Hello everyone, we are so thankful for each of you that have been following our adventures and supporting us through your prayers and words of encouragement. We are writing today to let you know about our next adventure, which is a significant step in this amazing journey God is leading us on!
Our first missions adventure as a family was something of an "experiment" - a short term commitment to see if our desire to be involved in missions work was just a passing desire or a true path for our family to follow. What we found was that we enjoyed it more than we ever expected and in a way that's hard to describe, we feel like we have discovered our life purpose. Instead of being weary from the work and longing for the comforts of home, we found ourselves energized by giving to others. And while we enjoy being home, we find ourselves missing living in community, serving in ministry to people in need and helping others learn about the goodness of God.
In our travels we became aware of the great need for more workers in the mission field and we felt a growing desire to be a part of the solution. Before making any major decisions, we wanted to return home and spend some time reflecting, praying and talking with trusted advisors. Through this process we realized that these desires were lasting and with the support of our family and church leaders we have have decided to begin on a path towards full time ministry. Our goal is not to start a new ministry, instead our desire is to use the skills God has given us to come alongside ministry leaders and support them in achieving the vision God has given them reach to the lost, poor and needy. Specifically, we hope to get involved with supporting discipleship training programs and urban street ministry as part of YWAM.
The next leg of our journey will take us to a YWAM base in Orlando, Florida, where we will receive the additional training we need to take on a staff position within YWAM. The training will involve both classroom learning and practical application via local and overseas outreach work. YWAM Orlando is a large missions base that is training hundreds of missionaries every year and sends out teams all over the world, so it's a perfect training ground for our family (http://www.ywamorlando.com/outreach). As part of our training, we will develop a longer term ministry plan, which will including identifying where and how we will serve for the next few years. All YWAM workers are responsible for raising their own support, so we will be working out a plan for fundraising during this time as well.
We leave for Orlando at the end of March, which is less than two months away! In preparation for our departure, we have been focusing on practical things like selling our house, downsizing our possessions and getting ready for the move. We've also been spending time with family, meeting with people to share what we are doing and trying to squeeze some fun with friends in too! Please keep us in your prayers: chief concerns at the moment are that our house would sell before we leave at the end of March, that our family would have grace for the preparations and the move and that we would have the faith to trust God for his provision and favor as we step out into a whole new way of living and working as a family!
Please feel free to share these links with anyone you think would be interested in following our journey, we'd love to share our experiences with everyone. If you want to receive our updates automatically, like our page on facebook (https://www.facebook.com/LefeverFamilyMissionsAdventures) or subscribe to our blog (http://lefeverfamilymissionsadventures.blogspot.com).
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