people, the schools, the businesses, ect... for favor and softened hearts.

Ray and I thank you ahead of time for your prayers, your thoughts. We look forward to this journey and to being able to share it with all our friends and family all over the world.