Friday, January 8, 2010

First Week in Atlanta

I am sitting at a Chick-fil-a taking advantage of their free WiFi and children's play area.... Our drive from Dallas to Atlanta last weekend was pretty uneventful. Weather was nice. We did get a flat tire on the way...normally a pain, but a bigger pain when your car is fully packed and you have to unpack it before reaching your tools. Other than that, kids did great. We arrived at our apartment on Jan 2nd and started getting settled in. It really didn't take long since we have only our clothes, toys, and some miscellaneous things.


Besides roaches, some trash, and other random things that have cropped up, our apartment is very spacious (2 br/2 ba) and we don't feel cramped. It helps that our furnishings are limited. Our complex is probably about 95% Hispanic and many do not speak very good English. Tim can do introductions, and I just started using Rosetta Stone to learn a few key things.


The first morning we were here, one of the buildings in our complex caught on fire. All the gas was turned off for the day and that evening the gas company came by each apartment to restart our furnaces. Several apartments in our group were not safe, and after a lot of prayer part of the group relocated to another complex.



Because of the move, classes did not start until Wednesday morning, but that gave us all some time to hang out, help each other move, and figure out how to get around the area. Atlanta is big!! I have lived in Dallas and Houston, but I feel completely lost in this city. Roads change names constantly, and there is traffic everywhere and all the time...and we are in a suburb!



Here are some things to be praying for:

-My mental health - I have had a hard time adjusting and making friends since I have the kids with me and am not part of the classes.

-We are trying to decide if it is a wise financial decision to put the boys in a mother's day out program at a local church twice a week so that I can join Tim in the classes or volunteer.

-Decisions in where we should invest our time. We visited the refugee "dumping grounds" this week - a city named Clarkston- where we have so many options for our time.

-Opportunities to meet all our neighbors and others we can build relationships with.

4 comments:

  1. My prayers are with you all! This is only the beginning of the amazing path God has laid before you! I can't wait to hear how He is going to use all of you in some mighty big ways!!!

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  2. What an adventure, Sarah! Thanks for the sharing the prayer requests. So nice to be able to pray for you guys so specifically. Know you are loved!!! We will say a special prayer for you to find a fantastic friend next Tuesday at GNO when we are missing you like crazy!

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  3. We are praying for you guys!! I completely understand what it feels like to move to a new city--although, we don't have children, I understand the mental side of breaking through the loneliness and unknown. Hopefully, that will all change soon. We are praying for you guys and we miss you!!! (But we are excited you are closer) :)

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  4. Just found your blog Sarah. Glad you have made it there safely. You are missed!!

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