This year, as Easter comes and goes, I have had this idea of 'new life' playing through my mind. Every time I take a moment to think, I am brought back to this concept; that we are not called to living the same old lifestyle. 

I am reminded of what the Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians when he said, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" (2 Cor. 5:17, NIV) When we follow Jesus, we have a new life; we are no longer defined by our past. This is a concept that is repeated time and again in churches; those of us who grew up in the Christian faith are well-acquainted with this. But what a strange concept it is! This idea that by choosing to follow after Christ and invite His lead over our life, we have a fresh start. We are no longer guilty of our past mistakes; we are free from the bondage that comes with sin.

What a glorious thought!

May this year be full of new life and new opportunities to share that life! Praise the LORD!

I can honestly say that when I envisioned this transition in my mind, it never quite played out like this. I knew it would come with inherent difficulties-jet lag, culture shock, language barriers-but I had not anticipated a total lack of mobility.


In the hours immediately following my break, I was confused and heartbroken-“How could God let this happen to me? I moved my family and our entire lives across the ocean to serve Him and spread His Gospel throughout London and now I can't even walk! Why would God cause me to be stuck inside?”


I am going to be honest, I was even a little mad; I didn't want to be impaired in my tasks and I certainly didn't want to have to rely on other people for help. It is especially humbling when you cannot even go to the bathroom without someone else's help. The more time has passed since the injury, the more God has spoken to me (or rather the more I've been willing to actually listen) and the more I have begun to see the good that God is doing through it.


There are periods in my life in which I have really resonated with the Old Testament story of Joseph-and before you say it, not because I have visions of grand success!! Rather there was a time in which I knew that God had placed in a particular position and I was to remain there (even though it was the furthest thing from my desire) until He called me out of it-much like Joseph's experience whilst in prison in Egypt.


Consequently, my current circumstance reminds me a bit of Joseph's encounter with his brothers following his promotion to 2nd in command in Egypt. In speaking to his brothers, he, in essence, says, “What you meant for evil, God used for good”. Again, I want to be clear-no matter how I felt in the early hours, etc. I do not think that God caused me to break my ankle. However, I believe that God can use a situation for His Glory. In fact, I have already seen the good He has been able to accomplish through all this-on the day of the accident, I was able to have many good, gospel-centered conversations with 3 young paramedics. I shared with them my faith and why I was in the UK, etc. We talked about faith and Jesus and it was certainly a planting opportunity.


Not only that, but a few days following the injury, I was scheduled to go in for surgery. I was able to share a little bit of the gospel with the anesthesiologists who prepped me for surgery, but not a whole lot before I fell asleep! However, the best conversation came the day following surgery in which I was able to chat with a Physiotherapist and talk about my relationship with Jesus and how it impacted my life and how I made the move, etc. He seemed genuinely interested in what I was sharing and said that he might even come by and visit the church-if it takes a broken ankle for the LORD to reach the hearts of these men and women, it will have been more than worth it. God is able to take the worst situations and shine His light in and through it.


“I remain confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord.”


-Psalm 27:13-14

So it has been a little while since we sat down and posted a blog update. There are a number of reasons for this, but needless to say we are very excited to be sharing this information with you:

WE ARE LEAVING FOR ENGLAND!

After a lot of prayer and conversation with loved ones, we have shifted our ministry slightly. We are no longer partnering with ABWE-please be sure that there is no tension or division in this choice. We did not make this decision lightly and it is not because we have issues or problems with ABWE, we still love them dearly and we are excited to be able to join alongside of them from a different means. Moving forward, we will be sent out as missionaries from Hope Community Church.

In our move to London, we will be partnering with a church in the north London area-Highgate International Church. David will be serving as the Mission Team Leader and will be developing and implementing strategy for reaching out to the international community in London, as well as teaching and leading the current congregation to be, make, and encourage disciples.

We have our tickets purchased and we are prepared for our initial 2 week quarantine once we arrive in London. Please be in prayer for us as we make this transition, especially Ethne and Grahame. If you would like to send us some snail mail or an encouraging card our address when we arrive will be:

272 Archway Road
Highgate, London
N6 5AU
U.K.

We are so excited for this next phase and can't wait to share with you all the things that the LORD will be doing!

In Christ,
David and Rachel

As many of you know, I am huge fan of superheroes-particularly Marvel heroes. You might not know that I also love Sci-Fi, especially well-written novels. These days, I often find myself thinking, "Did I suddenly wake up in the throes of a dystopian science fiction thriller?" To say these are strange days would be putting it quite mildly; I could never have envisioned our current reality. 

As I'm sure you could guess, the above picture was taken in England. Even now as I am writing this, my heart is burdened for the people there and the uncertainty they face day to day-especially those who do not have the hope we have in Jesus Christ. Lately, I have found myself praying daily for their burdens-lost jobs, fear of the unknown future, anger, etc. Despite all of the fear and confusion of this year, the call to go to England only continues to grow stronger. God is doing awesome things and He has invited my family to join in the transformation of this small island.

I had mentioned earlier to keep an eye out for a major update. Our original plan was to begin transitioning into full-time on the road support raising, beginning in the Fall by traveling to Texas. We may very well still follow that plan-right now, we are simply waiting to see how this season of social distancing and quarantine concludes. At this point, we do not know when exactly life will "return to normal"; nor do we know how that 'normal' will look. However, we do know that we serve an immeasurably wonderful, loving God who is in control and guiding our path. We trust in Him alone, knowing all other sources will ultimately fail, but He never will.

