As associate regional coordinators for Europe and the Middle East, Nate and Stacy will be working alongside Regional Coordinators Patrick and Jamie Nachtigall as together they help connect, encourage, and resource the Church of God throughout the region. Nate and Stacy will have a particular emphasis on church planting and church health, walking alongside pastors and leaders in the region connected through the EuropeX church network.
One unexpected blessing of 2020 has been all the extra time we have had to share with our family and friends. As with many of you, we are experiencing a unique set of challenges and circumstances as we look at gathering for the holidays. While Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year festivities won’t look the same as they have in the past, we are thankful for small, intimate gatherings and the refocusing that has come out of the experiences of this year.
We have sheepishly joked about the fact that we made such a big deal about last year’s holiday celebrations being on our list of “lasts” in the States for the foreseeable future. Goodness, who could have guessed we would be here all these months later? We’re thankful that nothing is a surprise to God, in whom we put our trust!
Praying many blessings over your lives in this holiday season and throughout the new year!
Much love,
Nate, Stacy, and Family
Partnership and Visa Update
Ready for some good news?
WE HAVE COMMITMENTS FOR 100% OF OUR FUNDING!
In this season of thankfulness, we cannot begin to sufficiently express our gratitude to those who have partnered with us and prayed for us over these two years. We officially began fundraising in April 2019, and 19 months later we have finally met our goal!
Now that fundraising and mission training are complete, we have only one thing standing in the way of our departure - visa appointments. Please stand in prayer with us as we “patiently” wait for our necessary paperwork to return from the Department of State in Washington, DC. Once these documents are in-hand, we can schedule our visa appointments at the Spanish consulate in Chicago. Right now, the biggest hurdle seems to be that the Department of State is two to three months behind in processing documents. This has the potential of delaying our departure even further. Again, prayers for patience and peace in the waiting are appreciated!
A World of Good Podcast
Earlier this year, Nate started a podcast with his friend (and now his boss) Andrew Gale. Andrew serves as the executive director of Global Strategy, our sending agency. On the podcast, Nate and Andrew interview various pastors, missionaries and leaders from around the world to explore the good things God is doing. In the most recent episode, Nate interviewed Deb Heefner, who serves as the COMPASS director at MTI. You can listen to the episode on your favorite podcasting platforms or click on the World of Good logo below.
Ministry Update
A hill outside MTI with several missionary families ~ On a hike ~ Our adult cohort with a language tutor
On Monday, September 28, our family of six (with Charlotte the dog in tow) headed west. We traveled through a total of nine states before stopping at our final month’s destination in Palmer Lake, Colorado, on Monday, October 26. Along the way, we were blessed with visits with many of our partners. It was wonderful to be able to personally thank them for their support. We also had the opportunity to visit potential partners to share what is happening in churches and communities throughout Europe and the Middle East.
Overall, this was an amazing trip, as we covered 5000+ miles in 4 weeks. After spending another 4 weeks in Colorado for training, we drove more than 2000 miles toward home, just in time to spend Thanksgiving with our family.
Our training at MTI could not have come at a better time. This training gave us so much to think about in preparing us for the journey ahead. We have posted summaries of the four weeks at MTI, describing what we did and learned. You can check out the links below:
