Extended Family

Today we said goodbye to our extended family. No, not actual blood relatives, but our church family. We first went to Evergreen on their 1 year anniversary. The church didn't even have a building, but were meeting in a school. We had been searching for churches all over town and were pretty much weary and down to the last place on our list. When we first went to the service, we immediately fell in love with the pastor. The next test was visiting Sunday School. What were the chances we would actually like that too? As it turns out, we loved it. We found everyone at Evergreen to be so warm and welcoming. We immediately felt a part of a family. We have both been to churches all our lives, but this was the first time either of us felt so connected.

The next few years saw many changes. We added 2 more children to our physical family, many more members in our church family, spirtual growth for Daniel and me, baptisms and baby dedications, and the completion of a long awaited church building. Daniel and I were blessed with the opportunity to serve in the college ministry, and most recently in the newlywed class. We have loved our time at Evergreen. It is so hard to think about leaving because we know how special our church family is. It is scary to think about finding a new church home. I know God already has a place for us to serve and connect. That's one of the neat things about His family. We have extended family everywhere. We just need to find them!