Autumn is raining down around me in London, and we have finally set a (semi-solid) date for moving to York: 11 October.
Now that it is only two and a half weeks away, everything seems very real, and I have begun packing and trying to stop myself from getting rid of all of my clothing (a bad tendency that I have whilst packing, only to find myself without anything to wear come next spring).
Everything is in progress right now, and if everything goes according to plan, the girls will receive their visas back (they have sent everything in and are just awaiting the passports with the visas to be returned to them) and join me in York in October.
I went up to York earlier this week to look at houses, and we are in the process of putting an offer on one - it is quite complicated to do, since I do not make enough money (as you all know) to be accepted as a renter, and agencies are often nervous about accepting charities as guarantors.
There are also the different elements of a cross-country move during a pandemic: our restrictions seem to change daily as infections “spike” here (I put spike in quotations because they are testing much more widely, so it is suspected that we aren’t having a spike so much as uncovering more of the infections that already existed), so we are all praying not to have to go into another national lockdown. Local areas have been put back into lockdown, as well, so we are also praying that York and London don’t go into lockdown in the intervening time. Not to mention that we have been restricted to only meeting up in groups of six, all hospitality businesses shut at 10 pm, and we have to wear masks, but we are still encouraged to go to work and school. And we have been warned that more strict restrictions could be introduced at any time!
As you may have guessed, it certainly isn’t comfortable to live in all of these “what-if”s. Nothing seems solid, and even putting a date to moving makes me nervous, because everything is changing so quickly. And through it all, God is asking me if I trust Him. He is telling me that I don’t need to have solid answers or even definite plans, because He knows how this is all going to go and He is preparing the way. This goes against all of my logic, but I want to do this God’s way, so. Here we go.
Raya, my co-leader, and I are also raising money for the furniture that we will need for our new house. Houses in York don’t seem to come with fridges, washer/dryers, or anything like that, not to mention furniture. We are starting from scratch, and that’s both exciting and expensive. If you’d like to contribute to our furniture search, you can do so through the usual channels, or you can Paypal me personally using deborahestevenson@gmail.com.
I also wanted to introduce you to the girls that I will be living with in York, so that you can put faces to the names.
First up is Raya. She is the co-leader of YWAM York, and she is from Oregon. She loves to write, and she creates crazy games for us to play all together. She tells stories and has an infectious laugh.
Next is Yvonne. Yvonne is from Alabama, and she is a dancer. She is one of the best bakers that I know, and she is super intentional in her relationships with people.
Then we have Renee. Renee is from Massachusetts, and she is also a dancer. She asks deep questions and always seems to remember to look out for others.
And finally, we have Dave and Nicole. They have been a part of YWAM York for ages (they did their DTSs there before I was in YWAM), and they will be staying on to be a part of our team! They live in a beautiful little house across the city with their two small daughters, Savannah and Kiara.
