Welcome BACK to Fabulous Las Vegas!

It's hard to believe that we've been back for almost 3 weeks already. Time sure does fly when you're catching up from a 6 month absence! We flew home from England on the Fourth of July and were welcomed home with a BANG. The flight took a total of about 16 hours, and from the time we woke up to the time we went to bed we were probably up about 25 hours. Needless to say it was a long day. We were also welcomed with that famous Las Vegas dry heat. When we left England, temperatures were in the low 70's and when we arrived in Vegas it was around 116F...almost a 50 degree difference! We had several people that met us at the airport to welcome us home, including my dad who was able to meet us at the gate because he purchased a ticket to Vegas giving him terminal access. We felt so loved by everyone.

So since our arrival, here is what we have been up to...

:: A WAILING GUITAR & A WELCOME HOME PARTY (July 7-8)
There's nothing like the reuniting of a former metal-head and his beloved electric guitar. Since Sean had gone 6 months without playing his electric, he jumped at the opportunity to play guitar at our weekend church services - even though it was just days after our arrival. He played a total of 5 services and loved every moment of it! A few people had no idea that we had returned until they saw Sean on stage that weekend. It was fun to begin the catch-up process with everyone!

That weekend we also were thrown a welcome home party by our host family, the Edwards. We were overwhelmed by the amount of support that was shown to us that day. There were between 50-60 people that showed up to share a meal and hear our stories. We spent most of the evening trying to play catch up with individuals, but then Sean and I played a video we had put together giving a glimpse of what our lives have looked like the past 6 months. We shared about our lives in England and our lives in Poland. We shared personal testimony of how God has grown us through challenge with people and circumstances. And we shared how God has been faithful to confirm our calling to England. We ended the night with our friends praying for Sean and I. After the party was over, we were convinced by our friends the Turners to watch a late showing of Transformers. A group of about 15 of us went. Since Sean and I were still recovering from jet lag, we had a hard time staying awake towards the end, but we thoroughly enjoyed the film.

:: FAMILY REUNIONS (July 12-17)
The weekend following, we took our first road trip since being Stateside and drove to California for my brother Gabriel's wedding. That was the first time in almost a few years that ALL 6 of my siblings and my parents were together. The wedding was simple and beautiful, and it was a great chance to catch up with aunts, uncles, and cousins that I haven't seen in years! The rest of the time in Cali was spent chillin. We went and saw Transformers again, we had a BBQ, we went swimming, we went shopping, and we told stories.

(July 27-August 1)
This coming weekend we will be heading to Cali again to spend some time with Sean's mom and stepdad. She has a 4-day weekend so it will be good to spend some quality time catching up.

Although we don't know dates yet, we also plan on taking a trip down to Arizona to visit friends and family there. We are so glad we weren't able to sell our car before we left...it's nice to have our own vehicle for roadtrips!

:: SHARING STORIES WHILE SHARING MEALS
In between events we've been able to meet with several people over breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee...it has been WONDERFUL to have some one-one-one catch-up time. Not only have we been excited to share, but we've been excited to hear what has been going on in your lives! We plan on meeting with people during the remainder of our stay in Vegas. If we don't get to you first, please feel free to e-mail or call us if you'd like to meet.

:: THE BIG QUESTION...
Probably the question we have heard most is: "How long are you here for?" We are tentatively back in Vegas until November. After completing our Discipleship Training School (DTS) we felt that God had confirmed our calling to work in England but not in Liverpool like initially planned. We will be going back to Holmsted Manor (the place of our schooling) to help lead a DTS in January 2008. To be a part of the planning for this school, we should be back at least a few months prior to the school starting, hence the November target date. We have made a two-year commitment to Holmsted and as of right now, we believe that God has called us to England indefinitely.

Another question being asked is: "What will you be doing between now and then?" Between now and November we have to research and apply for visas, we have to sell the remainder of what we aren't bringing overseas, we have to research overseas shipping, and we have to raise additional support. While we are in town, we both feel it is important to stay actively involved doing Kingdom work, so we are both pursuing volunteer opportunities through our home church Canyon Ridge and through the local Youth With A Mission group.

We hope this update has been able to answer a few of your questions. We know we haven't covered all the details in this blog, so if you have more questions please feel free to contact us via e-mail sean.stepleton@gmail.com or by phone at (702) 378-7775. It is so good to be back. In some ways, it feels like we never left. In other ways, it feels like so much has changed. Regardless, it is a privilege to be on this exciting journey with all of you. Thank you for taking an interest in our lives and thank you for taking an interest in what God is doing around the globe. We love you all!

Cheers!
Sarah and Sean