Hello again,
Hope you all liked the post from yesterday. Currently I am sitting in the living room while my husband is watching Sunday night football. Considering I really only care about watching the Oregon Ducks play, I figured what better time to write another post then right now!
So, yesterday was primarily just updating you on our home and jobs. Necessary but not super fun to read I'm sure. Today will be MORE FUN- promise.
Let's start with church. A lot of people have been asking me questions about church like did you find one that you like? If so, how is it going? Are we getting plugged into a community group? Have I met any new friends? Well, I would like to inform you that after today I can thankfully say YES to all of those questions. Yes, we have found a church that we absolutely love. It is called Redemption Hill Church and it is located in Medford, MA. Medford is only about 15 minutes driving from our home in Everett so it makes the commute extremely easy. Overall, the church is small with about 150 members, give or take a few depending on the week. The cool and really encouraging thing about it is that It has only been opened for a little over a year and had that many members already. It is currently held in this building that holds different dance clinics and practices throughout the week. What we really like about the church are the pastors and the friendly atmosphere that we get when we go there. The first week we went we were a little skeptical during the service (not because of anything to do with the church or the pastors) but because of the size of the church. I always thought I wanted to be a part of a bigger and more developed church but the Lord definitely knew what I needed- and that was Redemption Hill. After the service, we were approached by some awesome young people who immediately made us feel comfortable and could tell wanted us to be there. We really appreciated that.
this is the awesome building- church is held on the top floor
Anyway, from then on we have been pretty good about going to church every week. The church staff and pastors are all very young and moved to Boston to plant a church here from their old church located in South Carolina. Needless to say, they all have southern accents. SO.FUN! The first week, the main pastor asked Teej and I to go out for dessert somewhere so that he could get to know us better. It was definitely something we weren't expecting since nothing like that had ever really happened to either of us but we were excited for the opportunity to meet with the pastor. We went to T.G.I. Friday's near our house one evening and sat and chatted for about 2 hours. It was great to hear about the vision he and the other staff has for their church and the direction they wish to go, Lord willing. Teej and I were excited about his vision and were eager to get involved or help in any way we could to make that vision a reality. We left the meeting feeling really encouraged and feeling like this could be a place for us to grow in our faith with the Lord. YAY!
So, where are we now in terms of involvement within the church? Well, we are both going to a meeting next Sunday where we are going to get trained to serve in different capacities within the church. I am going to start volunteering in the children's ministry and Teej is hoping to do something with the media team. :) Also, we just went to our first community group meeting today and loved it. It is run by a husband and wife who have three beautiful children. They are both awesome people who are extremely welcoming and easy to be around. There were about 6-10 people there (mostly women so far- sorry Teej) but they were all super nice. We felt really optimistic and excited about what is to come in the following weeks and months within the community group. :)
Anyway, we are so grateful to have found such a great church in our area. We have also been blessed to have my parents come and visit us while we have been living here. They were able to come out and visit for about a week during the month of August. The greatest part was that we got to host them in our house. After staying in my parents house after we got married for a few weeks, it was nice to be able to have them stay with us in our own house!
While they were here, we did a great number of things. Thankfully, since I was still pretty new into my job I had a lot of free time to actually spend with them while they were here. The first day they were here was on a weekend so the four of us went to Boston to explore. Now, whoever knows my family knows that we are a "Walking" family. So, what did we do? We walked and walked and walked. My dad carries a pedometer on him at all times and I think by the end of the day we had walked somewhere between 10-12 miles. haha.. We walked ALL over Boston! I think the highlight for my dad though was taking the Fenway Tour at the Boston Red Sox stadium. We got to stand on the Green Monster, which he loved!
Another day we went and visited the Bunker Hill Monument and climbed all 294 steps to the top. We were all sweaty messes by the time we finished. It was a beautiful view of the city though so it was definitely worth it. After that we rewarded ourselves and went to Little Italy and I got to experience by first Cannoli. Let me tell you, it's AMAZING. My dad introduced me to it because he used to have them a lot when he lived in Mass. I'm still not sure if it was a good idea or a bad idea haha..
We were also able to see my grandparents in New Bedford a few different times while they were here. It was fun to see them and catch up with all that is going on with them. :) Here are some pictures from that trip.
While in the New Bedford area we went to this beach called "Horseneck" that my dad grew up going to. He loves the beach because the water is warm and has great big waves to play in. It took me a while to get the nerve to go in the water but once I did it was really fun and I didn't want to get out. I think I was afraid of sharks and because of the current that the ocean can have where it can suck you under at a moments notice. I got over it though and it was a good time.
Overall, it was wonderful to have them here for the week! Teej's parents and sister Leah are actually flying in this week to stay with us so that should be another fun time with family! :) We are so blessed.
What's up next? Our friends Michael and Daniel's visits and some other random trips Teej and I have taken on our own!
me and grandpa
"And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength." -Deuteronomy 6:5
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