the month of tryouts

I figured it was time for an update. So here goes.

As most of you know, our plan was to head back to Canada in June for this upcoming season. Richard had a 2 year contract with the BC Lions, so we never questioned whether or not we'd be there for the 2nd year. But considering the nature of professional football, we should have know better than to assume anything.

In February, Richard got a phone call from the Lions. They were telling him how great they thought he would be for the new defense they would be using this season. They told him he would be starting this season. All sorts of good stuff. We were excited about that.

In March, however, Richard received a much different phone call from the Lions. They were releasing him from his contract. WHAT? Releasing him?? We were both in shock. We never saw that coming. They explained that they had brought in a vet and had already already paid him his signing bonus and therefore they wouldn't be bringing Richard back. Outrageous. So political. No longer a game...just a business.

Richard spoke to his agent who said he would begin getting in contact with other teams to see if anyone was interested in picking Richard up. After about 2 weeks we still hadn't heard anything. At that point we just didn't know what direction to go. Does he still pursue football? Does he pursue his music? We knew that if we ended up here in the fall, then he would of course finish classes and graduate. But what then?? Once again, our life is in limbo. I feel like it's a mirror image of last year at this same time.

So we started praying. We made a long list of things we thought were important to be praying for during this time. Things like wisdom, the ability to accept God's will, the strength to love & encourage each other well during this time.

Finally, in about mid-April, we decided that Richard would continue to pursue football by going to some tryouts. We started looking up dates and locations of tryouts. We were concerned about how we would afford getting him to the tryouts, especially if it meant the cost of flights to multiple tryouts. But we really feel like the Lord gave us favor. Two tryouts are in the DFW area and one is in Houston. How convenient is that?? No flights. Just gas to get there.

The first tryout was May 1st in Fort Worth at TCU for Montreal Allouettes. He felt like it went really well. He had a chance to speak with the coaches a bit and felt good about their reaction to his performance. We're not sure when we'll hear anything but we know we'll hear something at least by the end of the month.

The 2nd tryout is May 14th in Houston for the Hartford Colonials (a UFL team). One of the coaches there was a coach a Texas Tech this past year, so Richard feels good about knowing someone when he gets there.

And the 3rd tryout is May 21st in Bedford, TX for the BC Lions. You may be thinking, "what?? isn't that who just released him??" yes, it is. But when we found out that tryout is in the DFW area, we thought we should consider it. Richard decided that he would contact his coaches from BC and let them know he was considering coming to the tryout and would ask them if they would even reevaluate him if he did come. To both of our surprise, the coach was all for it! So we'll see what happens.

So that's what's going on here. We would LOVE to have you guys praying with us especially during this month! Pray that Richards will stay healthy and uninjured and that we would accept whatever God has for us!

In other news, Richards music is going really well! His CD is selling well and he has shows ALL the time. 1-3 a week! He's a busy guy. He has a show in Dallas on May 7th. It's a showcase, meaning there will be people there who are looking to sign new artists to their labels. Pray this goes well! :) If you haven't heard his music or you are interested in buying his CD, you can purchase his CD online or preview some of his music there.

http://www.reverbnation.com/store/index/artist_1476718

I will try to be better about updating as we hear back from teams. We are grateful for everyone's love & support during our crazy lives!

Peace :)