Phil and I will leave today to head to Central Asia (near the Caspian Sea) to see if that is where we are to move. We will be staying with our friends, the Stonehouses, and can't wait to see their home and community and the people they love. Here is the letter we wrote to our friends to share the news.
Dear friends,
We are writing to let you know about an opportunity that has arisen for us to potentially move our family to Central Asia (near the Caspian Sea) to partner with an international school and fellowship. Our hearts have always been drawn towards people from other countries and also supporting overseas workers and the prospect of living with this other community seems exciting, however daunting. There are many potential opportunities for us there such as teaching in the school, leading worship, working with the youth, and also working in the deaf community. With Rachel's expertise as a sign language interpreter, my experience in music, teaching, and administration, and our recent partnership with the youth group, we feel that this unique opportunity fits with our current passions and skills.
Please know that Rachel and I have not made a final decision about this but are simply walking forward in faith this until the Lord closes the door.
Although we have not made a final decision about moving to Central Asia, Rachel and I will be traveling there May 12th-20th (our kids will remain here with friends) to visit with the people and to seek God's face while we are in the community where we plan to serve. We will spend the week talking with workers there in the fellowship and school to see if it would be a good fit for us. As we make this trip in two weeks, please pray that we have clarity and confidence in the final decision, whatever that may look like.
We would love to talk with you if you would like to hear the whole story of how this came about and how the Lord prompted us to pursue this opportunity.
In order for us to do this, we would need to raise support to live and work there. Our aggressive goal is to raise funds and settle our business here in Nashville in time to start working in the school this coming August. While it seems impossible to man that we would be able to raise support and get our family ready to go in three months, we serve a big God that can move mountains. If He wants us there, a way will be made. We are open to waiting on his timing, so it might be that we are not able to raise support as quickly and will go in January of 2019 or even August of 2019. We are trusting the Lord with all of the details.
We would ask two things of you.
1. Please pray for us. Pray for direction for our family. If this is not supposed to be, we do not want to force the issue. With that being said, we would love to see God move mountains and for our family to be able to serve in this way. Pray also for direction (if it is a yes) on timeline, when to go, how long to stay, and all the details of moving the family around the world.
2. Please pray for how you can support us financially. If we feel that the final decision is to move to Central Asia after our May trip, we would potentially ask for a two year commitment from our supporters with the potential for us to stay additional time if God leads in that way. Please pray for God to lead you in this partnership with us.
Thank you for joining with us as we seek the Lord.
Love,
Phil & Rachel
***Due to the nature of what we would be doing and the sensitivity for the workers there, we are not able to share specifics here and ask that this trip or subsequent trips not be shared on social media***
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