Hallo! Dag! Goedendag!

In case you couldn’t tell, David and I have started taking Dutch classes! I’ve got to tell you: there’s something about starting to learn this language that, in its own way, is making our move to the Netherlands feel real. First growing up in California, and then moving to Belize, not only was Spanish the language I learned, but it is also the only foreign language that I’ve ever even tried to learn. Dutch is very different! Even without ever becoming fluent in Spanish, I find myself trying to switch to Spanish when I don’t know the word. All that’s to say, Dutch class, notecards, Duolingo, songs, and Bluey in Dutch: it all has us fully committed to a new language and a new ministry across the pond! I also want to add, I wasn’t sure how the kids would feel about us starting to introduce some Dutch into our day-to-day, but not only are they excited about the new words and sounds, but it is helping get them excited about the move. We can already see God preparing our children for the changes ahead.

It is odd feeling like the end is in sight. We’ve been out of Belize for well over four years now, and and it feels like we’re fully settled in Toronto. God has truly blessed us with an amazing community here at Wycliffe, at our churches, and at the weekly Bible studies. While we’re not packing out yet, (there’s still so much work to be done) we are now close enough that it’s causing me to reflect on the past few years and how God has lead us to this point.

I’m the kind of person who likes to know the plan – not that I am myself an organized person, but I like to know what’s next. You might call me … a worrier. What’s next? Where’s next? How do we get there? Well, our time here in Canada has had me having regularly let go of my need for a plan – and probably the need for control – and trust that God knows. So while David took classes, wrote papers, taught classes, and worked (and is still working) on his dissertation, we have waited.

But even in the waiting, God was there. I thought this would be a weird time of limbo: not being in our home country, and not knowing where we would go next. But as I look back, this entire time has been such a blessing. God showed me how much he was taking care of our family with things I didn’t even know we needed. When we landed on Wycliffe College and the University of Toronto for David’s doctoral work, we were just looking at the academic and financial side of things, but God gave us all that and a wonderful community: one that has built up our family and truly cared for our children. We didn’t think there was any way we would be able to get part-time jobs with David’s school schedule and me home with the kids, but then God provided both of us with musical accompanist positions, and work here at the college. Being missionaries, I didn’t anticipate getting to see family that much, but God has made possible not only for family to visit us here, but even for us to see some of our family in the States over the last few years. We didn’t have any plans to take a vacation while we lived in Toronto, but God has blessed us with the opportunity to go to a Christian family camp every year. Add to these so many more things that would take too long to list here! Again and again, God has shown us that while we may not have known the plan, he was taking care of us.

And then, after all the wondering and waiting, we have been graced with more than anything we could have expected. To have God direct us so clearly to serve in the Netherlands, a place we didn’t even know to consider at the beginning of this whole discernment process; or to have this new direction fit in every way the calling God laid on our hearts five years ago in Belize – to raise up leaders in the Global Church, for the extension of God’s Kingdom, while also serving in a local community that desperately needs Jesus right there – all this is to say (in a very long, run-on sentence) that God has walked with our family through this whole process of wandering, and then has shown us the plan he had from the beginning. A call in Belize; a time of learning, refreshment, and family here in Canada; and now such a clear fulfillment of that original call at Tyndale Seminary in the Netherlands.

I’ve got to tell you, I’m really excited! We get to serve in a theological graduate school that is training leaders from all over the world to go and build God’s Kingdom. We get to live and serve in the most unchurched country in Western Europe, where people have the reputation of being incredibly happy, yet where so many are missing out on knowing the One who can actually bring them Joy. Of course, this calling is greater than anything we can actually accomplish on our own, but we serve an even bigger God who equips us for the tasks he sets before us. I realize we’re not leaving yet, but in so many ways, I’m ready to go!

So where are we now? Well, David got two long chapters of his dissertation in over the summer, and he’s now working on the last two main chapters. This is exciting in that he is finally writing the heart of his dissertation. These are the chapters that got him excited about this topic in the first place: the chapters that have been rolling around in his head since before he even started his PhD. Where I would be overwhelmed with so much writing, he has at long last reached the “fun” part. Please do be praying for him as he works on making his argument clear and meaningful in these last chapters. His goal is to be entirely done within this school year, at which point we will depart Canada and begin raising support in the States. Only once we reach full financial support will we move to the Netherlands.

For this reason our missionary society, SAMS-USA, enrolled David and me in missionary partnership coaching this fall, to give us tools (and refreshers) on how best to prepare for this next missionary placement. One of the things that became especially clear to me this time around is how connected we are to you, our partners. The fruit of the work we do on the mission field isn’t our fruit: it’s yours because we aren’t serving alone – we are serving as team with you. And there’s something exciting in that, don’t you think? Knowing that this calling isn’t just ours, or something we have to do alone, but that there is a whole team of people with us; praying, supporting, and working to spread God’s Kingdom, in the Netherlands, and throughout the whole world.

So, please be praying for our financial partnership in ministry as we start raising support even now, and please consider committing to supporting us on a monthly basis, or even with a one-time gift to go to our Launch Fund. We would want to head to the Netherlands as soon as David finishes his dissertation, but we also know we cannot leave until we have reached full financial support. The Netherlands is more expensive than Belize, and our family has nearly doubled since we were last on the mission field, all of which means that our monthly missionary budget is much higher. There have been bad days when I find it a bit overwhelming thinking of the work to be done just to get there, but then I remember not only that God is in control (as the last five years has so clearly shown me), but he is the one who called us to Tyndale Seminary Europe in the first place … so he will get us there. It is daunting, yes, but impossible? Absolutely not. It’s just another opportunity for me to watch God work!

Ok, so while I’m excited for the changes coming in the next year, I do have a few prayer requests for the here and now.

• Please pray for David as he writes the last main chapters. Pray for clarity and wisdom as he works on bringing together everything he’s been working on over the last five years.

• Please pray for me and the kids as I continue homeschooling First Grade and Kindergarten. I’m having loads of fun teaching them (and learning myself!), but it is a lot of very time consuming work that we are still adjusting to as a household.

• Please pray for these beginning steps of finding more financial partners. David is pushing to finish his dissertation, while I’m working with the kids, and we are both learning Dutch: so we’re being stretched in so many different directions, but we are excited to be moving forward. Please pray that we are able to make new connections, with individuals and churches, so that we can raise new partners in this ministry. And please prayerfully consider being one of those individuals who partners with us financially in this global ministry for the global church.

• Finally, please pray for Tyndale Seminary Europe. Pray for the students and faculty as they study and serve together, both in Europe and when they return home to continue spreading God’s Word to the ends of the earth.

Blessings in this Thanksgiving season!

The Alenskis Family