We Are Relocating

Well, now what? John quit his job and we moved out of our house and sold most of our stuff. It’s time to go back to full time mission work, which in this case means finishing the school we started building in Malawi. Only we can’t move back there just yet because of finances and family and security issues, so we started doing some scouting and found what we believe might just be the perfect place. Our missionary network has put us in touch with a church and a sister ministry in Central America, where life is simpler and cheaper and where we can come and go between Malawi and the United States more often than if we stayed in North America.

We have been asking God for years to train us in the skills we need to develop the HUGS for Tomorrow ministry, and He keeps answering in the most unexpected ways. What John learned as the dean and vice president of student life at York University is invaluable to our school in Malawi. Now it seems we may be headed for some training in the area of opposing human trafficking, which is the fastest growing crime in our world and very much a problem in the villages of Africa. We will be living near the headquarters of a successful anti-trafficking ministry, which is established in eight countries, including one in Africa. I’m going to pause right now and ask that you consider putting us on every prayer list you are a part of. This type of work is certainly a target for our enemy and he will not likely let us study it in peace.

This is just one small part of what we hope to achieve by moving to Central America. The HUGS Academy is fully functional through the fourth grade, and we continue to add one grade level each year, which means one more building, two more teachers, and thirty more students each fall. Even though we’re maintaining on our current level of donations, in order to develop the property through high school and beyond, we will need to raise more money. We are doing our part to keep our personal expenses down by relocating to a place where life just doesn’t cost as much, but we are asking for your continued support and for you to help us get the word out. We have plans for a vocational school and a college, among other things, and this is all going to require a larger support base than we currently have.

We’re ready to make this move and we’re excited to share our progress with you as we go along. We’re grateful to each and every one of you who has been supportive of our family and our ministry. A work like this truly takes a team and, if you’re reading this, you’re likely a part of ours. Also, if you’re not a geography buff, you may be surprised to hear that we will be closer by plane to the Dallas Fort Worth airport than we have been by car from Nebraska, so plan a visit to come see us. There’s no better way to truly understand what you are supporting than to sit and talk over a cup of coffee. God bless you and thank you for helping us make the world a better place.