Hi everybody!
Greetings from a VERY, VERY COLD Omaha. I don't know about Chris, but I am very excited about living somewhere a bit warmer 🙂 We hope that you and your family had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. We pray that it was filled with laughter, memories, and hope. As we write this letter, Chris and I are excited to spend the holidays with our family here in Omaha as well as with family up in Iowa and South Dakota.
This is definitely a time of transition for both of us. We are in the process of finishing up our jobs, giving away many of our belongings, moving out of our first shared home and beginning the first of many good-byes. We ask for your prayers during this time of transition. Please pray that our hearts and minds would fully rest in Him and His promises. We plan to live with our parents during the month of January, in hopes of saving some money and spending some good quality time with them.
We are still hoping to leave for Sierra Leone in February. God has been so faithful in bringing in one third of the money we need to purchase plane tickets and begin making the big move. We are still in need of people who will commit to partnering with us on a monthly basis. If you are interested in making a monthly contribution, an auto deduction form is included with this letter. This is a pretty easy, no-hassle approach. We are so thankful for each of you and how you have loved and supported us these past few years. Thank you as well to each of you who have given. We can never thank you enough and we are excited to journey with you!
We were able to call Cami in Sierra Leone last week. It was wonderful to hear her voice and get updates on our friends in Freetown. This phone call helped fuel our excitement. To be honest, these past few weeks have been somewhat difficult. The reality of parting with so many familiarities and moving so far away from our friends and family, and the lives we love here, is hard. We now better understand what it must have felt like for the disciples in their day-to-day routine to hear Jesus' words, "Come and follow me." They also left their homes and familiar surroundings. We are trying to grieve as well as look forward to the future. We know that the Lord is calling us to the nations and He will walk with us each step of the way.
We are very excited to be a part of what God is doing in Sierra Leone. As we leave our lives here in Omaha, we remember that He is in full control. It is He who works through us. In Henri Nouwen's book In the Name of Jesus, he shares, "We are not the healers, we are not the reconcilers, we are not the givers of life. We are sinful, broken, vulnerable people who need as much care as anyone we care for. The mystery of ministry is that we have been chosen to make our own limited and very conditional love the gateway for the unlimited and unconditional love of God."
We love you guys so much! Thanks again for all of your prayers and support. Please use the enclosed prayer card as a reminder to pray for us and to keep in touch with us even as we'll be on a different continent. We really couldn't do this without all of your love and encouragement. Thank you again.
For His Kingdom and Glory,
Chris and Erin