We made it! We have been in Raleigh for a week & a half now. Raleigh is BEAUTIFUL! We love it here :) Everything is so green & lush, although ironically all the locals believe they are in a drought :) If they don't see rain every month they freak out! haha I think we have brought them some comfort by informing them that even in our rainy season, California looks nothing like North Carolina.
We are staying with a super cool guy who has kindly opened up his home (& A LOT of his food) to us. Todd just finished his first week of practice and is enjoying getting back into basketball shape. His team has a lot of great guys on it and we are quickly making new friends. His days are extremely full. He gets to the gym by 8:45am every morning and does not get home until about 4 or 5pm. His routine is the same every day. He starts with 2 hour practice, then the whole team goes into a bible study that is lead by the Athletes in Action coach. After this the whole team heads over to the YMCA for a weight workout. Around 3-4pm everyday the team joins with YMCA's after school program which I get to participate in :) I am glad this worked out so that Todd & I can dont have to spend the whole day apart. Plus, I really enjoy getting to play with kids everday. Because of Athlete in Actions participation with YMCA we get to workout for free. The facility here is really nice. Todd's games will start on October 14 and they will all be within 3 hours of Raleigh. Which will be nice because I should be able to go to them. He is looking forward to playing and also to get to use basketball as a tool to serve the Lord. We are very excited to see what the Lord has planned for him and his team.
I am also enjoying my time here. One of Todd's teammates is also married! It has been such a blessing to have someone to hangout with! We have been able to see Raleigh a bit :) She loves the Lord as well so it has been wonderful to get to share together. The coach's wife has also become a friend of ours and we have weekly "Girl" meetings! It is nice to be able to have that fellowship & I know the Lord is at work. I am also enjoying the scenery! The houses here are GORGEOUS! Everything has brick or stone, big doors and all the houses have tons of trees around them. We are staying in a subdivision, but you would never know because it feels like we are in the forest! Even fast food restaurants have great architecture!
We are missing home and all of you but truly are cherishing this time that the Lord has given us. We are growing everyday & learning so much. Even though we are still in the US the culture is very different here. The way people live their lives, & eat & go to church. We are doing our best to take it all in and learn whatever we can.
We want to put some pictures on here of the area............our camera was left in Minnesota but will be in the mail soon :) We hope everyone is doing well! Please comment back and let us know how you all are!! We love you & hope to hear from you soon!
"Give thanks to the Lord for He is good! HIS LOVE ENDURES FOREVER!!"
All our LOVE,
Todd & Tarin Brown
