Getting Settled In

I LOVE the yellow!

 Wow, it has really been awhile since we have posted on here! A lot has been happening since September. We have really settled into friendships here at the seminary and with our church (yes, we found one!), and I am really starting to settle in at work. Our apartment is starting to come together. We now have a desk and completed our first home project, painting a shelf we got for free at a local yard-sale! The yellow matches our living room decor and the shelf really brought it all together. We also learned that I'm not the best painter...perhaps due to my lack of patience! haha ;-)

It has been a good fall. It hasn't felt or looked like our normal WV fall. However, we did find a pumpkin patch and corn maze with our friends in Petaluma (about 35 minutes north of our apartment).

Thanh-Thanh and I with pumpkins.

Cody & I in the corn maze.

Thanh-Thanh, Kate, Me, Jamie in the pumpkin patch. These girls are so fun :) Glad we have met so many awesome people here.

Brent, Thanh-Thanh, Perrine, Me, Cody, Eric at Fleet Week

Perrine, Me & Kate in our kitchen creating French masterpieces

We also went to 'Fleet Week' in San Francisco. Fleet Week featured the Blue Angels Navy flight team. Their stunts were amazing and it was a really great, clear and pretty day. I also recently met a girl from France, Perrine, at Yoga, who also came with us to Fleet Week. She is a French Au'Pair here in the Bay Area. She has taught us all about French culture and food...which is delicious. We cooked dinner together for everyone at our apartment one evening, which made me feel like an authentic French chef!

We have also started attending 'Epic Faith' church in San Rafael. It is considered a church re-plant, meaning the church that had previously existed re-planted itself as new entity. The preaching pastor is challenging and hilarious and the worship always helps us to focus on Christ. The people are really fun...very welcoming and hospitable. We are hoping to get involved in a community group in the near future. Please pray for us as we continue to get to know people and find a community group.

Cody has been learning a lot in his classes. He has learned a lot about the Bible, world history, global issues and diversity among cultures. His mind has really been stretched. I have been settling into my job and am starting to find a good grove. The kids are very cute and my co-workers are awesome.

Suprise...people were hiding everywhere when I opened to door!

My birthday was just a couple weeks ago.  It felt like my first adult' birthday..haha! Cody planned a full-body massage and mani/pedi for me, along with taking me to a very nice restaurant. The day was amazing, to say the least! He also planned a surprise party for me the next day. A bunch of our friends from the seminary came. We had a lot of fun!

At Centro Cocina in Sacramento

We also saw my dear friend, Amanda, and her husband Josh a couple weeks ago in Sacramento.  He is in the process of starting his residency and interviewed in Sacramento. (Let's hope they come out here!) We met them, and Josh's sweet & fun sister, Melissa, for dinner. We had a great time catching up and strolling around Sacramento.

Cody's mother and brother, Seth, came to visit yesterday! It was so nice to see family and we have been having so much fun. Seth has to leave on Thanksgiving morning, but his mom will be here to eat with us and our friends from the seminary. It will be different than spending it with our family back in WV. It will be good, just different. That's sort of how the past 3 months have been...good, just different. I think it's just now starting to feel a little normal...I think it will take a while longer to feel completely normal. Cody's mom asked me if I felt like I was from CA, and I said no, but I don't really feel as though I'm from WV either. It's kind of strange..I feel as though I don't completely identify with any certain place right now. However, I do feel secure in Christ and that is what has gotten me through this transition. Also, Cody has helped, too ;-) haha! It has been very good for us to be out here together...to really have to rely on each other. I feel as though we have grown so much in our marriage during the past 3 months, it's exciting :)

We will be in WV for a couple weeks in December and we are really looking forward to visiting with our family and friends. Hopefully we will update a little more frequently on here. Please continue to pray for us!

Til' Next Time,

The Bartrugs

New cultures, new places, new foods!

Hula Dancers

Kalua Pork with white rice and Lomi Salmon

We have really been enjoying the diversity here in the Bay area. So far we have eaten Chinese, Korean, Thai, and Hawaiian food. Yesterday we went to the Aloha Festival in Napa with the Youngs and their friend, Kyle. Brent and Kyle grew up in Hawaii, so I'm sure they felt a bit of home yesterday. We all shared Kalua pork with white rice and Lomi Salmon, Pork long rice, and mac salad. It was really neat to see all the Hawaiian culture, especially the Hula dancers! Apparently in many cultures each person does not 
have their own plate in which to eat from, they eat from one communal bowl. This will take some
 getting used to for me (Ginger)...as I am a 'germ-aphob,' in case you didn't know. We started doing this communal eating yesterday, and I would say I was able to get off to a good start.

Eating Dim-Sum in Chinatown

Thnah Young and I, she is from Vietnam. She's an excellent tour guide and shopping buddy!

