Hi everyone,

It is a week before the wedding and we are so excited! We will be getting married August 20th and then heading to Jamaica for our honeymoon.  We will return from Jamaica on Friday, the 26th, and leave for California on Sunday.  God has provided so much for us as we try to work out the details of our move.  He has gone ahead and prepared the way and this is being proven with every passing day.

On July 21st – 24th we were able to take a visionary trip out to California. Our time was filled from beginning to end with God leading us. We arrived late Thursday night and stayed with our friend Sara in Arcadia, CA. What a blessing it was to stay in her family’s house, we felt right at home. Friday morning we proceeded to the student services building at Fuller and met up one the admissions counselors who has helped us along the way in the application process. She showed us around campus and we got to even see some possible apartments.  Her and her husband met on the field in China and came back to the states and got married. They moved out to Pasadena without even seeing the house and they are students at Fuller.  We met several couples with similar stories to ours and it was very comforting to know that they made it…and so can we.

Friday afternoon we went to Downtown LA and saw some of the local non-profits. What a different world.  Such a mission opportunity! We walked six blocks down to Hope Row and Skid Row and we did not hear English once.  We were able to get some job applications for Lauren as well as get the names of other organizations we should talk to.  We are excited about getting to know so many different cultures.  We felt like we weren’t in the U.S. anymore Toto.

Saturday was not any less busy. We met up with a friend of ours and his wife for lunch in the old Pueblo district of LA,which is the historical Latino district. We were able to walk through a street market and see a traditional Mexican dance. He is the pastor of a church in L.A. which plants hundreds of churches across the world and Jeff had met him while in Romania. We talked with Him about our future in Romania and how the Lord is calling us. After that we met with some new friends, a local missionary couple in L.A., who are currently involved inner city missions in Los Angeles County Area. Finally that night, we were able to head back to Sara’s home and just spent some time with her which was a blessing for us as well.

While in California we sent an email to the housing department about an apartment we were able to look at.  The day after we got back from California we received a call saying that apartment was already taken but they had a bungalow at the same price.  We knew immediately that God had blessed us. After taking some time to pray and filling out the paperwork we got the house! We are still looking for work but God has given us some affirmations that everything will work out.

We can’t wait to see you at the wedding! Thanks again for all of your support for us!

Jeff & Lauren