Merry Christmas!

We hope that this finds you and your family at the end of another blessed year. This year has marked many transitions in our life. We have been blessed by the incredible support of family and friends as we have transitioned from Pella, IA to Chicago, IL this fall. We are continually learning, growing and transitioning. We have grown, been stretched, struggled, rejoiced, and have been busying building new friendships and connections.

This Spring Matt finished his fifth and final year working at Central College Campus Ministries and Jenny finished her second and final year teaching Chemistry at Knoxville Community High School. This summer we had the opportunity to travel to Minnesota for a week long vacation with friends from Northwestern which was incredibly renewing, relaxing and a great deal of fun. The summer was also marked by a once in a life time opportunity to go on an Alaskan cruise with Jenny’s parents and brother and sister-in-law to celebrate Steve and Laurie’s 30th wedding anniversary. We will cherish the memories we made that week whale watching, on a train ride, zip lining through the temperate rain forest and just spending time together as a family.

After a summer of vacation with family and friends we moved to Chicago, IL at the beginning of August. We were blessed with a beautiful two days and the help of family and friends to make our move smooth and successful. We are now living in student housing at McCormick Theological Seminary, where Matt is working towards his masters of divinity. We are blessed with a great place to live in a great neighborhood, Hyde Park, and great neighbors to share meals and life with. Jenny has been blessed with a teaching position that she has been dreaming about since her days as a student at Central College. She is teaching chemistry at Benito Juarez High School which is a Chicago Public School in the Pilsen neighborhood. Jenny’s first five months have been exciting, fun, challenging and a great fit. We are excited to see what the rest of the school year will bring.

Matt also has enjoyed his studies at the seminary with its challenges and blessings. As long as He gets a good report he will be finished with Greek and ready to move on to new areas of study during the second semester. We are enjoying our new location where we have found a new place of worship at New Life in Pilsen. God has brought us to Chicago where we are being challenged and blessed. We are excited to see how God will bless us in the coming year! Our prayer is that God would bless you and your families in the coming year that you may be blessed with challenges and opportunities to grow! We also join together in praying for the Messiah’s speedy return and may we be ready!

Love,
Matt and Jenny