On the closing of a chapter...

Two weeks ago, we moved out of our Chicago home and community, after five years. This is the closing of a major chapter for us, a chapter that has included seminary degrees for both of us, the gifts of three daughters, the beginning of a future ministry in South Africa, the involvement in communities of believers who've become our family.

As you can imagine, that week was a blur of busyness, of general overwhelm, and of a nice dose of chaos. We managed, with the help of Ben's mom and two of his sisters, plus a couple of our nephews and our little niece, and Beth's parents, and several friends along the way, to sell many of our belongings, ship a small crate of some, donate the rest, and pack our suitcases. We also moved our of our home of four years, were commissioned by our church, and said many goodbyes to our Chicago community.

Since then, I have been reflecting on much of what we have left:

- the edification of our wonderful church body, who have challenged us, supported, and loved us, and who have come around us as we follow God's leading to South Africa

- the encouragement of our "small" group of six other families, all of who have sacrificially committed to financially and prayerfully partnering with us - this is what it looks and feels like to be "sent" as missionaries

- the camaraderie of our friends from Trinity, from previous churches, from our work settings, for two, and three, and four and some even for five years

- the comfort of our bright and cheery and spacious to us home for the past four years

- the routine of "the castle park" the perfect walk from our home and many play dates with friends

- the years of learning and growing during our time at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School - and the refinement of our giftings and how we can serve the Lord 

It is a very bittersweet goodbye - we are leaving what has been a good, rich, growing season for us as a family, and there are so many people we will greatly miss. There are many "losses" and we're taking some time to acknowledge them all. The girls have been asking lately about certain things - "where is my rocking chair? where are our dishes?" So we are learning to explain how some of our things we can take with us, and other things we cannot take - but they are just things. 

But this is the blessed truth that we have been dwelling on:

"Therefore, as you have received Christ the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving."

Colossians 2:6-7

So while we've said goodbye to our earthly roots in Chicago, we hold fast to our true rootedness - in Christ, for "in him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28). 

New Teammates

A couple of weeks ago, we attended TEAM's missionary orientation. One of the blessings was connecting with others who either have served in Southern Africa or are about to begin. During one of the sessions, an older gentleman who, with his wife, have been serving in Southern Africa for six years told us that the Southern Africa field had decreased greatly over the last decade or two. There just had not been any new missionaries coming. They, along with others still there, have been praying for a long time for the Lord to raise up workers for Southern Africa. Looking at each of us, seven new missionaries eager to go, he said that we were an answer to prayer. How incredible to see the Lord at work! Here is a picture that we were able to get together. 

(From left to right: Brett & Kara Richstone, Hillary Reneau, Jessica & Stephen Langley, and us)

FAQs: The Basics

So we know that there a quite a few questions floating out there about our family's plans to move to South Africa in the next year or two. Here are some of the short answers, and feel free to keep asking! We love to talk about what God is doing in our lives.

1. What will you be doing in South Africa? Enjoying an extended vacation! Actually, we will be working with Union Bible Institute to train future Christian leaders in South Africa. Ben will focus primarily on teaching Hebrew and other Old Testament courses. For Beth, there are numerous exciting opportunities, such as helping at a nearby orphanage, discipling women on campus, and potentially teaching in the future.

2. Why are we moving to South Africa? During our undergraduate studies at Moody Bible Institute, we found that we both had a desire to serve the Lord in a cross-cultural setting. The Lord had been working in our hearts since high school by giving us a passion for the Bible and for people around the world. Since graduating and getting married, we have continually been preparing for this type of service and are excited to move on to this next step. When we began to look at opportunities to serve the Lord overseas, we knew that we wanted to be involved in a ministry that utilized our gifts of teaching and discipleship. South Africa was one option that jumped out at us and, after our visit in January, the Lord has continued to affirm that this is the right direction for us.

3. Isn't it dangerous? This is a difficult and significant question. Yes, there are dangerous aspects about living in South Africa. However, from our perspective, there are also dangerous elements about life in the United States. We have a firm conviction that God is the giver and sustainer of life, and that he holds us in the palm of his hand. We believe that he has ordained the days of our birth and the day of our death. For us, safety is not THE most important priority, but rather to be faithfully following the Lord wherever he leads us, and trusting him with the rest.

