The LePages

After 14 years in Texas, we loaded everything up and moved to Kansas. Thankfully, Coppell Bible Fellowship didn’t want us to leave. But, Shaun has been preparing to become a senior pastor and God finally opened the door for that to happen. He is now the pastor of Community Bible Church (CBC) in Lawrence, Kansas. It was very, very difficult and painful to leave our beloved, sweet, precious (sorry, none of these words seem to communicate the idea enough), dear, brothers and sisters in Christ in Coppell, Texas. Saying goodbye to our Texas family was one of the top five most difficult things we’ve ever had to do. We still miss them more than we can say and pray for them almost every day. But God provides. We are already very attached to our new church family and everyday become more convinced that God has led us here to serve in this place at this time. Some very sweet people–now good friends–let us stay in a 100-year-old farm house for more than five months while we looked for a more permanent abode. It was a wonderful family adventure for which we are very thankful. The house is on 65 acres of farmland and it was a wonderful introduction to the more laid-back atmosphere of Kansas. In March, we loaded up the truck and moved to Beverly . . . I mean, into Lawrence. We purchased a home in town and are settling in. We miss the farm, but we are also enjoying being much closer to the church and grocery stores and Wal-Mart. The farm was about 20 miles from civilization. We have a big backyard in a quiet, older neighborhood. The house suits us very well and we are enjoying the extra space. We’re glad to be much closer to grandparents (less than 3 hours) and Shaun’s sister Mary’s family (1 hour away), but Lawrence does not feel like home yet. These things take time. It is a major university town–home of the Kansas University Jayhawks–and therefore a very interesting mix of people. KU has been called the “Berkley of the Midwest” which basically means it is a pretty liberal campus. We are in the process of learning the culture and exploring ways to build relationships and make connections with people. Shaun is enjoying the challenges of preaching weekly and leading CBC as her only paid staff member. There’s a lot to be done, but a lot of potential. We are also enjoying this season in the life of our family. Beth is homeschooling Hannah this year (1st grade) and Abigail will be in kindergarten next year. Hannah is reading very well and teaching herself piano (sortof). Abigail has basically learned to read by osmosis as Beth has been teaching Hannah. Hannah, Abigail and Josiah have recently begun attending AWANA at another small church here in Lawrence (CBC does not yet have an AWANA program). Beth and the kids have also been part of a great, weekly homeschool co-op called TLC which meets at CBC. Both programs–AWANA and TLC–have been a great source (in addition to Sunday School) for making new friends. But, one of the great benefits of having four children is that there is always someone around to play with. The difficulty of leaving so many sweet little buddies back in Texas has been lightened by the fact that Hannah, Abigail and Josiah really love each other’s company. Josiah is managing his situation well. Being the only boy with three sisters is a huge responsibility, but he’s working it out pretty well.
Lydia Grace, our fourth child, was born in April of ‘05. She is amazing and beautiful and fun and feisty. We should have known the day she was born that she was going to be that way. She came before the doctor arrived. Beth said, “Get the nurse, she’s coming right now!” Shaun said, “What?!” Lydia said, “Ta da!” Fortunately, God miraculously provided a nurse to deliver the baby rather than relying on Shaun to handle the task. The other three, Hannah, Abigail and Josiah, love their new baby sister. They love to make her laugh. They love to carry her around. Of course, Lydia demands more of Mom’s attention and that’s a little difficult to put up with, but they’re handling it very well.
If you’ve read this whole report, you must be really bored or you must love us–or both. Either way is fine. We hope you’ll send us an email and say “hi” and let us know you stopped by.