Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Our latest update: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  Latest Whiting update.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Faithful Friends and Family,

Merry Christmas!  We wanted to take a moment and update you on where we're at now as our time on Antioch staff comes to an end, for now.  In the midst of this challenging time, God has been gracious to us. We were able to find a great house to rent and moved in mid-Nov. It has been a huge blessing!  God has also provided a good job for Luke in the form of an IT support position for a medical billing company.  He is really enjoying it!

Many people have asked us what our plans are for future missionary service and we are simply not sure.  You know, we have been forever marked and our hearts are for the nations.  With that said, we are still processing our return from Portugal and are going to be taking this next year to simply breathe and heal.  We want to get fresh vision from God for our lives and see where he leads.  In a way, we feel a little bit like fish out of water here.  Despite our efforts, life still feels quite transitional but we are sure "settled-ness" will come as we continue to live life here, diving into our church community, and going to God with our hearts' needs.  We would appreciate your continued prayers as we seek God's will for our lives this year and beyond.

We are abundantly blessed to have had these last 3 1/2 years walking with you all. As this season comes to a close, we are once again amazed (though not surprised) at how good our God is. We could never have made it without all your prayers, your encouragements, your support, and your friendship. Words will never be able to express our gratitude, just know that you have eternal rewards for the ways you have given.  We would love to keep in touch with each one of you, so please, don't be strangers!  If you live in Waco, we would love to share a meal with you! Below is our new address and phone numbers.  It would be our joy to get to say, THANK YOU, to you in person for holding us up--we have been forever marked by your faithfulness and love toward us, thank you.

Our new address is:

301 N 40th St
Waco, TX 76710

Luke's cell: 254-214-5746
Janice's cell: 254-214-5439

Prayer Requests:
PRAY for God to give us fresh vision for our lives.
PRAY for us as we continue to process our return from Portugal.
PRAY for Janice as she is considering going back to teaching full-time for the spring.  (Luke's job provides plenty for our everyday needs but not enough to furnish a home and pay off some debt we've incurred due to our unexpected return).

If Janice does go back to work, we need God to provide grace to Elijah and Judah as they would be put in public school for the first time PLUS, we would need to find childcare for Bella.  Ideally, we could have someone come to our house to watch her here but we are willing to have another mommy watch her in their home.  Please PRAY for wisdom and guidance in this possible new turn of events for us and that God would provide all we need.

We love you all,

In Him,
Luke, Janice, Elijah, Judah, and Bella Wren Whiting
It was almost miraculous how quickly Luke got this job, and it feels like it was made just for him. He gets to work with technology, while serving customers and co-workers, and he gets to help create new systems and new opportunities for the company, definitely a win-win!
Janice and Bella Wren at the Vera family Christmas.