Change.
For most people, change is very hard. We get comfortable in our situations and find it difficult to alter from the normal in our lives.
We (Mark and I) have usually gone against this norm. We actually like change. We try to see change as a way for God to mold us and stretch us for His glory. We usually come out better people when we accept the change He provides for us. We have gone with flow of change for many years.
Change is not really THAT bad…or is it?
Four years ago, God asked us to follow Him to Swaziland, Africa. We sold most everything we owned and moved approximately 9,000 miles away from our home, our family, our friends, and our church. We settled in to our life here and accepted the change actually as a gift from Him. We fell deeper in love with the people of this country. We were honored to be called to serve Him in this beautiful place. The faces of the precious children that we work with are like angels.
How could you not love that change?
Yes, we have seen some of the bad. Yes, we have experienced the ugly. Yes, we even know the darkest sides of ministry. And yes, we have seen the good!
A young girl believing for the first time. A small child being baptized. Hundreds of children receiving their only meal for the day. A family falling to their knees in thanksgiving and prayer because they finally have food. A lady crying tears of joy because she now has clean water. Teenaged girls sobbing because of the bar of soap you provided. A young boy left speechless because he now has a Bible of his own. The stories could go on. Thousands of them.
We have actually loved every second of this change that God provided for us. We give Him all the glory and honor every single day for sustaining us during this change. He has grown us, stretched us, molded us, and above all, changed us. We are nowhere near the same people who left Birmingham, Alabama four years ago.
We actually embrace this change. We like the “new” us. We are comfortable where He has brought us.
Until, He tells us to go back.
We, all of a sudden, DON’T LIKE CHANGE! We are perfectly fine living here. We are so comfortable with the Swazi culture. Pick someone else! We absolutely love the people we work with. We adore the children. Nothing brings us more joy than to go to the Care Points.
God, can you hear me, “WE LOVE IT HERE”…
And that’s when he made things very clear to us. We are to follow Him wherever He leads. Comfortable or not. Simply. Follow. Him.
God has made it clear that He is calling us to move back to the States. As this may be a total shock to many of you, it is a shock to us as well. We have prayed for many, many months and He has confirmed this path for us. The plan that has been laid before us is to return to the States in the middle of November.
We thank you very much for your continued prayers and your financial support for four years. Without selfless donors, we would not be here. Thank you for investing in God’s Kingdom through us. We love and appreciate each one of you.
As for this change, we are not dealing that well with it. We are now going to be leaving a huge family on this side. We will be leaving thousands of beautiful faces with the most beautiful chocolate eyes on the planet. We will be leaving fellow missionaries who are now, our family. We will be leaving ladies that cook who are now our sisters. We will be leaving many teenagers who call us Mom and Dad. We will be leaving our home.
We ask for your prayers. Prayers for our girls, as they are not dealing well with this change either. Prayers for the missionaries that we leave behind, as they will have to pick up the slack from us leaving. Prayers for the thousands of kids we work with each week. Prayers for this new journey that He has us on. Prayers that we will continue to seek Him in every, single decision.
For those of you that support us through prayer and/or financial means, we ask that you please continue. We will remain working in the ministry here for a few more months, and then we will begin our new journey Stateside. As to what that looks like we are not exactly sure, but we trust that the Lord will speak clearly in His timing. We are simply answering His call to move our family back. After that, it will be a daily walk in faith!
We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for walking with us on this journey. We will continue to keep you updated as plans become more clear.
Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Blessings,
Mark and Allison
