Nick Bogardus

1. A wife whose beauty, creativity, and generous heart amaze me more every year.  More specifically, getting to watch the beginning of her growing into the mom I knew she would be.

2. The birth of a healthy, sweet baby girl, Evangeline Jane.  At six weeks, her smile and sense of humor already melt us.

3. Family who has loved, supported, and been patient with me for longer than anyone. 

4. A church community that deeply loves Jesus, the Bible, and people. 

5. Friends and co-workers, Gospel partners, who constantly challenge and inspire me; most often by pointing to Jesus.

6. The ability to receive theological and pastoral training from some of the best men I’ve ever met.

7. A memorable ‘babymoon’ with Kim where we drove from Seattle to Orange County down the 101.  We met a Nixon, stayed in a place that looked like Dwight Schrute’s farm, ate two of the best meals (Syrah and Wild Flour Bread) we’ve ever had in Sonoma, and kayaked with sea otters.

8. Getting to explore, know, and love a new city with Kim.  (We owe nearly every great restaurant tip to Anthony though)

9. A new home that is closer to work, cheaper, and bigger so we can host visitors and guests.

10. God’s relentless, faithful, patient love and grace that is most visible in all of the above but that sustains my every breath.

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Things that didn’t make the cut (but were still great): Netflix, a batting cage in the office, a few waves at Big Rock, Bonhoeffer bio by Metaxas, Mumford & Sons, and Bear Flag Fish Co.

This was our 4th of July last year; eating horse steak and mashed potatoes on our window in Mongolia. Kim was pregnant and we were packing up to surprise our family and friends with an early return.

This was our 4th of July this year; fireworks in (cloudy) Seattle, surrounded by good friends. Kim is pregnant again - now officially in the third trimester!

It’s amazing how much things can change in only a year. We’re thankful for God’s goodness and faithfulness, and for the people He has put around us. We’ve been blessed by great family, friends, and communities in California, Mongolia, and now Seattle. If you’re in one of those places and one of those people, thank you.

The last month or so has felt relentless, volatile, exciting, and hopeful.  To give you an idea of what our lives have been like I’ll paint you a picture with a list of what we’ve been up to since coming moving back to the States from Mongolia.

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(Keep in mind that from the day we found out we were pregnant, Peace Corps had us packed up and moving back to America in about a week and a half.)

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The first week we spent going from Mongolia to Los Angeles to Seattle and back to Los Angeles.  We landed in LA on a Monday and were in Seattle on a Thursday.  During the four days we were in Seattle I had my last job interview and we found a house to live in.

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The second week was sad because unfortunately we spent it dealing with the loss of the pregnancy.

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The third week we spent mostly packing, moving things out of storage, and shipping everything up to Seattle.

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The fourth week we went up to Seattle to unpack and move into the house.  We also had to deal with my car being totaled while it was being shipped.

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The fifth week we were in Seattle and I started work at Mars Hill while Kim tackled the difficult task of sorting through all of our junk and making a home.

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The sixth week we unpacked our last box at 1:30am the night before flying back to Orange County for the Mongolian photo exhibit.

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Now, I’m back up in Seattle and working while Kim is in California enjoying time with her family.  Needless to say, we’re tired but thankful for all of the ways God, family, and friends have carried us through this time.  My parents gave us a home-in-between-homes; a quiet place where we could decompress.  The people at Mars Hill in Seattle have been so generous and welcoming; going so far as to let us borrow a car when ours was wrecked and making numerous airport runs to shuttle us back and forth.  Our friends made great efforts to stop by and say hi and to come to the opening of the exhibit.

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Despite all of this stuff we’re really grateful and extremely excited about this chapter about to start up here.  Personally I’m fired up for my job; to be working at such a great place with great guys.  Kim and I are anxious to love this city, this church, and being here together.

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We’ll make a video of our house this weekend.  It won’t feel as distant and foreign as our Mongolian apartment video but hopefully it’ll give you a glimpse into our life here.

Love,

Nick