Crossing The Pond
When Erika and I first heard about Caring for Life, a ministry to adults with intellectual disabilities in England, I was not excited. I think my very thoughtful initial response was, "No." We had been thinking about, praying about, and visiting SE Asia for years. Post-Christian Europe was not on my radar, un-reached Asia was.
But God gently softened my heart to the possibility, and opened doors for us to visit the ministry this summer. And as of this week, we have officially said "yes" to moving to England. Our target is to move this coming August, giving our kiddos time to finish the school year here, time to prep our home for renting, time for Erika to finish her Masters in Counseling, and time to say goodbye to a place and people that mean so very much to us.
Erika's role at Caring for Life (CFL) will be as the Expressive Arts Therapeutic Program leader. She will be providing dignity, community, and a place of belonging to vulnerable adults through poetry, drama, and music. Spending her days with these amazing people will also give Erika the opportunity to listen to their lives, pray with them, and study God's word with them.
My role with CFL will be as the manager of the Farm Store. CFL is based on a 125 acre working farm that produces beef, lamb, poultry, and produce. The Farm Store is one of the few places where the general public gets to interact with the ministry, hearing about the work that is done on the farm, and supporting the larger mission of CFL through the purchase of fresh eggs, local cheese, and hand pies. Like Erika's, my role will be considered pastoral, as I will have a small number of vulnerable adults working alongside of me. The store is overwhelming for most of the folks that the ministry serves, but there are a few who love the interaction with the public, and my role will allow me to walk alongside of them.
We will have so much more to share in the coming weeks and months. This will be a massive change for us, for our kids, and for our parents and families. We will have many prayer needs throughout this process, but for now, can you please pray for our kids and for our families as the gravity of this move sinks in?
In the meantime, we continue in our role prepping, mentoring, and training short term missionaries with SAMS. We recently got to accompany one of the short term missionaries we have been working with this year, as she attended SAMS multi-day training for those discerning long term missionary service. To watch this young woman grow in the Lord, and hear His call to give her life in service to others has been a true gift. Thank you for your continued support which has enabled us to do this work for SAMS. We are currently prepping another short term Bridger for service in Uganda!
We appreciate you all so very much, and can't wait to share more soon.