What started as a simple conversation at a Sunday lunch 6 months ago has culminated in our appointment as missionaries to Ghana, West Africa. How exciting it is to be asked to be a part of God’s work!

It certainly wasn’t an overnight surrender, but a process of clarifying what God was asking of us:

We realized that during our adoption, we had never considered living incarnationally, going to where our children were most comfortable, rather than bringing them where we are. God challenged us to consider moving our children back to the culture of their birth, where they would be in the majority, and we would be in the minority.

We discovered that the needs in both of our ministry fields were tremendous in the region of northern Ghana. There is one physician for every 93,000 there. Only 4 ordained ministers serve the more than 50 Wesleyan churches in Ghana, and one of the fastest growing areas for Christianity is just across the border in French-speaking Burkina Faso.

Addie and Palmer have had important voices in our decision, and both of them have let us know that they have hearts for those still in Africa. They have prayed about it and understand that God has asked us to move there. Almost every day, the children ask about Africa, and are excited to have an experience in Africa with an intact family, food in their bellies, and Jesus in their heart.

God confirmed His call through them, and also through the healing of my asthma. I’ve been off of asthma medicines for four months now, when previously, I could not go more than 24-48 hours without a sense of suffocation. What tremendous freedom I have now to breathe deeply and easily, and now I want to use my new-found breath to carry His healing to Ghana!

After traveling and seeing the needs up close, we decided we will be living in Tamale, in northern Ghana, approximately 100 miles south of Burkina Faso. I will be learning tropical medicine with the intent to both practice and create sustainable health practices in Wesleyan churches in remote areas where access to medical care is limited.  Ken will be helping to develop pastors and churches in French-speaking Africa, especially Burkina Faso, and also in English-speaking northern Ghana. Addie and Palmer will be developing friendships and sharing the love of Jesus with kids their own age. Because they won’t have so many of the cultural barriers that Ken and I will, and they know what a difference Jesus has made in healing their hearts from their wounds of the past, we think the kids may be the very best missionaries of all.

Now, it is time for us to begin the process of getting there.

We will be spending as long as it takes for us to raise a team of supporters who will partner with us in prayer and in finances so we can answer God’s call. We know that God has already begun to call people to surround us — many of them, if not most, read this blog.

Has our story challenged you? Inspired you? Made you excited about what God is doing? If so, we believe God is speaking through our story, and inviting you to be part of our partnership team.

Here is what we need:

1. Prayer warriors. We need 400 people to sign up to support us at least weekly in prayer. We will be calling on these people to pray for us in changing circumstances, and give praise to God when He chooses to work through us.
2. Financial supporters. We need churches and individuals to partner with us financially, especially in faith promises starting now and for the next four years. Faith promises are a demonstration that you believe that God will provide for you financially in order to support us. You are serving as a conduit of His blessings, and get the joys of being a faithful manager of His resources. Often, faith promises stretch a person beyond what they feel comfortable with financially — that’s where the “faith” comes in! We need:
   1. 17 churches to partner with us at $500/month; or
   2. 170 individuals to partner with us at $50/month; or
   3. 340 individuals to partner with us at $25/month; and
   4. One time financial gifts to help us with our start-up costs, since we will be the first Wesleyan missionaries to Tamale!
3. Opportunities to share our story. We know that the Holy Spirit speaks through what He has been doing in our lives, and the more we share our story, the more others are drawn to Him and what He wants to accomplish in hearts in America, Canada, and Africa. We are available to speak at churches, retreats, conferences, etc. and would love the chance to tell how God is working miracles to bring more people to Himself.

If God has spoken to you through our story, we believe He is calling you to be a part of our team. To sign up, please click here. Know that if you join our team, we will pray for you, share with you our updates, news, and prayer requests, and communicate with you through newsletters, emails, and even snail mail on a regular basis. We are fully aware that we cannot do this without you!

Thank you for reading our story. Is it your turn to be a part of it?