New Updates: Landmark Edition!!!

It's been awhile since we've provided an update on the blog and a lot has happened!  

Sammy is Home!

For those that don't know, when we moved to England we had planned to take our daughter's
Chiwheenie, named Sammy. Unfortunately, those plans fell through at the very last minute and we had to leave him in the United States. It was a heartbreaking time for the family, but we were blessed to have a friend volunteer to take care of him until we could bring him across the pond. About two months ago, we were notified that this friend couldn't keep him anymore, and the scramble to find Sammy a home began. For a short time, we were faced with the prospect of having to give him away.

Thankfully, we were once again blessed by a young couple wanting to practice boarding a dog to see if it would work as a source of income. They were the most wonderful blessing to us! Sammy was loved so much that it brings us to tears to think about how wonderful it was. But, knowing that this was also a temporary home for him, we decided to bite the bullet and take the necessary steps to move Sammy to England, and let me tell you, that is not an easy feat!!

If you've never tried to move a dog, let alone internationally, you'll know the stress, money and paperwork involved. To do this internationally, everything has to be accomplished within a 10-day window of the flight bringing the dog to England. Multiple veterinary examinations and shots must take place, and a tapeworm treatment must be administered within 5 days of the trip. And all the paperwork must be mailed to the USDA for certification and mailed back before the dog can leave! If, at any time during this process, you get past the 10-day window, it has be restarted. 

Needless to say, there were several moments where we thought we would miss the deadline, but the company we chose to ship Sammy, the verterinary office, and his carers worked tirelessly with us to accomplish this task. On top of this, several friends here and back in the United States lovingly donated money to help cover some of the expenses. I am thrilled to say, that Sammy made his flight and re-joined our family, healthy and happy to be home! Oh, and we didn't tell the kids, so it was a complete surprise for them!

Lots of Exploring

Our national lockdown is easing in stages which has given us several opportunities to visit neighboring

communities. We enjoyed our first-ever train ride last month, going to the Royal Town of Sutton Colfield. This is a town from the Tudor era, that features a 2,500 acre park that was once the hunting grounds for King Henry the VIII!! We stood on a hill, that the Earl of Warwick used to stand on to survey the property. We also visited a church that was built in the 16th century. The first vicar of the church had been placed their by King Henry himself!

We made a short visit to a meeting of homeschooling families at a park called the Lickey Hills. It is a large forest and hilly region, that's great for exploring. It has an overlook that gives you a view of the whole Birmingham community, but we weren't able to get there for this visit. Hopefully soon! We also found one of the oldest churches in our community, St. Peter's Church. The clocktower of the church was built in the 13th century!! We all love history, so exploring the cemetary and seeing these amazing sights has been a wonderful treat for us. We look forward to doing much more exploring next month when longer distance travel is allowed.

Prince Philip Died

On a more somber note, Britain's longest living cohort (spouse to the King/Queen), Prince Philip, passed away yesterday, at 99 years of age. In two more months, he would have been 100. It's a very sad period for the nation, and in some ways for our family, for, though we didn't grow up under the monarchy, we followed the life of the Queen and Prince Philip for some time. A nation lost a figurehead, but a wife also lost her husband of more than 70 years. Children lost their father, grandchildren their grandfather, and great grandchildren their great grandfather. 

Last night, Clark listened to a choral Evensong service where they sung hymns for the Prince and prayed for his soul and his family that remain here. It was a very moving, very beautiful moment.

M4C Acceptance

Lastly, but certainly not least! And most momentous for our family! Several months ago, Clark was urged by a mentor to apply for a scholarship program called the Midland 4 Cities Doctoral Training Partnership. This is a scholarship arranged between multiple Universities in the UK, including the University of Birmingham, and is highly competitive. It not only provides funding for tuition, but also funds any trips made for conferences, provides funding for its members to travel to another university in the world for one month, and provides various writing retreats in the English countryside. 

The process was lengthy and involved re-writing the application multiple times, with the help of Clark's supervisor. It also involved an interview with both the head of the Department of Theology and the head of the Graduate School at the University! After submitting everything, Clark had to wait for months to hear back. Out of 20 applicants from Brimingham alone, Clark was one of 3 selected to move forward to be reviewed by representatives of all the Universities involved. 

Last week, Clark received notice that he had been accepted into the program!!!! That means that the tuition for his schooling and all of these added benefits will begin in the nex academic year! We praise the Lord for this huge blessing, as the cost of tuition was a heavy burden on our hearts. We look forward to seeing what the Lord has planned with this program and being able to share with you any news that continues to follow!

If the UK continues its motion out of lockdown, within a month or so, we should be able to make trips all over the country. We can't wait start exploring and sharing the adventure with you all!

If you would like to support us on this journey, please feel free to visit our patreon and gofundme links attached to the blog!

The Bates Family