Hey everyone!

As we have been discussing our upcoming move, we realized that there are still lots of people that are not aware of the adventure upon which we are about to embark. So, in discussing how best to keep our friends and family updated, we thought of putting together a family blog! Hopefully, we are able to utilize this to stay better connected to our friends in WA, as well as creating a fun timeline for our family.

All that to say, we are moving to Oklahoma!

This is a decision that we did not make lightly, but has been reached after much prayer and consideration. Since the beginning of our marriage, we have felt like the Lord could be calling us to make a big move, but we weren’t sure initially to where. When Daniel first suggested Oklahoma to me, I was completely against the idea. I told him (to put it briefly) that I didn’t want to and wasn’t open to the idea. Daniel realized that if that was something that was going to happen, it would have to be because the Lord changed my heart about it. So, he prayed that if that is where the Lord was calling us, He would change whatever was necessary in my heart. A short time later (and for no apparent reason) I started to consider the possibility of moving to OK, and the idea sounded appealing. When I told Daniel that I was starting to consider it, he was both shocked at my change of heart as well as encouraged, and started to wonder if that could be where the Lord was leading us.

As Jenny just said, I (Daniel) realized that both Jenny and I would need to be on the same page, whatever we did. So, I started to pray for God to do one of two things: remove this desire from my heart or change Jenny’s heart. Basically, I prayed for unity and peace; that God would change our hearts to His will, whatever that was. I was fully aware that my desire to move there could simply be a version of homesickness since I grew up there and was living away from any of my family and friends from childhood. I didn’t want to lead our family somewhere simply because I was feeling a little homesick in the moment. As Jenny said above, her change of heart was both shocking and encouraging.

We began praying off and on for a couple of months and then, in June, felt that we needed to really dedicate some time to pray about this. So, we prayed fervently and frequently that, if this was something God wanted us to do, that He would clearly confirm it. Within the first couple of weeks of June, we found out we were expecting a baby. This was a clear confirmation for us because we had, from the beginning, said that we didn’t want to raise our family in Olympia for several reasons. One, the cultural environment is not what we think would be conducive to raising our family the way in which we believe God is calling us to do so. Two, the cost of living in Olympia is incredibly high in comparison to almost anywhere in the US, but especially in comparison to Oklahoma City. For these reasons, if we were to stay in Washington, we would be moving either south of Olympia or to eastern Washington, both of which still have higher costs of living than Oklahoma City.

Let me (Daniel) unpack the reasons a little bit. I am fully aware that these reasons are not good, sole reasons for making a move and are purely personal. In saying that we don’t feel comfortable raising our family in an environment like Olympia, I am not at all saying that it’s not possible. However, I would need a specific call to this area in order to choose to establish my family’s roots here. Jenny nor I sense that call to Olympia at this time. I praise God for the people we have met here who do have that calling on their lives and I am thankful for them. However, Jenny and I must follow God’s calling for our lives. We have always felt it was possible, even likely, that we’d move away from Washington, so this was no surprise to us. Having grown up in Oklahoma City, I felt comfortable going back there, which made me cautious of making a decision quickly. However, it also gives me some confidence that I can relate to people there more effectively than I might be able to here. While I know God sometimes calls us somewhere we have no personal hope of relating to the people, I believe that God can also use our past connections to build bridges. In looking at my own personal experiences this past couple of years, it seems God has been preparing me for a return to OKC to minister there; I just needed to go through some training first. As far as the cost of living, I believe God will provide wherever we are. If we stayed in Olympia, He would provide and has provided abundantly this past year and few months. But I am also going to make a wise decision practically within the bounds of God’s calling. Mine will be the sole income for our family once we have the baby and it is more realistic for me to be able to provide somewhere the cost of living is lower.

Once we decided this is what we would do, we knew that we wanted to move before the baby was born rather than try to move with a newborn.

So, with all of that being said, we have packed up our belongings and are currently staying with my (Jenny’s) parents until we drive out on January 2nd.

While we are excited and looking forward to beginning this new chapter, we are also feeling the expected stress of not having all of the details worked out yet in OK. For example, while we have leads on housing and jobs, nothing is definite at this point, which could be a big source of anxiety if we allowed it to be. However, we are trusting that the Lord will open doors in His timing and know that He can work all of those things out quickly and easily. We have been praying that He will go before us and prepare the way, and we rest easy knowing how faithful He has been to provide for us already.

We will continue to post updates as we take steps on this journey! (Hopefully, most won’t be this lengthy!)

Thanks for reading!

-Daniel, Jenny, and Baby Adams