There are experiences in your life that leave you forever changed....nothing will ever be the same again. Our trip to Angola was just that......a pivotal, life-altering event!! We had a wonderful God-filled trip. We saw things that were heart-breaking. We came home with a better appreciation for little things, like clean water and electricity 24/7. But most importantly, we saw God's hand in EVERYTHING!!
As we were flying over the Atlantic returning home, we were eagerly planning another mission trip to Angola for 2010. The Lord had put a love for Angola and it's people in our hearts. After we'd been home for about a month, Riley approached me and told me she wanted to go back to Angola. I said, "Really?!! Do you want to do another mission trip?" and she quickly responded (while shaking her head) with "No. I want to move." My response was, "You're 11 and you want to move to Africa?" Her answer was, "Mom, you know I want to be a medical missionary." WOW!!!! She had no idea that Danny and I were trying to discern God's call for us. Whether we were supposed to stay here and raise awareness of the good work taking place in Angola, or whether we were supposed to go and serve there. This made me quickly realize that God just might be calling us to the mission field. After seeking Godly council, much prayer and discernment, we have said "YES" to God!! We are pulling up roots, selling most of our belongings, and taking a huge leap of faith and moving to Lubango, Angola. I will be working at CEML, the hospital in Lubango, and Danny will be working with the Seminary to help develop a Youth Ministry program and helping with fund-raising and grant writing. The girls will be attending the International School that has just been reopened by Helena Foster-Fabiano, a dear friend of ours. We are very excited about this chapter in our lives!! While we are also a bit nervous about this new way of life, there is great peace and we trust the Lord to provide for our needs.
We are working diligently to get our house ready to place on the market and fundraising. We have been truly blessed with wonderful friends that are very supportive of the ministry God has called us to. Any time we've needed help, they have been right by our sides to do whatever they can. They've truly been gifts from God.
We are hoping to leave by the first part of January. Just around the corner!!!! We are at about 1/3 of our support and our home isn't on the market yet. God is certainly teaching us that it is all in His time and not ours. We continue to be diligent and we're moving forward so that we are ready to go when He's ready for us to move. We will move to Portugal for 6 months for language training and then we'll travel to Lubango from there. We must be somewhat fluent in Portuguese before arriving in Angola.
If you are already supporters, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. If you're not, would you prayerfully consider joining our ministry team? We are being sponsored by AGA, Inc. (Advancing the Gospel in Angola) www.hopeforangola.org. As we prepare, we covet your prayers! Our specific prayer requests are for ease of language, provisions, peace, and safety.
Giving Him all the glory!!!