Merry Christmas

Once again this year has flown by.  Looking back to last Christmas, I knew that it would be a year of changes…little did I know just how big those changes would be.

     We spent last Christmas with Chad’s family and I enjoyed my first white Christmas.  Coming back to our home in Newport News we brought in the New Year together and looked forward to all that God had for us.

     Chad and I continued to work at the grocery store.  I got transferred to the produce department and although the work was a lot more challenging, I enjoyed the challenge.  We also found a church that we were ready to call home in February.

     In May we enjoyed a short visit with my family in San Diego and then celebrated our first year anniversary in June…and that is where the major changes start coming in.

I found a new job working at a child development center the end of July and looked forward to working with the children each day. Our next big change came right after it with the news that we were expecting our first child. =) Who knew staring at two blue lines could change one’s life so drastically.

Next came August with another opportunity for change.  We received a call from a couple that works with a ministry inviting us to join with them full time.  I had been a part of the ministry for the past 12 years and still worked some with them long distance.  They would be able to provide a rental house for us in exchange for me working with them full time…the hitch was it involved us moving to Branson, MO.  We spent a couple weeks in intense prayer and council.  During our prayer and research, we learned that there was a college with a master’s architecture program set up almost identical to the one that Chad was currently enrolled in.  We also learned that there was a certified architect in Branson who was willing to offer Chad an internship come the beginning of the year.  With the reasons above and with the fact that this position would allow me to work from home with the baby, we decided to take a step in faith and accept the offer.

     We arrived in Branson the middle of September and it was a whirlwind of activity as we searched for a house, received our initial training, and prepared to lead a mission trip across the East Coast.  About a week and half after we arrived, 6 young adults joined us on a 4 week mission trip.  We spent 4 days training them in creative evangelism and preparing them to challenge their peers towards excellence and then traveled for the remainder of the trip.  To say that we got spoiled with a wonderful group of young people would be an understatement.  We thoroughly enjoyed our time through the East Coast but were glad when we arrived back in Branson.

     Life has gotten into a little more of a routine now that we are back in Branson.  We will be spending Christmas with my family in San Diego.  Directly after Christmas, we will be spending a week in training with the AIM team in San Diego and then leading them on a short, one-week, missions trip up through Southern California.  Once back we will make a trip out to see Chad’s family and then settle in and await the arrival of our baby the end of March.

     Looking back on the year I would have never thought that we would be where we are now but God is good and in control.  We are excited by where He has brought us in such a short amount of time and look forward to this New Year…with its many changes and all.

God Bless and Merry Christmas,

Rosalie, Chad and Baby Pollock