We were at this great Empty-Nest time in our lives where the kids were out of the house and living (mostly) on their own, we had good jobs that paid well, we were getting to travel some, and we had the time and money to do pretty much what we wanted to do – Time to RELAX after raising 4 children. Right? But God had something else in mind for this time of our lives – as He usually does.
We had been introduced to Adventures in Missions (AIM) through our daughter, Alex, who found this organization and connected with them to do the ‘World Race: GAP Year’ when she graduated from high school in 2014. This “Race” was a 9-month mission trip with college-age young adults from all over the US where she traveled to 3 different countries/continents and served in each place for 3 months with her Squad. At the same time, we were introduced to a position within AIM called Coaches – married couples who partner with a Squad to assist in discipling and mentoring these young adults as they traveled. After Alex’s Race we immediately signed up and were connected with a Squad to coach for a year – this group of 21-35 year olds traveled to 11 countries in 11 months – and we traveled to meet them on the field 4 times. We loved our time with this inspiring Squad and enjoyed getting to know more about the AIM organization – their heart for missions, their focus on discipling young adults to go out into the world to make a difference and introduce people to Jesus.
Fast forward about a year and a half when an email was sent to us (and some other couples) asking us to consider being Base Elders for AIM as they were developing 8 bases around the world to host GAP Year Squads as they journeyed, in addition to leading other ministries associated with the Base. “Intrigued” – that was the word we kept using as we talked to people and asked questions about this new role at AIM. We committed to continue saying “Yes” to God until He told us “no” or closed a door. And we are still saying “yes” . . .
We are now turning this easy, “coasting” phase of our lives into a new adventure that only God could orchestrate. The time was right, everything was lining up for this to be the perfect time for us to do something radical like this. So here we are – purging our household “stuff” from 31 years of marriage and 4 children, quitting our good paying jobs to live a life of letting God provide, and choosing to move to Antigua, Guatemala, where we don’t speak the language. God has chosen to put us in an uncomfortable lifestyle so that we can find our comfort in Him. We are anxious, scared and incredibly excited to be stepping out of our comfort zone to let God use us together in ministry.
At the end of this year, we will be moving to Antigua, with only what we can take with us on the plane (and maybe a car filled with things – still TBD). We will be working with a new family of missionaries that are already at this Base. Our role, for now, will be to disciple the GAP Squads that are coming through the base, partner with the local ministries (orphanages, senior citizens homes and schools), involve ourselves in community outreach (installing stoves and water filtration systems), and assist with church planting and mobilization of local churches.
We would love for you to partner with us in this ministry; to be a part of Kingdom Building. You can do this by praying for us, the people we will be ministering to and the Adventures Guatemala base. You can also support us through giving to Adventures in Missions (gifts are tax-deductible). Click on the “Donate!” button and consider being a part of our team by supporting us monthly. You can also subscribe to this blog to get updates sent to you directly by clicking on the “Follow Me” link at the left.
