one month in

so i've lived in flowery branch for just over a month now. i'd say i'm pretty settled in with the exception of a few random things i have yet to hang or hide in a closet.

i've experienced a pretty significant culture shock. i'm reminded of the first time i visited my friend, josh goleman, in his hometown in oklahoma. i just remember wondering if there were any black people.

there weren't.

and so i'm faced with that strange fact again. only, this time, i'm living in a place that is culturally different from savannah. there is a mix up here of white and hispanic, but it's quite different from what i'm used to. the hispanic kids apparently don't learn the names of their teachers. they call me "miss" and that's it. it really bothers me, so i'm forcing them to add my name into the phrase. i've done my best to explain that it's a respect issue. i figure if i'm going to take the time to learn all of their names, they should be able to handle remembering mine.

my new school is quite different from windsor. i take that back. it's actually a lot like windsor, but not windsor in 2008. more like windsor in 1998. west hall is very much a family atmosphere, and it's such a blessing. i feel welcomed and instantly trusted by the adults in the building, and the kids are great. despite the green grass i'm enjoying at the moment, i can't help but miss windsor and my kids from the past five years. i know that as long as i live i will always love the time i spent in savannah.

i was reluctant to look for a church. finding a church has got to be one of the hardest things. i spent four years of college never really finding a church home. in the last few weeks i've attended mass, which was very interesting, a baptist church, and a christian church. i'm beyond blessed to say that after just one month, i believe i've found a home church. it's called browns bridge community church. it is a satellite location for north point community church up in alpharetta. andy stanley is the pastor. i've heard andy speak on two occassions and loved him. i checked out bbcc this past sunday and really like it. i hope to get involved shortly with a small group. i really need to find community up here - and soon. i struggle some with lonliness, but i know that will change with time as long as i pursue community.

i chose the title of the blog b/c a lot of things are changing for me, and i anticipate that they will continue to change over the next few years. i am learning to be away from home again, only completely on my own this time. i recently became an aunt, so that's new and exciting. i hope that a year from now i can say that i've been to africa. i'm hoping that God reveals himself to me in new ways. i need Him more now than ever. i trusted him enough to make this move. so now i'm trusting he will show me what's next. i just felt God say "go" so here i am. if you feel the urge to come visit, holla.

and i'm back

ok. so i used to blog on here. it's been a while. i miss it though, so i thought i'd return. i'm not quite ready to enter an actual blog, but for now, here is my old one if you'd like to get an idea of who/where i was two years ago...
www.laurasuereagan.blogspot.com