2012: a look back

I cannot believe we are already in 2013! It’s been almost 8 years since I’ve graduated high school. If you asked me 8 years ago what I’d be doing with my life, I would have probably said married with children, but living in Africa would have not been on my radar. This last year has been a roller coaster to say the least. We have lived in 6 different cities, spent time in 8 different countries, Trey ran a marathon, got the surprise of a baby on the way, turned a quarter of a century, spent 6 months in training, and began to learn a new language. When I look back on 2012, I cannot believe all that we did in 1 year.

We started the year headed to Disney World for Trey to run the Disney Marathon. The best memory from that day: I saw Trey at mile 13 and he was doing great. He was still smiling and had energy. He waved and talked to me as he ran by, all with excitement. I saw him again at mile 23 and things were a little different. When he came by I asked him if he needed anything, since I had Gatorade & power bars in my backpack, and all he said was, “Do you have a gun?” Needless to say he completed it!

We then headed to a short vacay in Jamaica. There are so many things I love about Jamaica, but the best part of being there was relaxing by the pool :)

We returned home to spend time with family & friends and say some goodbyes before we headed to Virginia for 2 months.

While we were in Virginia, we spent time in classes & with others who have the same passions we do. It was a challenging time, but also an encouraging time. No doubt about it, the best part about being in Virginia is the friends we made. They have been lifesavers during difficult times, both during training and since we’ve arrived here.

We went back home for a week or so before heading to Vancouver, Canada. Neither of us had ever been to the West Coast or Canada. Vancouver has so much to offer. We continued to have class every day, but were able to put into practice what we were learning. We continued to grow closer to some of those friends from Virginia and make new ones. Being there was good since we were able to still feel like we were in America, but begin to spend time away from home. The best part about Canada was all that the city had to offer. We loved sight-seeing and spending time out & about in the city.

While in Canada, we welcomed a nephew to our family! We met sweet Owen via Skype and cannot wait to get home and actually play with him!

Finally, at the end of June we boarded a plane for Africa. We had a layover in London and decided to get another stamp in our passport :) The UK became our fourth country for the year. I would definitely love to go back and spend more time there!

We then landed in our now home country. Shortly after arriving, I celebrated my 25th birthday! Here we have had incredible times - like finding out we’re having a baby only 2 weeks after landing - and some difficult times - like living in 3 different cities out of suitcases while waiting for our house to be completed. It has been a learning experience. We have learned so much about ourselves, our relationship, and about another culture. We have had incredible support from our family, friends, and churches back in the US. The days that have been the hardest, we know they are praying for us and helping us stay here. We have learned to be completely dependent on the Lord. We know that He has sustained us through all of the good times and bad times.

28 weeks

23 weeks

26 weeks

In October & November, we spent time in Burkina Faso & Ghana for West Africa training. We spent time every day out in the community, meeting the people, learning about their culture, their struggles, and how we could encourage them. We also made some great friends here!

We returned home and moved into our HOME! We were thrilled to move and get settled. We began to make connections in our city, get our house set up, and find our way around town. After about a month in our home we boarded a flight to our final country of the year: Spain! We decided to take a Christmas vacation. Spain is beautiful! We stayed in 3 different cities and make day trips to yet more cities. Not only did we celebrate Christmas here, but we also celebrated Trey’s 25th birthday. We are so thankful to be able to get away for a bit.

We returned home on New Year’s day and began 2013 - another year full of changes.

Why Vancouver?

