This year’ has’s been insane, and it’s only May.
In January I was with a team at the Jinja Children’s Home. We had left a day or two after Christmas, so we could celebrate new years eve with the children. It was super precious, and chaotic. WATCH THIS TO SEE WHAT I MEAN.
In the middle of that trip, Sarah and May (my wife and daughter) were at home, and became super ill. It was an incredibly difficult time for our family. However, in the midst of that difficulty, many of our home-town friends showed up to bring them meals, care for them, and ensure they were ok.
We watched as the church, acted as the church. It was incredibly encouraging.
Every trip to the children’s home creates deeper relationships with each kid. I love these guys. It has been a hard season there, and we’re working to tell the story of what God is doing in their lives. If you feel led to support this effort, it is incredibly close to my heart, and I’ll be grateful for the partnership as we invest into the kids lives.
And suddenly, I was in Pakistan…
This will take A LOT more time to tell you about, and I’m working on some videos to bring you into that world. Until then, check out this video I posted on my youtube channel. It wasn’t really meant to be something anybody saw. I was recording it almost as a journal entry, but I felt like it would bring you into what it’s like doing ministry in places like that.
Jordan, Noah, Craig, and I (along with another European missionary) traveled to Lahore to be with our friends. We got to spend time with the children’s school we partner with, some of the families who’ve been freed from slavery, the local churches and Pastors we partner with, and the sewing school for women that we’ve been supporting.
It was difficult, precious, overwhelming, and encouraging. I’ll post more about this later.
Pakistan and India are on the verge of war. So that’s impacting our people on the ground at the moment. I’m working to bring you into what we know, and gather deeper understanding of how we can stand alongside the church while they experience this.
After helping serve parts of the church in Ukraine for the last few years, we have a strange proximity to war. I’m not sure why the Lord allows us to see these things and be a part in the midst of chaos. But we’re going to help our ministry partners and help push forward the church regardless.
Then we went back to Europe.
Again, I’ve got tons of footage and stories to tell. So I’ll be spending some time this month working on those videos and releasing them as we can. But after Pakistan I returned home to Camas, Washington to pick up my family, and we went off to Europe to spend time with the missionaries we serve with throughout the region.
We started in Spain to visit the Faker family and some of our long-time friends who lead a church in Madrid. It was super precious time with both of them. I think it was mutually encouraging.
After such an intense trip to Pakistan, it was awesome to just spend some time with like minded people who would push my family forward as much as we’re trying to push theirs. We need the church to be alongside one another through these things. And I’ve seen that happen over and over again this last few months.
We then went to Kosovo to meet up with Jordan and Jenny, Meaghan, and everybody else at Newborn Brew.
This place is special, and God is doing some INCREDIBLE work in people’s lives. A church has sprung up and meets in the basement of the cafe each Wednesday night. I had the incredible chance to lead the music for them while we were there. And the boldness and sheer volume of those singing the Gospel in the heart of the city is truly inspiring. Here’s a video from last year about what is happening in Kosovo.
Then, Malta… where Paul shipwrecked.
Jordan and Jenny had arranged a surprise trip for their staff to Malta, and had invited us to come partner with them to care for their team and employees. So we took the short -and a shoutout to WizzAir, ultra cheap- flight from North Macedonia to Veletta, Malta.
This five days was incredible. We got to have some of the coolest conversations with the team while doing scavenger hunts, exploring the city, and resting together. This team is doing insane work in the heart of Kosovo (yet another war-torn country), so to be a part of this work with them is an incredible honor.
To wrap it up, France.
We ended this mega-trip across Europe in Vernon, France. With some of our dearest friends, Jeff & Sonja Stewart. To see the work God is doing there is astounding. We got to spend our evenings sharing laughter and tears, looking back on what the past has held and dreaming of what the future will be. Their kids *now adults* Josephine and Asher have been some of the most amazing examples of what it’s like to go as a family into the mission field. I’ve got some stuff coming from them to share with you that you won’t want to miss. Seriously. These guys are the real deal.
That’s some of what we’ve been doing.
I know this has been a long post. And if you chose to read through it, thank you.
Some seasons of life are slow, and others are at breakneck speed. This has been one of those seasons. So to bring you bulk updates seems overwhelming (probably to you AND me), but I wanted to give you some line of sight on how we’ve been out visiting the church, and what is coming down the line.
God has been moving among his people. And I can’t wait to have some time here at home to work on telling you that. We want to be caring for people AND telling their stories, but the latter part of that takes time. So I’m going to be here in Camas, working from my office to raise the support needed to carry on, tell you stories of what is happening throughout the nations, and spend as much of the summer as possible investing in my family.
We’re so grateful for your partnership as we go into the nations.
Thank you for supporting, following along, and praying for our family as we live on mission.
~Andy
