All the way across Spain (in the footsteps of pilgrims)

 Go, labor on: spend, and be spent,

Thy joy to do the Father's will;

It is the way the Master went;

Should not the servant tread it still?

I was encouraged as we sang this old hymn on Sunday. The author, Horatius Bonar, knew something of laboring as he "came from a long line of ministers who served a total of 364 years in the Church of Scotland." He also knew something of suffering as he and his wife had five young children die in succession (info from Wikipedia).

It has been a while since I have posted an update. It has been a season of some struggle as the seminary and RV lifestyle is wearing us a bit. But, we are nearing the end of this portion of the journey!

Ed is working on coursework for Medieval Church History. Since our last update, he has also taken Liturgics, Old Testament Historical Books, and Old Testament Theology. In mid-July, he will begin his written ordination exam. He will have 30 days to complete the written portion and then he will be given an oral examination. He is scheduled to be ordained as a transitional deacon on September 18th, 2021. We will stay here in Dallas where he will serve as a deacon at Chapel of the Cross while he completes his coursework. He has 5 classes left to complete his M.Div. degree! Next spring, we plan to move to Tinley Park, IL where Ed will serve as a deacon at St. Andrew's Reformed Episcopal Church.

Esther successfully completed first grade. She named our homeschool The Butterfly Academy. She is growing by leaps and bounds! She just finished a week of Vacation Church Camp, and enjoyed the time immensely.

I am thankful for the summer break. I am taking a bit of time to read, and also planning for next school year. We are all looking forward to taking a trip to WI and MI in August. It is going on 3 years since we moved and we look forward to reconnecting with friends and family! 

We will labor on, resting in Jesus Christ as our hope. We trust him to use us as he sees fit to further his kingdom. The waiting right now is difficult but it is for a purpose, and it is temporary! 

Jacob Willemsz de Wet - The Yorck Project (2002) 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei (DVD-ROM), distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH. ISBN: 3936122202. Public domain