Hello!
We hope this letter finds you all well! We are writing to share some very exciting news! After much consideration and prayer, we have decided to take the leap into full-time ministry!
Throughout our lives, while I was growing up in Colorado, and Austin was living in Iowa, both of our families were heavily involved in the church and lots of different forms of ministry. We were both very involved in our church youth groups, Austin was a member of his church's youth leadership team, I spent my summers volunteering at a church camp, and we were both blessed to be able to serve on more than a dozen short-term missions teams. Before we ever knew that the other person existed on the planet we both had the strong desire to be involved in ministry as our career.
We both attended Emmaus Bible College and graduated with a One-Year Bible Certificate. During the time that we were dating, and since we have been married, we have had many opportunities to serve together as a couple. We were both on a team of students from our college that spent a month in France and Switzerland learning about how to reach out to people in a culture that is very different from that which we were used to - basically experiencing what missionaries would during their first few weeks in the field. Austin and I and our friend Doug travelled to Honduras and spent a week teaching English at a Christian school there. We were also part of a team from our church that traveled to New Orleans to help re-build a homeless shelter in one of the areas that was the hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina, and Austin received valuable training in the form of Youth For Christ's Summer Institute.
It has been very exciting to see how God has used and is using the seemingly insignificant details of our lives to move us into a place where this dream can become a reality. Everything from working together to re-construct our house, to the incredible experience and training Austin has received through his current job in assessing and restoring homes that have experienced catastrophic loss has shown us that we are uniquely equipped to minister to others in some very down-to-earth and practical ways.
Lord-willing, our missions journey will begin at Urbana 2009 (www.Urbana09.org) in St. Louis. Urbana is a missions conference with many challenging seminars as well as a huge “trade-show” for missions organizations where we will be able to discuss our passions and vision with representatives of several different organizations along with receiving invaluable training from experienced missions professionals.
Immediately following Urbana, we’re right on into 2010. 2010 is shaping up to be a jam-packed, adventure-filled year. January's plans are undecided at the moment as we are prayerfully considering two different options that will take us in very different directions, either in Central Asia, or the United Kingdom.
In February we will join with Tim & Angella Cole with Youth for Christ/MCYM Europe working with the children of military personnel on US military bases. We will help them lead the Junior High and Senior High groups on large construction service projects in February and April respectively. In between the two trips, Tim has lined up various fill-in ministry responsibilities for us to assist with the Youth for Christ programs throughout Europe.
We will be home for a short period of time during the month of May, and then we’re off again for a two-month-long intensive hands-on-training trip with Launch Out Ministries (www.launchoutministries.com) “The vision of this trip is to equip Christians and to awaken them to who they are in Christ. As you travel to about 10 nations, on 5 different continents you will learn from the lives of the local missionaries and Pastors in these countries. Not only will you be taught in a classroom setting, but you will learn from their lives as you interact with them.”
Upon our return to the states, we will begin the process of joining with a larger organization for a longer-term assignment. Our long-term vision is to create a new ministry organization called Burden Bearers International that will be dedicated to coming alongside the body of Christ – wherever they may be – and shouldering their burdens in very practical ways; however, at the recommendation of our pastor, we are going to pursue ministry with an established organization for a time before attempting to create our own entity.
We treasure your prayers as we move forward with this incredible adventure. Aside from travelling mercies and safety abroad, our most pressing needs include: 1) That God would continue to present opportunities for service and direct us to where we will be most effective. 2) Preparation for us physically, emotionally, and spiritually for hard but very rewarding work. 3) Wrapping up the details of our lives here in Iowa so that we will be ready to leave in January!
We are also looking for people to partner with us financially. We realize that in today’s economy funds are more strained than ever, but we believe that God has gone before us and is preparing a way to provide for every penny! Your tax-deductible donations in the form of either check or money order made out to "Harvest Bible Fellowship" can be mailed to:
Harvest Bible Fellowship
5567 Painted Rocks Road
Woodland Park, CO 80863
Or you can use the "Donate" button in the sidebar to donate via PayPal.
Blessings,
