It has been a busy few weeks in the Shields family. I finished my internship in California on August 25. We said farewell to our wonderful brothers and sisters at Emanuel Lutheran Church. It was difficult to say goodbye, but they year that we spent in Lodi will always be part of us and given us wonderful memories. Again, thank you to everyone at Emanuel! God has used you in tremendous ways and I hope he continues to do so.
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| With Pastor Chris and Sara Townsend |
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| Saying goodbye to Emanuel |
After saying goodbye on the 25th my dad and I drove Jacinda, Stella, and my mom to the airport so they could fly back to Illinois. After dropping them off we returned to Lodi to finish packing the Uhaul trailer and hit the road. That trailer was PACKED to the gills! Good thing my dad and I are good Tetris players...
The trip went really well. It took us approximately 35 hours of driving over the course of four days to travel a little over 2,000 miles towing a trailer in a little crossover SUV! But God blessed us with good weather, good road conditions, good fellow drivers, a strong car with good gas mileage, and most of all good company.
We pulled into Illinois on Thursday, but did not have much time to relax that weekend. That Sunday, September 1, was Stella's baptism. We had our dear friends, Aaron and Kelly Fuller, in town to be Stella's godparents as well as our families to celebrate the wonderful day. The biggest surprise was my internship supervisor and pastor of Emanuel Lutheran, Christ Townsend, and his wife, Sara, walking into the sanctuary to be there with Stella on her big day!
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| Stella being baptized by Rev. Dieter Punt |
After that weekend we have finally been starting to settle into a routine. We are getting to know Stella a little more each day and figuring out her sleep patterns so that we can also get some sleep. I am also helping out every Wednesday by leading Bible Study at First Lutheran Church (where I grew up, where Jacinda and I were married, and where Stella was baptized) and helping teach confirmation.
We are also working on some fundraising opportunities at churches here in Illinois. October is going to be very busy for us. But we are very excited about the opportunity to join Blessman Ministries (you can find the link to their site over in the right column). Another couple recently started serving in South Africa about the same time we were leaving California. It has been a lot of fun to see their updates and hear their stories about the transition to a new country. Here is their blog if you would like to hear more about them: http://www.whisperlistening.blogspot.com/.
If you would be willing to support us or interested in learning more please contact us any time or check the link above conveniently titled, "Support Us." We would love for you to be a part of this journey with us. May God bless you this day and always!
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