I think it's been quiitteeee a bit of time since we've posted on here - but here we go!
Well, it’s been nothing short of a crazy ride. But, isn’t life in the Faith full of them? It’s been quite a while since we left Dallas, Tx - a little short of 5 months to be exact, and we are getting lots of questions for updates, so we figured we would type it all out to answer the questions!
We left Dallas, TX on May 10 after finishing our ministry with Apartment Life, Zach graduating from Dallas Theological Seminary, and finishing our in-person jobs at The Westwood School. After selling most of everything we owned, we packed all our clothes, toys, books, and important documents into a 5x8 trailer. Some of our closest friends in our apartment community stayed up late and helped us load everything up the night before (shout out to the Walker family)! We headed east and made our way across the country and arrived in Georgia with our family where we intended to stay until July-ish until we were able to depart for Kuwait. Well...Obviously God had and has something better in store! July has turned into August, then September, and now it is almost October and we have no definitive answers as to when we may get to move to Kuwait. While we have been in a season of waiting, here are some updates from along the way over the past few months.
Living: When we first moved to Georgia, we moved in with my dad. He was very gracious to offer us his extra room where we purchased a “top-of-the-line” air mattress. Eventually after almost 3 months, the air mattress gave me a back injury and my arm/hand/fingers went numb. I’ve been seeing the chiropractor and things seem to be headed in the right direction. In August, my mom graciously allowed us to stay in her 1 bedroom condo. We stayed there for a month until we decided, with no end in sight, we probably needed to find a place of our own. Zach’s parents offered for us to stay there, but it seemed right to venture out on our own to give some consistency to the boys (with school, sports, and our virtual work). We prayed and actively searched for a place. We didn’t want to commit to a 12mo lease, and with no active income coming in, this was a challenge. However, nothing is ever too big for God. Amen?! I “randomly” ran into a friend that Zach and I both grew up in church with. She was moving into a duplex in the coming weeks and her landlord was looking for someone reputable to move into the other side. I contacted the landlord on a Friday and explained our story. He explained in return that he had rented the duplexes since the 90’s and had never done anything but a 12mo lease. He said he would think about it over the weekend and let me know. We (all 4 of us) prayed all weekend for favor, but reminded ourselves that sometimes God says no because He has something better for us and committed that regardless of his decision, we would thank God. On Monday, the landlord called me and said, “You know, I really think God is in this, so let’s give the 6 month lease a try.” I started crying! Praise God! We met with him the next day, signed the lease, and moved in the next day. What a blessing. Many people donated things like silverware, towels, furniture, etc. as we literally just sold everything. We are so thankful for you all! We now have our own small but stocked apartment that we can call “home” until we finally get the visas to depart!
School: The boys started school here in our local town back in August. Braxton began 4th Grade and Weston began PreK. I’m happy to report they both go in person and they both love it. A small part of me wishes we could let them finish out the school year here. Braxton comes home almost daily, explaining what he talked about and learned that day. Weston, of course, has many girlfriends and is even getting positive notes sent home about his character/actions during the day. They have made lots of friends and we hope and pray it gives them some stability and consistency during this season of “waiting”. We keep reminding them, “don’t forget - we are still going to Kuwait!”
Work/Visas- As far as work goes - Praise God! We started virtually with the International School of Kuwait on September 6th! Zach is the Vice Principal for the Secondary (Grades 5-12) and I am the Head of Kindergarten (Vice Principal of Preschool and Kindergarten). We are currently in meetings from 6am-10am EST and the students officially begin October 4th. I don’t even know how to put the culture of the school into words. It is an incredible place and since this is their inaugural year, we feel honored to both be helping start this place from the ground up! It’s just an all around great place and we feel so blessed to be a part of it. As far as visas, Kuwait began a “5 Phases to opening the country” and back at the beginning of September they began Phase 4 - so we just knew Phase 5 was coming - when visas would be issued! About a week or so ago, we were informed that “Phase 5 has been delayed indefinitely” So, there’s that. They could open up the country and issue them tomorrow, or they could open up and issue visas many months from now. So, we are really just in a waiting season. But trust me, whenever we get the email with visas - there’ll be a big shout out on Facebook!
