Monthly Archives: February 2019

Why are we moving to Iowa?

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Over the next few months we will be sending out a series of updates that will help  to explain what we will be doing in Iowa with Young Life.

February: Why are we moving to Iowa?
March: What will Mark be doing with Young Life?
April: What will Liz be doing with YoungLives?
June: Financial update and directions of how to switch your support over to Young Life

Why are you moving to Iowa? Such a simple question and yet its much deeper then that.  The simple answer is God has called us to minister to students throughout Iowa. The longer answer is that when God called us to follow Him we began an adventure that would lead us all over the world.  
We met during the first day of Freshman orientation at the Moody Bible Inst. and were married 2 years later in June of 1998.
We had gone to the Moody Bible Inst. in Chicago where Mark majored in Youth Ministry and Liz in Elementary Education. During our senior year God clearly showed us that we weren’t ready for a pastorate position and led us to Christ’s Home for Children outside of Philadelphia, PA in August of 2000.   Liz and I, at the age of 22, became foster parents for 8 children that had been abused both emotionally and physically.  We were given 25 hours of training and thrown into parenthood.  We thought we were ready… but we weren’t and only lasted 9 months.
It was here that God broke us down so that he could build us back up in Him.  Our pride was stripped, our ability was questioned and our walk with Christ grew.  We were challenged to follow God in new ways and to not put our trust in ourselves. In many ways we completely failed as foster parents.  We were beat down and stretched in ways we had never been before.
God gave us a respite in May of 2001 leading us to minister at Gull Lake Bible Conference in Michigan.  For 2 summers Liz and I led the children’s and youth portion of family camp and God reignited our passion for teaching and working with students.  It was while we were there that I met John Beukema who hired me to be the youth pastor at Western Springs Baptist Church (WSBC).  In our first interview he told me he thought Christ Home was our place of seasoning for the Lord.  He said you both are far more ready to serve God after your experience there.  I had no idea at the time how right he was. Liz and I had been through our first furnace and God had been refining us in ways we could not imagine.
In 2002 we set out to Western Springs, IL to serve the youth and share the love of Christ there. During our time there relationships were established that are still strong today.
In our 13 years at WSBC we saw God lead many students to Christ and encourage many others in their walk with Him.  We are truly grateful for our time there.
As I look back, I see Gods blessing on our ministry there in the form of so many relationships and lives that were changed. I had the privilege of baptizing many of the students over the years I was their pastor.  It was such a joy for Liz and I to also be a part of  the pre-marital counseling and weddings for some of those same students.
Our last 4 of years at WSBC we felt God stirring us to be involved in foreign missions.  We prayed for years about an opportunity and God directed us towards Naomi’s Village in Kenya.  It was in  Kenya that God revealed more about Himself to Liz and I and called us into a deeper walk with Him.  We had become complacent and a little self-reliant and God brought us to Kenya to serve the orphans and the surrounding impoverished community. At the same time He revealed more about Himself and drew us closer.  God has used Liz and I to be able to teach, develop and help in countless ways here in Kenya and at the same time this ministry has had a life changing impact on our family  in immeasurable ways.
We came to Kenya with no time frame as to how long we might stay.  I wrote a few years ago about how we had “burned the boats” a reference to completely leaving where we were to embrace all that God had for us.  We have loved our time here.  Thank you to all of you that have sacrificially given to our family so that we can serve Christ here in Kenya.  We cannot say thank you enough!
We have learned that God calls people into missions not just so that they can teach and proclaim the message of God but so that God can teach and proclaim His gospel in the life of the missionary.  We have seen God gently and at times forcefully point out our sin, our poor attitude and our ungodly desires so that we can live a life that would be honorable to Christ.

As believers in Christ we are all on a journey, whether we are pastors, school teachers, businessmen, store clerks, or missionaries.  God is constantly calling us to go deeper with Himself.  He continually and faithfully pursues us to a more passionate relationship.  We have seen that in so many ways during our walk with Him.
So back to my first question!
During the end of our third year in Kenya God started to turn our hearts back to student ministry in the US.  We fought it, we prayed for clarity, we were confused, but in the end through a short conversation with Dave Goy and 5 months of prayer, God showed us a mission field in Iowa that he wanted to plant our family in.
What’s interesting about following God is that He gives you a passion for wherever he leads you. When we moved to Kenya people thought we were crazy and yet we have thoroughly enjoyed our years here.  We know that because God has called us to Iowa He will continue to give us a love for this new place as we seek to make much of Him there.

So why Iowa?  
Because we know that there are students there that do not know Christ. There are teenage girls that are pregnant right now that have no idea who their Creator is.  God has shown us that Iowa is the place where he wants us to be. We want to make much of God whether we live in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, Kenya or Iowa.  Thank you, to all of you that have been a part of our journey.  We have been blessed by your friendship and it has been a privilege to pray for you. We will do everything we can to strive to make much of who God is.  Thank you for continuing to pray for us and helping us serve in this next stage of life that is coming soon.

 

December 2018 Update

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Merry Christmas
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

This verse always reminds us of the meaning of Christmas.  It’s all about Jesus!  In Kenya things look a lot different this time of the year then in the midwest and yet the importance of our Savior’s birth is the same.  Jesus came to save us from our sins! We pray that Jesus draws you close to Himself this year as you seek to serve the savior.
We nt to thank all of you that help our family to minister here in Kenya.  December is filled with many opportunities to share Christ with the people around us and we are privileged to be here on your behalf.
This year we continued our yearly tradition of handing out care packages and praying over the people that receive them.  This is always one of our favorite things to do and this year the Huebers were with us! It is such an encouragement to have great friends share in the joy of our ministry here in Kenya.
It was a blessing to join the Huebers and Horns (Bri’s parents) to help provide a bunk bed to one of our Cornerstone families.
The teen houses, which sit on the same property of Naomi’s Village, are finally done and the older kids have moved in!
On Dec 1 we prayed over the dorm parents and walked each teen to their new room.  These 2 houses will serve as the new living spaces for our older children at Naomi’s Village.  Each house has their own dorm parents that will pray for, take care of and teach these kids more about following Jesus as they enter their teenage years.
We had a graduation celebration for the outgoing 8th graders at Cornerstone last week!
The graduation ceremony for both the Kindergarten class and the 8th grade class was the first official time the new gym was used.
Items for prayer:
Family: Over the next 6 months Liz and I will continue in our roles as Director of Operations and Spiritual Care (Mark) and Sponsorship Coordinator and Early Childhood Coordinator (Liz). Our hope and prayer is to finish well. We both know that God allowed us to be here in Kenya this year to train, model and continue to further the ministry of Naomi’s Village.  Next summer we will be transitioning to Young Life.  In our upcoming newsletters we will write more about what we will be doing with Young Life as well as continuing to update you on what God is doing here.

The Children at Naomi’s Village: Continue to pray for the Children at Naomi’s Village that they would see God in a transformational way.
 
Cornerstone School: The new school year in Kenya begins in January.  Pray for the teachers to exemplify Christ to the students. 

LEAP Academy Preschool:  Pray for the new students and families that will start preschool in January.