Hi there! Today is one hot August day, and I wanted to take the opportunity to write and give you a little update on our family.
The Need Is Urgent
I’ll start with an update on our support raising as that has been at the forefront of our focus and prayers, especially this month. As you may have seen from David’s update back in July, the professors at Tyndale Theological Seminary are preparing for the 2026–2027 school year, and they have asked us to let them know by the end of August whether he can teach Christology and Soteriology this coming winter term. Because we need to be at 100% of our missionary budget before we can apply for our visas and buy our tickets, we are praying that by the end of this month God will get us comfortably above 90% of our budget fully pledged.
And so, for the last two months, our message has been simple: if we can reach this threshold by August 31, we will confidently tell the faculty at Tyndale that our family will be moving this year and David can start preparing the course to teach in January.
We have been so encouraged by the response of new and old supporters to this call! By God’s grace, as of today, we are at 85%! We have been back in the United States for almost a year now raising support for our new ministry and it is really starting to feel close – our family is beginning to honestly look into the nitty-gritty details of how to pull off another international move. It’s truly exciting!
Since we are SO close and also on a rather short timeline for this current goal, I want to challenge you: if you are not already on our team of regular, pledged ministry partners, join us now.
We are praying that in the next two weeks God would bring six (6) more people to give $150 a month. And let me tell you, God’s provision has already left us amazed. Just in the past couple of weeks the Lord has moved people we have never met or only recently met to become part of this team of supporters. A wise person once told me, “God always pays for what he orders,” and David and I – and our children too – are seeing this to be true. It is he who is building the team for this mission.
I would also ask you to share about our work with people who are excited about global missions and eager to see new missionaries trained and equipped to reach the ends of the earth with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Encourage them to join our team of partners. Every monthly commitment brings us closer to embarking in faith and commencing this new ministry!
We also want to continue to thank our team of partners who have stuck with us over these months and years. We are constantly aware of your support for us and for holding up our family in your prayers. I’ve got to say: I feel well prepared to head back onto the mission field with this team of partners with which God has gifted us. Thank you!
Our Life Right Now
As far as happenings in our family, we continue to travel and visit new churches. Last month we travelled to Savannah (which has become one of our favorite places!) to present about our ministry at a church with which we have a relationship going back many years (they used to send mission teams to Belize way back when David and I were only dating!). Then last week, David travelled to Midland, Texas to represent SAMS-USA at a global mission conference and to share about our current calling to serve in the Netherlands. I thought Georgia was hot, but David texted that it was over 100°F when he disembarked! I should probably stop complaining about the heat.
Recently, I have also been thinking: my favorite part of raising support this time around is that we get to impress on churches the importance of global mission for what they are being and doing as the church. More than sharing about what we will be doing (even though we are very excited!) a big part of our calling now is to encourage the church to step up in global mission – whether with us, or with other missionaries.
Not many, if any, missionaries passed through my church when I was growing up. That absence made my view of who God could call into missions very narrow – I, for one, did not fit into that picture! But obviously God did call me to the life of a missionary, and so now I am even more aware of how crucial it is for churches to welcome missionaries and allow them to share: about how God is at work, about how he calls everyday people to serve him, and about how some can even follow him to other parts of the globe.
In the end, as we share with churches my prayer has been that, yes, God will build our team of financial and prayer partners, but also that he will use our presence to call more missionaries from the congregations we visit to follow him to the ends of the earth.
Prayers Requests
Please pray that six (6) more people will join our growing team of pledged supporters by August 31, and that we will be comfortably north of 90% of our budget.
Please pray for us as we start working through all the details of an international move: school enrollment for the kids in the Netherlands, documents for visas, a mortgage broker and realtor to find a house, an accountant who can advise us on the Dutch tax system, etc. There are so many details, but just as we know that God will provide funding, we know he will also smooth out the rest.
Please pray for me and the kids as our school year begins and we adjust back into that rhythm.
Please pray for us as we prepare our kids to transition from homeschooling in English to public school in Dutch.
Please pray for the kids especially as we get closer to this big transition. Our eldest is already mourning the loss of his life living in Georgia with pets and grandparents.
Please pray for David. It is he who is primarily working on these details: calling and emailing churches to call on and visit, even as he tries to keep up with the academic tasks of editing his book manuscript, writing conference papers and journal articles, and preparing sermons and talks. He is very busy!
And please pray for God’s timing: that our financial support would arrive in such a way that we can take a few weeks to say our goodbyes and prepare well for our departure without the added travel of actively continuing to raise support.
Thank you for keeping up with our family, for praying with us, for supporting us, and for checking in on how we are doing in this season of transition. We are so encouraged by you and we cannot wait to share all that God is doing through your partnership!