4. Who are we going with? We are thankful to be partnering with TEAM (The Evangelical Alliance Mission), a missions organization that has been sending missionaries all over the world for 125 years. Working with an organization like TEAM provides support for our family in a number of ways, and encourages accountability. You can learn more about TEAM here.

5. How will you be paid? This is a good question. As missionaries, we will be prayerfully and financially supported by local churches and fellow Christians. Just like a local pastor is supported by a congregation, so too missionaries are funded by the greater body of Christ. We know it's a strange concept to not be paid a regular salary; however, many Bible colleges around the world are not yet capable of being self-sustaining, and are in great need of support.

6. What motivates you to do all of this? The love of Jesus! We recognize that, despite our best efforts, we are still selfish and sinful to the core, and that nothing in this life will give our lives the meaning we desperately seek. God is our loving Father, and sent his own Son, Jesus, to live the perfect life we never could and die the death that our sinfulness deserves. Through his life, death, and resurrection, Jesus provided access for all humanity to have a meaningful relationship with God, and we have great hope for this life and the next. This is the passion of our hearts, to share the good news of God's love for humanity with people, and teach them to follow him passionately.

We hope these short answers help clarify some of your questions! 

An Exciting Update!

This past week, we've had some big news. 

We mentioned last fall that we were exploring opportunities for our family to work in South Africa and Namibia. In January, we (Ben, Beth & Stella) had the amazing opportunity to take a trip and see both Bible colleges, meet lots of people, and see for ourselves a little of what life would look like in both locations. 

There were many sweet blessings about our trip, but one of them was unexpected: an appreciation for TEAM (The Evangelical Alliance Mission) and desire to partner with this organization as we pursue what the Lord has for our family. Upon return, we began the rigorous application process to formally become missionaries with TEAM.

After months of prayer and many conversations, we felt that the opportunity to work at Union Bible Institute in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa was the best fit for our family and have been looking that direction since.

Last Thursday, we heard that we were formally accepted by TEAM to serve as long-term missionaries in South Africa. As many of you know, we have been looking toward serving the Lord overseas for many years and are so excited that our desire is finally becoming a reality. 

At this point, our next step is to attend a TEAM missionary orientation in July before beginning the support-raising process. We are thankful for your continued prayers and interest in how the Lord is directing us!

3+ years later...

Dear friends and family,

Hello again! We hope this finds you all well. We've already enjoyed our first snowflakes of the season, and Ben is anxiously looking forward to another polar-vortex winter of window washing. We are, in fact, so thankful for the way the Lord has provided for us throughout this seminary season, and want to give a bit of an update, outlining both what's been happening and what's next. 

It's been three years and three months since we returned from our year in Taiwan. A lot has happened since then! The Lord provided jobs for us right away, and we began studying at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in late August of 2011. In November, we found out that the Lord was blessing us with our first child. Norah Joy was born on July 24, 2012. 

In the meantime, Ben began window washing, and has held this position throughout our time here. The Lord has provided so well for us through this job, as well as through other unexpected and amazing gifts (perhaps more on that later). Beth slowed her studies to part-time, and began working on Trinity's campus one day a week. 

In August of 2013, we discovered we were expecting a second child. The Lord blessed us with another daughter, Stella Kate, born on April 20th, 2014. 

A month later in May 2014, Beth graduated from Trinity with a Masters in Christian Studies. 

This fall, Ben began his final year at Trinity, with an anticipated graduation in May 2015. 

In these past three+ years, we have continued to sense that the Lord is leading us into overseas ministry, with a particular focus on theological education. We have prayed for confirmation in this direction, and opportunities arose in our church for Ben to teach. Through encouragement from others, confirmation in Ben's teaching, our understanding of the need for theological training elsewhere, and our desire to serve internationally, we have been seeking the Lord for direction in what's next for our family. 

Currently, we are exploring opportunities in South Africa and Namibia. We are excited about these options, and will keep you updated.

If you are interested in receiving our ministry updates, please let us know and we'll put you on our mailing list. 

We are thankful for your prayers and encouragement along this journey!

In the last two months, we've...

...relocated internationally

...visited friends and family in five different states

...settled into a new apartment and town

...applied for, aquired, and begun new jobs

...started our studies at seminary

...among other things. So you understand how the blog fell off the face of our earth for a little while, right? We hope so.

