Churchillian Update

Sorry I haven’t written in a long time, but ever since the beginning of July, it seems as if we’ve been going at it nonstop. Here’s what we’ve been up to…

First, Emily’s and my trip to M-Fuge went really well. At first, I wasn’t sure how I would do, working with little kids; but it actually turned out really well. I truly enjoyed playing with the kids, and I could tell they really enjoyed having people around who cared for them. I realized the kind of lives these inner-city kids live: for most of them don’t have a family that loves them, and some do not even have parents, but instead live with their grandparents. Most of them hang out at the church all day. But their rough lives were still made obvious: one little girl, probably not too much older than Linnea, was telling one of my friends everything she knew about drugs, all the different kinds, etc. It was very sad to see this, but also exciting to know that God was using us to work in these kids’ lives, showing them the love of Christ. Further, I also found that I became much closer with the youth group through this trip. I now feel as if I know all the kids in the youth group really well. Unfortunately, we must now leave them, for we are moving to Charlotte,

Second, the week after M-Fuge I went to a junior-senior retreat with my school at Fall Creek Falls. I enjoyed spending time with all my friends there, and I realized it was probably the last time I would see most of them before we moved. God had blessed me with such an amazing school, it’s hard to let go. But I know God has bigger and better plans for us Churchills in Charlotte, and I’m excited to see what they might be.

Third, the week after my junior-senior retreat, we went house-hunting in Charlotte… oh boy… looking for houses again. Let’s see, how many houses did we look at when we came to Nashville… just about every one. Still, to this day, every time wew pass by a neighborhood, my mom says, “Hey, we looked at a house in there!” So, going into this trip, I’m kinda hoping that won’t happen again. Well, it turns out we didn’t find a house that week, but recently, we just went on another trip to Charlotte. This time, we found one. For the first time, we’re going to have a house built, but I think we’re all going to really like it. It’s kind of in the country (to my mom’s liking) but still in a very nice subdivision (to my dad’s liking). Unfortunately, we won’t be able to move in for another six months or so, which means… yes, living in an apartment for six months or so. But, we’ve done it before, so I know we can do it again. (Let’s pray so, anyway).

Fourth, also on this same trip, we had an interview with Covenant Day School, the school we will be attending in two weeks. During this interview, we found that Emily and I still have to do summer reading… in a week and a half… and write papers on each book. OK. Deep breath. Now, I love reading, but having to read about one book every other day–while packing to move, mind–is a little bit stressful. Emily has to read three books, Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan; Christy, by Catherine Marshall; and The Light in the Forest, by Conrad Richter. I have to read four books: Till We Have Faces, by C. S. Lewis; Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley; The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde; and A Man for all Seasons, by Robert Bolt. Well, I guess I’ll be postponing Crime and Punishment for a while.

So, that’s the Churchill life for right now… out calendar for August is so marked up it’s barely legible. Hopefully everything will settle down once we’re in Charlotte. Please be praying for us during this somewhat crazy time, that our faith would not waver, that we would not falter.

TTYL! (I think that means talk to ya later)
–James

P.S. Happy birthday, Mom!!!