But God

In the spring of 2017, we were encouraged (wisely) by counselors to not return to our home in Uganda. The three previous years were full of hardship and unexpected transition. We lived in three African countries, five cities, and the longest we stayed in one place was eight months. We were evacuated from South Sudan in the midst of a civil war, experienced personal loss through miscarriage and theft, and experienced secondary trauma of watching dear friends suffer tremendously. A friend recently said, while reflecting on our time in Africa, “You arrived in South Sudan and then, and then, and then...”. It was three years of “and then”, one thing after another, and we were on the edge of breaking.

Three years after returning, in the midst of a stable job and a settled life, the Lord started to poke and prod the trauma we had gone through. He revealed where we hadn’t fully dealt with it, that things in our marriage and lives weren’t as they should be. We had put comfort and stability as our top priority rather than obedience to Him. He led us both to seek further healing for the trauma we had experienced through intense counseling. He did as Psalm 23 says and had us lay down in green pastures, he led us to still waters, and he restored our souls. It was the beginning of our call to return to East Africa, a call we believe never left but simply had a detour.

In January of 2021 I, Will, began to sense an urging from the Lord to return to Africa. I responded with argument on a long hike. I reminded Him of our trauma, of our hardship, of all our moving around. I reminded Him there wasn’t a role for us to play. He simply responded with, “Turn around. Go back.” No promise of stability or comfort. No promise of success. No promise of a role.

The organization we were with prior and are returning to, unknown to us, had 4 years ago began to envision what it would look like to have member care teams in the regions they have staff. These teams would both seek to keep staff healthy (mentally, emotionally, spiritually) so they are more sustainable in the field, but also respond to crises and trauma quickly. They had been planning, praying, and trying to recruit staff members to fill these roles. They desire people who have experience in the mission field and know the hardships, who have experienced suffering, to fill these roles to best care for other staff. 

The years of “and then”, began to be, “but God.”

But God knew what He was doing. He knew our previous experience would find a place in His Kingdom, that none of it would be wasted. But God orchestrated our time of healing to coincide with our ministry's increased effort to recruit people into member care roles. But God, united Theresa and I with a vision for our family back in East Africa so that we might lay down our lives for the world’s good and His glory.

After 18 months of conversations with our ministry, wrestling with this call, and seeking wise counsel, we have decided to follow Jesus, no matter the roughness of the road, and return to East Africa to start and lead a regional member care team serving missionaries. There are 11 teams working across six countries in East/Central Africa doing a variety of things including medical work, theological education, water engineering, and entrepreneurship. Our goal is to move to Nairobi, Kenya in July of 2023.