2022!

We’re here. I don’t know how we made it, but we’re here.

Raising five kids (and a few of their friends) tends to leave the years blurred together into a stew of sleepless nights, long conversations, and fast food – punctuated by quick vacations and startling life-shifting events that pop up without warning.

The last two years especially have been hard on the world-psyche, and we are all struggling to find some semblance of “normal” in the midst of the quickly shifting landscape. So, in the midst of an ongoing global pandemic and all of the normal living and healing and work and ministry, we have found ourselves at a major point of transition once again!

We’re moving to Serbia this year!

This has been a long time coming. I’ve written so many blog posts in the past several years about our sensing God’s call into full-time missions work in the Balkans, Kurt’s seven trips abroad and my five – two with our entire family in tow… It’s been a journey. If you’re interested, here are some jumping-off points for you to peruse at your pleasure.

1. The Call and the Send
2. Serbia 2016
3. Serbia 2017
4. Serbia 2018
5. Serbia 2019
6. Macedonia 2019

In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic basically shut the whole world down, and in 2021, we found ourselves wondering if this calling was ever going to manifest. In faith, we set our sights on June, 2022, not knowing what the year would bring. We began taking steps towards that calling, carrying the words we’d received from the Lord in our hearts.

In August, 2021, we sold our beloved house on Eagle Street, and moved our family of 5 (our oldest two now grown and living on their own) into an apartment nearby. This step was probably one of the most difficult things we’ve ever done. Thankfully, we have an amazing community who rallied behind us and helped us get the house ready and on the market. God worked a miracle, and we received an over-asking offer within 24 hours! It was one of the first real green-light signs we’d received in almost two years, so we were grateful to see God’s hand so clearly in that situation.

In October, 2021, Kurt stepped down from his role on staff as the Lifegate Fremont Worship Pastor so he could focus his time and energy on Serbia and on coaching his replacement, the amazing TJ Bliss.

Now, here we are in January 2022, with 5 full months to go, beginning to work on raising support and monthly financial partners for the journey ahead. Even though we’ve been planning this move for almost six full years, when it all begins to coalesce, it feels like it’s happening really quickly.

We are ready, though… Ready to see what God has in mind for us and for the people of Serbia and the Balkans. We have an amazing church, an amazing sending organization in place, and a beyond-amazing community of people who love Jesus and love us and are backing us in this endeavor. We wouldn’t want to go any other way.

So that’s our brief update, but my goal is to write and post more and more as we make this transition so that all of you may feel part of this journey. If nothing else, it’ll be a path for others to follow – the story of an average family from Nebraska, stepping out in faith to answer the calling we felt God lay on our hearts, launching into full-time ministry in a foreign country.

Trust me, if we can do it, anyone can.

Love to you all! Follow along. We’d love to have you. 🙂