Great Expectations!

As we head in to the new academic year, we face a number of big changes in our lives and have great expectations for the coming months and year.

Most significantly, we are eagerly expecting a baby in early February! Here is our first scan (at 10 weeks) of the newest McLellan.

Bronwyn (now at almost 15 weeks) has been feeling great, and has been adjusting to being more tired than usual and having to eat "all the time". We are now exploring the wonders of shopping for maternity clothes and baby gear. A whole new marketing horizon has emerged that we were completely oblivious to! Given the family trend for McLellan boys, we've been encouraged to "think pink". Time will tell.

Bronwyn intends to continue working at Westside until Christmas. A new challenge she has taken on is designing and teaching "Bible" this year. This also meets the field immersion component of her MCS degree, so she will be attending a monthly class at Regent, and has organised to be mentored by a Regent grad/staff member/Westside board member/previous Westside Bible teacher. Yes, this is one person! She will continue teaching Bible through the year, in a volunteer capacity when she finishes full time work, and hopes to have a friend take her planned lessons when the baby first arrives.

As part of Nathan's new role, working for the Marketplace Institute at Regent College, we are leading a pilot year for their internship programme. This involves mentoring five interns in a discipleship model, as they work for the Institute, live in community, and study at Regent. Part of the role is also organising intentional interactions between the interns and Regent faculty and other strategic people in the wider community, so we are looking forward to hospitality as a large component of the mentoring process.

Although not part of the job description, after much prayer and consideration we are going to be living in community with the interns and some friends this coming year. What it means to be 'community' has featured large in our thinking over the past while, and we had already made a commitment to live with our close friends, April and Claire, from January 2010. In the hunt for a house suitable for the interns it became clear that it would be advantageous to combine the two communities, and we take possession of a 7-bedroom house in Kerrisdale, Vancouver, at the end of the week. We are looking forward to establishing ourselves in this new place, and living out our faith in the company of nine others over the year (Claire and April, and the interns: two couples, two men and one woman).

As far as study goes, Bronwyn will be doing her one field immersion class over the whole year. Nathan has three courses to complete for his MCS in theology. The fall semester will see him studying for a comprehensive exam (in lieu of another masters thesis) and he will complete a theology seminar course in winter. He will complete the last course by audio to allow flexibility as he studies for comps, takes up the mentoring role, and adapts to life as a dad before graduating in April.

So life is somewhat hectic at present - and likely to be for quite a while! We'd appreciate your prayers as we enter into these new changes, challenges and blessings.