It was amazing to see so many of you and catch up in real life! We are so thankful for the time we were able to spend this summer with family and friends before beginning this new season.

The Lord has provided so well for us. By way of a brief update, we have moved in to an apartment in Highwood, IL, about five miles from TEDS. Ben started working right away for an older couple in a neighboring town, putting his cleaning and housework training to good use two days a week. He also works one night a week on campus at the athletic center. I was hired at our local Starbucks, only a mile from our apartment-perfect so that I can bike to work. We have both started classes at TEDS and are finally feeling a sense of routine settling in... thank goodness. We are excited to be here, and overwhelmed by the Lord's provision yet again. We are thankful.

We are also thankful for your prayers for us in this time of transition, and, er, minor life changes. Thanks for your love and support...

Ben & Beth

why I will mss teaching.

I said goodbye to all of my students two weeks ago. I also said goodbye to my good friend and co-teacher, Julianne. It was a long, sad week, in all honesty. Too many goodbyes all at once for me.

At any rate, I have been contemplating all of the lovely and unlovely bits of teaching that I will miss. In so many ways, this year of teaching has completely exceeded my expectations, and I have thoroughly loved it. Which is definitely why saying goodbye to it has been just so bitter

I will miss seeing students grow intellectually, personally, and in character. I could relate story upon story of blossoming students, of changed behavior, of naughty ones developing into hilariously cute ones. This is undoubtedly one of the greatest bits about teaching, anywhere, and it makes it all so worthwhile. [Thanks, Jimmy.]

I will miss seeing students develop in creativity. Learning in Taiwan is based more around memorization (which makes sense for Chinese) and less around independent thinking...which means that many students have a difficult time writing a story, or drawing a picture, or doing anything that requires them to think on their own. As a teacher, I've loved finding ways to encourage them in this area, and it's so exciting to see their own ideas come out.

I will miss the quirkiness of my students... their cute, little Taiwanese accents and (wrong) phrases... their outgoing personalities and their subdued ones... their sense of humor (poo poo never grows old. ever.)... their excitement for life and the way they communicate it to me.

Teaching has been a joy-filled, entertaining, stretching, and ultimately so rewarding way to spend this past year, and I wouldn't trade it. And I'm missing it already.

2.

Happy Birthday Ashton!

almost...there...

complete happiness.

Bawoons!






Mowing the lawn.

So good to see them...

Waiting

We've done quite a bit of waiting lately...and when better to mentally sort through all of life's adventures than during long layovers?

Yesterday, we said goodbye to Taiwan and everything dear...and hello to the States. It's very surreal to be back. Thank you for your continued prayers for us. We are so excited to see many of you soon.

Love,
Ben & Beth

why I will miss teaching.

I said goodbye to all of my students two weeks ago. I also said goodbye to my good friend and co-teacher, Julianne. It was a long, sad week, in all honesty. Too many goodbyes all at once for me.

At any rate, I have been contemplating all of the lovely and unlovely bits of teaching that I will miss. In so many ways, this year of teaching has completely exceeded my expectations, and I have thoroughly loved it. Which is definitely why saying goodbye to it has been just so bitter.

I will miss seeing students grow intellectually, personally, and in character. I could relate story upon story of blossoming students, of changed behavior, of naughty ones developing into hilariously cute ones. This is undoubtedly one of the greatest bits about teaching, anywhere, and it makes it all so worthwhile. [Thanks, Jimmy.]

I will miss seeing students develop in creativity. Learning in Taiwan is based more around memorization (which makes sense for Chinese) and less around independent thinking...which means that many students have a difficult time writing a story, or drawing a picture, or doing anything that requires them to think on their own. As a teacher, I've loved finding ways to encourage them in this area, and it's so exciting to see their own ideas come out.

I will miss the quirkiness of my students... their cute, little Taiwanese accents and (wrong) phrases... their outgoing personalities and their subdued ones... their sense of humor (poo poo never grows old. ever.)... their excitement for life and the way they communicate it to me.

Teaching has been a joy-filled, entertaining, stretching, and ultimately so rewarding way to spend this past year, and I wouldn't trade it. And I'm missing it already.