Wow. I had all but forgotten about the blog I kept while we lived and served in Nassau, Bahamas! I just spent a few minutes reading some of our old posts and it was encouraging. Find it here: buntingsgobahamas.blogspot.com
Nearly five years have passed since we said our goodbyes to our Bahamian friends and boarded a plane for Florida. It's so hard to believe we are here in 2019, finishing our fifth year in ministry at CrossWay Community Church in Crestview, Florida. As a church body, we are working on renovating a building the Lord allowed us to purchase. Our hope is to move into it before Christmas.
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| View from foyer into sanctuary |
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| Front facing Wilson Street |
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| Immediate view as you enter |
Our girls are now 20, 18, and 16. Two adult children? How did we get here? Keaton completed her high school education and A.A. degree simultaneously in August 2017, then left Crestview in February 2018 to serve in our New Orleans' sister church. She worked in the church office and lived with the Schmaltz family, then transitioned to living on her own and working as a morning baker at District Donuts, a fabulous little chain! Keaton then came home in October 2018 and we have spent the last 6 months figuring out what she should do next. She is teaching guitar, starting a job at Chic-fil-A, and is enrolled for the 2019-2020 year at University of Mobile! Phew. That was a year of crazy-busy change and decision-making for us, but it seems God has brought us to some level ground. We are so grateful. Kara, who is now 18, still has a year left to finish her A.A. degree at Northwest Florida State College, and has been working hard as a dance student and instructor the last few years. She takes dance at the college, at Inspire Ballet and Fine Arts in Valparaiso, and then teaches and takes private instruction at Ballet and Barre here in Crestview. Kendall is 16, working on her driver's license and about to enroll in her second year at NWFSC as a dual-enrolled homeschool student. She has done amazingly well at the college, but is feeling a little burned out, so we may be changing some things for next fall. Kendall also takes dance and teaches Acro at Ballet and Barre. All three girls are still involved in Crossfire, our youth ministry. Keaton stays involved as a young-adult helper, and the younger two as students. For the last two years, I have written and directed the play portion of Ballet and Barre's Spring Productions. Last year, I wrote "Christiana and the Great Lion," which was a bit of a spin-off of "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." This year, we have stretched ourselves and I have written, "The Worst Pirates Ever," which we will perform on May 18 at the Crestview Community Center. Keith gets involved in these productions as well by heading up the musical aspects and writing some original songs to tie the show together.
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| Kendall, me, Keith, Keaton, and Kara on Easter Sunday, 2019 |
We are already living in our second home here in Crestview, as we saw an opportunity to own more land and took it. In August of 2018 we sold our first Crestview home and moved into one with 10 times the yardage. Sometimes we wonder WHAT WERE WE THINKING? But it has been a blessing for the most part-- especially with not having a church building. Our home and property has served as a place for church events such as the annual Christmas Party, youth nights, baby showers, our senior pastor's 50th birthday party, and a surprise Welcome Home party for a young man in our church. Well, that's a hearty update for now. Hope you enjoyed the walk down our last 5 years. Blessings.
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