Called... U.S. to Zambia, Haiti and now Sierra Leone: Moving...gracefully

A FEW WORDS ON HOW OUR JOURNEY STARTED

Davids' parents were very strong church goers and very involved in missions work. His mom, Barb used to tell me how she loved missions work and the children in different countries. I remember being struck by her dedication but not understanding her desire to step outside of her comfort zone. Since reaching adulthood, I spent many years stuffing "things" in the holes in my life that God belonged in. Barb was diagnosed with a rare form of stomach cancer in late 1999 and was gone by April 2000. Didn't give any thought to missions until one Sunday in November 2000...David and I got to church, sat down in the pew and I began to read the bulletin. It mentioned that our district was putting together a missions trip to Honduras and contact the district office if you were interested. I immediately turned to David and said "I'm suppose to go on this trip" all the while feeling like someone else was saying this and wondering what had happened to me. Me, the person who thought camping consists of venturing to the Holiday Inn for a few days??? David looked at me strangely, smiled and said "You have a nice time". I couldn't believe I wanted to go and David had no desire. I realize in looking back that the Holy Spirit was speaking to me. I worked so hard to convince myself not to go but I couldn't, for one of the first times in my life, I couldn't change my own mind. The closer the trip got, the more I tried to encourage (nag) David to go. He stood his ground and said he didn't feel called. So I embarked on my first trip with several other people from our church and my life was forever changed. I don't have words to describe what happened to me but I began to look at my life in a totally different way. Upon my return, I began "working" on David to go on the next scheduled trip with me. He, again, stood his ground and at the last minute I pulled my last trump card and asked him to do it for me. He agreed and within 24 hours of our arrival in Hondruas he told me how happy he was he came and how he felt close to his moms' spirit. During the next 6 years David and I took advantage of every missions opportunity we could. My job afforded me more time off so I was able to go on more trips but David was doing one or two a year. The trips were all different - construction, medical, childrens ministry and day camps. Each trip we felt this peace and closeness to God that we didn't feel at home. It was addictive! "We" began making plans...first few years we talked about becoming missionaries when we retired, next year we started thinking of early retirement, following year we fast tracked the mortgage on our house to pay it off in a few years. I even took two years of college Spanish, thinking it would be useful when we were in Central America. After a trip to Nicaragua in early 2007 we returned feeling that it was time for us to allow God to tell us when and where he wanted us to go. In July we received a call at family camp on the morning of missions day. World Hope was asking us to make a two year commitment to Zambia. We didn't even have to ask for time to think of it, just looked at each other and said yes! We began selling all our belongings, quit our jobs and moved to Zambia in January 2008. David built a huge 18,000 ft. complex for offices and a guesthouse while I hosted many teams from the United States coming to see the work being done through our agency. We were there for two years and made so many new friends and fell in the love with Zambia. Our original mission accomplished we were asked to work in Sierra Leone so upon returning to the states in December 2009 we focused on fund raising for our new mission field. On January 12th Haiti experienced a major earthquake. We received a call from our sending agency, World Hope International two weeks later, could we go to Haiti instead of Sierra Leone? How could we say no? We have learned so much about Gods' grace and mercy in just six months. The people of Haiti are kind, loving, resilient and happy. How does a country that has suffered such devastation go on? With their eyes focused on God and a joy in their hearts that he has a plan for them. Rebuilding is beginning and we are happy to be part of that process. Please pray for the people of Haiti as they vote on a new president, pray that their eyes be open to honesty and goodness and not clouded by monetary promises. God continues to grow us and we are feeling very blessed!

THE PURPOSE OF OUR APPOINTMENT

David will be working with First Step, a subsidiary of World Hope to continue developing a economic opportunity zone which encourages foreign countries to build factories, produce their products using a Sierra Leonean workforce and then ship the finished product out with import and export duty exemptions. Check out www.firststepeoz.com

Beth will be working with the WHI office in Sierra Leone and First Step in implementing accounting and computer systems. She will also be working with families in the area and developing projects in surrounding communities, and of course, working with any teams that visit.

PLEASE JOIN OUR TEAM

If you would like to become a prayer partner, please email us at missionsbeth@yahoo.com or leave a note on the blog to alert us. We will include you in our regular email updates.

To partner with us financially, please send your tax deductible contribution to:

World Hope International
c/o Contributions Lockbox
P O Box 17151
Baltimore, MD 21297

Please mark your contribution with our name and Constituent Number 28163 to make sure it's properly recorded.

You may also donate on line with a debit/credit card by visiting https://giving.wesupport.org/gift2/designation.php?GUID=0A797C5B-2B8A-4686-AB22-A52383315A6B&id=7327.

THANK YOU FOR PARTNERING WITH US!

FACTS ON SIERRA LEONE

With a population of approximately 5.6MM and a landmass of 27,925 mi2, Sierra Leone is a beautiful land of mountains, beaches, and high savanna situated to the southwest of Guinea and to the northwest of Liberia in West Africa. Officially founded by British abolitionists in 1787 as a ‘crown colony’ and home for freed former slaves, the country has enjoyed self-rule since the gaining independence in 1961. Following a period of destabilization at the tail end of the last century, Sierra Leone has responded with determination and ingenuity to move from a period of post-conflict stabilization to a period of sustained economic growth and development. The country is now ready to receive foreign direct investment and enlarge its presence in the global economy.

Area - comparative: South Carolina

Natural resources:

Cocoa, Coffee, Palm Oil, Tropical Fruits and
Forestry/Tropical Hardwoods

Population: 5,600,000

Languages: English, Krio

Called... U.S. to Zambia, Haiti and now Sierra Leone

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Moving...gracefully

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