It's
been a while since we have updated our blog, but it seems that as we
wind down with our time in Australia things have become quite busy.
A lot
has happened in the last couple weeks. Particularly dealing with what
will happen after we leave Australia. There was great interest in Ryan
with many clubs in all different countries. In this business you deal
with lots of little details and logistics and it seemed at several
points in the process we didn't know what to decide. We brought these
decisions in prayer daily, knowing that God would lead us to the right
place. And He did! We received a text about 1am from Ryan's agent giving
us strong advice to take a deal in England because another deal fell
through.
Faithfully
praying about it the next morning, we felt God gave us a peace about
deciding to go to England. After following through with the decision, we
could see the abundance of God's provision for our time in England. The
club will pay Ryan as a full-time basketball player for the Leicester
Riders, they would find me a part-time job with one of the sponsors, and
I would have the opportunity to play again with the Women's team.
After
not playing for over a year, my emotions were mixed feelings. It's a
game I have loved my whole life, but because I hadn't played in so long I
never expected to play seriously again. Let alone in another country.
Its like coming back after retirement. haha. All that to say, I couldn't
be more grateful for the opportunity to once again play the game that I
have been so passionate about my whole life. Although I am a bit
nervous and have a some training to do these next couple weeks I am
extremely excited to put on a jersey again!
Ryan's
basketball season for the Geraldton Buccaneers came to an end this past
weekend. The team made it to the semi-finals and played the Willeton
Tigers, who their 3 game series 2-1. The Buccs got off to a great start
in the series beating the Tigers by 30 at home, but then had to travel
to Willeton for the next two game and unfortunately couldn't get the win
they needed to advance to the grand final. They played really good in
the 3rd game of the series but the other team just shot incredibly
well. It was sad to see their season come to an end, but they had a
great season.
Our last
week in Australia has been filled with seeing lots of friends that we
will miss a lot once we leave. Friends from the team, work and church
graciously invited us into their home and I didn't have to cook dinner
once this week! Nice to get some home cooked meals!
We have
certainly learned a lot about dependence on God through this experience
and the grace he provides each day to help us through trying times
without family and friends from America. We are so grateful that the
Lord has given us this experience in Geraldton and we are excited to see
what He has for us in England.
We are
grateful for all the prayers of everyone throughout this experience, we
truely felt the support of our family and friends back home.
To our
Geraldton family... we have enjoyed our stay so much and we hope to
cross paths with many of you in the future. You have become a home away
from home for us and we will miss you all.
We
arrive in California in 2 days..August 23rd. We are excited to be home
for a little while and see many of you who follow this blog!
Here we come USA!
