Passing the Torch

Lee is officially unemployed. His last day at North Metro Church has arrived.  What a paradox of emotions - We hate leaving but we are excited about going.
These finals days at NMC have been spent training and equipping his successor, John. Last night, we joined John and his wife for dinner. We thoroughly enjoyed the evening and feel incredibly blessed by God's provision for NMC. As we passed the torch, we encouraged them to remember that God's work is not always easy, but it's always worth what it costs. We know they will be a great addition to the North Metro Staff.
So, our "sabbatical" has begun. We will be taking the month of July to visit family, pack and hopefully rest. We leave for Florida tomorrow to visit the Collier (Angel's) family. We are looking forward to some fun in the sun.
I know the days will fly by. August 4th is coming quickly!

CTEN Orientation

Lee & I just returned from Missionary Orientation in Kerrville, TX. We spent the week at the head quarters of Commission to Every Nation (CTEN), which is our sending agency. We met about 20 other missionaries who will be dispersing throughout the world over the next few weeks. Places like Japan, Germany, Mexico, Asia and Guatemala will be impacted for the kingdom by our co-laborers. We enjoyed meeting the home team at CTEN. We feel more connected to the people that are praying and supporting our ministry from the home office.
We also had the opportunity to meet and build relationship with Felis & Pedro Patlan. They are the daughter and son-in-law of the Boggs, who started the Eagle's Nest ministry. Pedro and Felis will be joining the Eagle's Nest team in mid to late August. We look forward to serving alongside them. We are excited to see God growing the ministry team.
The weeks are flying by - it won't be long before we get on that plane with our one-way tickets. August 4th will be here before we know it!

The Beginning of Goodbyes

Today we had our last piano lesson with Ms. Thaila. Parker & Anna Kate have been playing with her for three years. She is an amazing, gifted teacher and musician. The thing I love most about her is that she cares about who my children are as much as she cares about teaching them piano. She has been a wonderful blessing in our lives and we will miss our weekly lessons.
This is the first in many goodbyes to come over the next few weeks. (I know it isn't goodbye forever, we will be coming home now and then, but it is goodbye to our life here in GA). As we begin to really leave our life here, it is a bittersweet experience. We are thrilled and excited about where we are going, but we are sad to leave our life in this place. I don't want life to continue here without us. I don't want to miss out on what is happening at our church and with all our friends. I don't want to miss the birth of our new niece/nephew. I feel as if I have come to the end of a really good book and I am not quite ready to say goodbye to the characters. I want there to be one more chapter - or a sequel.
Yet, I know that God is calling us onward. Moving on is not easy, but I want to be exactly where the Lord calls us to be. I want to follow him. He has a whole new book to write in our family story.  I want to finish this chapter well, savor each and every moment. When the we get to the last page, we will open the first chapter of the next book and see what God writes for the Radford family. Like I said - its a bittersweet time.

Spontaneous Baptism

On May 23rd I was humbled to be able baptize my mom. At 70 years old (shhhh, don't tell anyone I put her age on the Internet) she felt that it was time to get baptized and tell the world that she serves the risen savior Jesus Christ. Check out the incredible video from the service.

Lee

Spontaneous Immersion from North Metro Church on Vimeo.