04/18/2021
April ‘21 Newsletter (TL,DR: We’ve officially moved to Kentucky and are getting settled in.)
Moved In!
The last six weeks have been a whirlwind of boxes and paperwork, so I thank you for your patience with the delay of this update, but boy, is it a good one! The first couple weeks of March were fairly normal; Nate finished his time at Schrier Plastics, I scheduled the termination or transition of most of our bills, and we prepared for our visit to Camp. Our trip down in mid-March was very helpful and was a good pause before the craziness of moving began. We stayed in “our” house on Camp, which gave us, Caleb, and the dogs a bit of familiarity when we moved in (a small, but very helpful thing). We also toured the house that we are considering buying, and though it would need a few minor updates, it is move-in ready, and we are all the more excited about a potential future there. We have decided to not try to purchase and move in before Summer Camp, and will wait until this fall to move forward in the pursuit of purchasing, should that be where God continues to lead us.
Our move was surprisingly smooth considering how quickly it happened; we owe many thanks to the family and friends who helped make it possible. Since our arrival here at Camp Nathanael, we’ve been settling things inside the house and working on making the address change official. We already got our new driver’s licenses; it took us a total of fifteen minutes and we left with the actual ID cards in-hand! SO much better than the Michigan Secretary of State! We also go our own PO Box here in Emmalena, and we’ll be getting updated prayer cards to you with our next update, which will be the first week of June (rather than the first week of May). After that we’ll return to our regularly scheduled program of updates at the beginning of every month.
Petting Zoo Updates
Eight out of nine of our rabbits have already moved to Camp Nathanael! We have started building outdoor hutches for them, which will give them more space and save time in cleaning up after them.
Twelve chicks have recently joined the Petting Zoo. Nate’s mom got us six Buff Orpingtons, which are about 3 weeks old now, and I just got six Sapphire Gems, which are less than a week old! These ladies will not only be great additions to the Petting Zoo, they’ll also be great egg layers when they grow up!
We still have some work to do before our goats, mini-horse, and mini-donkey can move down. The PZ building is not quite finished yet, and some new fencing needs to be put up, but those will be getting done soon.
Also Pray For
We recently bought a horse trailer, which makes moving animals MUCH easier. However, it has highlighted the upcoming need for a larger truck. My truck’s backseat seems to get smaller every day (or maybe Caleb is getting bigger?) and while it can and does pull the trailer, it doesn’t do so easily or economically. We’re not in a terrible hurry to take on a car payment, but we’ll need to upgrade at some point. Pray for both patience and wisdom on our behalf.
My uncle, Karl, who is struggling with depression, and for wisdom on our part to know how to support him in this season.
Our next six weeks will be spent gearing up for Summer Camp, and getting oriented to living and working here with SMMM. Pray for rest, focus, and clarity for us, and let us know how we can be praying for you!
Love in Christ,
Haley Block
