What? I didn't know you guys were moving...

Yeah, well, a few weeks ago, we didn't know we were moving either. Don't worry, I sometimes feel just as out of the loop as anyone else. I'll attempt to bring you all INTO the loop with this little list of...

FAQ's

Where are you moving to?
Kenosha, Wisconsin

Where the heck is that?
It's about 45 minutes south of Milwaukee, WI and 1 hour north of Chicago, IL.

Why would you move there?
We're moving to help our good friend and my former boss, Pastor Dave Nelson, and his family launch a new church, GreatLakes Church. We're excited to spread the love and community of Jesus Christ, as well as the life change that we found for ourselves at EastLake to a new part of the country.

Did you know it gets really really cold and they have mosquitos the size of Smart Cars?
Woah! Didn't know that about the mosquitos...And, if you know Tony and I, you know we barely know how to dress for winters in Seattle, so we're still wrapping our minds around how cold it's going to be. Hmm...am I talking myself out of this?...
Nah!

How did you decide to pick up and move?
It's funny you ask. Pastor Dave shared his desire to go back to his home town and start a church with us back in January of this year. Tony and I were very excited and committed to pray for him and support him any way we could. The day after Dave shared, I asked Tony (in my most hypothetical voice) "Honey, would you ever consider moving to Wisconsin to help? Could we just pray about it?" Along with giving me the crazy eye, he basically said, "Uh...yeah, we can pray about it. But, God would have to drop a billboard on my Bronco that said 'Move to Kenosha' before I could believe that's what I'm supposed to do."
Dave poked at Tony and I about it over the next several months "So, thinkin' about moving to Kenosha?" To which Tony would reply, "Nope. We're not. And, by the way, stop talking to my wife about it, Thanks!" You might think from his responses, as I did, that we would not be moving to Wisconsin, which was no big deal to me.

Um...You just told me how you decided you WEREN'T moving...I'm confused...
Right, right. Ok, I'll get to it.
After months of hearing Tony say "no" every way under the sun, Dave got serious and asked Tony, seriously. Tony called me to let me know that Dave and Rindy wanted to meet up with us just to talk about it. I "knew" what Tony's answer would be, but I asked him if he would just pray about it and have an open mind. He and I then decided to go on a drive and just talk about it. He asked me first how I was feeling about the idea, and I told him I was excited for Dave, but that I couldn't really even attach myself to the idea since I knew we weren't going. Then I asked him how he was feeling. He said he was excited about the potential to start something new and to see a community touched by God in a new way.

***SCREACHING BRAKE NOISES***

"Excuse me, what? I can't believe you're even entertaining this idea!"
So, over the next 4 days (Tuesday to Friday), Tony and I talked and talked, met with Dave and Rindy to hear their vision and ask some questions. Then we talked and talked, and prayed and prayed, and talked and talked. We talked about what God had given us, and how this could be a way to give back. We talked about how we love our life here in Kirkland, and how this is not a good idea. We talked about how fun it might be to move to a strange place (sorry, Kenosha) together. We prayed and prayed, separately and together, asking our Father if this is what he wanted us to do.
We never got any solid answers to any of our big questions. After meeting for dinner with Dave and Rindy a second time, we got in the car to leave, I leaned over and asked Tony "So, what are you thinking."
Very simply, he said, "I'm kinda thinking 'yes'. What are you thinking?"
I shrugged and said, "I guess I'm thinking 'yes', too."
"Hmm...weird. Should we just drive over to Dave's and tell him?"
"Sure"
And then we prayed and asked God again for any red flags and any direction. Nothin'. So, we pulled into Dave's driveway, just as he and Rindy were getting out of their van. Tony jumped out of the car and said to Dave "We'll do it... we'll go with you."
THAT is how we decided.

That's insane! What about your jobs?
Uh...yeah. Did I mention that my new boss, for the new awesome job I just started, is a member at EastLake? Here's a good one. What if, Tony and I decided late on Friday night, and despite my attempts at calling, emailing, and FaceBooking, I could not get a hold of my boss to let him know? Then, what if my boss came to the 1st service at church on Sunday, and Pastor Dave gave a whole message on FEAR, and sprinkled in an announcement that Tony and Michelle Peterson were leaving to help him launch a church? Wouldn't that be a crazy way to give notice!?!?
Mmm Hmm, that's exactly what happened. It's even better if you hear Rob McKenna's side of the story.
None the less, my new/old boss has been gracious and excited for us, so that's been a relief.
Tony's bosses, Ryan Meeks and Matt Woll, were understandably stunned, but have also been very generous, gracious, and supportive. It's nice to leave the places we love on such good terms.

When do you leave? Are you flying?
We are planning on leaving September 29th.We'll be driving our Subaru Outback "Lupita" across the country. Here's a rough draft of our plan,... grab yourself a big map...

1st Stop: Spokane, WA
We'd like to have dinner with Tony's parents and brother there and spend the night.
2nd Stop: Yellowstone National Park
We've never been, so we'll be camping there one or two nights.
3rd Stop: Fort Collins/Denver, CO
We've never been there either. We have some good friends, Grant and Natalie Winnett, who live there. We'll stay a couple of nights with them and then hit the road again.
4th Stop: Kansas City, KS
Guess what! We've never been there.
5th Stop: St. Louis, MO
We hear they have great BBQ
6th Stop: DESTINATION: Chicago, IL/Kenosha, WI

What will you do when you get there?
That will have to be another blog entry...

If you have questions, please let us know. We will do our best to keep up and keep in touch :)