DV

deo volente: It means “as God wills”. Not used so commonly anymore, but it used to be that if you received a letter from a friend explaining their plans for the future, those plans might be noted with a “dv”, meaning that your friend was making plans, and would carry them through, if it was God’s will. This entry is hereby annotated with a dv.

Many of you know that since September ‘99 Andy has been working on his M.Div, or Master’s of Divinity, from Fuller Theological Seminary. He’s done some classes online, some internships under local pastors (thank you, Dahl, for your current ministry on this one!), and some intensive classes which have taken place in different cities around the country (like San Diego, Charlotte, Colorado Springs). To finish the degree, Andy is required to spend one school year on campus in Pasadena, California. We’ve been putting this off for the last couple of years because Andy has not felt a call away from Fort Myers. However, he must finish his degree within ten years of beginning it, so he’s running out of time!

Andy still does not feel called away from Fort Myers, but he does feel called to finish this degree. We are, therefore, currently planning on moving to Pasadena as a family for just under a year so that Andy can be a full-time student (lucky him, taking mostly Greek and Hebrew). Covenant has graciously agreed to grant Andy a leave of absence so that he can focus on school, but he will continue to have a hand in the ministry here, albeit long distance, while Krissy and a team of faithful leaders do the hard work of weekly ministry. Our family plans on moving back to Fort Myers after the spring quarter of 2007 is up so that Andy can continue in ministry here at Covenant.

Is all of this a logistical challenge? Absolutely! Andy has been meeting with different people for months working out the best plan to not only maintain, but also grow, the youth ministry in his absence. We have also been thinking hard about how to move a family of five across the country not once, but twice, within one year. Don’t you wish you were a fly on the wall at our house? Our hope is to rent out our house for the time we are gone, possibly furnished. We are planning on installing a trailer hitch on the van and taking to California only what will fit into the trailer. Some of our belongings we will sell, some we will store, and some we will give away (let me know if you want a dog—she’s great with kids and just needs room to run!). While we’re out there, I will continue to homeschool Michael (and maybe start with Caroline). We are hoping to head out mid to late August (classes start the last week of September—this will hopefully give us time to get out there, get settled, and also fly to Dallas for Kim’s wedding).

So, we would just ask that you keep us in your prayers. Please pray specifically that: someone will rent our house; an apartment on campus will be available for us; we will have a safe journey (3000 miles!); that someone will take our dog (believe it or not, this one is a real concern to me); and that Covenant will have outstanding volunteer and staff leadership in the student ministry. The children are very excited about the upcoming adventure (especially the part where they get to see Dru and Chloe on a regular basis!), as are we. Keep your eye on this spot, and we’ll keep you updated as well as we can! grace and peace to all of you.