I have heard this saying numerous times. The first time I heard this said was when speaking to the immigration officials for the better part aof half hour. I was explaining to them why my wife and I were coming to Vancouver. The saying for training, urban training, cross-cultural training, mega city training, all of these answers fell on deaf ears. Their response, “ok, but I don’t understand why Vancouver?” The past several days have clearly answered this question for me personally. I asked this same question, why Vancouver? God has called me to West Africa, clearly Vancouver does not represent West Africa in any shape or fashion. However, the demographics are still the same. LOST. I was talking to this guy in an area of town which we are beginning to do ministry in, his statistic, “there are less than 3% evangelical Christians in Vancouver. By Company standards this is near the 2% margin of declaring a territory unreached. This astonishing stat amazes me since we are extremely close to the U.S. border. However, 700 out of every 1000 are non-evangelical. Astonishing. This statistic rang true the past few days as we, as well as our co-workers have been engaging the city with a specific survey/conversation/pictures/tool.The most common responses to this engagement tool, “I’m Muslim, but that’s great you believe that,” “well, nature is God,” “everything is God,” “we have thousands of gods.” All actual responses, all actually showing the spiritual nature of the city. The city is absolutely lost and has absolutely no clue that it is. The last response and conversation today ended with a man responding to Kristen, “Sweetie, we are all Gods.” This is the world we live in, a lost world dying and going to hell, with no inclination of any hope. Some hide behind other religions, some behind their money, but all currently with the same destiny. They are going to a Godless eternity. So, my question to you, what is the Southern Baptist Church going to do about it? Praise God, there are fellow church planters here Southern Baptist are supporting, but is that enough? Is there enough pleading to God on the behalf on Eldon. Eldon, a homosexual, his only prayer request was for humanity. That is my prayer request for you to have, for humanity. For the souls of the 1.6 billion people with little to no access to the Gospel. Ask, “God where are you calling me to? Some, their workplace. Some, a different part of the city they never go. Some, a change of professions. Some, are called to go to someplace across the ocean where the name of Christ has never been heard of. So tell God you are willing to go wherever he leads. Pray for the people of Vancouver who are lost and have no idea to the contrary. So why Vancouver, for people like Eldon, who know something is wrong in this world but have no idea why or what can be done about it.

TREY

Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge

Last Monday, we had the day off to rest & explore. We chose to explore more than resting, and it was well worth it. The morning started out with about an hour & a half trek from our apartment to a suspension bridge. We took all forms of the public transportation... SkyTrain, SeaBus, & Bus. We went with another family who is here in Vancouver training with us. They have 3 little boys (5, 3, & almost 1) who loved every minute of the exploration.

The bridge was really neat & beautiful! But the best part was on the other side of the bridge. It was absolutely gorgeous. I love going to the beach and taking in the beauty of the waves crashing, looking off into the horizon, but this was a different kind of beauty. This was northwest beauty. We enjoyed hiking through the woods & taking it all it. It was really peaceful. Shows how creative our God is in His artwork.

After that, we walked around Chinatown for a bit with some other friends. Lots of people, stores, and colors. It was really a neat area. In the middle of Chinatown was a beautiful garden that we ventured into. We enjoyed watching our friend's little boy take it all in & play around. He loved to talk to the ducks & run through the bamboo. The garden was a nice place to go in the middle of chaos.

And then we headed back to our apartment, stopping by the grocery store along the way. In the grocery store we met a couple from Africa and have since built a relationship with them. We're excited to see where this relationship might go. Once we thought we were done with our fun for the day, another set of friends came over for dinner with their sweet little boy. We enjoyed our time with them as well! Needless to say, we didn't relax much on Monday, but it was well worth it. We got to take in so many different sights & sounds of our new city. We look forward to having time to go back to each of these places.

10 things learned our first week in Canada

Author: Kristen

1. You have to rent shopping carts.
2. Always carry reusable shopping bags or pay 5 cents a bag.
3. It's probably going to rain on you when carrying 8 bags of groceries.
4. Our neighbors love their Spanish & Hungarian music, and cooking their ethnic food.
5. Canadians love their hockey.
6. A Looney is $1 and a Tooney is $2.
7. In the states, bigger is better when buying in bulk. Here, the easier to carry the better.
8. Recycling is a must.
9. Take your shoes off when entering a house/apartment.
10. Canadians want you to enjoy your time in their country.

We've had quite a time learning all of these. Some of the things seem like no big deal, and they aren't... just different. As much as there is alike, there are still differences that take some time to get used to. Soon we'll have some pictures & videos up for you to enjoy. Now, I'm going to go watch some Vancouver Canucks Hockey with Trey.