Our Chicago Grandparents

Shortly after Joel & I were married and Chicago became our official “home”, all our friends who lived far from family would tell us, “it’s hard living away from family, but your friends here will become your family”. I didn’t understand the magnitude of that phrase until we were thinking about moving. Not only were we leaving a city we loved, friendships we adored, but more importantly these precious people had become “ our family” .

One “friend couple” who has become like family is Ken & Grace a.k.a our “Chicago grandparents”. When we first started serving at MPBC they pursued us hard. We liked them, but we were newly married, still in college, & weren’t quite sure what to think about having friends a few years ahead of us in age.

Our friendship began at Elly's restaurant many Sundays after church when Ken & Grace consistently picked up the bill because they wouldn’t let poor college students pay. Many of our conversations revolved around ministry. Soon our gatherings switched to Ken & Grace’s living room at strange hours of the night praying for the ministries in which we served.

Ken & Grace, thank you for investing in our lives & pursuing us. You have been & will continue to be mentors to Joel & I.

Thank you for modeling your marriage to us. Your love and devotion for one another is evident.

Thank you for recognizing the need for methods in ministry to change to meet outsiders. It’s pretty incredible how similar our views on ministry are considering our age difference J Joel & I hope we can be advocates of change as much as you guys are when we are your age! May we never get stuck in our ways!

You have never been recognized enough for the service you do. The tremendously long volunteer hours you have put into MPBC. Your servant's heart will not be forgotten by us. The open door you have always shared in your home to anyone in the church. And let's not forget the addition you added to your house to be used for ministry events that is probably used just as much as the church building is used! Grace, you have always challenged me by the compassion and love you have for women in the church.

Thank you for your hospitality. You were one house we knew we could stop by anytime of the day or night with very little notice. You always let us fill your home with as many teenagers as we wanted & you would even find food for everyone there. Don't be surprised if we roll through Chicago someday with a bus load of Pittsburgh students needing a place to crash and knock on your door :)

Thank you for opening your home and providing a going away party for us! You will probably never know how much that meant to us!

Thanks for letting us, Kitty, our moving truck, & all our stuff crash at your place while you were on vacation! Seriously, you guys are awesome!

P.S. Can you please seriously consider moving to Pittsburgh?