Update

Wow, that week of scheduled blogging went by as fast as our vacation did!
A few updates on life here:
1. THANK YOU for all your prayers surrounding the funeral. I really need to post prayer requests here more often! The funeral for the church neighbor went better than we expected, though it was obvious to us that what we shared was "out of place," as can be expected when God would have been "out of place" if the deceased had been alive. Does that make sense? There wasn't room in his life for the truth of God in his life, and so it was an odd feeling trying to make room for him in his death. But, the Word of God was shared and sung, and we pray that it planted seeds in the hearts and minds of those who attended. Also, I think it was a comfort to the family, who were not accustomed to native ways (he had been adopted). The traditonal native funeral service that followed Mark sharing the Word and singing hymns together was not as offensive spiritually as we had feared.
2. The wedding for Tripp and Willow went really well! Despite having a very late night due to the unexpected responsibility of making the wedding cake, it was a great day! We managed to make our humble little church look downright pretty, and it was a blessing to see them commit their lives to each other and to the Lord. And Anna was a darling flower-girl...Jordan did a great job teaching her how to throw the flower petals! Pictures will be coming...
3. The Christmas program is coming along well. We have only 2 more practices, but I feel at peace about it. It will be what it will be! At least Andrew and Jacob have their lines memorized! Jacob is a stitch as a shepherd..."Let's tell evweyone we see!" They are quite excited about it, and both diligently study their scripts. Yes...the 4 y.o. who can't read studies extensively.
4. We're making slow but steady progress on packing. Wall hangings, candleholders, teapots, and the entire china closet are all packed...which also means the linens are packed as free cushioning. We have just two days of school left, a few more presents to wrap, and then I'll be able to get more packing done.
5. Sophie is doing pretty well! She's sleeping through the night already, and today we haven't had any accidents in the house. The goats are getting used to her, and will just calmly stand and chew their cud while I'm out there with Sophie, though it will take months before we let her loose with them. Somehow puppy biting and chasing just won't do a whole lot to build the trust factor...but she does spend a few periods of time a day in the big kennel in the goat pen.

Please continue to pray for the church as we are still working through the process of constituting and incorporating as our own church body, as the wording of our constitution and bylaws will govern the church for years to come (well, the bylaws can be changed readily enough, but it sure would be nice to get them right the first time).

Also, we have many loose ends to wrap up in the real estate realm. We're still waiting for a final total and actual money from our parent church from the sale of the property in S. Not sure what the hold-up is, but we would appreciate prayers for a quick wrap-up, and for the total received to be greater than expected!

Our house is still scheduled to close the 26th...we'll keep you posted on that front!

And if none of this makes sense to you, then check back at my original post here. Thanks so much!