Friends, I had hoped to offer you a wider window into our family’s life in this season of crucial transitions, but things are so chaotic that I will have to give only the most fleeting glance at our last weeks in Toronto.
First, I’m pleased to announce that three weeks ago I submitted my dissertation to the Toronto School of Theology (the graduate theological arm of the University of Toronto) for examination, and I’m awaiting a defense that is still TBD but will most likely be scheduled for sometime this fall. The last month or two was a slog of “hurry up and wait” as I worked with others to finalize the remaining edits. But in the end, the final draft was sent off to my committee, and I look forward to moving ahead with these very last steps of my PhD program. It has been such a long journey, and I am so grateful to Mary Beth, to my children, and to all of you who have accompanied us along the way. Please pray for the committee members as they read my work, and for me as I prepare to defend it orally!
We have also begun in earnest the arduous process of moving out of a our college apartment in which we have nurtured our family for the last four years, and from which we can only take so many things to go with us. We have been selling furniture, or sometimes giving it a way, and we have been packing our library and other odds and ends to ship from Toronto to the Netherlands whenever we have a new permanent home there. We still need to request medical records from half a dozen offices, say goodbye to our favorite haunts, preach a few final sermons, hand our personal library over to a moving company, and so much more. In short, it’s all been enormously stressful, and while the end is fully in sight, the path to getting there is not. Please pray that the Lord would help all the pieces come together and give us peace of mind about the logistics.
We are also working out our itinerary for the first few months of our journey raising new financial support for our ministry at Tyndale Theological Seminary in the Netherlands. We will be based out of northern Georgia where Mary Beth’s parents live, but we already know we will be making excursions into South Carolina and other places around the South of the United States. Please pray for open doors at churches and in homes as we plan our travels through the end of December.
We are so excited to embark on this next stage of mission and ministry as a family, and we are eager to keep you posted – and to invite your own partnership. We cannot wait to join with others in Europe in equipping leaders from all over the Global South for even more fruitful Gospel ministry, and we ask that you prayerfully consider becoming co-laborers with us toward this vision as well. Click the links below or get in touch with us personally to learn more about how you can partner with us in the months and years ahead.
In short: thank you for your prayers, please consider giving to our family’s ministry, and expect to hear from us soon! The Lord richly bless you!