Autumn Moon Festival-Chinatown

Last weekend we also ventured into China town and attended a Messianic Jew service with the Youngs (they have really been great at introducing us to all the various cultural experiences around here!). China town was altogether different than the rest of San Francisco. This is probably stereotypical, but it really was dirtier and more rushed and crowded than the rest of the city. However, there were also very affordable and fun shops and eateries! We also went into some traditional Chinese markets. The fish were still swimming, the frogs still looking at you...the workers would pick one out and kill it right before your eyes if you wanted. It was completely different than WV, and also very fun! I bought 3 scarves for 10 bucks! I wanted to do the 7 for 20, but Cody cut me off at 3! haha Scarves are very popular here as the bay winds can be quite chilly! The food was also good, we ate at a Dim-Sum buffet. Dim sum is equivalent to  appetizers as I understood it.

The Messianic Jew service was quite different, as well. We participated in Davidic dancing and some of the members blew ram's horns! It was interesting to see how they relate to and worship God.

This morning we attended Red Hill church in San Anselmo. The people were friendly, the worship was good, and the sermon was challenging. We really liked it. We have one more church to visit next Sunday, and then we will make a decision on a new church home. Please pray for us as we make this decision. We want to attend a church where we can be challenged, serve, and connect with others.

Oh, we have also ran into some people from WV here in the Bay area, which is quite strange considering we are so far away. The youth pastor at a church we visited lived in Parkersburg and attended PHS (which we won't hold against him!) and I met a man who was wearing a We Are Marshall shirt at my preschool--his wife grew up in Teays Valley and went to Hurricane High School. It really is a much smaller world than we realize :)

Please pray for us and keep in touch!

Love,
The Bartrugs

Starting Life

Since our last post we have been getting to know our neighbors better, eating well, and venturing out into the area! Last Friday evening we had dinner with two other couples that live in our complex, the Reibers and Youngs, at the Reiber's home. We had a Southern style meal (which we were very excited about!) which included Carolina pork BBQ, homemade mac and cheese, salad, lemon bars and cheescake. We have enjoyed trying all the new food, but sometimes you just need a little taste of the comfortable!

Saturday, I (Ginger), went to the Seminary's Women's Brunch with my friend Kate. We ate lots of delicious food and learned about different groups on the campus just for women. I'm excited to be able to connect with so many different amazing women in the next four years! Afterward, Kate Reiber and I went to the Mill Valley Public Library, which has beautiful views in the woods. That evening Cody and I went into San Francisco to explore the Golden Gate National Park and Japanese Tea Gardens. The Tea Gardens were beautiful, some of the pieces were amazing.

Sunday we attended First Baptist Church of San Francisco, which looks very historical on the outside, but on the inside of the church one can tell it is very much alive and growing! Afterward we attended the church picnic, which was near the Pacific Ocean and allowed us to have beautiful views on the drive to and back. Cody and our fried Eric Reiber got runners-up in the egg toss. They were quite a pair!

Today I worked and Cody read for his classes. I really felt as though my job came together today. I received notification of my licensure clearing, which is a miracle--truly, got the majority of my schedule finalized, and set up a professional e-mail and signature. It's so strange to be a 'professional.' I feel like I'm playing grown-up. Oh, I also got to meet some of my kids. They are adorable and I can't wait to work with them next week!

We also attended a church fair here on the campus tonight, which included free dinner :) We met some cool pastors and are excited to check out some more churches. Our goal is to decide by the end of September. Please pray for us to be where we can grow and serve at the same time, but also prepare for what God has for us in the future.

Love you all,

Cody and Ginger

We're Finally Here!

We have been here for almost a week and have much to tell. The trip here was long and tiresome. We traveled 2600 miles over 4 days; went through 10 states; saw deer, antelope, elk, a bald eagle, a grouse (unfortunately tried to hitch a ride from Nebraska), and many other animals; and finally made it to the bay area.

The first thing we did was get into our new apartment. We slept on a deflated air mattress the first night with 2 throws and towels as pillows. Needless to say, we did not get very much sleep.

Friday was my (Cody) orientation for the Global Studies Program (GSP) through Union University. There, I got to meet my cohort. We had a really good time and connected with a couple in our apartment complex. Fortunately, they were gracious enough to let us borrow some blankets and pillows. Also, Ginger got a job! She is now an employee for the Speech-Language Pathology Group working with deaf and hearing-impaired preschoolers!

Saturday, we placed our order for furniture from IKEA. If you have never been to one, it is a giant maze that you are forced to walk through every section. Luckily, we got out of there in a decent amount of time.

On Sunday, we went to church with another couple that lives in our complex at Hillside Church of Marin. We had a really good time there. The head pastor just moved here from New Zealand. Afterwards, we went to eat Thai food with our friends (one is Hawaiian and the other is Vietnamese.) They are helping us expand our taste buds, since we haven't really eaten anything authentic from Asia (besides the time a ate a fish head at a Chinese festival :-P) We got it to go, because our furniture was coming in!

Monday, it was nothing but building furniture and making trips back to IKEA and Target. We almost have everything done! Pictures will come soon.

Today, classes started for me. I have Christian Theology, Intro to Old Testament, and Foundations in Ministry. The first two seem intense, especially Dr. Watson in OT. Ginger got everything set up for her job, and she starts tomorrow! Hopefully, we will have the apartment ready and take pictures for everyone to see by tomorrow.

Continue to pray for us as we follow God and His will for us.

Love you all,
Cody and Ginger