I GOT A JOB!

It's official! I got a job. :) I will be working at Partin Elementary School in Oviedo. I will be an aide for a kindergarten student. This job is a huge blessing for us. Thank you for all of your prayers and encouragement. We have felt so loved during this time, thanks to you all :) The Lord has taught us so much through this process. It has been a tough road, but a huge blessing. God has provided!

Grateful for Encouragement!

I had a job interview Friday! :) After 5 weeks of being in Orlando, submitting countless applications and resumes, networking with friends of friends, I had my very first interview at a high school here in Seminole County. I feel like the interview went pretty well, all things considering. I keep replaying it in my head though, wishing I would have said this, wondering if I should have said that :) I guess I am just second guessing myself. Needless to say, I couldn't sleep last night. I was told that I should hear something today, but I didn't. The assistant principal I interviewed with said I might hear something tomorrow. We'll see! I know we have such a huge support system who have all been praying for and encouraging us. We are incredibly grateful! Please keep those prayers coming.

The Lord has been so sweet to us and has been confirmed our moving here in a number of ways. For one, we have made AMAZING friendships! There are 3 young married couples (2 from the church and one from RTS) that we have had the opportunity to get to know in the past few weeks. They are remarkable people and we have had more community in the lat month than we have had since graduating college. It has been amazing and we are so thankful for these new friendships.

Roy begins his Fall Semester at RTS on Wednesday. Please continue to lift him up in prayer during this time. Thankfully he'll begin working on campus very soon so we'll have a little bit of income. Digging into our savings is not something we enjoy, but we are grateful that the Lord has provided that for us and realize that we really and truly have never gone without what we need.

Please pray that this job will work out! It has been a tough process of having to wait... anxiously... and trust that the Lord knows what is best for me. Many wives of students at RTS are currently looking for jobs, so many of us are walking through this current trial together. It's great to know I'm not alone and really pushes me to pray for them along with myself. God is good!!! He is faithful and we know He will provide.

Going to the chapel...

My sister is married!!! I can hardly believe it. On Saturday my sister and Angel were married in our hometown of Port St. Joe, FL. It was such a beautiful ceremony, both with American and Mexican traditions. It was wonderful and the reception was the the funnest reception I believe I have ever been to. It was great to see everyone dancing and having a great time. It's always a joy to see family and friends and spend time together. With Tropical Depression Claudette on the move this weekend we had to move what was originally supposed to be an outside wedding indoors. It was remarkable to see friends and family helping decorate and organize hours before the wedding. Thanks for all of your help!! We couldn't have done it without you. I am so thankful I was able to spend a week at home with my family, enjoying time with family, catching up, and spending time with the Bride before her BIG DAY. What a blessing! Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Carrete!!

RTS Orlando

Roy is officially in his second week of seminary at Reformed Theological Seminary here in Orlando. So far, so good! He is taking Summer Greek I and will begin a full load of classes for the fall semester at the end of this month. He is in class from 9-12 and usually stays on campus studying with his classmates or on his own in the library. He is working so hard to keep the "big picture" of seminary before him, remembering why he is going to seminary, and reminding himself that JESUS is the ultimate goal.

Our Balcony Patio

We had a patio or balcony I guess you could say. It is definitely our favorite part of our 580 sq. ft. apartment. It has french doors from our living room area to the patio and it overlooks the woods, which to some may be boring, but to us is incredibly peaceful. Roy and I like to sit out there to have our quiet times and spend time journaling or reading. We have to sit out there before 10 or after 6 because it gets so hot here. My favorite thing is looking for butterflies. I know that sounds cheesey, but butterflies love to fly around back there. I love them! What I do NOT like are the BATS the also like to make their way to our patio around sunset each evening. One night we were on the patio and one flew right through our patio, and it scared me to death! Needless to say, we are more cautious about sitting out there in the evening. I took a few pictures of our patio. It was hard to get the whole space in the photo, but I hope you get the idea.

Lightning and Lizards

We are beginning to learn that a central Florida summer equals a thunderstorm or rain shower everyday. It WILL rain at some point during our day, we just never really know when. Thursday we had our first taste of Florida being known as the Lightning Capital of the World and believe me, we did not like it. We were heading down to College Park in Orlando (about a 30 minute drive) for our very first City Group meeting (like a small group for the church we go to). As we left our apartment we saw some incredibly dark clouds lingering just to the west of us. We drove through some heavy rain and terrible lightning! The crazy thing was, people we riding their bikes, waiting for the bus, and walking their dogs with lightning striking all around. I couldn't believe it! Roy was driving and I had my eyes closed and my ears covered. I DID NOT like the lightning and I'm learning that although people here are used to it, they aren't so fond of it either.


Another thing I'm having to get used to is LIZARDS. Normally, they really freak me out and here in Orlando, they are EVERYWHERE... no joke! I used to avoid them and be really scared of them, but when my friend Jenny told me they eat bugs like roaches (which I am deathly afraid of) I began to welcome them :) I'm still not the biggest fan of them, so I definitely won't post a photo.

Our Day at Disney World

Thursday, Roy and I woke up feeling awful. We both came down with a 24 hour stomach bug and spent the day taking care of each other. It was a miserable day! We woke up Friday feeling much better, which was great news because a friend of Roy's from high school took us to DISNEY WORLD for the day. We had such a great time!







I have been to Disney World so many times I am beginning to lose count. I can't get enough of it! It was great to take a day and relax and enjoy ourselves after a tough transition to Florida. I am anxiously awaiting getting a job and Roy will begin classes on Monday. We are SO ready to get into a routine. I think we'll feel more settled in once we have a daily routine. I am so ready to find a job and am beginning to feel extremely defeated. I feel like I have been holding my head up as long as I can, praying, trusting, hoping, but nothing has worked out yet. Please pray that I won't give up, that I won't allow Satan to control me. There is so much going on in my life right now that is completely overwhelming, and if you know me well you know that I don't handle stress well at all!! I'm terrible and it and I am incredibly impatient. I trust the Lord is bringing me through all of this to strengthen me, and but the means is incredibly taxing. I don't want to lose faith! He who has called us is faithful!