The Journey Begins

Well, first and foremost, we are here and we’re safe! Our travels were uneventful, but very long. We left Vegas around 10am on Tuesday and arrived in England around 12:30pm on Wednesday…three flights later! We flew from Vegas to Chicago, Chicago to Dublin, and Dublin to London. We received a very warm welcome as several of the staff members shared that they were anxious for our return. We even had several of the students from the current school say “Oh, you must be Sean and Sarah. We’ve heard a lot about you.” The staff weren’t the only ones to welcome us though…we were also welcomed by the English cold. It’s not unbearable, but it is a lot different than being able to wear a t-shirt and jeans and flip flops in Vegas. Right now the temperature ranges from high 20’s to mid 40’s.

Sean and I haven’t fully unpacked yet, but we are excited to have our room. It actually has it’s own bathroom. We’ve already been eyeing the room to see how we can best utilize the space. We are looking forward to making our room our home. Fortunately, all of the belongings we held on to shipped right as we were leaving, but unfortunately they won’t arrive for 2-3 months. We’ll do the best we can in the meantime.

I think Sean and I might be suffering from a little bit of jet lag. We took about an hour nap on Wednesday when we first got in, and we were able to go to bed at a reasonable hour…around 11pm. However, when we got up on Thursday (today) we didn’t wake until 3pm! We slept for 16 hours straight! But technically when we woke, it was 7am Vegas time. I know our bodies and minds will adjust. It just takes a little time…no pun intended.

So with all of this transition, how are we doing and what has been on our minds? Well, let me see if I can make sense of the chaos!

:: WE’VE FELT LOVED
We had a send off party that we called “The Journey Begins” because we wanted people to celebrate our next step in life and we wanted people to actively engage with us in our calling to England. So, we had a night mostly of prayer and worship. We started late due to a few technical difficulties, but we were overwhelmed by the response of those that came. I think we probably had around 70 people show up, including my dad from northern California! It was so special to see our friends and family walking around to different prayer stations and interceding both with us and for us!

We also had some great last visits. We spent some time in Pennsylvania visiting fellow friends and missionaries and we were able to spend a week in Arizona. Getting to Arizona was a nightmare (I’ll get to that in a second), but once we were there, it was so memorable. We had lots of laughs, we shared lots of meals, and we had meaningful conversations. We were able to see Sean’s dad and stepmom, his sister and her family, my mom, my sisters, and a few friends that are very dear to us.

:: WE’VE FELT FRUSTRATED
All along the journey, we’ve hit bumps and minor setbacks. From getting sick, to high shipping costs, to credit card fraud, to not being able to prove or disprove our residency in Las Vegas. Talk about being in limbo! I have to share this story because it is so ridiculous but I’ll keep it brief. We had decided to rent a car to Arizona because it was cheaper than flying, so Sean booked a reservation online. The day that we were going to rent our car, Sean realized that they probably wouldn’t rent to us because we were having our bank send us a new credit card because of the fraudulent charges. We had money in our account, so we thought maybe they’d let us use our Visa/Debit card. We were wrong. And they said they needed a physical credit card to swipe…it didn’t matter that the bank was sending us a new card. So Sean found another rental car company that would let us pay with our Visa/Debit (they were a bit more money of course) but we had to prove we were a Las Vegas resident. Unfortunately, a driver’s license wasn’t enough. You needed a bill statement or even car insurance card. Well, seeing that we are staying with friends and that we had just sold our car and canceled our insurance, we were unable to prove our residency. But if we were able to prove we weren’t a resident (by providing a plane ticket showing we had flown in from out of town) we could still rent the car. Well, since we LIVED in Las Vegas and we were planning on DRIVING to Arizona to visit family, we didn’t have a plane ticket and couldn’t prove we weren’t residence either. So, do we still need to pay taxes? Despite the hassle, we were finally able to rent the car through a friend. And as we’ve been hitting frustrating situations, we’ve really had to lean into our calling. If God has called us to England, then it doesn’t matter what sort of setbacks may appear to be in the way. And God has been with us through every step of the process. And what were yesterday’s worries are no longer even an issue because here we are in England. The Bible promises that God’s mercies are made new every morning. Praise God!

:: WE’VE FELT READY
The last year has been a lot of releasing and letting go. From our home, to our stuff, to our jobs, to our pets, to relationships, to ministries…we’ve had to say goodbye to a lot in order to step into this next season that God has called us to. So, now that all is said and done and we are here in England, we are ready to begin building and establishing again. Establishing new ministries, new friendships, our new home! We both know it won’t be easy and it has honestly been very strange to be back at Holmsted with a sense of familiarity under a completely different circumstance. Where Holmsted was our home away from home before, it now IS home. It doesn’t feel that way yet, but we know that will come with time…and your prayers.

Before we left, I had shared with some friends about my experience on a ride at Disneyland. It was a ride similar to the Bigshot in Vegas. You sit down and get strapped in, and then the ride shoots you straight up at around 45 MPH and then freefalls to give you that gut wrenching feeling. After the initial ascent and descent, the ride isn’t so bad. It sort of gradually lowers down and while it does you get to see how high up you are and you get a great view of the park. Well, I had described our journey a bit like convincing myself to get on the ride. All the way through the line, I kept telling myself, “I can do this. It’s not so bad.” And then I actually sit down and get strapped in. It’s right about that time that I’m thinking, “Why am I doing this? Is there time to get off. I think I want off.” And before I can convince myself to get off the ride, it shoots me up and I scream in fear. But then I realize that I’m no longer screaming in fear…I’m screaming in excitement. I’m enjoying the ride, and I’m glad that I didn’t turn back.

We are so thrilled and nervous, all at the same time, to be on this ride. And we are thrilled that you are on it with us. We know that God has a lot in store for our time here. And we know that he doesn’t promise that there won’t be struggle, but He does promise that we can get through it and that he can build our character and our faith in the process. The journey has begun, and we can’t wait!

Cheers!
Sarah and Sean