For 3.5 years now we have lived and worked alongside an incredible team of counselors in a richly diverse and beautiful country in the Middle East. We have fallen in love with it in so many ways, poured our heart and soul into making friends, learning the language, and navigating life in a new culture – in addition to serving the expat community. It hasn’t been easy, but we’ve thrived in many ways in this place. We are SO grateful.
Continue reading “BIG CHANGES”
| We are coming to the States for a brief (and very busy!) month in August and would love to see you! Our main chance to catch up with you will be at our Safe Haven event: |
Tuesday, August 8, 7:00 pm
AC Fellowship Hall, Bluffton, IN
Join us to:
We hope it’ll be an encouraging night for you all! Please consider taking time to come hear what God’s doing around the world.
Every expat can tell you stories of holidays overseas. I’ve been watching moms across our city search for advent calendars, cream cheese, peppermint sticks… anything to make the holidays feel like “normal” from their lives before. Other times, I think, it’s in a genuine effort to share what a “western” Christmas looks like with their friends and neighbors who haven’t ever experienced it before.
We are learning a new dance between the traditions and family gatherings and abundant holiday lights from our home culture, and the quieter, distant culture here that doesn’t celebrate at all. In a sense, we’re finding a new balance between worlds.
Continue reading “AN EXPAT CHRISTMAS”
We were supposed to leave the country tomorrow. We were supposed to be sharing tearful goodbyes and making last minute preparations. Instead, COVID-19 has left us ALL in a state of uncertainty. All our country’s international flights are now shut down and we expect it to be a few months before we can travel.
Our counseling team has been incredibly encouraging. Some have traveled back to the States, avoiding quarantines that would restrict anyone over 65 from leaving their homes and seeking out the safety and familiarity in their home country. Others remained behind, hunkering down around those relationships they trust to keep them safe. Together, the team is navigating how to best serve cross-cultural workers from around the world.
Safe Haven 