Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, Sovereign LORD, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever.”

2 Samuel 7:29

Rebekah and I have successfully landed in Tarboro. It will be a couple of days before our Internet is up and running, so these blog posts will be short on pictures and be written via phone only.

We cruised in and unloaded mid-afternoon Monday, and our welcome thus far has been exceptionally warm and generous. I can’t say enough about how good the genuine hospitality makes us feel.

I plan to document everything, especially as I find my way around the church and the town, but for now I will just share a few photos from “goodbye” in Elmwood Court and “hello” to East Saint James Street.

This house is beautiful. We immediately felt at home here and love the 1940’s vibe.

Max has loved every minute. He greets every visitor like a long-lost friend, has already been adopted by everyone who works at the church, and seems to feel comfortably at home in the house.

This week will be full with settling in details, from getting utilities lined up to running back to Wake Forest for things we need to finding our way around and meeting scores of new people.

But so far, just a few hours in, I can say with a lot of confidence that I am really glad we’re here.

Peace and more peace – Derek