Hello everyone!

Exciting news to share!  We got word from our mission agency this week that we will be headed to Michigan for our first building project in May!  We are excited to take off to the great state of Michigan for our first church-building adventure!

We will be making our home in Wakefield, MI.  I will tell you everything I know and have learned about Wakefield:

• It is located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, just about 10 miles east of the Wisconsin border.

• The nearest Walmart is in Ironwood, MI, which is about 10 miles west of Wakefield.  However, there is a small super market in town. 

• Wakefield is near Lake Superior, and according to its city web page, "located in the heart of 'Big Snow Country'"  (Oh dear!)

• Wakefield is home to Sunday Lake, a rather sizeable lake where they hold their annual 4th of July fireworks.  (Can't wait for that!)

• We will be surrounded by thousands of acres of Ottawa National Forest and Gogebic County Forest land.  The Porcupine Mountains State Park is located near Wakefield, which provides Michigan's largest area of undeveloped wilderness.

• As of the census of 2000, there were 2,085 people residing in the city of Wakefield.

• Wakefield, MI is still in the Central Standard Time Zone.

• According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.5 square miles, of which, 8.0 square miles of it is land and 0.6 square miles of it is water.

And finally, I will leave you with a quote from the Wakefield, MI city web page:

"As you can see, there is much to do and see in Wakefield and the surrounding area. You will find Wakefield a great place to visit! We are a small City, but we have big hearts and we go the extra mile to insure that visitors to our town leave with fond memories of having been to 'Someplace Special'"

I'm counting on it!  : )