We're Here!

We've made it to Camden and are quickly settling in to our new life! Sunday was our loading of the truck day, and with only a few people to help (thanks Jose, Matt, Ginny, Mom K, Mom and Dad A, and our downstairs neighbors!) things went along steadily and easily. We had the U-Haul packed up by 7:00 or so and we decided to just go ahead and hit the road. Matt and Ginny (my sister and her hubby) drove down with us to help us on this end which was a huge help. We put their car up on a car transporter so Matt and Mike could ride in the truck and Ginny and I rode in the Saturn together. We started the drive at about 10pm or so and arrived in Mount Holly around 3am. We made pretty good time and the drive felt like it flew by. That's what happens when you have good company! I'll post pics as soon as I can get them from Ginny and figure out how to load them onto the blog.

We crashed at a hotel in Mount Holly Monday morning, slept like rocks until about 9, enjoyed the hot tub and breakfast spread, then finished the drive to Camden (another 40 mins). When we arrived, all the directors were finishing up a meeting and then came over to help us unload the truck. Most of our stuff went into the basement of the UrbanPromise Academy building in storage until we move to our more permanent place. For now, we're living in the second floor apartment of the building I lived in when I interned here 9 years ago, so that's a trip. The apartment is pretty grubby, to put it lightly (let's just say there was a lot of cleaning, bought a new toilet seat, don't walk on the rugs barefoot etc) but we have plenty of space and feel very safe. It's also right across the street from the UP headquarters, so that's handy.

We were able to enjoy a few days with Matt and Ginny as they just left this morning (Wed). We drove into Philly a few times and got ourselves good and lost a few times (it's a ten minute drive that took us an hour once) but we sorted ourselves out and actually felt pretty good about getting around by the time they left. They were hugely helpful in unpacking the house and setting up and keeping us company. We did some of the touristy stuff in the city this morning before they left, hit Pat's in South Philly for cheesesteaks last night, went to the Hard Rock cafe and walked Market Street and Penn's Landing. All in all a good time!

Mike is settling into his new job. He seems to really love it, he's such a people person and there are people everywhere, so he's happy! There are about 40 summer interns from all over the world here, he'll have 6 working in his camp with him this summer. Today Mike and his staff went to their site in South Camden to check it out and take a tour of the neighborhood. He's really excited to have a great assistant director who has been with UP for a long time and can help him learn the ropes. Camp officially kicks off on Monday, the rest of this week is full of prepping activities. He's really excited to be here and is anxious to meet the kids!

As for me, I'm interviewing for jobs and will most likely be working with a temp agency (hopefully at Campbell's Soup Company's world HQ here in Camden) in the meantime. I'm definetly feeling homesick, mostly missing the sisters and nephews (and J of course!) but I know once my days get into a routine that will help. In the meantime, I'm just cleaning that apartment as much as I can, grocery shopping, and trying to help Mike in any way I can.

Things to pray for if you would:
1. For our safety and that of the other staff working here this summer.
2. For Mike's health as he adjusts to a very fast-paced environment in a VERY hot and humid city!
3. For me to find a job that will pay the bills but also that will be fulfilling.
4. For us to find a permanent place to live. I think we're leaning towards renting for a year or so so we can really get to know the city and where we'll want to settle down.
5. For time for us to spend together...his schedule is crazy and I'm nervous that we won't see each other much.
6. For us to find an excellent church community who will meet with us, encourage us, and refresh us!

Thank you to all of you who continue to hold us up in prayer. We will need it! We're feeling very content and very much that this is where we're supposed to be. God has been faithful to us to this point and we know He'll continue to be so! Many blessings on each of you this week!