Lisa and I arrived here in Cambridge Ohio in early May of 2014 for a thirteen week assignment at Southeastern Regional Medical Center.  Today we learned that she has been extended until the first week of May 2015.  We never imagined that we would be spending an entire year here.  By rule of law, Lisa is not allowed to work in one state for a full year as it makes it appear she is a full-time resident.  Because of that – she is required to not work in the state of Ohio for thirty days upon her work anniversary date.  So – we are going to endure the winter here in Ohio and, God willing, take a month (or more) to vacation and be at home starting in May.  Now all we have to do is survive the southeast Ohio winter.  And that may not be easy.

In fact nothing is easy living in an RV in cold weather.  Our new camper has performed like a champ so far and we have no reason to think that it won’t continue to perform as it should for many years to come.  We stay warm and dry and have all the comforts of home.  Surviving winters in an RV requires daily attention to water, propane, electricity and every crack, seal and seam.  It is forecast to be in the single digits this week and snow is also on the way.  Here we go – let’s see what this Forest River will do.  We still have to practically pinch ourselves every time we step inside – not believing this is ours and not believing we survived for two plus years in the little camper we had before.  God has been good.

So it is another four months here in Ohio.  There are more romantic and interesting places out there for us to travel to and Lisa and I discussed the possibility of turning down another extension.  But, we are just six hours from home and we have made friends here that we are not quite ready to say good-bye to yet.  Also, I have decided to complete something I started over twenty years ago – my Masters degree at Louisville’s Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.  Knowing that we will be here through my first semester of on-line classes is something that Lisa and I have been praying about for some time.  I am a little nervous about the thought of going back to school at the age of fifty-five, but it is something that I have felt was an unaccomplished part of my life ever since I completed my first twelve hours of classes back in 1991.  When I learned that all my past credit hours can be applied to my degree and that I can complete a Masters of Arts in Theology on-line, I decided to go for it.  And who knows?  Maybe I will preach someday.  I just can’t imagine who would want to listen.  Boy, God has a sense of humor.

Brothers and Sisters!  Love Steve and Lisa.