November Update!

Hi friends.

Those who know me can probably guess that I’m a classic over-thinker. I leave social interactions replaying every exchange in my mind, wondering if the other person was picking up on how awkward I felt or if I said anything offensive when the other person was probably be-bopping along in their world, oblivious to my incoherent thought-rambling. (Add second and third languages to the mix, and it’s a real trip up to the over-thinker summit!)

When I’m stressed or juggling a lot, I take overthinking to Olympic levels. Take these blog posts, for example. This is now the second promised-but-undelivered blog post from the past couple of months, and there is SO much to share that I’ve gone into full lock-up mode and have done everything except write these posts. (Included but not limited to procrastination cleaning, outlining a second full-length novel without thoroughly editing the first, TV, video games, Insta Reels, texting, hiding, traveling, and riding out full-blown panic attacks…)

That said, I woke up this morning and decided that writing what I just wrote would at least get the ball rolling, and here we are! 🙂

The BIG news we shared on Instagram and Facebook last month: We are moving back to the US on December 1st!  

There are a lot of factors that went into this decision, and we didn’t make it lightly. We committed to two years in Serbia, and leaving “early” never really crossed our minds as a serious consideration until early this fall. 

Two of the primary reasons are schooling and health. The girls never got settled into a good homeschool rhythm despite trying to find at least three different schooling avenues. With Annabelle approaching her 18th birthday, we must prioritize her high school graduation and finish these school years well. Of course, we don’t want our younger two to fall behind, and while they’re brilliant, missing a year-plus of school isn’t ideal, especially with Anorah now in middle school. 

Our plan right now is to allow Annabelle to re-enroll at Bennington (she can graduate there no matter where we live because of district rules), and we are still working out where the little two will go to school in January. If you think about it, pray for us as we coordinate this. Our dream is for Anorah and Vienna to attend LCS (Lifegate Christian School), but we need to determine whether or not that is feasible.

The other consideration is healthcare. I (Emily) have been dealing with heart and endocrine issues for a while, which has bled over into my mental health and the medications I’m on to manage C-PTSD and depression. It’s a lot, but on my quick trip back to Omaha in September, I met with my treatment team, and they decided that some adjustments need to be made in person and on a holistic level. Because of my extensive history, we thought it would be best to continue with my current caregivers and go from there. We are also seeing some concerning symptoms in Anorah and would like to have her evaluated to see what support she needs. (She’s doing MUCH better in general, though, so thank you for praying.)

While we know we are following the Lord’s leading and the counsel of our trusted leaders and friends, it’s still sad to say “see you soon” to Serbia. I don’t know what God has in mind for our family and this part of the world, but Serbia, the Balkans, and most importantly, our friends and Lifegate family here have left indelible marks on our lives. I know the threads woven in this chapter of our lives will continue to be seen in the days, months, and years ahead. We love Novi Sad – our second home – and we’ve learned SO much about this part of the world and God’s immeasurable love for the people of the Balkans.

Things to be praying about as we prepare for this transition:

1. Pray for the hearts of our girls. We’ve asked a lot of them to leave everything they knew and strike out on this God adventure with us, and now we’re asking them to trust us and the Lord once again. We all hold the bitter-sweet mix of emotions – great sadness and excitement all rolled into one. For adults, 18 months feels like nothing, but it’s a lifetime for kids. 
2. Pray for transitions to go smoothly and for housing and schooling to fall into place. And please pray for provision. We sold everything to come here, so we’re starting from scratch when we return. (We don’t even have dishes or towels anymore lol)
3. Pray for our friends/family here in the Balkans as you’ve been soooo faithfully praying all this time. How we connect to this part of the world may operate differently from America, but the connection will remain the same. Our friends have been so faithfully serving Jesus in obedience with extraordinary hearts. Pray that our faithful Father would meet every need – personally, emotionally, financially, and relationally – with abundance. 

We so look forward to seeing you all as we resettle in Omaha! Our first plan is to stay with Kurt’s parents in Papillion and go from there, so we’ll be at multiple campuses to begin. Thank you so, so much for your continued prayer and support. I’m sorry we haven’t always been faithful to express our gratitude meaningfully, but know that we would not be here without you.

At the advice of our leaders, we’ll leave our support account open for a few more months to help cover our transition to life back in America. I know our economies, both here and in Serbia, have experienced significant shifts over the last couple of years, so we know these financial gifts are often sacrifices of love. Know that we do everything we can to steward your trust faithfully. 

We love you, thank you, and bless you all! Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for more frequent updates, and I’ll not overthink these blog posts too much from here on out. 😉