United World Mission

Dear Friends and Family,

It's been a turbulent few months for us, but we have received an enormous amount of mercy from God and his people, and have lots of good news to report.  

First, we are delighted to say that Zoe is safely home from the hospital. She is healthy and happy and it doesn't seem that there will be any long term damage from her frightening seizures last month. We were flooded with prayers, meals, and help with our boys during Zoe's hospitalization and recovery, and Michelle and I feel deeply blessed and honored to have such an enormous community of friends caring for us.  Thank you!

Immediately after Zoe was released from the hospital, I left my family in the capable hands of our Oxford community and hurried off to salvage my planned trips. I caught the tail-end of a CMS missions training event (CMS is our UK-based mission agency), which was a marvelous delight. It enhanced my enthusiasm for our UWM mission training in September/October, and gave we a wonderful chance to connect with a wide range of splendid missionaries at CMS.

From the CMS event I flew straight to Medellín (well, I didn't make my connection, so I arrived a day later than planned). The brevity of my trip to Colombia notwithstanding, it was a tremendous success. Thanks in large part to the expert help of my future colleagues at the Biblical Seminary of Colombia, I was able to make decisions about the boys' schooling, line up housing, get my teaching schedule for 2014, sign my contract with the seminary, get much of the documentation I need for our visas, AND have a slew of meetings about the new masters program in theology we're developing in partnership with Fuller Theological Seminary. On top of all that, I had lots of meals and times to connect with old friends and future colleagues. I came home feeling absolutely wired about our new life in Medellín, as I can really see all the pieces fitting together.

We are also delighted to share that, amidst the uncertainty of our transition, Asher has decided to commit his life to Christ. He's actually been eager to "become a Christian" for a long time, and we've rather delayed him to make sure that he understands something of the nature of Jesus' work for him. But as we move away from England and shift to the US and then to Colombia, we are delighted that our second son has decided to "follow God's plan for his life"!

Now we're rapidly wrapping up our lives here in Oxford, packing the house up, and saying good-bye to our old friends and the beautiful community we've had here.  On the 30th, we say good-bye to the UK, closing a marvelous chapter on our lives.

Peace be with you all,

Christopher, Michelle, Judah, Asher, and Zoe Hays