iCrucified

The Move to Olympia: 10 Days Later

We’re still getting settled… slowly but surely we’re getting settled in. We are still unpacking boxes, although it has slowed down dramatically. It’s more like; “where is such and such?” “Oh, I think I saw it in the box with blah-blah-blah.” And, then the hunt is on. In the mean time, life has been gearing up and going on. We just got cable-internet yesterday, so our communication has been hindered a bit (thus the slacking updates). Anyway…here is a summary of the past week and a half.

Deals and Details… Jehovah Jireh I

You will remember that we sold our Chevy SUV with the plan to purchase a smaller and more economical car when we arrived. We had asked for prayer that we would be discerning and wise with the direction we went. I am confident that prayer was favorably answered by God with the purchase of our “new-used” 2005 Ford Taurus. We actually ended up with a final (before tax and license) price on the Taurus for just under our selling price of the TrailBlazer! We are all pleased with the vehicle and it will suit our needs perfectly. Thank you all for your prayers and all praise to God for His provision!

We also got a “smokin’” deal (pun intended) on a gas grill. Our old grill had literally burned itself out; we like to grill a lot. We had a very small budget for the grill and I was shopping prices as we were bopping around various stores in our travels this past week. We figured that we weren’t going to get out the door for less than $129.00 for a grill and realized that price point was pretty cheap workmanship (in other words, the grill might only last a season or two at best). Fast-forward:::: We hit a Lowes and found a close-out on a higher quality grill, although the close-out price was still over our $129 budget. I went home and thought it over and decided it was a better move to stretch a little on the budget and get better quality. The next day I arrived at the Lowes and the grill had been sold. I asked if there were more in stock to find a display model still available. The sales mgr made me a deal of $120.00 for the floor model and “BAM” we were sold. But wait! There’s more… Some details on delivery and our not having a truck ensued and we dickered and bartered for a bit to finally land on a price that was over our budget when deliver was included. I thought we still made a decent deal, so went home to wait on our delivery later in the week. The next day, we happened to borrow our friend’s minivan and I thought we’d try to fit the grill in and save the delivery charges. To my surprise, the sales mgr offered to drop the price even more on the grill to a final price of $99.99!!! The original price was $269.99 and our final take home price was $99.99 netting a savings of $170.00 “WooT”

Employment… Jehovah Jireh II

Laurie and I both were able to secure employment before we “officially” landed in Olympia; what a great God of provision we have! Laurie started work this week at the front desk of an Optometrist office and has had a great week as she tells it. Not only is her work going well, but the office staff is full of Christ followers! We (Josh and I) were able to meet them (all of the staff) this week when we were invited to the Lake Fair with them for lunch. Although our time was short and very limited, we enjoyed their company and conversation.

I completed the new hire paperwork for my new job this week. I officially start and begin my eight weeks of training next week. The job will be providing technical support in a call center… déjà vu. Yes, this is where I started out 10 years ago with Adelphia. Hopefully, the old “just like riding a bike” adage will prove true in my case and I’ll be able to pick up where I left off after a brief reorientation time. Please continue to keep both Laurie and I in your prayers as we transition to our new jobs and that as we do, we will continue to reflect Jesus in all that we do.

Church, church, and church…

The pastors (Dan, Matt, Me) of the church we are planting, Trinity Community Church, met for the first time this past week. My impressions were that it was a wonderful visit and conversation. I continue to marvel at the work that God has done to bring us together and how similarly our hearts are intertwined with the vision of creating this special community. We are still waiting for God to provide the fourth pastor in our plurality of leadership, so please continue to pray for this individual (whoever it may be). Also, continue to pray that we would be sensitive to the guiding hand of God’s Holy Spirit as we press on with this wonderful vision.

We have not started to meet formally as a church… just as a leadership; although we are having community dinners with folks we have met since arriving. These meetings/dinners are providing us the opportunity to get to know one another, but we’re not actually teaching and experiencing a corporate worship environment. We are visiting local faith communities to get a feel for what God is doing in the Olympia area. I’ve had the opportunity to worship with two different communities thus far and my partners have been following this model as well. I think this will provide us with information and context for what God may have planned for TCC when we officially launch.

This past week we visited the Free Methodist Church in Olympia (Light & Life Bible Fellowship). We connected with the heart of the pastor (Larry) as he shared the message and Word of God. At the end of the service we introduced ourselves (the Borden family) to Pastor Larry and shared a time of conversation. The L&LBF church is doing some wonderful things in the Olympia community and I am encouraged by the active heart for God’s Kingdom that our Free Methodist Church has from coast to coast.

Potpourri

I know several of you readers have asked for photos. I am still trying to get them processed for displaying on the web and I’m also trying to get fully unpacked and “house-arranged” so we can take some pictures that don’t have boxes in them. I promise to get a faithful representation of our digs once we get all moved in… I might even be able to swing a short video. Until then, here’s a small mix of pics we’ve taken since the last day or two on the road until now.