Erick and I counted up all the times we have moved in our marriage and it came to 15 times! One positive thing about moving is that it has helped us determine and keep only the most important things, and purge the rest…keeping it simple. We also believe that moving so many times has taught us to be flexible and adaptable. But what we treasure most is all of the people we have come to know and love in every city and community God has called us to. We know we were in Indiana for a specific purpose. And we trust that, in addition to taking a new position with Back2Back and connecting more closely with others on our Back2Back team, God will give us great purpose in Ohio as well. (We’re confident, however, that our purpose here is NOT to become Buckeye fans!)
We moved into an apartment in Mason, Ohio on June 27th (which was also our 33rd Anniversary). We think we have found a house and if everything goes through we will close in August and move again! We were so thankful for all the people that helped us pack the truck in Indiana and unpack it in Ohio. We captured a picture in Indiana. THANK YOU Steve, Patty, and Ian Harney, Kevin Mangin, and Tom Searcy. And in Ohio, we didn’t get a picture, but THANK YOU Steve Ross, Patricia Honeck, Kimberly & Mark Nolt, John and Corrie Guckenberger, and Todd Guckenberger.
We moved into an apartment in Mason, Ohio on June 27th (which was also our 33rd Anniversary). We think we have found a house and if everything goes through we will close in August and move again! We were so thankful for all the people that helped us pack the truck in Indiana and unpack it in Ohio. We captured a picture in Indiana. THANK YOU Steve, Patty, and Ian Harney, Kevin Mangin, and Tom Searcy. And in Ohio, we didn’t get a picture, but THANK YOU Steve Ross, Patricia Honeck, Kimberly & Mark Nolt, John and Corrie Guckenberger, and Todd Guckenberger.
We got a 3 month lease on the apartment, and decided to unpack only the things that were necessary while we looked for a house. This picture is in the “dining room” of the apartment. It serves as both our office and eating area.
One of the unintended good consequences of Covid-19 has been the ability to provide Strong Families training for more of the Back2Back sites using Zoom. In April and May we trained our Dominican Republic and Monterrey staff. After the training, we continued on with them to do two book discussions, which were so rich with learning. (In case you’re interested, the two books were: Toxic Charity by Robert D. Lupton and Slow Kingdom Coming by Ken Annan) Then, in late June we started training the Mazatlán and Cancun sites, about 30 people. We will finish up 10 sessions with them this month.
Earlier this month, Erick had a chance to join about 6000 others in the Unify Cincy walk in downtown Cincinnati. The walk was organized by 50+ churches to join together to pray, worship, and walk, asking God to bring down His kingdom of justice and unity. I pray this is the beginning of a movement, in the name of Jesus, that has a lasting impact of peace across all colors, races, and ethnicities. 
Over the 4th we were able to spend some time with our kids and some of their friends in Bloomington. The drive from Cincy to Bloomington is only about 2 ½ hours. We love hanging out with them.
We are still social distancing but exploring some of the fun things to do outside in Ohio. We discovered the Little Miami Trail and I’m remembering how much I love to bike. We also bought some inner tubes with plans to float on the Little Miami River. And last night we finally went out for our anniversary and were able to safely eat outside to celebrate.We would invite you to visit us now, but our apartment is pretty full with stuff so it might be a little tight with Covid and all. But when we move into our house and it’s safer to be together, we look forward to having friends and family come to visit.
We continue to grateful and humbled by all of you who are part of our team. While it’s been challenging the past several months, we have, without question seen God’s faithfulness through you. He has never been surprised by anything and was not surprised by the pandemic. And he continues to be trustworthy and faithful.Erick & Julie
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Praises
- The move to Ohio went exceptionally smooth and we had great friends to help us on both ends.
- We think we found the right home and look forward to moving in next month.
- Eliza found a new job and she gets to work outside!
- The closing on our condo in Indiana went very smoothly.
- We have been able to train close to 40 staff from three different sites in the last couple months.
- Our Mazatlan site will be working to transition some kids who live in an orphanage back to their biological families or relatives. We will be helping them with this process.
Prayer Requests
- Please pray for wisdom for me in my new role leading the Child and Family Development team.
- Please pray that we are able to find a church where we can serve and be fed truth.
- Please pray for the kids and families at our Mazatlan site who will be reintegrated. Pray for Julie and I as we assist with this process.
- Please (continue) praying for the racial and political division in our country, and for wisdom for our federal and local leaders during the pandemic.
- Please pray that our closing and move go smoothly - again - into the new house.