While this may not have been in our plan, nothing about what is happening is surprising to God. He is not caught off-guard and He is not scrambling to find an answer. Our greatest strength in this season lies not in ourselves, but in our Saviour-a Saviour who loves us beyond measure and desires to see the whole world restored to perfect relationship with him.

Continue to serve and stand faithfully where you are,
In Christ,
​David

Today, I am sitting in the local Chick-Fil-A while Ethne and Grahame take some to play in their indoor playground. As I sit here, I am listening to Steve Shadrach's "The God Ask" and feeling simultaneously encouraged and challenged. The stories he presents are awe-inspiring and examples of the faithfulness and provision of our amazing God.
This has been an entirely unpredictable journey. I had ideas of what I thought it would be like-visions of quickly raising support and leaving for the field. I know God is capable of this and so much more-surely He could help Rachel and I reach full support in a matter of months. He has been beyond faithful during our time of preparation and partnership development-I cannot adequately express how much He has done for us in this period in our life. 
The reality of our experience is that we are more than a year into our partnership development and we are almost at 50% support committed-I don't want to underplay that; God has connected us with churches and individuals who share our passion and commitment to see His Gospel spread throughout the island of Great Britain.
It would be very easy (and understandable!) to be discouraged through this process; I have seen quite a lot of rejection when speaking with potential partners. And, if I'm honest, I do find myself discouraged from time to time. However, God has really spoken to me in this new year, offering encouragement and hope in the midst of difficult times. I cannot help but feel like God is laying one idea heavily on the heart of Rachel and I, 'CHANGE'. 
As many of you probably know, I do NOT like change; I like the status quo, I like the familiar, I love routine. However, I have felt such unease in doing what is familiar and has been our routine. Rachel and I sought the LORD and there are some big changes on the horizon for us-some shifts in the every day life, as well as long-term. I don't mean to sound cryptic, but stay tuned for some updates about our changing journey.
We ask that you join us in prayer as we prepare for this next phase. For more information, please check out our Bios and Facebook pages. We are so thankful for you in joining us on this fantastic journey!
In Christ,
​David

At the beginning of August, we had the opportunity to share our story with the Global outreach team at Church Project in The Woodlands, Texas. My parents currently live in Conroe, TX, which is about 20 minutes outside of The Woodlands and they had of course scoped out the authentic British cuisine in the area. One evening they took us to a restaurant called "The Chipper" (if you couldn't guess by the name, it is a Fish 'n Chips shop-colloquially called a 'Chippie').

While there, we enjoyed some amazing fish, chips, and sausages. But the real treat of the evening was getting to talk with the owner, a gentleman from Scotland. While talking about our call to serve in Sunderland, he expressed how spiritually dark that northern area is and how desperate the need is for individuals to share the Gospel in daily life. We were both challenged and encouraged-we know the task ahead of us is huge, but our God is bigger and it was so awesome to be able to share that with a fellow 'harvest worker'.

Rachel and I often remind each other that the call which God has placed upon us is far too big for us to accomplish, but that with the support of our community and a unstoppable God, we know that we will see transformation for His kingdom.

In Christ,
​David

Yeah, I know that is a kind of cheesy title...but sometimes I feel kinda cheesy, ya know?

Anyway, today, I started going through The Story of Hope. It has been such a blessing for me to revisit all of these familiar stories and to be able to look at them with a fresh eye and perspective. Perhaps what stood out to me the most in examining the creation was the relational God who formed us from the dust. He was wiling to take the time to shape and form us, to know us. Not only that, He breathed life into us-literally!

How comforting to know that God is not distant, but rather a hands-on, invested God. A God who created us and loves us and cherishes his creation. In sharing this story, I was reminded of the relationship of creator and creation-particularly through the eyes of my children.

While playing with play-doh, Grahame had created a long, thin snake. Ethne was also creating snakes, but realized she did not have enough play-doh to make the snake as long as she wanted-so naturally, she reached over and grabbed the snake Grahame had just finished lovingly sculpting and smashed it into her own mound. As you can imagine, this upset Grahame terribly and he let out a pained cry. That snake that he had made was more than just a piece of play-doh, it was his creation and he loved it. How much more does our Heavenly Father love us and desire the best for us! 

God loves the people of England and desires to be reunited with them-that is why we are so eager to get there and share His love with the people there. What an awesome God we serve!

In Christ,
David

Dipping a corn chip in white queso, a brother recently said, "My goal is that everyone who I interact with knows Jesus a little bit better."

Mission work doesn't start when we land in England. Mission work doesn't begin when we feel ready or comfortable or prepared. Mission work begins today.

Today mission work took on all kinds of forms. Slowing down enough to minister and love and parent our children. Exercising. Late night online coursework. Make dinner for friends. Not remembering to turn the oven on and handling it with grace and poise. Spending time with saints and learning from them and sharing with them. Laundry. Prayer.

I also turned our watermelon into a baby and the kids rocked it to sleep but that doesn't really count.

What did mission work look like for you today? We would love to hear of all the creative and beautiful ways that Lord is orchestrating the fulfillment of the Great Commission.