Sports - Whew! So. Much. Time. At. The Fields! Braxton is playing his first year of tackle football (cringe) and Weston is playing t-ball. Despite his size, Braxton is doing quite well - although as a mom, I much prefer flag football! He has made some impressive tackles, had his name announced on the PA system, and loves every minute of it. Weston is, well, he is Weston. His favorite parts of t-ball are playing in the dirt, dancing on the field, and pretending his glove is a hat. What can you say? It’s just hilarious.
Church - Man. We have been *hungry* for some fellowship with believers. Due to covid, we haven’t really gathered with other believers since March, and that has been rough. Our lives were changing so much and we needed a source of encouragement! Finally, at the end of August, we found a church here in town that has Life Groups and was open for socially distant gatherings. We gave it a try and instantly had connections with people. {I will also insert here that in God’s providence, the duplex we are renting is literally across a small street from the church - so we walk and the boys ride their bikes!} We have been involved with the church ever since and it has really been encouraging. In fact, we will be speaking on stage this upcoming week to the youth group about living life on mission!
Waiting - Waiting. It’s hard. Right? Throughout this time we have been committed to serving in the waiting. God’s timing is always perfect and we can trust in that! We know He knows what is best for us. We know the plans He has for us are far greater than anything we can imagine- whether it’s to go to Kuwait now, later, or never! He is faithful! He is in control! Our family chooses to live day-by-day serving God in our community, wherever we’re at. It has been encouraging to look back over the past 5 months and point to things that we can see were purposeful in us being in town. For example, my childhood best friend recently lost her grandmother to a rapid decline of cancer. I was able to watch her infant overnight so that she could be at her grandmother’s bedside. The grandmother also requested Zach and I personally to come and pray with her. It brought great peace to her grandmother and great help to my best friend to be able to be there. We’ve also been able to minister to family and friends in times of need. We’ve been able to build relationships with our neighbors and share the love of Christ with them- Jeff and Tonya, Pam, Linda, Michelle, Billy and Valerie. It’s been a really good season even though it wouldn’t have been what we chose. It has been hard. It’s been hard waiting on provisions- we’ve been without an i
ncome since May (except Zach’s part-time VIPKID) and our savings has been emptied, but God has provided every step of the way and we are so thankful! God just really knows best, and we can trust that!
Free time - COVID has given us a lot of extra time together as a family! In June we took an almost two week trip across the country - vertically! We saw so many friends that spanned across so many seasons of our lives. It was a time of many laughs, encouragement, and quality time. Thank God we had no car problems, sickness, or mishaps. We have also spent many days getting out into creation by hiking on some local trails - which are Zach’s favorites and Braxton’s worst (haha!). It’s great to detach from technology and take in the beauty of creation. Thankfully, no snake bites or poison ivy! As the weather begins to cool, we are looking forward to fall colors on the trees and steaming hot coffee in the brisk mornings.
There have been many days of lows, sadness, confusion, stress, and uncertainty. There are many voices coming at us from many different directions. We have to be intentional in focusing our attention and purpose on the voice of the Holy Spirit. We feel God is leading us to the Gulf Region and we are confident not in our plans or feelings, but we are confident in God and that He is going to have us in the best place to bring glory to His name. We pray that it is still Kuwait, but we are thankful for the opportunity to serve and live here. The timeline? Only He knows. So, for now, we will choose to be content here in Georgia where we are getting extra time with our family, the kids with grandparents and cousins, and being back in our hometown for a bit. We commit to serving in the waiting and being faithful in this season, even if it looks nothing like what we thought it would.
If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading our update. Please continue to pray for Kuwait to open up and visas to be issued. Please continue to pray for our faithfulness in the waiting and that we would continue to serve in the waiting.
Please let us know how we can be praying for you. Much love and God Bless!
The Gallman Family
