A leap of faith

"If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me
and your right hand shall hold me."
Psalm 139:9-10

This week we made a big decision. We are not going to wait to hear back from Highland sometime in October. Instead Brian will begin his PhD studies at the University of Sussex this fall, where he has already been accepted. We have a furnished flat there, he has been in good communication with the supervisor there for 6 months, and as I already said he has been fully accepted into that program. There has been so much uncertainty about what path we should take, and there are still many details to be ironed out. After meeting with one of his professors this week, we decided that since there has been a delay with Highland that we should move on through the open door at Sussex.

We are leaving the country September 22. We found an absolutely unbelievable deal on airfare, so we booked it (!). It is very scary to be buying a one ticket to a new country. I'm so thankful that the Lord is God wherever we go, and He is never afraid. I am overwhelmed with all there is to do and sad to be leaving a place where God has been so good to us: our family, our church, the seminary, dear friends... we have been richly blessed and nourished here. It is a relief to finally know what the plan is and to have a firm date of departure.

Assuming that all goes smoothly with our loans and visas, we will be living in Brighton for at least 1 year, probably 2. As you can see on the map, Brighton is on the southern coast of England. Highland Theological College is north of Edinburgh at the very top of the map-- brr! There are advantages to both locations, but it will be nice to have easy access to London. Both the British Museum and the National Gallery have free admission. Monet, anyone?

View a map of England here: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/mapshells/europe/england/england.htm