Different location. Different roles. Same ministry. Same goal.
There are so many times over the past few months that we wanted to post a blog, but we have not been sure what to say. In reality, we would be in Eswatini right now serving, but borders are still closed. We have continued to work from home and stay very involved in our regular duties. These past few months we have truly felt God’s peace and have once again been amazed at His provision and timing.
While we were stateside over the holidays, the Lord impressed on us that our time residing in Eswatini was coming to an end. In I Timothy 5:4 it says, “if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family…for this is pleasing to God”. With concerns for Greg’s mom, coupled with the boys still being in a very transitional time, we prayed that God would let us know without a doubt when it was His time for us to move back to the States…just like He did when He called us to move to Eswatini. We have been reading and meditating on Exodus 33:15 and praying for His perfect timing just as Moses prayed, “if your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here”. We certainly do not want to be out of His will or make a move without Him. When we evacuated in April, we had no idea how long we would be gone, but we thought maybe a few months and then would return to at least finish out the year. Through the prompting of the Holy Spirit and some really quick decisions, we were able to sell furniture and household items and move necessities into our flat (a detached room on the side of our house) before our repatriation flight. Our fellow missionary friends moved into our house; thus, being able to take over the rent and utilities. Once we can return, we will be able to stay in the flat and sort the remaining items. Now that we realize it will be much longer than we anticipated, we are totally blown away by God’s timing and how those plans fell into place within a matter of a few weeks!
Since April, we have felt the Lord’s peace as he has gently guided us through “what are we supposed to do now”? With borders still closed and no hopes of opening any time soon, it became clear that God’s timing to relocate was sooner than ours!
Then all of the questions began rolling in and here are just a few…
How and when do we tell our Eswatini friends and staff?
Where are we going to live?
Where are we going to work?
Let us try to answer these questions for you, but you may have other questions. If so, please do not hesitate to send us an email or a text.
How and when did you tell your Eswatini friends and staff? In a perfect world, we would have told them in person. Many are very dear friends and we certainly do not want to appear we are abandoning them. Once we knew we would not be going back for a while, we needed to have a transition plan in place stating who would take over some of our roles. Many conversations needed to happen before announcing this to the staff, so we have not published anything on social media for this reason. We were able to make an official announcement to all staff on August 24th.
Where are you going to live? Once we realized we needed to look for a permanent place to live, we thought we would be able to purchase a specific house. After several months, the Lord closed that door and once again, we asked “what now”? We looked at houses in our hometown of Alabaster and when we rode by this particular house in a nearby city, both Greg and Landon said, “that’s the one”. We looked at the inside of the house a few days later, made an offer and closed in 3 ½ weeks! We moved into the house the last week of August. It is so humbling to think that our friends and family have stored a bedroom suite, a desk, and other household items for us for the past six and half years. We will slowly set up a house again and purchase needed items along the way.
Where are you going to work? As you can imagine, this was a BIG question in our minds and once again have felt God’s peace through the unknown. At the end of September, Michelle will begin working part-time with our local church (which was amazing timing as well), but we know we cannot live off of one part-time position. Over the past few months, when one of us would get “anxious” about the job situation, we would remind each other, that we did not know what it was going to look like when we arrived in Eswatini. God showed us in His time and we have been trusting that He would do that again…and He did! We have been offered positions with AIM to serve stateside. We do not know a lot of details, but we do know it will be working with the Eswatini field. This seems to be a perfect fit for us as we have sat in several “seats” such as mission trip team members, mission trip team leaders, on the field missionaries and will now work directly with partners connecting them with the field. It seems each “seat” has prepared us for the next one. As you know, there are many moving pieces to any ministry and we are excited that God has kept this door open! Michelle will continue to supervise finances while working directly with Swazi staff in regards to expenses. We will be able to travel to Eswatini on a regular basis to keep in touch in a tangible way. More details to come as we find out what our other duties will entail.
We do know that as we continue with Adventures In Missions, we are also required to continue to raise support. Our income will be partially subsidized with a monthly salary, but we will still need to raise at least $30,000 a year through support of friends and family. This gives you an opportunity, as supporters, to remain involved in this ministry, too! Many of you supported us when we did not know exactly what we would be doing in Africa…which is very similar to now, as we do not know exactly what our job descriptions will be. However, our goal has not changed as we continue to focus on the Eswatini mission: To transform individuals that transform communities. Our duties will look a little different, but our hearts are still to serve alongside these amazing people.
We ask that you continue this journey with us. We feel so very blessed to be part of this team. God is not finished with us in Eswatini and I hope you choose to continue to pour into this ministry as well. Just to be transparent, we are still relying on our current full-time status of being support-raised missionaries. We appreciate your dedication and generosity as many of you have continued to give and prayed with us as we have been waiting for God’s direction.
We also want to mention that we have been advised to attend a debrief training in February which is located in Colorado. This training is designed specifically for those that have worked cross culturally and are transitioning back to their passport country. We want to be smart and ensure we are able to reflect back and unpack how living overseas has impacted us in a healthy manner. Even though it is costly, we feel the knowledge we will gain is worth the investment.
We know this is a lot of information, but we are excited about what the future holds! We hope you can see through just a few of the situations mentioned, that God is totally in control. As we look back and see how He has been connecting the dots, it is a reminder of His love for us. Please let our testimony be an encouragement to you, as you may look back over this crazy 2020 year and see God’s hand as He was gently guiding you along the way. We serve a great God and may we always be mindful of how He is working in all of our lives…even when we don’t realize!
Thank you so much for your support over the past six years and we look forward to what God will do in the years to come together!
Greg and Michelle
