Greetings from the snowy North Georgia mountains! We were dumped on by a snowstorm over the weekend, and since we cannot get out of the neighborhood, now is a perfect time to give you a more reflective update here at the beginning of 2026. In fact, I realized it’s been awhile since you’ve heard from me, rather than David, so I thought I’d give you a glimpse of what life looks like right now for us as missionaries in the midst of support raising.
First: moving with kids is hard. Everyone talks about how resilient kids are, and it’s true, but leaving Canada last year was really difficult. Bidding goodbye to friends, our home, and especially our church families was so much harder than I expected. We prepped the kids a lot, but they each had a hard time, in completely unique ways that we had to take a few weeks to work through: for example, it took Lily almost two weeks to stop growling at my parents when they talked to her! I want to thank all of you for praying for our kids. They have adjusted well now to life here in Georgia. While they talk often of things and people they miss in Canada – or of wanting to go to the Netherlands – they are doing well in this period of transition and are really happy here. I also want to especially thank my parents as they have truly worked very hard to turn their house into our home. The first day we got here, the kid’s room was already decorated with dragons, space, and unicorns. There were just so many little things done to help us feel at home here, while still pressing on towards our new one. Thank you!
Second: not having a home church is hard. We went from regularly attending the same churches every Sunday to encountering a different church every week. This has been a bit overwhelming for me. Every week, a new space (often far enough away for a few nights in a hotel), new faces, and always feeling the need to be “on”. It’s exhausting. I have found myself breaking down crying as the introvert in me rebels against this current normal. And yet, God is opening my eyes to the blessings and ministry that is support raising. For our kids it has meant getting to experience many different styles of worship as we have visited other Christian denominations. Sometimes the kids stay with the adults for the whole service, and sometimes they’re in a completely different building for Children’s Church. But in each of these churches they get to see the expansive depth of the Church and faith they claim as their own. Yes, they had to say goodbye to so many friends when we moved, but they have also gotten to make new ones each week as we travel.
For me it has meant getting to participate in the call of the Great Commission. So many people have heard Christ’s call – “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” – and have responded to that call by joining our family’s ministry team. They want to be a part of what God is already doing at Tyndale Theological Seminary in the Netherlands, and what He has planned for His Kingdom when we get there to help serve the global church. Our team of partners now encompasses those who came on board years ago and also people joining in recent weeks, and in each person I see God’s provision and faithfulness in this ministry calling. It is truly exciting to go to these churches and share the call and challenge of the Great Commission, standing just the five of us, in front of a bunch of people we don’t, but knowing we have an entire team of partners there with us, asking people to join this amazing work God is doing, and knowing, he is with us always, to the end of the age.
So yes, there are clear challenges to this period. Transitions are hard. Moving targets are hard. Unknowns are (really) hard. But in all things God is faithful. And this ministry He has called our family (and partners) to, is His, which means He has to get us there and until our feet are on the ground in the Netherlands, He has work for us here in raising up more people for this Commission.
How can you pray?
Please pray for 70 new people who can give $100 dollars a month.
(This is a big number, humanly speaking, but not for God.)
Please pray that God will open the doors of more churches for us to be able to share about this exciting new ministry to which we are called.
Please pray for the students and faculty at Tyndale Theological Seminary in this winter term: that God would continue to deepen their faith and understanding of Him and His word, so they can continue to spread His Kingdom to the ends of the earth
We might not be there yet, but God is doing amazing things through the students and faculty of that school.
Please pray about people in your own lives who might be interested in joining our team in this great work to which we have been called – and if possible, please put us in touch with them!
Please continue to pray for health and safety as we travel and that God will continue to raise up new partners to join our ever-growing team.
Again, thank you for everything each of you is doing for our missionary family: for your prayers, your gifts, and your encouragement. We hope to have news for you soon about our support raising progress, but until then, may the Lord richly bless you and your family in the winter weeks ahead!