Our first Christmas in our new home

Exciting news!

This week, we waited to hear the sellers' response to our request for the installation of a radon mitigation system, since the radon test revealed a level not considered harmless by the EPA. They said they would pay for it (almost $1,000) if we would agree to close a week earlier than planned. We had no problem with that! The closing is now scheduled for December 14, so we will move a few things in beginning then and start living there on the 21st. It's hard for us to believe that it's really happening. We are so thankful for this amazing blessing.

The house hunt

We have been planning to move to Yankton since Amy got a job there, and we were delighted to discover that it would be feasible to buy a house. We began looking at houses in Yankton toward the end of October. We found one that was suitable, and we made an offer on it. It had been on the market for more than a year, so we got a good deal. We knew it needed some major redecorating, but we were willing to do that. We were under the impression that any problems with it were mostly cosmetic, but the inspection revealed a crack around three walls of the basement. The other wall had been reinforced because it had bowed in slightly. We were shocked and concerned; we didn't want to buy a house with structural problems, or worse, try to sell that house when Nate finishes school. We got a concrete expert to look at the basement, and he said all four walls would need to be reinforced with pylasters to keep them from coming in. His estimate was $5,300. We asked the sellers to pay for it, and they declined, so we walked away from the deal and started viewing houses again.

There seemed to be only a few houses that were in our price range, and we saw several houses that we absolutely did not want to buy. However, our realtor was excited about a house that had gone on the market the day before; she said we would be the first to see it. We loved it, and we made an offer on it right away. The sellers accepted, so we are in the process of purchasing the home, with the closing date set for December 21. We had the inspection on November 26, and the things the inspector found were minor. We are really thankful for that!

Yankton, SD: Our soon-to-be hometown

New Job by Amy

On September 24, I started my job as a Children's Services Counselor at Lewis and Clark Behavioral Health Services in Yankton. I had not intended to counsel kids, but this job seemed to come to me providentially, and as soon as it was offered to me, I knew it would be a mistake to turn it down. Besides the opportunity to help people, it provides decent pay and good benefits and the experience and supervision I need to work toward counseling licensure.

I have already completed my third week, and I like the job very much, especially now that I have started working on my own with my rapidly-growing caseload. I get to set my own schedule, so I have been working longer hours Monday through Thursday and taking Fridays off. I travel three days a week to Scotland, Tripp, Wagner, and Lake Andes, which requires me to spend quite a bit of time on the road. I stay at the Yankton office one day a week for meetings and in-town clients.

The clients are kids (ages 3-17) who have been referred by their parents, teachers, or other concerned adults because they have been exhibiting emotional and/or behavioral problems. We assess them to see if they meet the criteria for "Serious Emotional Disturbance," (which really just means that they have some type of difficulty emotionally or behaviorally and in some other area of life), and if they do and they have Medicaid or meet income guidelines, they receive free services, which include individual, family, and sometimes group counseling. I think it's a cool program, and I'm glad that it involves the family in the healing process in a significant way.

Nate and I would appreciate your prayers in this exciting season. Our desire is to move to Yankton so we can split up the driving, and also because we like the town. Our lease in Vermillion is up Dec. 31, so we would like to move then, but we would need to get another car. We obviously need a place to live, too; we are currently exploring our options. Pray that God will give us wisdom and equip both of us to do our jobs in a way that honors Him.

My diploma finally arrived!

Amy's office

Amy's new workplace

The Nebraska side of the Missouri River

Finally--a picture of our car

Amy's worksite

We get awesome storms on the plains.

The sunshine after the storm

Miss Feline South Dakota

Contentedness (by Amy)

We have been living in Vermillion for six weeks now. In some ways, it has been easy to adapt to this life. After all, we both grew up in small towns not too far from here; it feels like coming home, especially with our families within easy driving distance. In other ways, however, it has been challenging. We sometimes feel cramped in our little apartment, and we hate being awakened by the patrons of the bar next door. We are just beginning to make friends in the community. It seems like a long time since we had friends over for an evening. For me, the loneliness is compounded by the fact that I haven't been able to get a job in my field and have been spending my days packing parts at the local Polaris warehouse.

These circumstances present a great opportunity for us to practice some of the principles we learned about in Gary Thomas' book Authentic Faith, particularly the discipline of contentment.

Three weeks ago, we went to a family camp with our Fargo church, and it was a blast. It was a joyous occasion to catch up with people we hadn't seen in a long time and to make new friends. When we left, I felt sad that I cannot fellowship with these people on a regular basis anymore. I was already feeling the same grief about our church and other friends in Portland. I decided that moving is too painful, so we should just stay in one place hereafter so we will be spared the pain of leaving friends. Soon, I realized that even if we stay somewhere, we will continue to get separated from friends as they move away or, (we hope not for a long time) pass away.

I realized that what I have experienced and desire so much is the gift of love that God has given to all of us, but which will not be perfected until Jesus ushers in the next age. Until that time, I will always be separated from some of the people I love. But when that day comes, and for all of eternity, I will be able to enjoy their company and that of the Lord who has made this kind of love possible.

Photos from the Painted Hills in Central Oregon

Following are some photos of our trip with our good friends Jason & Amber to the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. This was our pre-moving "trip," which took place toward the end of June.

We're in Vermillion, SD!

Here's part of "historic" downtown Vermillion.

Our apartment is the corner one, which is above an art gallery.

A snapshot of the inside of the "cubbyhole." Note Flan sitting in the window.

Old Main on the campus of the University of South Dakota where Nate will be going to school.

Spirit Mound, six miles north of Vermillion. Lewis & Clark "climbed" this on August 25, 1804.