To say we are a little frustrated at this point would be like saying Abraham Lincoln was a little significant in the course of American history. Speaking of Abraham Lincoln, isn't he one of the presidents on Mt. Rushmore? So I guess you could say this frustration experience would rank high up there on the Mt. Rushmore catagory for frustration in our lives.

In case you are wondering what we are talking about. Oh just a little thing like finding a place to live. The refrigerator box is looking more and more like a real possibility. Just kidding for those of you that aren't familiar with my sense of humor. As it is right now, we put money down on a house last week and have been waiting for our reference check to go through. I (Marc) called yesterday to check on the progress and was told there is a snag because all of our income comes from the USA and therefore cannot be validated. This is a bit strange since we told them at the beginning that we are here on missionary visas and therefore by law, cannot earn income in the UK.

We made it very clear to them how we recieve our income and that they could have this verified through the Impact World Tour main office in Kansas City, Mo. We would later find out that they never even contacted the office. So, basically at this point our only options are to pay 7 1/2 months rent up front (which we can't do) or to have someone from the UK co-sign on the lease for us. Since we don't know anyone very well here, this is a little difficult. So at this point we've contacted the ywam national office and they are seeing what they can do. We will keep you up on the latest developments as they come in.

This whole thing though does put things in perspective. We do have a roof over our head, we do have plenty of food to eat, we do have warm beds to sleep in, we do have each other, we do do have the peace that transcends all understanding in Christ and we don't have to worry about someone killing us because of our faith in Christ. Many people around the world have none of that.

Over the weekend we visited a castle in the town of Doune. While we were there we were able to see the living quarters of kings and queens of Scotland during the early renaisance period. We came to realize that the average American or westerner for that matter, has a higher standard of living than Kings and Queens of not that long ago. So, this should serve as a reminder to all of us of what we do have, and none is more important than our relationship with Jesus Christ. Praise God! He will be glorified somehow through this whole thing.

This brings me back to Abraham Lincoln. Many of you I'm sure are familiar with his struggles early on in his poiltical career. He failed time after time in running for office only to get up every time to try again. Over the years he worked his way up to become one of the greatest, if not the greatest president in the history of our great country. What kept him going? Not his own might or power, but God's spirit. God had given him an eternal perspective which puts everything else in it's proper perspective.

Well I know that this started out as a bit of a rant, but I thought I would share what was happening with you all since some of you seemed a little confused by the whole thing. As Rick Warren so aptly put it in his book The Purpose Driven Life, " life is a test, a trust and a temporary assignment. That has been ringing in my ears all throughout the day. If you have the book, read chapter 5 and you'll know what I'm talking about. If you don't have it, get it and read it! We'll see how this test turns out.

God bless you all!

More later