I thought I would try and bring everyone up to date on what is happening with us in regards to a future in full time missions, at least everyone who reads this blog.
It started about 2 weeks before my father passed away (March 11, 2011), all of a sudden doors that were closed for the past 10 years began opening. The first door was Wycliffe Bible Translators, they are very interested in us joining their photojournalism team in Nairobi, Kenya. This is exactly what I want to do so I am partial to Wycliffe but I am trying not to allow my desires to get in the way of what God wants for us. That is why I am looking at all the possibilities that are before us at this time. I have had many conversations with Wycliffe and we are ready to apply but we can't until we get a credit card paid down. God has already answered that prayer and now we are waiting for the check to come so we can pay down the card. Once we get it paid we will start the application process. Africa Inland Mission was the next open door and they also want us to go to Kenya. If we were to go with AIM then we would live in Kijabe, Kenya and we would be dorm parents at the Rift Valley Academy in Kijabe. RVA is a Christian boarding school for Missionary kids, we would be living in a dorm with the kids and would be their surrogate parents. RVA is a big school with more than 500 students from more than 20 countries. Some of our other duties would be maintenance work or teaching photography at the school. Morgan and Lyndsey prefer this option as they both want to go to RVA. So far, Kelly also prefers this option. I also am beginning to think this is my favorite option, but photojournalism is what I would love to do as a missionary. AIM was the second open door but was the first one that we started applying with. The next open door was World Team, who I was not really excited about at first but the more I talk to them the more excited I get. They are very aware that we are looking at other opportunities and have asked us to consider a 1 to 2 year trip to their West African field. They will tailor a trip around our skills and desires. They want me to work as a photojournalist and document the work that their missionaries are doing. They also have many opportunities for a maintenance/construction/mechanical person, as much or as little as I want to do while we are there. There is also a boarding school called the Rain Forest International School where we could be dorm parents and the girls could attend. We would be in Niger part of out time and then in Cameroon part of our time. We recently started the application process with World Team as well. Evangelical Baptist Missions is the latest open door, they were one of the first but it started as only a crack but has all of a sudden swung wide open. They just today asked us to consider coming to Mali for a survey trip. They have a couple of things that they would like us to consider. In Mali they want us to consider running their guest house in the capital city. I would also do maintenance and help build churches in the villages. I could also teach photography at a MK school or to the locals to give them a skill with which to support their families. They also have a lot of opportunities for us in Niger. There are pros and cons with each of the ministries but I am honestly very excited about each one of them. One of the things that we are trying to do while we look at our options is to get out of debt as much as we can. God has been proving Himself mighty in this, He has blessed us in ways that we can't explain and we give Him the honor and praise that is due Him. Just this year we were able to pay off 2 credit cards and just recently we made the last payment on our van. We have a second mortgage on the house that we hope to be able to pay off by the end of the month and we hope to have our last credit card paid in full by the end of the summer (or at least the end of the year). This will leave us with a school loan and a mortgage. Isn't God amazing, we have struggled for the past 8 years (while I was working) to pay these bills. Now that I am unemployed not only are they being paid, they are being paid off. I can't explain it other than this, God is a God of Wonders. I could go into more detail about the opportunities that God is giving us at this time but I have a hard time keeping the details straight so I think I will just stop this post here for now. Hopefully I will have an update for you soon.
Photoman
It started about 2 weeks before my father passed away (March 11, 2011), all of a sudden doors that were closed for the past 10 years began opening. The first door was Wycliffe Bible Translators, they are very interested in us joining their photojournalism team in Nairobi, Kenya. This is exactly what I want to do so I am partial to Wycliffe but I am trying not to allow my desires to get in the way of what God wants for us. That is why I am looking at all the possibilities that are before us at this time. I have had many conversations with Wycliffe and we are ready to apply but we can't until we get a credit card paid down. God has already answered that prayer and now we are waiting for the check to come so we can pay down the card. Once we get it paid we will start the application process. Africa Inland Mission was the next open door and they also want us to go to Kenya. If we were to go with AIM then we would live in Kijabe, Kenya and we would be dorm parents at the Rift Valley Academy in Kijabe. RVA is a Christian boarding school for Missionary kids, we would be living in a dorm with the kids and would be their surrogate parents. RVA is a big school with more than 500 students from more than 20 countries. Some of our other duties would be maintenance work or teaching photography at the school. Morgan and Lyndsey prefer this option as they both want to go to RVA. So far, Kelly also prefers this option. I also am beginning to think this is my favorite option, but photojournalism is what I would love to do as a missionary. AIM was the second open door but was the first one that we started applying with. The next open door was World Team, who I was not really excited about at first but the more I talk to them the more excited I get. They are very aware that we are looking at other opportunities and have asked us to consider a 1 to 2 year trip to their West African field. They will tailor a trip around our skills and desires. They want me to work as a photojournalist and document the work that their missionaries are doing. They also have many opportunities for a maintenance/construction/mechanical person, as much or as little as I want to do while we are there. There is also a boarding school called the Rain Forest International School where we could be dorm parents and the girls could attend. We would be in Niger part of out time and then in Cameroon part of our time. We recently started the application process with World Team as well. Evangelical Baptist Missions is the latest open door, they were one of the first but it started as only a crack but has all of a sudden swung wide open. They just today asked us to consider coming to Mali for a survey trip. They have a couple of things that they would like us to consider. In Mali they want us to consider running their guest house in the capital city. I would also do maintenance and help build churches in the villages. I could also teach photography at a MK school or to the locals to give them a skill with which to support their families. They also have a lot of opportunities for us in Niger. There are pros and cons with each of the ministries but I am honestly very excited about each one of them. One of the things that we are trying to do while we look at our options is to get out of debt as much as we can. God has been proving Himself mighty in this, He has blessed us in ways that we can't explain and we give Him the honor and praise that is due Him. Just this year we were able to pay off 2 credit cards and just recently we made the last payment on our van. We have a second mortgage on the house that we hope to be able to pay off by the end of the month and we hope to have our last credit card paid in full by the end of the summer (or at least the end of the year). This will leave us with a school loan and a mortgage. Isn't God amazing, we have struggled for the past 8 years (while I was working) to pay these bills. Now that I am unemployed not only are they being paid, they are being paid off. I can't explain it other than this, God is a God of Wonders. I could go into more detail about the opportunities that God is giving us at this time but I have a hard time keeping the details straight so I think I will just stop this post here for now. Hopefully I will have an update for you soon.
Photoman
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