The Latest

Much has happened since our last update! As you might imagine, we have been very busy with all of the things that accompany selling a home, cars, possessions, etc and preparing to move to a new place for a new ministry! It has been exciting and exhausting; a time of rejoicing over where God is leading and a time of mourning the loss of the things we cherish about our current lifestyle (namely our ministry with teens and families at Garden Ridge and the close proximity to family and friends we hold dear).

We are blessed that we have a buyer for our house in Lewisville and we close on July 24th. After we sell, we will move in with a couple who has loved and mentored us in so many ways over the past 6.5 yrs! We can't begin to understand this kind of hospitality, but are beginning to understand that it truly is a gift. We also sold Susan's car last Saturday, which is making it possible for us to close on the sale of our house. Yes, you read that correctly... in this economy and because we had not "owned" our house long enough, we needed to come up with some cash for closing, but God provided just what we needed in the value of Susan's car, so we praise Him for His provision!

Next weekend we will hold our third and final garage sale to get rid of stuff that we do not want to store and that we can't take with us to Beijing. It is weird how much stuff you can accumulate without realizing what you've done. And watching it all go to new owners at our garage sales for pennies on the dollar has reminded me about not storing up treasures on earth where moth and rust can destroy and people can haul your stuff away at garage sales (my paraphrase, of course).

In other news, my brother, who has lived with us since February, has anew home and will be moving into an apartment with a friend from church this Friday! Thank you Lord for providing this for Neil and thanks to all of you who lifted this situation up in prayer. A recurring theme in our lives these past several months since we made the decision to return to Beijing has been that God provides!

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to preach and it was a bittersweet moment. It was special to share with our church family what the blessing of community has meant to us and countless others and to encourage them to keep raising the banner of Christian community. I was brought to tears at the conclusion of the sermon when one of our students, Jesse, led a prayer asking God to bless our family as we make this move. After the assembly time we enjoyed visiting with many who came to wish us well and to share words of encouragement. We are so thankful for Garden Ridge and we look forward to continuing or relationship with this family despite the distance between Texas and China.

Also, we now have our passports in hand with approved visas! This was one of the biggest tests of my faith since we decided to return, but God again, has provided! The next step in dealing with our visas will be to get them changed from tourist visas to student visas once we enroll in school to study Chinese.

The coming days will be filled with moving, storing a few things, continuing our quest to raise all of the support we will need for our first year (we are getting closer every day!), visiting family and friends, Nash's first birthday party on July 25th (I can't believe how fast his first year has gone!), finishing our summer youth ministry schedule, saying goodbyes, and wrapping up all sorts of odds and ends that make my head hurt if I try to think too hard about how to get them done.

Please continue to lift us up in prayer! We love you and appreciate your support and encouragement more than words or blogs could ever communicate! We pray God's richest blessings on you and your families as well! Keep in touch and comment from time to time so we'll know what is going on with you!

your fellow farmers,
John and Susan Cooper (and Nash too!)