Overdue Update - woohoo!!

Well this update has been intended for some time - and now, an attempt to capture the past three to six months without a long drawn out post.

We moved, again, just not as far. We still live in Colorado, yet in July we moved to a small condo closer to the foothills. This past January both Courtney and I sensed a Holy Invitation to look for a new place. We give thanks for the place we rented when we first moved back to Colorado, yet we felt led to look for other options. Through much prayer and patience, and a lot of education about the housing market, we found a small condo in Lakewood.

We love that we can make a smaller environmental footprint in this place that is new to us. A big thanks to Courtney’s mom (she’s moved more than a few times in her life), our realtor Dennis Jeffery, and our ‘mortgage man’ Chad Drachenberg for shepherding us through all the steps necessary to make this move happen. We’re thankful for the sense of ‘place’ our family has for this next season.

This move means another new school for the kiddos - and their new ones are awesome. Ceara and Caleb started running cross country this Fall with their middle school, and they have done awesome. Each of them also earned “Student of the Month” recognitions. Caden enjoys kindergarten. His great Pre-K experience last year (Thanks, Ms. Mary!) has set him up well. His favorite thing so far? Riding the Bus! He enjoys being a ‘big kid,’ yet not as big as the kids at the back of the bus.

All three are amazing humans that shine light around them!!

Courtney and I remain in the roles of Missionary Advocates for the Western Jurisdiction. We have had increased opportunities to preach in and work with local congregations as it relates to God’s work around the world through United Methodist missionaries.

As always, we would welcome your prayers (and if you're praying, send us an email so we know!) and you can support us (and all UM missionaries) by giving here.

We still have one year (June 2023) left on our current assignment contract, and we are actively discerning future steps to continue to serve the Church around the world.

Besides moving, we also drove about 8,500 miles and covered about 34 states this summer while visiting friends, family, and supporting congregations. The kids swam in the Pacific Ocean in Southern California and in the Atlantic Ocean in Maine within a two-week time span. Amazing.

A supporting congregation in Southern California also treated out family to an experience at Disney Land - something we could never have done on our own. Thanks especially to Howard, Kathi and Kristi for making that happen.

I realize that to name all the wonderful people sharing their homes and wonderful food with us along the way would make this an extremely long post - but WOW - your kindness, hospitality, love and care sustained us and strengthened us for these next months - thank you!!

Encountering the grandeur of beauty on this continent reinvigorated us to care for creation, as it reminded us that we belong to something greater than our own time and place.

Having the opportunity to tell our family’s journey of the past two years repeatedly helped to reignite a passion for mission, as we recounted story after story of God’s faithfulness amidst redirections and shifting plans. And telling these stories to friends and family reminded us that we are loved, we are connected, we are not alone, and we have purpose in our lives.

We give thanks for the renewing of old connections, creation of new friendships, and the gallons of ice cream along the way.

We hope to keep more updates coming.

As always, feel free to contact us by email or text :)

PEACE - the Radiant Randalls