Won't You Be My Neighbor?

This weekend we got to spend some time with a couple that will be foster parents and our neighbors starting this June. It was amazing how much we had in common. They even grew up in a church with Brethren roots. They were passionate about serving the kids here. They had a lot of great ideas for our foster community, some of which Jen and I have been thinking and praying about for a while. We are excited to have them here. I brought them around to meet a couple of the other foster parents. We went from house to house and heard a lot of stories and advice. I remember the first time that Jen made the same trek a couple of months ago. It was pretty overwhelming. But it seemed like the new couple enjoyed it. I did too. I had heard some of what was said but there was a lot that I hadn't heard. Even after the many days that I have been working here (less than a month) apparently I still have a thing or two to learn.
One thing I heard about was that we live right near where "Last of the Mohicans" was filmed. The fort scenes were filmed on Lake James just a few minutes from our campus. Some later scenes were filmed on Table Rock nearby.
We also went with our two foster kids and the new couple to one of the local state parks. It was a much longer drive than had been expected so we didn't get to actually hike as much as we would have liked but it was still beautiful. We got to see one of the lower falls and the water was freezing into these amazing icicles. Since there was freezing you can probably guess that it was a very cold hike. The younger of our foster kids had a red little nose and rosy cheeks and it was one of the most adorable things I have ever seen. I look forward to going back when we get our dog and hiking those trails some more. It was an amazing weekend. We feel very blessed to be here. It is a great community with many unique and caring people, soon to blessed by two more in June. We look forward to seeing what God has for us next.