Greetings All!
Christmas and New Year's have passed and January is nearly gone. Much has happened since then. I have gotten some tutoring on how to post pictures, because I have been greatly frustrated with trying to figure that out. So I'm trying out what I've learned.

Here are some pictures of our stocking decorating event. This was not one of the events we would have pegged as successful, but surprisingly, it was very popular. About ten people walked in right on time, when normally no one would have shown up until ten minutes after the starting time. We had fun and got to connect a few residents with each other.

One event, that we have now done twice, is the pancake breakfast on Saturday morning. We would like to do this one every month. Right now there are some areas we could work on, to make it even better and more attractive. With those improvements, it can be a great event for food, fun and meeting new people.
I was able to get four women talking together during our last breakfast. It was so much fun.

Since I last wrote, a lot of changes have occurred. Apartment Life is switching gears and refocusing their efforts. Starting in February, we will not be required to complete 70 hours of time for Apartment Life.
We will only be required to put on 3-5 events instead of 4-8.

The focus will be much more on visiting new residents and residents who might want to renew their leases in a few months. We are receiving some training for this new method and our apartment manager loves the new focus. She is excited to get it going.

Our relationship with our manager has become much more positive than when it began. We are communicating better with her and she with us. It is a much more enjoyable relationship now.

That is the latest news in a nutshell.
As far as "us" goes, a lot has happened there as well.
Steve's parents came to visit around the first week of
January. They left Georgia for four days just to spend time with us. We felt privileged to have them and it was exciting to show them our life together.

The day they arrived, I had begun a 24hr EEG. We have been trying to switch me over to a new medication for my seizures for a long time now. Part of the reason was just because it was time to switch, but the other reason is that we thought I'd been having partials seizures for the last two years. The new meds weren't fixing the problem, though, so I had an EEG to make sure I'm actually having seizure activity.

Wearing wires on one's head for 24 hours results in 9 washings before all the glue is out of the hair!

The test results came back yesterday. Whatever is happening to me, is not partial seizures. I still have epilipsy, because I have grand mal seizures, but these little episodes are not seizures, in fact they don't appear to be neurological at all. So, while that is confusing, we are still excited that I can stay on the new meds and come off the old stuff.

Another piece of exciting news is that we have begun the process of looking into mission agencies to see with whom we should serve overseas!

We had an interview with Africa Inland Mission (AIM) yesterday. We talked with the regional representative in a coffee shop for an hour and a half! We liked AIM before the interview, but now we like AIM a lot. We have not made any decisions, but we do know that, so far, we could happily serve with AIM if God sends us to them.

It is thrilling to be taking this step. I have waited over half my life for this moment to be real. And not only is it real now - but I have a partner to share this moment with and he wants it as badly as I do.

Please be praying for us:

As we begin the search for a mission agency

As we start this new focus with Apartment Life

As as we continue to switch me off my old meds

And as we figure out what these episodes are that I am having.

I'll be in touch soon!

In Him,

Steve & Rebekah