Church Home...I think....

We've been attending one of the local churches here in Longview since our first Sunday in town. When we came we fully intended to church shop a bit. Unlike Guadalajara, which is not flush in English-speaking churches (for some reason!), Longview is part of the Bible belt, so there are churches galore. Thankfully there are a lot of solid ones, but we knew that might make finding the right one more difficult. In Guadalajara we went to the first one recommended and we were thrilled with it. It was definitely a gift from God. The teaching we received and the folks we met were incredible.

So on our first Sunday in Longview we decided to try Fellowship Bible Church per the recommendation of our friends the Huegels from Guadalajara. Joel Huegel teaches at Tec de Monterrey where Kraig taught, and our families attended the same church in Guad. Joel and Liz's kids and ours went together like salsa and chips last year, and we grown-ups thoroughly enjoyed each other, too. Joel is a LeTourneau grad and FBC is their home church when they visit Longview. Visiting "their" church that first Sunday made them seem a little closer.

The first week the church had a special event which changed up their regular schedule, so only Jon had Sunday School. The second week was Labor Day weekend; Kraig's brother and family were visiting and it made sense to go to a church with which we were somewhat familiar. Jon had liked his class a lot and the girls were begging to get a chance to try their classes.

And Kraig and I? We certainly felt at home. The church reminded us in many ways of our home church in Michigan. The teaching was solid, the people friendly. We liked what we discovered about the church's history and programs. We also found out that a number of families lived right near us, and though unfortunately they didn't have kids near our kids' ages, it was nice to know people were near. By the third Sunday Kraig said, "You know, we can just take the plunge and commit to FBC. We don't have to look around." And with a sigh of relief I agreed. Perhaps there is another church in  the area with deeper teaching or better music or...there's always a list.... But there is a lot to be said for settling in and investing our lives in a new community.

A tidbit from Kraig and my "Lifegroup" (aka grown-up Sunday School)